diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 69ee681e..8cb056be 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ Expected: February 2021
 
 Developers may need to change their code
 
+* rpc msg C API rearranged to separate socket/connect from connect
 * Added `cvv_i` output parameter to `api_path_fmt2api_path()` to see how many cvv entries were used.
 
 ### API changes on existing protocol/config features
diff --git a/apps/backend/Makefile.in b/apps/backend/Makefile.in
index a745c031..08aea10b 100644
--- a/apps/backend/Makefile.in
+++ b/apps/backend/Makefile.in
@@ -39,12 +39,12 @@ top_srcdir  	= @top_srcdir@
 CC		= @CC@
 CFLAGS  	= @CFLAGS@ 
 LINKAGE         = @LINKAGE@
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	CPPFLAGS  	= @CPPFLAGS@ -fPIC
-	SH_SUFFIX	= @SH_SUFFIX@
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	CPPFLAGS  	= @CPPFLAGS@
 	SH_SUFFIX	= a
+else
+	CPPFLAGS  	= @CPPFLAGS@ -fPIC
+	SH_SUFFIX	= @SH_SUFFIX@
 endif
 INSTALLFLAGS  	= @INSTALLFLAGS@ 
 LDFLAGS 	= @LDFLAGS@
@@ -64,10 +64,10 @@ CLIXON_MAJOR    = @CLIXON_VERSION_MAJOR@
 CLIXON_MINOR    = @CLIXON_VERSION_MINOR@
 
 # Use this clixon lib for linking
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	CLIXON_LIB	= libclixon$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR).$(CLIXON_MINOR)
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	CLIXON_LIB	= libclixon.a
+else
+	CLIXON_LIB	= libclixon$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR).$(CLIXON_MINOR)
 endif
 
 # For dependency. A little strange that we rely on it being built in the src dir
@@ -100,10 +100,10 @@ MYLIBSO         = lib$(MYNAME)$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR)
 MYLIBLINK       = lib$(MYNAME)$(SH_SUFFIX)
 MYLIBSTATIC     = lib$(MYNAME).a
 
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBDYNAMIC)
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBSTATIC)
+else
+	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBDYNAMIC)
 endif
 
 all:	  $(MYLIB) $(APPL) test
diff --git a/lib/clixon/clixon_proto.h b/lib/clixon/clixon_proto.h
index 2d08a7ef..7ee87fed 100644
--- a/lib/clixon/clixon_proto.h
+++ b/lib/clixon/clixon_proto.h
@@ -75,16 +75,12 @@ int clicon_connect_unix(clicon_handle h, char *sockpath);
 
 
 int clicon_rpc_connect_unix(clicon_handle         h,
-			    struct clicon_msg    *msg, 
 			    char                 *sockpath,
-			    char                **ret,
 			    int                  *sock0);
 
 int clicon_rpc_connect_inet(clicon_handle         h,
-			    struct clicon_msg    *msg, 
 			    char                 *dst, 
 			    uint16_t              port,
-			    char                **ret,
 			    int                  *sock0);
 
 int clicon_rpc(int s, struct clicon_msg *msg, char **xret);
diff --git a/lib/clixon/clixon_proto_client.h b/lib/clixon/clixon_proto_client.h
index 9b3d277b..bb77bf0b 100644
--- a/lib/clixon/clixon_proto_client.h
+++ b/lib/clixon/clixon_proto_client.h
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
 #ifndef _CLIXON_PROTO_CLIENT_H_
 #define _CLIXON_PROTO_CLIENT_H_
 
