diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/resources/checkstyle_suppressions.xml b/buildSrc/src/main/resources/checkstyle_suppressions.xml
index 90ebd07fa58..28ed80fffd5 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/resources/checkstyle_suppressions.xml
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/resources/checkstyle_suppressions.xml
@@ -358,7 +358,6 @@
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]inject[/\\]multibindings[/\\]MapBinder.java" checks="LineLength" />
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]inject[/\\]spi[/\\]InjectionPoint.java" checks="LineLength" />
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]io[/\\]Channels.java" checks="LineLength" />
-  <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]io[/\\]stream[/\\]NamedWriteableRegistry.java" checks="LineLength" />
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]joda[/\\]Joda.java" checks="LineLength" />
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]lucene[/\\]Lucene.java" checks="LineLength" />
   <suppress files="core[/\\]src[/\\]main[/\\]java[/\\]org[/\\]elasticsearch[/\\]common[/\\]lucene[/\\]all[/\\]AllTermQuery.java" checks="LineLength" />
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/stats/NodeStats.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/stats/NodeStats.java
index 1d62fc06f0f..442b5edde77 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/stats/NodeStats.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/node/stats/NodeStats.java
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ public class NodeStats extends BaseNodeResponse implements ToXContent {
         breaker = AllCircuitBreakerStats.readOptionalAllCircuitBreakerStats(in);
         scriptStats = in.readOptionalStreamable(ScriptStats::new);
         discoveryStats = in.readOptionalStreamable(() -> new DiscoveryStats(null));
-        ingestStats = in.readOptionalWritable(IngestStats::new);
+        ingestStats = in.readOptionalWriteable(IngestStats::new);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/put/PutMappingRequest.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/put/PutMappingRequest.java
index 7b389dba25a..c638a429b10 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/put/PutMappingRequest.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/put/PutMappingRequest.java
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ public class PutMappingRequest extends AcknowledgedRequest<PutMappingRequest> im
         source = in.readString();
         updateAllTypes = in.readBoolean();
         readTimeout(in);
-        concreteIndex = in.readOptionalWritable(Index::new);
+        concreteIndex = in.readOptionalWriteable(Index::new);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ReplicationTask.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ReplicationTask.java
index da3fce74fa8..9fe3da59a1f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ReplicationTask.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ReplicationTask.java
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public class ReplicationTask extends Task {
     }
 
     public static class Status implements Task.Status {
-        public static final Status PROTOTYPE = new Status("prototype");
+        public static final String NAME = "replication";
 
         private final String phase;
 
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public class ReplicationTask extends Task {
 
         @Override
         public String getWriteableName() {
-            return "replication";
+            return NAME;
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -88,10 +88,5 @@ public class ReplicationTask extends Task {
         public void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException {
             out.writeString(phase);
         }
-
-        @Override
-        public Status readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-            return new Status(in);
-        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput.java
index a6d17089652..9132bd02e35 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput.java
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ public class NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput extends FilterStreamInput {
     @Override
     <C> C readNamedWriteable(Class<C> categoryClass) throws IOException {
         String name = readString();
-        NamedWriteable<? extends C> namedWriteable = namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(categoryClass, name);
-        return namedWriteable.readFrom(this);
+        return namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(categoryClass, name).read(this);
     }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableRegistry.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableRegistry.java
index 42014786749..5a3de923bde 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableRegistry.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/NamedWriteableRegistry.java
@@ -31,54 +31,70 @@ public class NamedWriteableRegistry {
     private final Map<Class<?>, InnerRegistry<?>> registry = new HashMap<>();
 
