diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f341cf7..3446c5d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 The loosely specified `diff` file format is widely used for transmitting
 differences of line-based information. The motivating example is
 [`opam`](https://opam.ocaml.org), which is able to validate updates being
-cryptographically signed (e.g. [conex](https://github.com/hannesm/conex)) by
+cryptographically signed (e.g. [conex](https://github.com/robur-coop/conex)) by
 providing a unified diff.
 
 The [test-based infered specification](https://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=164293)
@@ -50,11 +50,16 @@ or deleted, and if the chunk size is omitted (including the comma), it is set
 to 1. NB from practical experiments, only "+1" and "-1" are supported.
 
 ```OCaml
+type git_ext =
+  | Rename_only of string * string
+  | Delete_only
+  | Create_only
+
 type operation =
   | Edit of string * string
   | Delete of string
   | Create of string
-  | Rename_only of string * string
+  | Git_ext of (string * string * git_ext)
 
 type hunk (* positions and contents *)
 
@@ -73,8 +78,7 @@ from old and new file contents is also provided.
 
 The function `patch` assumes that the patch applies cleanly, and does not
 check this assumption. Exceptions may be raised if this assumption is violated.
-The git diff format allows further features, such as file permissions, and also
-a "copy from / to" header, which I was unable to spot in the wild.
+The git diff format allows further features, such as file permissions.
 
 ## Installation
 
diff --git a/src/dune b/src/dune
index 73c8ae5..eb1c38c 100644
--- a/src/dune
+++ b/src/dune
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  (name patch)
  (synopsis "Patch purely in OCaml")
  (public_name patch)
- (modules patch lib fname))
+ (modules patch lib fname rope))
 
 (executable
  (name patch_command)
diff --git a/src/lib.ml b/src/lib.ml
index e9f5b7e..95b496f 100644
--- a/src/lib.ml
+++ b/src/lib.ml
@@ -57,12 +57,4 @@ module List = struct
     | [] -> invalid_arg "List.last"
     | [x] -> x
     | _::xs -> last xs
-
-  let rev_cut idx l =
-    let rec aux acc idx = function
-      | l when idx = 0 -> (acc, l)
-      | [] -> invalid_arg "List.cut"
-      | x::xs -> aux (x :: acc) (idx - 1) xs
-    in
-    aux [] idx l
 end
diff --git a/src/lib.mli b/src/lib.mli
index 81da0d8..fe6d438 100644
--- a/src/lib.mli
+++ b/src/lib.mli
@@ -9,5 +9,4 @@ end
 
 module List : sig
   val last : 'a list -> 'a
-  val rev_cut : int -> 'a list -> 'a list * 'a list
 end
diff --git a/src/patch.ml b/src/patch.ml
index 4388c64..e5c66e2 100644
--- a/src/patch.ml
+++ b/src/patch.ml
@@ -36,27 +36,30 @@ let pp_hunk ~mine_no_nl ~their_no_nl ppf hunk =
     hunk.mine_start hunk.mine_len hunk.their_start hunk.their_len
     (unified_diff ~mine_no_nl ~their_no_nl hunk)
 
-let rec apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz (last_matched_line, offset, lines) ({mine_start; mine_len; mine; their_start = _; their_len; their} as hunk) =
+let rec apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz (last_matched_line, offset, rope) ({mine_start; mine_len; mine; their_start = _; their_len; their} as hunk) =
   let mine_start = mine_start + offset in
   let patch_match ~search_offset =
     let mine_start = mine_start + search_offset in
-    let rev_prefix, rest = Lib.List.rev_cut (Stdlib.max 0 (mine_start - 1)) lines in
-    let rev_actual_mine, suffix = Lib.List.rev_cut mine_len rest in
-    let actual_mine = List.rev rev_actual_mine in
-    if actual_mine <> (mine : string list) then
-      invalid_arg "unequal mine";
-    (* TODO: should we check their_len against List.length their? *)
+    let off_mine = Stdlib.max 0 (mine_start - 1) in
+    let prefix = Rope.chop rope off_mine in
+    let actual_mine = Rope.chop rope ~off:off_mine mine_len in
+    let off = off_mine + mine_len in
+    let suffix = Rope.shift rope off in
+    if not (Rope.equal_to_string_list actual_mine mine) then
+       invalid_arg "unequal mine";
+    let theirs =
+      let nl = Rope.last_is_nl actual_mine in
+      Rope.of_strings their nl
+    in
     (mine_start + mine_len, offset + (their_len - mine_len),
-     (* TODO: Replace rev_append (rev ...) by the tail-rec when patch
-        requires OCaml >= 4.14 *)
-     List.rev_append rev_prefix (List.rev_append (List.rev their) suffix))