+int clicon_rpc_connect(clicon_handle h, int *sock0);
 int clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle h, struct clicon_msg *msg, cxobj **xret0,
 		   int *sock0);
 int clicon_rpc_netconf(clicon_handle h, char *xmlst, cxobj **xret, int *sp);
diff --git a/lib/src/Makefile.in b/lib/src/Makefile.in
index c4a9520b..834aba13 100644
--- a/lib/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/lib/src/Makefile.in
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ CLIXON_MINOR    = @CLIXON_VERSION_MINOR@
 VPATH       	= @srcdir@
 CC		= @CC@
 LINKAGE         = @LINKAGE@
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	CFLAGS  	= -fPIC @CFLAGS@
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	CFLAGS		= @CFLAGS@
+else
+	CFLAGS  	= -fPIC @CFLAGS@
 endif
 SH_SUFFIX	= @SH_SUFFIX@
 INSTALL		= @INSTALL@
@@ -107,10 +107,10 @@ MYLIBSO      = lib$(MYNAME)$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR)
 MYLIBLINK    = lib$(MYNAME)$(SH_SUFFIX)
 MYLIBSTATIC  = lib$(MYNAME).a
 
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBDYNAMIC)
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBSTATIC)
+else
+	MYLIB        = $(MYLIBDYNAMIC)
 endif
 
 all:	 $(MYLIB) $(MYLIBLINK)
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_log.c b/lib/src/clixon_log.c
index 793ac5d7..f3858099 100644
--- a/lib/src/clixon_log.c
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_log.c
@@ -315,6 +315,7 @@ clicon_debug_init(int   dbglevel,
 		  FILE *f)
 {
     _clixon_debug = dbglevel; /* Global variable */
+    _logfile = f;
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_proto.c b/lib/src/clixon_proto.c
index 379e227c..6f4df311 100644
--- a/lib/src/clixon_proto.c
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_proto.c
@@ -562,16 +562,18 @@ clicon_msg_rcv(int                s,
  */
 int
 clicon_rpc_connect_unix(clicon_handle      h,
-			struct clicon_msg *msg, 
 			char              *sockpath,
-			char             **retdata,
 			int               *sock0)
 {
-    int retval = -1;
-    int s = -1;
-    struct stat sb;
+    int         retval = -1;
+    int         s = -1;
+    struct stat sb = {0,};
 
     clicon_debug(1, "Send msg on %s", sockpath);
+    if (sock0 == NULL){
+	clicon_err(OE_NETCONF, EINVAL, "sock0 expected");
+	goto done;
+    }
     /* special error handling to get understandable messages (otherwise ENOENT) */
     if (stat(sockpath, &sb) < 0){
 	clicon_err(OE_PROTO, errno, "%s: config daemon not running?", sockpath);
@@ -583,14 +585,9 @@ clicon_rpc_connect_unix(clicon_handle      h,
     }
     if ((s = clicon_connect_unix(h, sockpath)) < 0)
 	goto done;
-    if (clicon_rpc(s, msg, retdata) < 0)
-	goto done;
-    if (sock0 != NULL)
-	*sock0 = s;
+    *sock0 = s;
     retval = 0;
   done:
-    if (sock0 == NULL && s >= 0)
-	close(s);
     return retval;
 }
 
@@ -608,10 +605,8 @@ clicon_rpc_connect_unix(clicon_handle      h,
  */
 int
 clicon_rpc_connect_inet(clicon_handle      h,
-			struct clicon_msg *msg, 
 			char              *dst,
 			uint16_t           port,
-			char             **retdata,
 			int               *sock0)
 {
     int                retval = -1;
@@ -619,7 +614,10 @@ clicon_rpc_connect_inet(clicon_handle      h,
     struct sockaddr_in addr;
 
     clicon_debug(1, "Send msg to %s:%hu", dst, port);
-
+    if (sock0 == NULL){
+	clicon_err(OE_NETCONF, EINVAL, "sock0 expected");
+	goto done;
+    }
     memset(&addr, 0, sizeof(addr));
     addr.sin_family = AF_INET;
     addr.sin_port = htons(port);
@@ -636,14 +634,9 @@ clicon_rpc_connect_inet(clicon_handle      h,
 	close(s);
 	goto done;
     }
-    if (clicon_rpc(s, msg, retdata) < 0)
-	goto done;
-    if (sock0 != NULL)
-	*sock0 = s;
+    *sock0 = s;
     retval = 0;
   done:
-    if (sock0 == NULL && s >= 0)
-	close(s);
     return retval;
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_proto_client.c b/lib/src/clixon_proto_client.c
index 35d3bf5c..04487288 100644
--- a/lib/src/clixon_proto_client.c
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_proto_client.c
@@ -82,31 +82,16 @@
 #include "clixon_netconf_lib.h"
 #include "clixon_proto_client.h"
 
