diff --git a/dvc/cachemgr.py b/dvc/cachemgr.py
index 3c691ba6d8..a78ff0ed25 100644
--- a/dvc/cachemgr.py
+++ b/dvc/cachemgr.py
@@ -32,13 +32,6 @@ def _get_odb(
 
 class CacheManager:
     CACHE_DIR = "cache"
-    CLOUD_SCHEMES = [
-        Schemes.S3,
-        Schemes.GS,
-        Schemes.SSH,
-        Schemes.HDFS,
-        Schemes.WEBHDFS,
-    ]
     FILES_DIR = "files"
 
     def __init__(self, repo):
@@ -91,16 +84,12 @@ def _init_odb(self, schemes):
             )
 
     def __getattr__(self, name):
-        if name not in self._odb and name in self.CLOUD_SCHEMES:
-            self._init_odb([name])
-
         try:
             return self._odb[name]
         except KeyError as exc:
             raise AttributeError from exc
 
     def by_scheme(self):
-        self._init_odb(self.CLOUD_SCHEMES)
         yield from self._odb.items()
 
     @property
diff --git a/dvc/commands/add.py b/dvc/commands/add.py
index c21010e049..f42f5e40c5 100644
--- a/dvc/commands/add.py
+++ b/dvc/commands/add.py
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ def validate_args(self) -> None:
                 invalid_opt = "--glob option"
             elif args.no_commit:
                 invalid_opt = "--no-commit option"
-            elif args.external:
-                invalid_opt = "--external option"
         else:
             message = "{option} can't be used without --to-remote"
             if args.remote:
@@ -49,7 +47,6 @@ def run(self):
             self.repo.add(
                 self.args.targets,
                 no_commit=self.args.no_commit,
-                external=self.args.external,
                 glob=self.args.glob,
                 out=self.args.out,
                 remote=self.args.remote,
@@ -82,12 +79,6 @@ def add_parser(subparsers, parent_parser):
         default=False,
         help="Don't put files/directories into cache.",
     )
-    parser.add_argument(
-        "--external",
-        action="store_true",
-        default=False,
-        help="Allow targets that are outside of the DVC repository.",
-    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--glob",
         action="store_true",
diff --git a/dvc/config_schema.py b/dvc/config_schema.py
index 2e36e90197..6197250fec 100644
--- a/dvc/config_schema.py
+++ b/dvc/config_schema.py
@@ -154,13 +154,13 @@ def __call__(self, data):
         "machine": Lower,
     },
     "cache": {
-        "local": str,
-        "s3": str,
-        "gs": str,
-        "hdfs": str,
-        "webhdfs": str,
-        "ssh": str,
-        "azure": str,
+        "local": str,  # obsoleted
+        "s3": str,  # obsoleted
+        "gs": str,  # obsoleted
+        "hdfs": str,  # obsoleted
+        "webhdfs": str,  # obsoleted
+        "ssh": str,  # obsoleted
+        "azure": str,  # obsoleted
         # This is for default local cache
         "dir": str,
         **LOCAL_COMMON,
diff --git a/dvc/exceptions.py b/dvc/exceptions.py
index 2342bfe257..1ca14ec483 100644
--- a/dvc/exceptions.py
+++ b/dvc/exceptions.py
@@ -299,21 +299,6 @@ def __init__(self, url):
         super().__init__(f"The path '{url}' does not exist")
 
 
-class RemoteCacheRequiredError(DvcException):
-    def __init__(self, scheme, fs_path):
-        super().__init__(
-            (
-                "Current operation was unsuccessful because '{}' requires "
-                "existing cache on '{}' remote. See {} for information on how "
-                "to set up remote cache."
-            ).format(
-                fs_path,
-                scheme,
-                format_link("https://man.dvc.org/config#cache"),
-            )
-        )
-
-
 class IsADirectoryError(DvcException):  # noqa,pylint:disable=redefined-builtin
     """Raised when a file operation is requested on a directory."""
 
diff --git a/dvc/output.py b/dvc/output.py
index 0d89bda823..6ffabecda6 100644
--- a/dvc/output.py
+++ b/dvc/output.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
     ConfirmRemoveError,
     DvcException,
     MergeError,
-    RemoteCacheRequiredError,
 )
 from dvc.utils.objects import cached_property
 from dvc_data.hashfile import check as ocheck
@@ -526,14 +525,9 @@ def use_scm_ignore(self):
     def cache(self):
         from dvc.cachemgr import LEGACY_HASH_NAMES
 
