diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index 89aff59ccf..3e842625f2 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ F: .ci/
 
 ABI versioning
 M: Neil Horman <nhorman@tuxdriver.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_compat.h
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_function_versioning.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_compat.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_function_versioning.h
 F: doc/guides/rel_notes/deprecation.rst
 F: devtools/check-abi.sh
 F: devtools/check-abi-version.sh
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ T: git://dpdk.org/dpdk
 
 EAL API and common code
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/
 F: lib/librte_eal/rte_eal_version.map
 F: doc/guides/prog_guide/env_abstraction_layer.rst
 F: app/test/test_alarm.c
@@ -196,9 +196,9 @@ F: app/test/test_version.c
 
 Memory Allocation
 M: Anatoly Burakov <anatoly.burakov@intel.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_mem*
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_malloc.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_fbarray.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_mem*
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_malloc.h
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/*malloc*
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_fbarray.c
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/eal_common_mem*
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ F: app/test/test_memory.c
 F: app/test/test_memzone.c
 
 Keep alive
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_keepalive.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_keepalive.h
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/rte_keepalive.c
 F: examples/l2fwd-keepalive/
 F: doc/guides/sample_app_ug/keep_alive.rst
@@ -230,30 +230,30 @@ F: doc/guides/sample_app_ug/multi_process.rst
 
 Service Cores
 M: Harry van Haaren <harry.van.haaren@intel.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service.h
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service_component.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service_component.h
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/rte_service.c
 F: doc/guides/prog_guide/service_cores.rst
 F: app/test/test_service_cores.c
 
 Bitmap
 M: Cristian Dumitrescu <cristian.dumitrescu@intel.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_bitmap.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_bitmap.h
 F: app/test/test_bitmap.c
 
 MCSlock - EXPERIMENTAL
 M: Phil Yang <phil.yang@arm.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h
 F: app/test/test_mcslock.c
 
 Ticketlock
 M: Joyce Kong <joyce.kong@arm.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h
 F: app/test/test_ticketlock.c
 
 Pseudo-random Number Generation
 M: Mattias Rönnblom <mattias.ronnblom@ericsson.com>
-F: lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_random.h
+F: lib/librte_eal/include/rte_random.h
 F: lib/librte_eal/common/rte_random.c
 F: app/test/test_rand_perf.c
 
diff --git a/buildtools/pmdinfogen/meson.build b/buildtools/pmdinfogen/meson.build
index 899ba112cd..7da415b3b7 100644
--- a/buildtools/pmdinfogen/meson.build
+++ b/buildtools/pmdinfogen/meson.build
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ if host_machine.system() == 'windows'
 endif
 
 pmdinfogen_inc = [global_inc]
-pmdinfogen_inc += include_directories('../../lib/librte_eal/common/include')
+pmdinfogen_inc += include_directories('../../lib/librte_eal/include')
 pmdinfogen_inc += include_directories('../../lib/librte_pci')
 pmdinfogen = executable('pmdinfogen',
 	'pmdinfogen.c',
diff --git a/doc/api/doxy-api.conf.in b/doc/api/doxy-api.conf.in
index 1c4392eecc..65e8146bef 100644
--- a/doc/api/doxy-api.conf.in
+++ b/doc/api/doxy-api.conf.in
@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ INPUT                   = @TOPDIR@/doc/api/doxy-api-index.md \
                           @TOPDIR@/drivers/net/softnic \
                           @TOPDIR@/drivers/raw/dpaa2_cmdif \
                           @TOPDIR@/drivers/raw/dpaa2_qdma \
-                          @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_eal/common/include \
-                          @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic \
+                          @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_eal/include \
+                          @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_eal/include/generic \
                           @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_acl \
                           @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_bbdev \
                           @TOPDIR@/lib/librte_bitratestats \
diff --git a/doc/guides/rel_notes/known_issues.rst b/doc/guides/rel_notes/known_issues.rst
index 68c3d22bea..de0782136d 100644
--- a/doc/guides/rel_notes/known_issues.rst
+++ b/doc/guides/rel_notes/known_issues.rst
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ HPET timers do not work on the Osage customer reference platform
    work correctly, provided the BIOS supports HPET.
 
 **Driver/Module**:
-   ``lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_cycles.h``
+   ``lib/librte_eal/include/rte_cycles.h``
 
 
 Not all variants of supported NIC types have been used in testing
diff --git a/drivers/bus/dpaa/Makefile b/drivers/bus/dpaa/Makefile
index cd1093f744..9e1a31bb75 100644
--- a/drivers/bus/dpaa/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/bus/dpaa/Makefile
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_BUS_DPAA)/
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_BUS_DPAA)/include
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_BUS_DPAA)/base/qbman
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 
 # versioning export map
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_bus_dpaa_version.map
diff --git a/drivers/common/mlx5/meson.build b/drivers/common/mlx5/meson.build
index 141739fd6f..f671710714 100644
--- a/drivers/common/mlx5/meson.build
+++ b/drivers/common/mlx5/meson.build
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ if dlopen_ibverbs
 	dlopen_install_dir = [ eal_pmd_path + '-glue' ]
 	dlopen_includes = [global_inc]
 	dlopen_includes += include_directories(
-		'../../../lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic',
+		'../../../lib/librte_eal/include/generic',
 	)
 	shared_lib = shared_library(
 		dlopen_lib_name,
diff --git a/drivers/crypto/caam_jr/Makefile b/drivers/crypto/caam_jr/Makefile
index 1b1f25a2a2..db17294395 100644
--- a/drivers/crypto/caam_jr/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/crypto/caam_jr/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/bus/dpaa/include
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax/caamflib/
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/crypto/caam_jr
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 
 # versioning export map
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_pmd_caam_jr_version.map
diff --git a/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec/Makefile b/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec/Makefile
index fbfd775855..13a5ff20cf 100644
--- a/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/bus/dpaa/base/qbman
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec/
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax/caamflib/
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 LDLIBS += -lrte_eal -lrte_mbuf -lrte_mempool -lrte_ring
 LDLIBS += -lrte_cryptodev
 
diff --git a/drivers/event/dpaa/Makefile b/drivers/event/dpaa/Makefile
index 2f53efdf9e..15ffc157f8 100644
--- a/drivers/event/dpaa/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/event/dpaa/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/bus/dpaa
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/bus/dpaa/include/
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/mempool/dpaa
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 
 LDLIBS += -lrte_pmd_dpaa_sec
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/crypto/dpaa_sec
diff --git a/drivers/net/dpaa/Makefile b/drivers/net/dpaa/Makefile
index 8e049b2a0b..f63c9bf540 100644
--- a/drivers/net/dpaa/Makefile
+++ b/drivers/net/dpaa/Makefile
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/bus/dpaa/base/qbman
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/mempool/dpaa
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/common/dpaax
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/drivers/event/dpaa
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_pmd_dpaa_version.map
 
diff --git a/kernel/linux/igb_uio/meson.build b/kernel/linux/igb_uio/meson.build
index fac404f078..80540aecee 100644
--- a/kernel/linux/igb_uio/meson.build
+++ b/kernel/linux/igb_uio/meson.build
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ custom_target('igb_uio',
 		'M=' + meson.current_build_dir(),
 		'src=' + meson.current_source_dir(),
 		'EXTRA_CFLAGS=-I' + meson.current_source_dir() +
-			'/../../../lib/librte_eal/common/include',
+			'/../../../lib/librte_eal/include',
 		'modules'],
 	depends: mkfile,
 	install: true,
diff --git a/kernel/linux/kni/meson.build b/kernel/linux/kni/meson.build
index f93e97fa09..706bea5b7f 100644
--- a/kernel/linux/kni/meson.build
+++ b/kernel/linux/kni/meson.build
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ custom_target('rte_kni',
 		'M=' + meson.current_build_dir(),
 		'src=' + meson.current_source_dir(),
 		'MODULE_CFLAGS=-include ' + meson.source_root() + '/config/rte_config.h' +
-		' -I' + meson.source_root() + '/lib/librte_eal/common/include' +
+		' -I' + meson.source_root() + '/lib/librte_eal/include' +
 		' -I' + meson.source_root() + '/lib/librte_eal/linux/eal/include' +
 		' -I' + meson.build_root() +
 		' -I' + meson.current_source_dir(),
diff --git a/lib/librte_cfgfile/Makefile b/lib/librte_cfgfile/Makefile
index d3b08420ff..7c10a4e56c 100644
--- a/lib/librte_cfgfile/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_cfgfile/Makefile
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ LIB = librte_cfgfile.a
 
 CFLAGS += -O3
 CFLAGS += $(WERROR_FLAGS)
-CFLAGS += -I$(SRCDIR)/../librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(SRCDIR)/../librte_eal/include
 LDLIBS += -lrte_eal
 
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_cfgfile_version.map
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/Makefile
index 9c383d42bd..ff74935932 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/Makefile
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 
 include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.vars.mk
 