-/*! Send internal netconf rpc from client to backend
- * @param[in]    h      CLICON handle
- * @param[in]    msg    Encoded message. Deallocate with free
- * @param[out]   xret0  Return value from backend as xml tree. Free w xml_free
- * @param[inout] sock0  If pointer exists, do not close socket to backend on success 
- *                      and return it here. For keeping a notify socket open
- * @note sock0 is if connection should be persistent, like a notification/subscribe api
- * @note xret is populated with yangspec according to standard handle yangspec
+/*! Connect to internal netconf socket
  */
 int
-clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle      h, 
-	       struct clicon_msg *msg, 
-	       cxobj            **xret0,
-	       int               *sock0)
+clicon_rpc_connect(clicon_handle h,
+		   int          *sock0)
 {
-    int                retval = -1;
-    char              *sock;
-    int                port;
-    char              *retdata = NULL;
-    cxobj             *xret = NULL;
+    int    retval = -1;
+    char  *sock = NULL;
+    int    port;
 
-#ifdef RPC_USERNAME_ASSERT
-    assert(strstr(msg->op_body, "username")!=NULL); /* XXX */
-#endif
-    clicon_debug(1, "%s request:%s", __FUNCTION__, msg->op_body);
     if ((sock = clicon_sock(h)) == NULL){
 	clicon_err(OE_FATAL, 0, "CLICON_SOCK option not set");
 	goto done;
@@ -114,7 +99,7 @@ clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle      h,
     /* What to do if inet socket? */
     switch (clicon_sock_family(h)){
     case AF_UNIX:
-	if (clicon_rpc_connect_unix(h, msg, sock, &retdata, sock0) < 0){
+	if (clicon_rpc_connect_unix(h, sock, sock0) < 0){
 #if 0
 	    if (errno == ESHUTDOWN)
 		/* Maybe could reconnect on a higher layer, but lets fail
@@ -133,10 +118,45 @@ clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle      h,
 	    clicon_err(OE_FATAL, 0, "CLICON_SOCK_PORT not set");
 	    goto done;
 	}
-	if (clicon_rpc_connect_inet(h, msg, sock, port, &retdata, sock0) < 0)
+	if (clicon_rpc_connect_inet(h, sock, port, sock0) < 0)
 	    goto done;
 	break;
     }
+    retval = 0;
+ done:
+    return retval;
+}
+    
+/*! Send internal netconf rpc from client to backend
+ * @param[in]    h      CLICON handle
+ * @param[in]    msg    Encoded message. Deallocate with free
+ * @param[out]   xret0  Return value from backend as xml tree. Free w xml_free
+ * @param[inout] sock0  If pointer exists, do not close socket to backend on success 
+ *                      and return it here. For keeping a notify socket open
+ * @note sock0 is if connection should be persistent, like a notification/subscribe api
+ * @note xret is populated with yangspec according to standard handle yangspec
+ */
+int
+clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle      h, 
+	       struct clicon_msg *msg, 
+	       cxobj            **xret0,
+	       int               *sock0)
+{
+    int     retval = -1;
+    char   *retdata = NULL;
+    cxobj  *xret = NULL;
+    int     s = -1;
+
+#ifdef RPC_USERNAME_ASSERT
+    assert(strstr(msg->op_body, "username")!=NULL); /* XXX */
+#endif
+    clicon_debug(1, "%s request:%s", __FUNCTION__, msg->op_body);
+    /* Create a socket and connect to it, either UNIX, IPv4 or IPv6 per config options */
+    if (clicon_rpc_connect(h, &s) < 0)
+	goto done;
+    if (clicon_rpc(s, msg, &retdata) < 0)
+	goto done;
+
     clicon_debug(1, "%s retdata:%s", __FUNCTION__, retdata);
 
