diff --git a/CHANGES.md b/CHANGES.md
index 61dd4cf630..1ba1965985 100644
--- a/CHANGES.md
+++ b/CHANGES.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (
 
 ## [TBD lint release]
 * **BREAKING** Removed `isClean`, `applyTo`, and `applyToAndReturnResultIfDirty` from `Formatter` because users should instead use `PaddedCell.check()`.
+* **BREAKING** Removed `FormatterStep.Strict` because it was unnecessary and unused implementation detail.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 ### Changed
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStep.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStep.java
index 5729f676b2..763232f936 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStep.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStep.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2016-2021 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2016-2022 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -67,28 +67,6 @@ public default FormatterStep filterByFile(SerializableFileFilter filter) {
 		return new FilterByFileFormatterStep(this, filter);
 	}
 
-	/**
-	 * Implements a FormatterStep in a strict way which guarantees correct and lazy implementation
-	 * of up-to-date checks.  This maximizes performance for cases where the FormatterStep is not
-	 * actually needed (e.g. don't load eclipse setting file unless this step is actually running)
-	 * while also ensuring that gradle can detect changes in a step's settings to determine that
-	 * it needs to rerun a format.
-	 */
-	abstract class Strict<State extends Serializable> extends LazyForwardingEquality<State> implements FormatterStep {
-		private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-		/**
-		 * Implements the formatting function strictly in terms
-		 * of the input data and the result of {@link #calculateState()}.
-		 */
-		protected abstract String format(State state, String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception;
-
-		@Override
-		public final String format(String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception {
-			return format(state(), rawUnix, file);
-		}
-	}
-
 	/**
 	 * @param name
 	 *             The name of the formatter step
diff --git a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStepImpl.java b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStepImpl.java
index 061aff6af9..f9672d7dcd 100644
--- a/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStepImpl.java
+++ b/lib/src/main/java/com/diffplug/spotless/FormatterStepImpl.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2016-2020 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2016-2022 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.Random;
 
-import com.diffplug.spotless.FormatterStep.Strict;
-
 import edu.umd.cs.findbugs.annotations.SuppressFBWarnings;
 
 /**
@@ -32,7 +30,7 @@
  * from the API.
  */
 @SuppressFBWarnings("SE_TRANSIENT_FIELD_NOT_RESTORED")
-abstract class FormatterStepImpl<State extends Serializable> extends Strict<State> {
+abstract class FormatterStepImpl<State extends Serializable> extends LazyForwardingEquality<State> implements FormatterStep {
 	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
 	/** Transient because only the state matters. */
@@ -67,15 +65,19 @@ static final class Standard<State extends Serializable> extends FormatterStepImp
 			this.stateToFormatter = Objects.requireNonNull(stateToFormatter);
 		}
 
+		private FormatterFunc func() throws Exception {
+			if (formatter != null) {
+				return formatter;
+			}
+			formatter = stateToFormatter.apply(state());
+			return formatter;
+		}
+
 		@Override
-		protected String format(State state, String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception {
-			Objects.requireNonNull(state, "state");
+		public String format(String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception {
 			Objects.requireNonNull(rawUnix, "rawUnix");
 			Objects.requireNonNull(file, "file");
-			if (formatter == null) {
-				formatter = stateToFormatter.apply(state());
-			}
-			return formatter.apply(rawUnix, file);
+			return func().apply(rawUnix, file);
 		}
 
 		void cleanupFormatterFunc() {
@@ -100,15 +102,17 @@ static class NeverUpToDate extends FormatterStepImpl<Integer> {
 			this.formatterSupplier = Objects.requireNonNull(formatterSupplier, "formatterSupplier");
 		}
 
-		@Override
-		protected String format(Integer state, String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception {
-			if (formatter == null) {
-				formatter = formatterSupplier.get();
-				if (formatter instanceof FormatterFunc.Closeable) {
-					throw new AssertionError("NeverUpToDate does not support FormatterFunc.Closeable.  See https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/284");
-				}
+		private FormatterFunc func() throws Exception {
+			if (formatter != null) {
+				return formatter;
 			}
-			return formatter.apply(rawUnix, file);
+			formatter = formatterSupplier.get();
+			return formatter;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public String format(String rawUnix, File file) throws Exception {
+			return func().apply(rawUnix, file);
 		}
 	}