-        if self.is_in_repo:
-            odb_name = "legacy" if self.hash_name in LEGACY_HASH_NAMES else "repo"
-        else:
-            odb_name = self.protocol
-        odb = getattr(self.repo.cache, odb_name)
-        if self.use_cache and odb is None:
-            raise RemoteCacheRequiredError(self.fs.protocol, self.fs_path)
-        return odb
+        assert self.is_in_repo
+        odb_name = "legacy" if self.hash_name in LEGACY_HASH_NAMES else "repo"
+        return getattr(self.repo.cache, odb_name)
 
     @property
     def local_cache(self):
diff --git a/dvc/repo/add.py b/dvc/repo/add.py
index 9ab3d63ea1..07cf83f7b8 100644
--- a/dvc/repo/add.py
+++ b/dvc/repo/add.py
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ def find_targets(
 def get_or_create_stage(
     repo: "Repo",
     target: str,
-    external: bool = False,
     out: Optional[str] = None,
     to_remote: bool = False,
     force: bool = False,
@@ -79,7 +78,6 @@ def get_or_create_stage(
             fname=path,
             wdir=wdir,
             outs=[out],
-            external=external,
             force=force,
         )
         return StageInfo(stage, output_exists=False)
@@ -199,7 +197,6 @@ def add(
     repo: "Repo",
     targets: Union["StrOrBytesPath", Iterator["StrOrBytesPath"]],
     no_commit: bool = False,
-    external: bool = False,
     glob: bool = False,
     out: Optional[str] = None,
     remote: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -215,7 +212,6 @@ def add(
         target: get_or_create_stage(
             repo,
             target,
-            external=external,
             out=out,
             to_remote=to_remote,
             force=force,
diff --git a/dvc/stage/__init__.py b/dvc/stage/__init__.py
index 26c7b34b90..050c38e190 100644
--- a/dvc/stage/__init__.py
+++ b/dvc/stage/__init__.py
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class RawData:
     generated_from: Optional[str] = None
 
 
-def create_stage(cls: Type[_T], repo, path, external=False, **kwargs) -> _T:
+def create_stage(cls: Type[_T], repo, path, **kwargs) -> _T:
     from dvc.dvcfile import check_dvcfile_path
 
     wdir = os.path.abspath(kwargs.get("wdir", None) or os.curdir)
@@ -101,8 +101,7 @@ def create_stage(cls: Type[_T], repo, path, external=False, **kwargs) -> _T:
 
     stage = loads_from(cls, repo, path, wdir, kwargs)
     fill_stage_outputs(stage, **kwargs)
-    if not external:
-        check_no_externals(stage)
+    check_no_externals(stage)
     fill_stage_dependencies(
         stage, **project(kwargs, ["deps", "erepo", "params", "fs_config"])
     )
diff --git a/dvc/stage/cache.py b/dvc/stage/cache.py
index d236334dc9..a73008cf6a 100644
--- a/dvc/stage/cache.py
+++ b/dvc/stage/cache.py
@@ -44,7 +44,12 @@ def _can_hash(stage):
             return False
 
     for out in stage.outs:
-        if out.protocol != "local" or not out.def_path or out.persist:
+        if (
+            out.protocol != "local"
+            or not out.def_path
+            or out.persist
+            or not out.is_in_repo
+        ):
             return False
 
     return True
@@ -112,7 +117,6 @@ def _create_stage(self, cache, wdir=None):
             cmd=cache["cmd"],
             wdir=wdir,
             outs=[out["path"] for out in cache["outs"]],
-            external=True,
         )
         StageLoader.fill_from_lock(stage, cache)
         return stage
@@ -137,7 +141,7 @@ def _uncached_outs(self, stage, cache):
         # NOTE: using copy link to make it look like a git-tracked file
         with self._cache_type_copy():
             for out in cached_stage.outs:
-                if out.def_path in outs_no_cache:
+                if out.def_path in outs_no_cache and out.is_in_repo:
                     yield out
 
     def save(self, stage):
diff --git a/dvc/stage/utils.py b/dvc/stage/utils.py
index 25dfc81903..bb3d2e575f 100644
--- a/dvc/stage/utils.py
+++ b/dvc/stage/utils.py
@@ -87,28 +87,24 @@ def fill_stage_dependencies(stage, deps=None, erepo=None, params=None, fs_config
 
 
 def check_no_externals(stage):
-    from urllib.parse import urlparse
-
     from dvc.utils import format_link
 
-    # NOTE: preventing users from accidentally using external outputs. See
-    # https://github.com/iterative/dvc/issues/1545 for more details.
-
-    def _is_external(out):
-        # NOTE: in case of `remote://` notation, the user clearly knows that
-        # this is an advanced feature and so we shouldn't error-out.
-        if out.is_in_repo or urlparse(out.def_path).scheme == "remote":
+    def _is_cached_external(out):
+        if out.is_in_repo or not out.use_cache:
             return False
         return True
 