     if (retdata){
@@ -150,8 +170,15 @@ clicon_rpc_msg(clicon_handle      h,
 	*xret0 = xret;
 	xret = NULL;
     }
+    /* If returned, keep socket open, otherwise close it below */
+    if (sock0){ 
+	*sock0 = s;
+	s = -1;
+    }
     retval = 0;
  done:
+    if (s != -1)
+	close(s);
     if (retdata)
 	free(retdata);
     if (xret)
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_xpath.c b/lib/src/clixon_xpath.c
index 6e7262c8..c8fdcc27 100644
--- a/lib/src/clixon_xpath.c
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_xpath.c
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ xpath_first_localonly(cxobj      *xcur,
  * @retval    -1        Error
  * @code
  *   cvec   *nsc; // namespace context
- *   cxobj **vec;
+ *   cxobj **vec = NULL;
  *   size_t  veclen;
  *   if (xpath_vec(xcur, nsc, "//symbol/foo", &vec, &veclen) < 0) 
  *      err;
diff --git a/util/Makefile.in b/util/Makefile.in
index 49901516..1e69cd2a 100644
--- a/util/Makefile.in
+++ b/util/Makefile.in
@@ -63,13 +63,14 @@ INSTALLFLAGS  	= @INSTALLFLAGS@
 LDFLAGS 	= @LDFLAGS@
 LIBS    	= @LIBS@
 CPPFLAGS  	= @CPPFLAGS@
+LINKAGE         = @LINKAGE@
 
 INCLUDES        = -I. @INCLUDES@ -I$(top_srcdir)/lib -I$(top_srcdir)/include
 
-ifeq ($(LINKAGE),dynamic)
-	CLIXON_LIB      = libclixon$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR).$(CLIXON_MINOR)
-else
+ifeq ($(LINKAGE),static)
 	CLIXON_LIB	= libclixon.a
+else
+	CLIXON_LIB      = libclixon$(SH_SUFFIX).$(CLIXON_MAJOR).$(CLIXON_MINOR)
 endif
 
 # For dependency. A little strange that we rely on it being built in the src dir
diff --git a/util/clixon_util_socket.c b/util/clixon_util_socket.c
index 4fa3aa3d..5c886def 100644
--- a/util/clixon_util_socket.c
+++ b/util/clixon_util_socket.c
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ main(int    argc,
     cbuf              *cb = cbuf_new();
     clicon_handle      h;
     int                dbg = 0;
+    int                s;
 
     /* In the startup, logs to stderr & debug flag set later */
     clicon_log_init(__FILE__, LOG_INFO, CLICON_LOG_STDERR); 
@@ -167,12 +168,15 @@ main(int    argc,
     if ((msg = clicon_msg_encode(getpid(), "%s", cbuf_get(cb))) < 0)
 	goto done;
     if (strcmp(family, "UNIX")==0){
-	if (clicon_rpc_connect_unix(h, msg, sockpath, &retdata, NULL) < 0)
+	if (clicon_rpc_connect_unix(h, sockpath, &s) < 0)
 	    goto done;
     }
     else
-	if (clicon_rpc_connect_inet(h, msg, sockpath, 4535, &retdata, NULL) < 0)
+	if (clicon_rpc_connect_inet(h, sockpath, 4535, &s) < 0)
 	    goto done;
+    if (clicon_rpc(s, msg, &retdata) < 0)
+	goto done;
+    close(s);
     fprintf(stdout, "%s\n", retdata);
     retval = 0;
  done: