diff --git a/src/mapeo-manager.js b/src/mapeo-manager.js
index 870cf43d..43c27473 100644
--- a/src/mapeo-manager.js
+++ b/src/mapeo-manager.js
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ import { LocalPeers } from './local-peers.js'
 import { InviteApi } from './invite-api.js'
 import { LocalDiscovery } from './discovery/local-discovery.js'
 import { Roles } from './roles.js'
-import NoiseSecretStream from '@hyperswarm/secret-stream'
 import { Logger } from './logger.js'
 import {
   kSyncState,
@@ -53,6 +52,7 @@ import {
   kRescindFullStopRequest,
 } from './sync/sync-api.js'
 /** @import { ProjectSettingsValue as ProjectValue } from '@comapeo/schema' */
+/** @import NoiseSecretStream from '@hyperswarm/secret-stream' */
 /** @import { SetNonNullable } from 'type-fest' */
 /** @import { CoreStorage, Namespace } from './types.js' */
 /** @import { DeviceInfoParam } from './schema/client.js' */
@@ -81,7 +81,6 @@ export const DEFAULT_ONLINE_STYLE_URL =
   'https://demotiles.maplibre.org/style.json'
 
 export const kRPC = Symbol('rpc')
-export const kManagerReplicate = Symbol('replicate manager')
 
 /**
  * @typedef {Omit<import('./local-peers.js').PeerInfo, 'protomux'>} PublicPeerInfo
@@ -233,22 +232,6 @@ export class MapeoManager extends TypedEmitter {
     return this.#deviceId
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Create a Mapeo replication stream. This replication connects the Mapeo RPC
-   * channel and allows invites. All active projects will sync automatically to
-   * this replication stream. Only use for local (trusted) connections, because
-   * the RPC channel key is public. To sync a specific project without
-   * connecting RPC, use project[kProjectReplication].
-   *
-   * @param {boolean} isInitiator
-   */
-  [kManagerReplicate](isInitiator) {
-    const noiseStream = new NoiseSecretStream(isInitiator, undefined, {
-      keyPair: this.#keyManager.getIdentityKeypair(),
-    })
-    return this.#replicate(noiseStream)
-  }
-
   /**
    * @param {'blobs' | 'icons' | 'maps'} mediaType
    * @returns {Promise<string>}
diff --git a/src/mapeo-project.js b/src/mapeo-project.js
index 89996dc9..ef9275a4 100644
--- a/src/mapeo-project.js
+++ b/src/mapeo-project.js
@@ -596,8 +596,7 @@ export class MapeoProject extends TypedEmitter {
   /**
    * Replicate a project to a @hyperswarm/secret-stream. Invites will not
    * function because the RPC channel is not connected for project replication,
-   * and only this project will replicate (to replicate multiple projects you
-   * need to replicate the manager instance via manager[kManagerReplicate])
+   * and only this project will replicate.
    *
    * @param {(
    *   boolean |
diff --git a/test-e2e/device-info.js b/test-e2e/device-info.js
index c45dbd29..4f9fec8a 100644
--- a/test-e2e/device-info.js
+++ b/test-e2e/device-info.js
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ test('device info written to projects', async (t) => {
 
 test('device info sent to peers', async (t) => {
   const managers = await createManagers(3, t)
-  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: true })
+  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnectPeers)
   await waitForPeers(managers, { waitForDeviceInfo: true })
 
diff --git a/test-e2e/local-peers.js b/test-e2e/local-peers.js
index 40d5fe76..f864c00e 100644
--- a/test-e2e/local-peers.js
+++ b/test-e2e/local-peers.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ test('Local peers discovery each other and share device info', async (t) => {
   const mobileManagers = await createManagers(5, t, 'mobile')
   const desktopManagers = await createManagers(5, t, 'desktop')
   const managers = [...mobileManagers, ...desktopManagers]
-  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: true })
+  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnectPeers)
   await waitForPeers(managers, { waitForDeviceInfo: true })
   const deviceInfos = [...mobileManagers, ...desktopManagers].map((m) =>
diff --git a/test-e2e/sync-fuzz.js b/test-e2e/sync-fuzz.js
index 35c01c6f..8f1a5d5c 100644
--- a/test-e2e/sync-fuzz.js
+++ b/test-e2e/sync-fuzz.js
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ test('sync fuzz tests', { concurrency: true, timeout: 2 ** 30 }, async (t) => {
         const managers = await createManagers(managerCount, t)
         const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
 