-DIRS-y += common
+DIRS-y += include
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_LINUX) += linux/eal
-DEPDIRS-linux := common
+DEPDIRS-linux := include
 DIRS-$(CONFIG_RTE_EXEC_ENV_FREEBSD) += freebsd/eal
-DEPDIRS-freebsd := common
+DEPDIRS-freebsd := include
 
 include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.subdir.mk
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile
deleted file mode 100644
index 6c52f50106..0000000000
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
-# Copyright(c) 2010-2014 Intel Corporation
-
-include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.vars.mk
-
-INC := rte_branch_prediction.h rte_common.h rte_compat.h
-INC += rte_function_versioning.h
-INC += rte_debug.h rte_eal.h rte_eal_interrupts.h
-INC += rte_errno.h rte_launch.h rte_lcore.h
-INC += rte_log.h rte_memory.h rte_memzone.h
-INC += rte_per_lcore.h rte_random.h
-INC += rte_tailq.h rte_interrupts.h rte_alarm.h
-INC += rte_string_fns.h rte_version.h
-INC += rte_eal_memconfig.h
-INC += rte_hexdump.h rte_devargs.h rte_bus.h rte_dev.h rte_class.h
-INC += rte_option.h
-INC += rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h rte_pci_dev_features.h
-INC += rte_malloc.h rte_keepalive.h rte_time.h
-INC += rte_service.h rte_service_component.h
-INC += rte_bitmap.h rte_vfio.h rte_hypervisor.h rte_test.h
-INC += rte_reciprocal.h rte_fbarray.h rte_uuid.h
-
-GENERIC_INC := rte_atomic.h rte_byteorder.h rte_cycles.h rte_prefetch.h
-GENERIC_INC += rte_memcpy.h rte_cpuflags.h
-GENERIC_INC += rte_mcslock.h rte_spinlock.h rte_rwlock.h rte_ticketlock.h
-GENERIC_INC += rte_vect.h rte_pause.h rte_io.h
-
-# defined in mk/arch/$(RTE_ARCH)/rte.vars.mk
-ARCH_DIR ?= $(RTE_ARCH)
-ARCH_INC := $(sort $(notdir $(wildcard $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/$(ARCH_DIR)/include/*.h)))
-
-SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include := $(addprefix include/,$(INC))
-SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include += \
-	$(addprefix ../$(ARCH_DIR)/include/,$(ARCH_INC))
-SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include/generic := \
-	$(addprefix include/generic/,$(GENERIC_INC))
-
-include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.install.mk
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build b/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
index 5885441b48..02d9280cc3 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/meson.build
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 # Copyright(c) 2017 Intel Corporation
 
-eal_inc += include_directories('.', 'include')
+includes += include_directories('.')
 
 if is_windows
 	sources += files(
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ if is_windows
 		'eal_common_thread.c',
 		'rte_option.c',
 	)
-else # temporary bad indent
+	subdir_done()
+endif
+
 sources += files(
 	'eal_common_bus.c',
 	'eal_common_cpuflags.c',
@@ -52,62 +54,3 @@ sources += files(
 	'rte_reciprocal.c',
 	'rte_service.c',
 )
-endif
-
-common_headers = files(
-	'include/rte_alarm.h',
-	'include/rte_branch_prediction.h',
-	'include/rte_bus.h',
-	'include/rte_bitmap.h',
-	'include/rte_class.h',
-	'include/rte_common.h',
-	'include/rte_compat.h',
-	'include/rte_debug.h',
-	'include/rte_devargs.h',
-	'include/rte_dev.h',
-	'include/rte_eal.h',
-	'include/rte_eal_memconfig.h',
-	'include/rte_eal_interrupts.h',
-	'include/rte_errno.h',
-	'include/rte_fbarray.h',
-	'include/rte_hexdump.h',
-	'include/rte_hypervisor.h',
-	'include/rte_interrupts.h',
-	'include/rte_keepalive.h',
-	'include/rte_launch.h',
-	'include/rte_lcore.h',
-	'include/rte_log.h',
-	'include/rte_malloc.h',
-	'include/rte_memory.h',
-	'include/rte_memzone.h',
-	'include/rte_option.h',
-	'include/rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h',
-	'include/rte_pci_dev_features.h',
-	'include/rte_per_lcore.h',
-	'include/rte_random.h',
-	'include/rte_reciprocal.h',
-	'include/rte_service.h',
-	'include/rte_service_component.h',
-	'include/rte_string_fns.h',
-	'include/rte_tailq.h',
-	'include/rte_time.h',
-	'include/rte_uuid.h',
-	'include/rte_version.h',
-	'include/rte_vfio.h')
-
-# special case install the generic headers, since they go in a subdir
-generic_headers = files(
-	'include/generic/rte_atomic.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_byteorder.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_cpuflags.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_cycles.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_io.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_mcslock.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_memcpy.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_pause.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_prefetch.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_rwlock.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_spinlock.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h',
-	'include/generic/rte_vect.h')
-install_headers(generic_headers, subdir: 'generic')
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/rte_service.c b/lib/librte_eal/common/rte_service.c
index b0b78baabd..70d17a5d79 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/common/rte_service.c
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/common/rte_service.c
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 #include <rte_compat.h>
 #include <rte_service.h>
-#include "include/rte_service_component.h"
+#include <rte_service_component.h>
 