     /**
-     * Registers a {@link NamedWriteable} prototype given its category
+     * Register a {@link NamedWriteable} given its category, its name, and a function to read it from the stream.
+     *
+     * This method suppresses the rawtypes warning because it intentionally using NamedWriteable instead of {@code NamedWriteable<T>} so it
+     * is easier to use and because we might be able to drop the type parameter from NamedWriteable entirely some day.
      */
-    public synchronized <T> void registerPrototype(Class<T> categoryClass, NamedWriteable<? extends T> namedWriteable) {
+    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+    public synchronized <T extends NamedWriteable> void register(Class<T> categoryClass, String name,
+            Writeable.Reader<? extends T> reader) {
         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-        InnerRegistry<T> innerRegistry = (InnerRegistry<T>)registry.get(categoryClass);
+        InnerRegistry<T> innerRegistry = (InnerRegistry<T>) registry.get(categoryClass);
         if (innerRegistry == null) {
             innerRegistry = new InnerRegistry<>(categoryClass);
             registry.put(categoryClass, innerRegistry);
         }
-        innerRegistry.registerPrototype(namedWriteable);
+        innerRegistry.register(name, reader);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Registers a {@link NamedWriteable} prototype given its category.
+     * @deprecated Prefer {@link #register(Class, String, org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.Writeable.Reader)}
+     */
+    @Deprecated
+    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") // TODO remove this method entirely before 5.0.0 GA
+    public synchronized <T extends NamedWriteable> void registerPrototype(Class<T> categoryClass,
+            NamedWriteable<? extends T> namedWriteable) {
+        register(categoryClass, namedWriteable.getWriteableName(), namedWriteable::readFrom);
     }
 
     /**
      * Returns a prototype of the {@link NamedWriteable} object identified by the name provided as argument and its category
      */
-    public synchronized <T> NamedWriteable<? extends T> getPrototype(Class<T> categoryClass, String name) {
+    public synchronized <T> Writeable.Reader<? extends T> getReader(Class<T> categoryClass, String name) {
         @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
         InnerRegistry<T> innerRegistry = (InnerRegistry<T>)registry.get(categoryClass);
         if (innerRegistry == null) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("unknown named writeable category [" + categoryClass.getName() + "]");
         }
-        return innerRegistry.getPrototype(name);
+        return innerRegistry.getReader(name);
     }
 
     private static class InnerRegistry<T> {
 
-        private final Map<String, NamedWriteable<? extends T>> registry = new HashMap<>();
+        private final Map<String, Writeable.Reader<? extends T>> registry = new HashMap<>();
         private final Class<T> categoryClass;
 
         private InnerRegistry(Class<T> categoryClass) {
             this.categoryClass = categoryClass;
         }
 
-        private void registerPrototype(NamedWriteable<? extends T> namedWriteable) {
-            NamedWriteable<? extends T> existingNamedWriteable = registry.get(namedWriteable.getWriteableName());
-            if (existingNamedWriteable != null) {
-                throw new IllegalArgumentException("named writeable of type [" + namedWriteable.getClass().getName() + "] with name [" + namedWriteable.getWriteableName() + "] " +
-                        "is already registered by type [" + existingNamedWriteable.getClass().getName() + "] within category [" + categoryClass.getName() + "]");
+        private void register(String name, Writeable.Reader<? extends T> reader) {
+            Writeable.Reader<? extends T> existingReader = registry.get(name);
+            if (existingReader != null) {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                        "named writeable [" + categoryClass.getName() + "][" + name + "] is already registered by [" + reader + "]");
             }
-            registry.put(namedWriteable.getWriteableName(), namedWriteable);
+            registry.put(name, reader);
         }
 
-        private NamedWriteable<? extends T> getPrototype(String name) {
-            NamedWriteable<? extends T> namedWriteable = registry.get(name);
-            if (namedWriteable == null) {
-                throw new IllegalArgumentException("unknown named writeable with name [" + name + "] within category [" + categoryClass.getName() + "]");
+        private Writeable.Reader<? extends T> getReader(String name) {
+            Writeable.Reader<? extends T> reader = registry.get(name);
+            if (reader == null) {
+                throw new IllegalArgumentException("unknown named writeable [" + categoryClass.getName() + "][" + name + "]");
             }
-            return namedWriteable;
+            return reader;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamInput.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamInput.java
index c5709db5363..c659c97d702 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamInput.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamInput.java
@@ -566,9 +566,9 @@ public abstract class StreamInput extends InputStream {
         }
     }
 