-        const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+        const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
         t.after(disconnect)
 
         const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
diff --git a/test-e2e/sync.js b/test-e2e/sync.js
index 5a6bfdc0..321916b6 100644
--- a/test-e2e/sync.js
+++ b/test-e2e/sync.js
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ test('Create and sync data', { timeout: 100_000 }, async (t) => {
   const COUNT = 10
   const managers = await createManagers(COUNT, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
   await disconnect()
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ test('Create and sync data', { timeout: 100_000 }, async (t) => {
     return acc
   }, new Set())
 
-  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnectPeers)
   await waitForSync(projects, 'initial')
 
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ test('syncing blobs', async (t) => {
     fastifyController.start(),
   ])
 
-  let disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  let disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(() => disconnectPeers())
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
   await invite({ invitor, invitees: [invitee], projectId })
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ test('syncing blobs', async (t) => {
     blobMetadata({ mimeType: 'image/jpeg' })
   )
 
-  disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   await waitForSync(projects, 'initial')
 
   invitorProject.$sync.start()
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ test('start and stop sync', async function (t) {
   const COUNT = 2
   const managers = await createManagers(COUNT, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
 
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ test('sync only happens if both sides are enabled', async (t) => {
   const managers = await createManagers(2, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
 
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnect)
 
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ test('auto-stop', async (t) => {
   ])
   t.after(() => fastifyController.stop())
 
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnect)
 
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'mapeo' })
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ test('disabling auto-stop timeout', async (t) => {
   const managers = await createManagers(2, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
 
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnect)
 
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'mapeo' })
@@ -531,7 +531,7 @@ test('gracefully shutting down sync for all projects when backgrounded', async f
   const managers = await createManagers(2, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
 
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnect)
 
   const projectGroupsAfterFirstStep = await Promise.all(
@@ -625,7 +625,7 @@ test('shares cores', async function (t) {
   const COUNT = 5
   const managers = await createManagers(COUNT, t)
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
-  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnectPeers)
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
@@ -670,7 +670,7 @@ test('no sync capabilities === no namespaces sync apart from auth', async (t) =>
   const COUNT = 3
   const managers = await createManagers(COUNT, t)
   const [invitor, invitee, blocked] = managers
-  const disconnect1 = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect1 = connectPeers(managers)
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
   await invite({
     invitor,
@@ -752,7 +752,7 @@ test('Sync state emitted when starting and stopping sync', async function (t) {
   /** @type {State[]} */ let states = statesBeforeStart
   project.$sync.on('sync-state', (state) => states.push(state))
 
-  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnect)
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
 
@@ -809,7 +809,7 @@ test('updates sync state when peers are added', async (t) => {
     'data sync state is correct at start'
   )
 
-  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnectPeers = connectPeers(managers)
   t.after(disconnectPeers)
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
 
@@ -835,7 +835,7 @@ test('Correct sync state prior to data sync', async function (t) {
   const [invitor, ...invitees] = managers
   const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
 
-  const disconnect1 = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect1 = connectPeers(managers)
 
   await invite({ invitor, invitees, projectId })
 
@@ -849,7 +849,7 @@ test('Correct sync state prior to data sync', async function (t) {
   // Disconnect and reconnect, because currently pre-have messages about data
   // sync state are only shared on first connection
   await disconnect1()
-  const disconnect2 = connectPeers(managers, { discovery: false })
+  const disconnect2 = connectPeers(managers)
   await waitForPeers(managers)
 
   const expected = managers.map((manager, index) => {
@@ -1122,7 +1122,7 @@ test(
 
     const managers = await createManagers(3, t)
     const [invitor, inviteeA, inviteeB] = managers
-    const disconnectA = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeA], { discovery: false })
+    const disconnectA = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeA])
     const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
     await invite({ invitor, invitees: [inviteeA], projectId })
 