+     Rope.concat prefix (Rope.concat theirs suffix))
   in
   try patch_match ~search_offset:0
   with Invalid_argument _ ->
     if cleanly then
       invalid_arg "apply_hunk"
     else
-      let max_pos_offset = Stdlib.max 0 (List.length lines - Stdlib.max 0 (mine_start - 1) - mine_len) in
+      let max_pos_offset = Stdlib.max 0 (Rope.length rope - Stdlib.max 0 (mine_start - 1) - mine_len) in
       let max_neg_offset = mine_start - last_matched_line in
       let rec locate search_offset =
         let aux search_offset max_offset =
@@ -100,7 +103,7 @@ let rec apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz (last_matched_line, offset, lines) ({mine_star
             else if mine_len = (hunk.mine_len : int) && their_len = (hunk.their_len : int) then
               invalid_arg "apply_hunk: could not apply fuzz"
             else
-              apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz:(fuzz + 1) (last_matched_line, offset, lines) hunk
+              apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz:(fuzz + 1) (last_matched_line, offset, rope) hunk
           else
             invalid_arg "apply_hunk"
         else
@@ -476,9 +479,9 @@ let patch ~cleanly filedata diff =
       | _ -> assert false
     end
   | Edit _ ->
-    let old = match filedata with None -> [] | Some x -> to_lines x in
-    let _, _, lines = List.fold_left (apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz:0) (0, 0, old) diff.hunks in
-    let lines = String.concat "\n" lines in
+    let old = match filedata with None -> Rope.empty | Some x -> Rope.of_string x in
+    let _, _, rope = List.fold_left (apply_hunk ~cleanly ~fuzz:0) (0, 0, old) diff.hunks in
+    let lines = Rope.to_string rope in
     let lines =
       match diff.mine_no_nl, diff.their_no_nl with
       | false, true ->
diff --git a/src/rope.ml b/src/rope.ml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e4cfdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rope.ml
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+(* Originally from https://github.com/robur-coop/utcp, written by
+   Calascibetta Romain <romain.calascibetta@gmail.com> *)
+
+(* A rope data structure where each node is a line *)
+
+type t =
+  | Str of string array * bool * int * int
+  | App of t * t * int
+
+let length = function
+  | Str (_, _, len, _) -> len
+  | App (_, _, len) -> len
+
+(* keep compatibility with 4.08 *)
+let min_int (a : int) (b : int) = min a b
+external unsafe_blit_string : string -> int -> bytes -> int -> int -> unit
+  = "caml_blit_string" [@@noalloc]
+
+let append t1 t2 =
+  App (t1, t2, length t1 + length t2)
+
+let empty = Str (Array.make 0 "", true, 0, 0)
+
+let rec unsafe_sub t start stop =
+  if start = 0 && Int.equal stop (length t) then
+    t
+  else if Int.equal start stop then
+    empty
+  else match t with
+    | Str (data, nl, len, off) ->
+      assert (stop <= (len : int));
+      Str (data, nl, stop - start, off + start)
+    | App (l, r, _) ->
+        let len = length l in
+        if stop <= (len : int) then unsafe_sub l start stop
+        else if start >= (len : int) then unsafe_sub r (start - len) (stop - len)
+        else append (unsafe_sub l start len) (unsafe_sub r 0 (stop - len))
+
+let chop t ?(off = 0) len =
+  if len < 0 || len > (length t - off : int) then
+    invalid_arg "Rope.chop";
+  if len = 0 then empty else unsafe_sub t off (off + len)
+
+let shift t len =
+  if len < 0 then
+    invalid_arg "Rope.shift";
+  if len = 0 then
+    t
+  else
+    let max = length t in
+    let len = min_int max len in
+    let l = len + (max - len) in
+    unsafe_sub t len l
+
+let rec last_is_nl = function
+  | Str (a, nl, len, off) -> if Int.equal (Array.length a - off) len then nl else true
+  | App (_, r, _) -> last_is_nl r
+
+let rec byte_length = function
+  | Str (s, _, len, off) as a ->
+    let sum = ref 0 in
+    for idx = off to len + off - 1 do
+      let data = Array.unsafe_get s idx in
+      sum := !sum + String.length data + 1
+    done;
+    !sum - if last_is_nl a then 0 else 1
+  | App (l, r, _) -> byte_length l + byte_length r
+
+let rec into_bytes buf dst_off = function
+  | Str (s, _, len, off) as a ->
+    let off' = ref dst_off in
+    for idx = off to len + off - 1 do
+      let data = Array.unsafe_get s idx in
+      unsafe_blit_string data 0 buf !off' (String.length data);
+      off' := !off' + String.length data + 1;