-    public <T extends Writeable> T readOptionalWritable(Writeable.IOFunction<StreamInput, T> provider) throws IOException {
+    public <T extends Writeable> T readOptionalWriteable(Writeable.Reader<T> provider) throws IOException {
         if (readBoolean()) {
-            return provider.apply(this);
+            return provider.read(this);
         } else {
             return null;
         }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamableReader.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamableReader.java
index 6bb1c5653f3..bd37f5ed47b 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamableReader.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/StreamableReader.java
@@ -23,10 +23,7 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 /**
  * Implementers can be read from {@linkplain StreamInput} by calling their {@link #readFrom(StreamInput)} method.
  *
- * It is common for implementers of this interface to declare a <code>public static final</code> instance of themselves named PROTOTYPE so
- * users can call {@linkplain #readFrom(StreamInput)} on it. It is also fairly typical for readFrom to be implemented as a method that just
- * calls a constructor that takes {@linkplain StreamInput} as a parameter. This allows the fields in the implementer to be
- * <code>final</code>.
+ * Implementers of this interface that also implement {@link Writeable} should see advice there on how to do so.
  */
 public interface StreamableReader<T> {
     /**
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/Writeable.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/Writeable.java
index 8f0cb3c96c7..384b9abeed3 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/Writeable.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/Writeable.java
@@ -31,21 +31,30 @@ import java.io.IOException;
  *
  * Prefer implementing this interface over implementing {@link Streamable} where possible. Lots of code depends on {@linkplain Streamable}
  * so this isn't always possible.
+ *
+ * The fact that this interface extends {@link StreamableReader} should be consider vestigial. Instead of using its
+ * {@link #readFrom(StreamInput)} method you should prefer using the Reader interface as a reference to a constructor that takes
+ * {@link StreamInput}. The reasoning behind this is that most "good" readFrom implementations just delegated to such a constructor anyway
+ * and they required an unsightly PROTOTYPE object.
  */
-public interface Writeable<T> extends StreamableReader<T> {
+public interface Writeable<T> extends StreamableReader<T> { // TODO remove extends StreamableReader<T> from this interface, and remove <T>
     /**
      * Write this into the {@linkplain StreamOutput}.
      */
     void writeTo(StreamOutput out) throws IOException;
 
-     @FunctionalInterface
-     interface IOFunction<T, R> {
-         /**
-          * Applies this function to the given argument.
-          *
-          * @param t the function argument
-          * @return the function result
-          */
-         R apply(T t) throws IOException;
-     }
+    @Override
+    default T readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
+        // See class javadoc for reasoning
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Prefer calling a constructor that takes a StreamInput to calling readFrom.");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Reference to a method that can read some object from a stream. By convention this is a constructor that takes
+     * {@linkplain StreamInput} as an argument for most classes and a static method for things like enums.
+     */
+    @FunctionalInterface
+    interface Reader<R> {
+        R read(StreamInput t) throws IOException;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
index 7e4c1348f8e..712bdbe99ab 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModule.java
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import org.elasticsearch.client.transport.support.TransportProxyClient;
 import org.elasticsearch.cluster.node.DiscoveryNode;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.inject.AbstractModule;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.NamedWriteableRegistry;
+import org.elasticsearch.common.io.stream.Writeable;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Setting;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Setting.Property;
 import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
@@ -328,7 +329,7 @@ public class NetworkModule extends AbstractModule {
         registerTransportService(NETTY_TRANSPORT, TransportService.class);
         registerTransport(LOCAL_TRANSPORT, LocalTransport.class);
         registerTransport(NETTY_TRANSPORT, NettyTransport.class);
-        registerTaskStatus(ReplicationTask.Status.PROTOTYPE);
+        registerTaskStatus(ReplicationTask.Status.NAME, ReplicationTask.Status::new);
 
         if (transportClient == false) {
             registerHttpTransport(NETTY_TRANSPORT, NettyHttpServerTransport.class);
@@ -374,8 +375,8 @@ public class NetworkModule extends AbstractModule {
         }
     }
 