 #include <rte_eal.h>
 #include <rte_lcore.h>
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/freebsd/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/freebsd/eal/Makefile
index e3023f24fa..0c809d9872 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/freebsd/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/freebsd/eal/Makefile
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ VPATH += $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/$(ARCH_DIR)
 CFLAGS += -DALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_API
 CFLAGS += -I$(SRCDIR)/include
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 CFLAGS += $(WERROR_FLAGS) -O3
 
 LDLIBS += -lexecinfo
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/include/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/include/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..eb99190d10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/include/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+# Copyright(c) 2010-2014 Intel Corporation
+
+include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.vars.mk
+
+SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include := \
+	$(sort $(notdir \
+	$(wildcard $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include/*.h)))
+
+SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include/generic := \
+	$(sort $(addprefix generic/, $(notdir \
+	$(wildcard $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/*.h))))
+
+ARCH_DIR ?= $(RTE_ARCH)
+SYMLINK-$(CONFIG_RTE_LIBRTE_EAL)-include += \
+	$(sort $(addprefix ../$(ARCH_DIR)/include/, $(notdir \
+	$(wildcard $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/$(ARCH_DIR)/include/*.h))))
+
+include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.install.mk
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_atomic.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_atomic.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_atomic.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_atomic.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_byteorder.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_byteorder.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_byteorder.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_byteorder.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_cpuflags.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_cpuflags.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_cpuflags.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_cpuflags.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_cycles.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_cycles.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_cycles.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_cycles.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_io.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_io.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_io.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_io.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_mcslock.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_memcpy.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_memcpy.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_memcpy.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_memcpy.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_pause.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_pause.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_pause.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_pause.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_prefetch.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_prefetch.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_prefetch.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_prefetch.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_rwlock.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_rwlock.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_rwlock.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_rwlock.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_spinlock.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_spinlock.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_spinlock.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_spinlock.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_ticketlock.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_vect.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_vect.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/generic/rte_vect.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/generic/rte_vect.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/include/meson.build b/lib/librte_eal/include/meson.build
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6fd4274941
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/include/meson.build
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+# Copyright(c) 2017 Intel Corporation
+
+includes += include_directories('.')
+
+headers += files(
+	'rte_alarm.h',
+	'rte_bitmap.h',
+	'rte_branch_prediction.h',
+	'rte_bus.h',
+	'rte_class.h',
+	'rte_common.h',
+	'rte_compat.h',
+	'rte_debug.h',
+	'rte_dev.h',
+	'rte_devargs.h',
+	'rte_eal.h',
+	'rte_eal_interrupts.h',
+	'rte_eal_memconfig.h',
+	'rte_errno.h',
+	'rte_fbarray.h',
+	'rte_hexdump.h',
+	'rte_hypervisor.h',
+	'rte_interrupts.h',
+	'rte_keepalive.h',
+	'rte_launch.h',
+	'rte_lcore.h',
+	'rte_log.h',
+	'rte_malloc.h',
+	'rte_memory.h',
+	'rte_memzone.h',
+	'rte_option.h',
+	'rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h',
+	'rte_pci_dev_features.h',
+	'rte_per_lcore.h',
+	'rte_random.h',
+	'rte_reciprocal.h',
+	'rte_service.h',
+	'rte_service_component.h',
+	'rte_string_fns.h',
+	'rte_tailq.h',
+	'rte_time.h',
+	'rte_uuid.h',
+	'rte_version.h',
+	'rte_vfio.h',
+)
+
+# special case install the generic headers, since they go in a subdir
+generic_headers = files(
+	'generic/rte_atomic.h',
+	'generic/rte_byteorder.h',
+	'generic/rte_cpuflags.h',
+	'generic/rte_cycles.h',
+	'generic/rte_io.h',
+	'generic/rte_mcslock.h',
+	'generic/rte_memcpy.h',
+	'generic/rte_pause.h',
+	'generic/rte_prefetch.h',
+	'generic/rte_rwlock.h',
+	'generic/rte_spinlock.h',
+	'generic/rte_ticketlock.h',
+	'generic/rte_vect.h',
+)
+install_headers(generic_headers, subdir: 'generic')
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_alarm.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_alarm.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_alarm.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_alarm.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_bitmap.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_bitmap.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_bitmap.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_bitmap.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_branch_prediction.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_branch_prediction.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_branch_prediction.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_branch_prediction.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_bus.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_bus.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_bus.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_bus.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_class.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_class.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_class.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_class.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_common.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_common.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_common.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_common.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_compat.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_compat.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_compat.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_compat.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_debug.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_debug.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_debug.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_debug.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_dev.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_dev.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_dev.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_dev.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_devargs.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_devargs.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_devargs.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_devargs.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_interrupts.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal_interrupts.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_interrupts.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal_interrupts.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_eal_memconfig.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_errno.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_errno.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_errno.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_errno.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_fbarray.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_fbarray.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_fbarray.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_function_versioning.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_function_versioning.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_function_versioning.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_function_versioning.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_hexdump.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_hexdump.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_hexdump.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_hexdump.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_hypervisor.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_hypervisor.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_hypervisor.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_hypervisor.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_interrupts.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_interrupts.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_interrupts.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_interrupts.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_keepalive.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_keepalive.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_keepalive.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_keepalive.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_launch.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_launch.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_launch.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_launch.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_lcore.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_lcore.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_lcore.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_lcore.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_log.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_log.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_log.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_log.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_malloc.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_malloc.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_malloc.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_malloc.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_memory.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_memory.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_memory.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_memory.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_memzone.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_memzone.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_memzone.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_memzone.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_option.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_option.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_option.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_option.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_pci_dev_feature_defs.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_pci_dev_features.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_pci_dev_features.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_pci_dev_features.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_pci_dev_features.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_per_lcore.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_per_lcore.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_per_lcore.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_per_lcore.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_random.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_random.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_random.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_random.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_reciprocal.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_reciprocal.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_reciprocal.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_reciprocal.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service_component.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service_component.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_service_component.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_service_component.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_string_fns.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_string_fns.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_string_fns.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_string_fns.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_tailq.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_tailq.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_tailq.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_tailq.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_test.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_test.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_test.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_test.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_time.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_time.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_time.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_time.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_uuid.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_uuid.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_uuid.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_uuid.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_version.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_version.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_version.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_vfio.h b/lib/librte_eal/include/rte_vfio.h
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/librte_eal/common/include/rte_vfio.h
rename to lib/librte_eal/include/rte_vfio.h
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/linux/eal/Makefile b/lib/librte_eal/linux/eal/Makefile
index 177b7c45da..692fec2695 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/linux/eal/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/linux/eal/Makefile
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ VPATH += $(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common
 CFLAGS += -DALLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_API
 CFLAGS += -I$(SRCDIR)/include
 CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 CFLAGS += $(WERROR_FLAGS) -O3
 
