diff --git a/tools/nfdc/canonizer.cpp b/tools/nfdc/canonizer.cpp
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/nfdc/canonizer.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/* -*- Mode:C++; c-file-style:"gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil; -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2014-2020,  Regents of the University of California,
+ *                           Arizona Board of Regents,
+ *                           Colorado State University,
+ *                           University Pierre & Marie Curie, Sorbonne University,
+ *                           Washington University in St. Louis,
+ *                           Beijing Institute of Technology,
+ *                           The University of Memphis.
+ *
+ * This file is part of NFD (Named Data Networking Forwarding Daemon).
+ * See AUTHORS.md for complete list of NFD authors and contributors.
+ *
+ * NFD is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
+ * of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
+ * either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * NFD is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
+ * without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
+ * PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+ * NFD, e.g., in COPYING.md file.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#include "canonizer.hpp"
+
+namespace nfd {
+namespace tools {
+namespace nfdc {
+
+std::pair<optional<FaceUri>, std::string>
+canonize(ExecuteContext& ctx, const FaceUri& uri)
+{
+  optional<FaceUri> result;
+  std::string error;
+  uri.canonize(
+    [&result] (const FaceUri& canonicalUri) { result = canonicalUri; },
+    [&error] (const std::string& errorReason) { error = errorReason; },
+    ctx.face.getIoService(), ctx.getTimeout());
+  ctx.face.processEvents();
+
+  return {result, error};
+}
+
+std::pair<FindFace::Code, std::string>
+canonizeErrorHelper(const FaceUri& uri,
+                    const std::string& error,
+                    const std::string& field)
+{
+  std::string msg = "Error during canonization of ";
+  if (!field.empty()) {
+    msg += field + " ";
+  }
+  msg += "'" + uri.toString() + "': " + error;
+  return {FindFace::Code::CANONIZE_ERROR, msg};
+}
+
+} // namespace nfdc
+} // namespace tools
+} // namespace nfd