-    public void registerTaskStatus(Task.Status prototype) {
-        namedWriteableRegistry.registerPrototype(Task.Status.class, prototype);
+    public void registerTaskStatus(String name, Writeable.Reader<? extends Task.Status> reader) {
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(Task.Status.class, name, reader);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/geo/builders/AbstractShapeBuilderTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/geo/builders/AbstractShapeBuilderTestCase.java
index 9311db44da0..333812e65fb 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/geo/builders/AbstractShapeBuilderTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/geo/builders/AbstractShapeBuilderTestCase.java
@@ -146,8 +146,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractShapeBuilderTestCase<SB extends ShapeBuilder> exte
         try (BytesStreamOutput output = new BytesStreamOutput()) {
             original.writeTo(output);
             try (StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(output.bytes()), namedWriteableRegistry)) {
-                ShapeBuilder prototype = (ShapeBuilder) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(ShapeBuilder.class, original.getWriteableName());
-                return prototype.readFrom(in);
+                return namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(ShapeBuilder.class, original.getWriteableName()).read(in);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/BytesStreamsTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/BytesStreamsTests.java
index 80bad2e1ecc..e67e2ba2b0c 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/BytesStreamsTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/io/stream/BytesStreamsTests.java
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import java.util.Objects;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.closeTo;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.is;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.startsWith;
 
 /**
  * Tests for {@link BytesStreamOutput} paging behaviour.
@@ -301,7 +302,7 @@ public class BytesStreamsTests extends ESTestCase {
     public void testNamedWriteable() throws IOException {
         BytesStreamOutput out = new BytesStreamOutput();
         NamedWriteableRegistry namedWriteableRegistry = new NamedWriteableRegistry();
-        namedWriteableRegistry.registerPrototype(BaseNamedWriteable.class, new TestNamedWriteable(null, null));
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(BaseNamedWriteable.class, TestNamedWriteable.NAME, TestNamedWriteable::new);
         TestNamedWriteable namedWriteableIn = new TestNamedWriteable(randomAsciiOfLengthBetween(1, 10), randomAsciiOfLengthBetween(1, 10));
         out.writeNamedWriteable(namedWriteableIn);
         byte[] bytes = out.bytes().toBytes();
@@ -314,32 +315,25 @@ public class BytesStreamsTests extends ESTestCase {
 
     public void testNamedWriteableDuplicates() throws IOException {
         NamedWriteableRegistry namedWriteableRegistry = new NamedWriteableRegistry();
-        namedWriteableRegistry.registerPrototype(BaseNamedWriteable.class, new TestNamedWriteable(null, null));
-        try {
-            namedWriteableRegistry.registerPrototype(BaseNamedWriteable.class, new TestNamedWriteable(null, null));
-            fail("registerPrototype should have failed");
-        } catch(IllegalArgumentException e) {
-            assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("named writeable of type [" + TestNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "] with name [" + TestNamedWriteable.NAME + "] is already registered by type ["
-                    + TestNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "] within category [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "]"));
-        }
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(BaseNamedWriteable.class, TestNamedWriteable.NAME, TestNamedWriteable::new);
+        IllegalArgumentException e = expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class,
+                () -> namedWriteableRegistry.register(BaseNamedWriteable.class, TestNamedWriteable.NAME, TestNamedWriteable::new));
+        assertThat(e.getMessage(), startsWith("named writeable [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "][" + TestNamedWriteable.NAME
+                + "] is already registered by ["));
     }
 
     public void testNamedWriteableUnknownCategory() throws IOException {
         BytesStreamOutput out = new BytesStreamOutput();
         out.writeNamedWriteable(new TestNamedWriteable("test1", "test2"));
         StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(out.bytes().toBytes()), new NamedWriteableRegistry());
-        try {
-            //no named writeable registered with given name, can write but cannot read it back
-            in.readNamedWriteable(BaseNamedWriteable.class);
-            fail("read should have failed");
-        } catch(IllegalArgumentException e) {
-            assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("unknown named writeable category [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "]"));
-        }
+        //no named writeable registered with given name, can write but cannot read it back
+        IllegalArgumentException e = expectThrows(IllegalArgumentException.class, () -> in.readNamedWriteable(BaseNamedWriteable.class));
+        assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("unknown named writeable category [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "]"));
     }
 
     public void testNamedWriteableUnknownNamedWriteable() throws IOException {
         NamedWriteableRegistry namedWriteableRegistry = new NamedWriteableRegistry();
-        namedWriteableRegistry.registerPrototype(BaseNamedWriteable.class, new TestNamedWriteable(null, null));
+        namedWriteableRegistry.register(BaseNamedWriteable.class, TestNamedWriteable.NAME, TestNamedWriteable::new);
         BytesStreamOutput out = new BytesStreamOutput();
         out.writeNamedWriteable(new NamedWriteable() {
             @Override
@@ -362,7 +356,7 @@ public class BytesStreamsTests extends ESTestCase {
             in.readNamedWriteable(BaseNamedWriteable.class);
             fail("read should have failed");
         } catch(IllegalArgumentException e) {
-            assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("unknown named writeable with name [unknown] within category [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "]"));
+            assertThat(e.getMessage(), equalTo("unknown named writeable [" + BaseNamedWriteable.class.getName() + "][unknown]"));
         }
     }
 