@@ -1138,7 +1138,7 @@ test(
 
     await disconnectA()
 
-    const disconnectB = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeB], { discovery: false })
+    const disconnectB = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeB])
     await invite({ invitor, invitees: [inviteeB], projectId })
     await pTimeout(invitorProject.$sync.waitForSync('initial'), {
       milliseconds: 1000,
@@ -1162,8 +1162,8 @@ test(
 
     const managers = await createManagers(3, t)
     const [invitor, inviteeA, inviteeB] = managers
-    const disconnectA = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeA], { discovery: false })
-    const disconnectB = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeB], { discovery: false })
+    const disconnectA = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeA])
+    const disconnectB = connectPeers([invitor, inviteeB])
     const projectId = await invitor.createProject({ name: 'Mapeo' })
     await invite({ invitor, invitees: [inviteeA, inviteeB], projectId })
 
diff --git a/test-e2e/utils.js b/test-e2e/utils.js
index 614b0d2c..a9c0a19c 100644
--- a/test-e2e/utils.js
+++ b/test-e2e/utils.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import * as v8 from 'node:v8'
 import { pEvent } from 'p-event'
 
 import { MapeoManager, roles } from '../src/index.js'
-import { kManagerReplicate, kRPC } from '../src/mapeo-manager.js'
+import { kRPC } from '../src/mapeo-manager.js'
 import { generate } from '@mapeo/mock-data'
 import { valueOf } from '../src/utils.js'
 import { randomBytes, randomInt } from 'node:crypto'
@@ -29,43 +29,26 @@ const clientMigrationsFolder = new URL('../drizzle/client', import.meta.url)
  * @param {readonly MapeoManager[]} managers
  * @returns {() => Promise<void>}
  */
-export function connectPeers(managers, { discovery = true } = {}) {
-  if (discovery) {
-    for (const manager of managers) {
-      manager.startLocalPeerDiscoveryServer().then(({ name, port }) => {
-        for (const otherManager of managers) {
-          if (otherManager === manager) continue
-          otherManager.connectLocalPeer({ address: '127.0.0.1', name, port })
-        }
-      })
-    }
-    return async () => {
-      await Promise.all(
-        managers.map((manager) =>
-          manager.stopLocalPeerDiscoveryServer({ force: true })
-        )
-      )
-    }
-  } else {
-    /** @type {import('../src/types.js').ReplicationStream[]} */
-    const replicationStreams = []
-    for (let i = 0; i < managers.length; i++) {
-      for (let j = i + 1; j < managers.length; j++) {
-        const r1 = managers[i][kManagerReplicate](true)
-        const r2 = managers[j][kManagerReplicate](false)
-        replicationStreams.push(r1, r2)
-        r1.pipe(r2).pipe(r1)
+export function connectPeers(managers) {
+  let requestedDisconnect = false
+
+  for (const manager of managers) {
+    manager.startLocalPeerDiscoveryServer().then(({ name, port }) => {
+      if (requestedDisconnect) return
+      for (const otherManager of managers) {
+        if (otherManager === manager) continue
+        otherManager.connectLocalPeer({ address: '127.0.0.1', name, port })
       }
-    }
-    return async () => {
-      await Promise.all(
-        replicationStreams.map((stream) => {
-          const onClosePromise = pEvent(stream, 'close')
-          stream.destroy()
-          return onClosePromise
-        })
+    })
+  }
+
+  return async () => {
+    requestedDisconnect = true
+    await Promise.all(
+      managers.map((manager) =>
+        manager.stopLocalPeerDiscoveryServer({ force: true })
       )
-    }
+    )
   }
 }