 LDLIBS += -ldl
diff --git a/lib/librte_eal/meson.build b/lib/librte_eal/meson.build
index 1fc532139b..a433f46ade 100644
--- a/lib/librte_eal/meson.build
+++ b/lib/librte_eal/meson.build
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 # have a straight list of headers and source files.
 # Initially pull in common settings
 eal_inc = [global_inc]
+subdir('include')
+
 subdir('common')
 
 # Now do OS/exec-env specific settings, including building kernel modules
@@ -27,5 +29,5 @@ if cc.has_header('getopt.h')
 endif
 sources += env_sources
 objs = env_objs
-headers = common_headers + env_headers
+headers = env_headers
 includes += eal_inc
diff --git a/lib/librte_kvargs/Makefile b/lib/librte_kvargs/Makefile
index 419be8bd7c..24b1c3c5b9 100644
--- a/lib/librte_kvargs/Makefile
+++ b/lib/librte_kvargs/Makefile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ include $(RTE_SDK)/mk/rte.vars.mk
 LIB = librte_kvargs.a
 
 CFLAGS += $(WERROR_FLAGS) -I$(SRCDIR) -O3
-CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/common/include
+CFLAGS += -I$(RTE_SDK)/lib/librte_eal/include
 
 EXPORT_MAP := rte_kvargs_version.map
 
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index b7ae9c8d9a..ace4a0b8bf 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ abi_version_file = files('ABI_VERSION')
 # able to be included in any file. We also store a global array of include dirs
 # for passing to pmdinfogen scripts
 global_inc = include_directories('.', 'config',
-	'lib/librte_eal/common/include',
+	'lib/librte_eal/include',
 	'lib/librte_eal/@0@/eal/include'.format(host_machine.system()),
 )
 subdir('config')