@@ -395,6 +389,11 @@ public class BytesStreamsTests extends ESTestCase {
             this.field2 = field2;
         }
 
+        public TestNamedWriteable(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
+            field1 = in.readString();
+            field2 = in.readString();
+        }
+
         @Override
         public String getWriteableName() {
             return NAME;
@@ -406,11 +405,6 @@ public class BytesStreamsTests extends ESTestCase {
             out.writeString(field2);
         }
 
-        @Override
-        public TestNamedWriteable readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-            return new TestNamedWriteable(in.readString(), in.readString());
-        }
-
         @Override
         public boolean equals(Object o) {
             if (this == o) return true;
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
index bd794f96da3..4d8f3e6e58d 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/network/NetworkModuleTests.java
@@ -191,23 +191,24 @@ public class NetworkModuleTests extends ModuleTestCase {
         Settings settings = Settings.EMPTY;
         NetworkModule module = new NetworkModule(new NetworkService(settings), settings, false, registry);
 
-        // Builtin prototype comes back
-        assertNotNull(registry.getPrototype(Task.Status.class, ReplicationTask.Status.PROTOTYPE.getWriteableName()));
+        // Builtin reader comes back
+        assertNotNull(registry.getReader(Task.Status.class, ReplicationTask.Status.NAME));
 
-        Task.Status dummy = new DummyTaskStatus();
-        module.registerTaskStatus(dummy);
-        assertThat(registry.getPrototype(Task.Status.class, "dummy"), sameInstance(dummy));
+        module.registerTaskStatus(DummyTaskStatus.NAME, DummyTaskStatus::new);
+        assertEquals("test", expectThrows(UnsupportedOperationException.class,
+                () -> registry.getReader(Task.Status.class, DummyTaskStatus.NAME).read(null)).getMessage());
     }
 
     private class DummyTaskStatus implements Task.Status {
-        @Override
-        public String getWriteableName() {
-            return "dummy";
+        public static final String NAME = "dummy";
+
+        public DummyTaskStatus(StreamInput in) {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException("test");
         }
 
         @Override
-        public Status readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        public String getWriteableName() {
+            return NAME;
         }
 