+      if idx - off < (len - 1 : int) || (Int.equal (idx - off) (len - 1) && last_is_nl a) then
+        Bytes.unsafe_set buf (!off' - 1) '\n'
+    done
+  | App (l, r, _) ->
+    into_bytes buf dst_off l;
+    into_bytes buf (dst_off + byte_length l) r
+
+let to_string t =
+  let len = byte_length t in
+  let buf = Bytes.create len in
+  into_bytes buf 0 t;
+  Bytes.unsafe_to_string buf
+
+let concat a b = append a b
+
+let of_strings xs last_is_nl =
+  let d = Array.of_list xs in
+  Str (d, last_is_nl, Array.length d, 0)
+
+let of_string str =
+  let splitted = String.split_on_char '\n' str in
+  let last_is_nl = String.unsafe_get str (String.length str - 1) = '\n' in
+  let d = Array.of_list splitted in
+  Str (d, last_is_nl, Array.length d - (if last_is_nl then 1 else 0), 0)
+
+let rec equal_to_string_list t = function
+  | [] -> length t = 0
+  | hd :: tl ->
+    let rec find_data = function
+      | Str (data, _, len, off) ->
+        if len > 0 then Some (Array.get data off) else None
+      | App (l, r, _) ->
+        if length l > 0 then
+          find_data l
+        else
+          find_data r
+    in
+    match find_data t with
+    | None -> false
+    | Some data ->
+      String.equal hd data &&
+      equal_to_string_list (shift t 1) tl
diff --git a/src/rope.mli b/src/rope.mli
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e34c281
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rope.mli
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+type t (** The type for a rope data structure *)
+
+val length : t -> int
+(** [length t] returns the amount of strings in [t]. *)
+
+val empty : t
+(** [empty] is the empty rope. *)
+
+val of_strings : string list -> bool -> t
+(** [of_strings xs nl] is a rope [t] which contains the strings of [xs]. If
+    [nl] is true, the last string will have a newline, otherwise not. *)
+
+val of_string : string -> t
+(** [of_string str] will split the string [str] on newline, and return a rope. *)
+
+val to_string : t -> string
+(** [to_string t] is the string where the contents of [t] is present. *)
+
+val chop : t -> ?off:int -> int -> t
+(** [chop t ~off len] returns a new rope that contains [len] strings starting
+    at [off] of the provided rope [t]. Raises Invalid_argument if [len] and
+    [off] are not inside the bounds. *)
+
+val shift : t -> int -> t
+(** [shift t len] returns a new rope that does not contain the first [len]
+    strings, but only the remaining strings of [t]. *)
+
+val concat : t -> t -> t
+(** [concat t t'] returns a new rope which contains [t] followed by [t']. *)
+
+val last_is_nl : t -> bool
+(** [last_is_nl t] returns [true] if the last string should have a newline. *)
+
+val equal_to_string_list : t -> string list -> bool
+(** [equal_to_string_list t xs] returns [true] if the content of [t] is equal to
+    the content of [xs]. *)
diff --git a/test/data/external b/test/data/external
index 6838772..495bc17 160000
--- a/test/data/external
+++ b/test/data/external
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 6838772a456e65ecbea999c27d5ca7c794026566
+Subproject commit 495bc17881d4e8f7df1645dea4d92df8cc7bd79f
diff --git a/test/test.ml b/test/test.ml
index b392067..e566112 100644
--- a/test/test.ml
+++ b/test/test.ml
@@ -1101,12 +1101,24 @@ let one_mil_apply () =
       Alcotest.(check string) __LOC__ expected (Option.get actual)
   | None, _, _ | _, None, _ | _, _, None -> Alcotest.skip ()
 
+let many_hunks_old = lazy (opt_read "./external/many-hunks.old")
+let many_hunks_new = lazy (opt_read "./external/many-hunks.new")
+let many_hunks_diff = lazy (opt_read "./external/many-hunks.diff")
+let many_hunks_apply () =
+  match Lazy.force many_hunks_old, Lazy.force many_hunks_new, Lazy.force many_hunks_diff with
+  | Some many_hunks_old, Some expected, Some diff ->
+      let patch = Patch.parse ~p:0 diff in
+      let actual = Patch.patch ~cleanly:true (Some many_hunks_old) (List.hd patch) in
+      Alcotest.(check string) __LOC__ expected (Option.get actual)
+  | None, _, _ | _, None, _ | _, _, None -> Alcotest.skip ()
+
 let big_diff = [
   "parse", `Quick, parse_big;
   "print", `Quick, print_big;
   "parse own", `Quick, parse_own;
   "1_000_000 print", `Quick, one_mil_print;
   "1_000_000 apply", `Quick, one_mil_apply;
+  "many-hunks apply", `Quick, many_hunks_apply;
 ]
 
 let print_diff_mine_empty_their_no_nl () =