         @Override
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/BaseAggregationTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/BaseAggregationTestCase.java
index 4a12072da44..0d65bb2bf66 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/BaseAggregationTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/BaseAggregationTestCase.java
@@ -252,9 +252,8 @@ public abstract class BaseAggregationTestCase<AB extends AggregatorBuilder<AB>>
         try (BytesStreamOutput output = new BytesStreamOutput()) {
             testAgg.writeTo(output);
             try (StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(output.bytes()), namedWriteableRegistry)) {
-                AggregatorBuilder prototype = (AggregatorBuilder) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(AggregatorBuilder.class,
-                        testAgg.getWriteableName());
-                AggregatorBuilder deserializedQuery = prototype.readFrom(in);
+                AggregatorBuilder deserializedQuery = namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(AggregatorBuilder.class, testAgg.getWriteableName())
+                        .read(in);
                 assertEquals(deserializedQuery, testAgg);
                 assertEquals(deserializedQuery.hashCode(), testAgg.hashCode());
                 assertNotSame(deserializedQuery, testAgg);
@@ -294,10 +293,8 @@ public abstract class BaseAggregationTestCase<AB extends AggregatorBuilder<AB>>
         try (BytesStreamOutput output = new BytesStreamOutput()) {
             agg.writeTo(output);
             try (StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(output.bytes()), namedWriteableRegistry)) {
-                AggregatorBuilder prototype = (AggregatorBuilder) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(AggregatorBuilder.class,
-                        agg.getWriteableName());
                 @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-                AB secondAgg = (AB) prototype.readFrom(in);
+                AB secondAgg = (AB) namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(AggregatorBuilder.class, agg.getWriteableName()).read(in);
                 return secondAgg;
             }
         }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/sort/AbstractSortTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/sort/AbstractSortTestCase.java
index 935dfb178b5..695b3ff4112 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/sort/AbstractSortTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/sort/AbstractSortTestCase.java
@@ -255,10 +255,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractSortTestCase<T extends SortBuilder<T>> extends EST
         try (BytesStreamOutput output = new BytesStreamOutput()) {
             original.writeTo(output);
             try (StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(output.bytes()), namedWriteableRegistry)) {
-                T prototype = (T) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(SortBuilder.class,
-                        original.getWriteableName());
-                T copy = prototype.readFrom(in);
-                return copy;
+                return (T) namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(SortBuilder.class, original.getWriteableName()).read(in);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/phrase/SmoothingModelTestCase.java b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/phrase/SmoothingModelTestCase.java
index 00009d1e76f..c3890f0eade 100644
--- a/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/phrase/SmoothingModelTestCase.java
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/suggest/phrase/SmoothingModelTestCase.java
@@ -108,9 +108,7 @@ public abstract class SmoothingModelTestCase extends ESTestCase {
         XContentParser parser = XContentHelper.createParser(contentBuilder.bytes());
         context.reset(parser);
         parser.nextToken();  // go to start token, real parsing would do that in the outer element parser
-        SmoothingModel prototype = (SmoothingModel) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(SmoothingModel.class,
-                testModel.getWriteableName());
-        SmoothingModel parsedModel = prototype.innerFromXContent(context);
+        SmoothingModel parsedModel = testModel.innerFromXContent(context);
         assertNotSame(testModel, parsedModel);
         assertEquals(testModel, parsedModel);
         assertEquals(testModel.hashCode(), parsedModel.hashCode());
@@ -188,9 +186,7 @@ public abstract class SmoothingModelTestCase extends ESTestCase {
         try (BytesStreamOutput output = new BytesStreamOutput()) {
             original.writeTo(output);
             try (StreamInput in = new NamedWriteableAwareStreamInput(StreamInput.wrap(output.bytes()), namedWriteableRegistry)) {
-                SmoothingModel prototype = (SmoothingModel) namedWriteableRegistry.getPrototype(SmoothingModel.class,
-                        original.getWriteableName());
-                return prototype.readFrom(in);
+                return namedWriteableRegistry.getReader(SmoothingModel.class, original.getWriteableName()).read(in);
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/BulkByScrollTask.java b/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/BulkByScrollTask.java
index 17133a5de2e..079dca2d4f2 100644
--- a/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/BulkByScrollTask.java
+++ b/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/BulkByScrollTask.java
@@ -69,8 +69,7 @@ public class BulkByScrollTask extends CancellableTask {
     }
 
     public static class Status implements Task.Status {
-        public static final Status PROTOTYPE = new Status(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, timeValueNanos(0), null);
-
+        public static final String NAME = "bulk-by-scroll";
         private final long total;
         private final long updated;
         private final long created;
@@ -178,12 +177,7 @@ public class BulkByScrollTask extends CancellableTask {
 
         @Override
         public String getWriteableName() {
-            return "bulk-by-scroll";
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public Status readFrom(StreamInput in) throws IOException {
-            return new Status(in);
+            return NAME;
         }
 
         /**
diff --git a/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ReindexPlugin.java b/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ReindexPlugin.java
index 9ab025a2527..9d84acf51c1 100644
--- a/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ReindexPlugin.java
+++ b/modules/reindex/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/reindex/ReindexPlugin.java
@@ -44,6 +44,6 @@ public class ReindexPlugin extends Plugin {
     public void onModule(NetworkModule networkModule) {
         networkModule.registerRestHandler(RestReindexAction.class);
         networkModule.registerRestHandler(RestUpdateByQueryAction.class);
-        networkModule.registerTaskStatus(BulkByScrollTask.Status.PROTOTYPE);
+        networkModule.registerTaskStatus(BulkByScrollTask.Status.NAME, BulkByScrollTask.Status::new);
     }
 }