-    outs = [str(out) for out in stage.outs if _is_external(out)]
+    outs = [str(out) for out in stage.outs if _is_cached_external(out)]
     if not outs:
         return
 
     str_outs = ", ".join(outs)
-    link = format_link("https://dvc.org/doc/user-guide/managing-external-data")
+    link = format_link(
+        "https://dvc.org/doc/user-guide/pipelines/external-dependencies-and-outputs"
+    )
     raise StageExternalOutputsError(
-        f"Output(s) outside of DVC project: {str_outs}. See {link} for more info."
+        f"Cached output(s) outside of DVC project: {str_outs}. "
+        f"See {link} for more info."
     )
 
 
diff --git a/dvc/testing/workspace_tests.py b/dvc/testing/workspace_tests.py
index 75d463ce3f..b574af1390 100644
--- a/dvc/testing/workspace_tests.py
+++ b/dvc/testing/workspace_tests.py
@@ -153,57 +153,6 @@ def test_import_no_download(self, tmp_dir, dvc, remote_version_aware):
         assert dvc.status() == {}
 
 
-class TestAdd:
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def hash_name(self):
-        pytest.skip()
-
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def hash_value(self):
-        pytest.skip()
-
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def dir_hash_value(self):
-        pytest.skip()
-
-    def test_add(self, tmp_dir, dvc, workspace, hash_name, hash_value):
-        from dvc.stage.exceptions import StageExternalOutputsError
-
-        workspace.gen("file", "file")
-
-        with pytest.raises(StageExternalOutputsError):
-            dvc.add(workspace.url)
-
-        dvc.add("remote://workspace/file")
-        assert (tmp_dir / "file.dvc").read_text() == (
-            "outs:\n"
-            f"- {hash_name}: {hash_value}\n"
-            "  size: 4\n"
-            "  hash: md5\n"
-            "  path: remote://workspace/file\n"
-        )
-        assert (workspace / "file").read_text() == "file"
-        assert (
-            workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / hash_value[:2] / hash_value[2:]
-        ).read_text() == "file"
-
-        assert dvc.status() == {}
-
-    # pylint: disable-next=unused-argument
-    def test_add_dir(self, tmp_dir, dvc, workspace, hash_name, dir_hash_value):
-        workspace.gen({"dir": {"file": "file", "subdir": {"subfile": "subfile"}}})
-
-        dvc.add("remote://workspace/dir")
-        assert (
-            workspace
-            / "cache"
-            / "files"
-            / "md5"
-            / dir_hash_value[:2]
-            / dir_hash_value[2:]
-        ).is_file()
-
-
 def match_files(fs, entries, expected):
     entries_content = {(fs.path.normpath(d["path"]), d["isdir"]) for d in entries}
     expected_content = {(fs.path.normpath(d["path"]), d["isdir"]) for d in expected}
diff --git a/tests/func/test_add.py b/tests/func/test_add.py
index 03fea34138..8b25a0a998 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_add.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_add.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 )
 from dvc.stage import Stage
 from dvc.stage.exceptions import StageExternalOutputsError, StagePathNotFoundError
-from dvc.testing.workspace_tests import TestAdd
 from dvc.utils.fs import path_isin
 from dvc.utils.serialize import YAMLFileCorruptedError
 from dvc_data.hashfile.hash import file_md5
@@ -234,55 +233,6 @@ def test_add_filtered_files_in_dir(
         assert stage.outs[0].def_path in expected_def_paths
 
 
-class TestAddExternal(TestAdd):
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def hash_name(self):
-        return "md5"
-
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def hash_value(self):
-        return "8c7dd922ad47494fc02c388e12c00eac"
-
-    @pytest.fixture
-    def dir_hash_value(self):
-        return "b6dcab6ccd17ca0a8bf4a215a37d14cc.dir"
-
-
-def test_add_external_relpath(tmp_dir, dvc, local_cloud):
-    (fpath,) = local_cloud.gen("file", "file")
-    rel = os.path.relpath(fpath)
-
-    with pytest.raises(StageExternalOutputsError):
-        dvc.add(rel)
-
-    dvc.add(rel, external=True)
-    assert (tmp_dir / "file.dvc").read_text() == (
-        "outs:\n"
-        "- md5: 8c7dd922ad47494fc02c388e12c00eac\n"
-        "  size: 4\n"
-        "  hash: md5\n"
-        f"  path: {rel}\n"
-    )
-    assert fpath.read_text() == "file"
-    assert dvc.status() == {}
-
-
-def test_add_local_remote_file(tmp_dir, dvc):
-    """
-    Making sure that 'remote' syntax is handled properly for local outs.
-    """
-    tmp_dir.gen({"foo": "foo", "bar": "bar"})
-    tmp_dir.add_remote(url=tmp_dir.fs_path, name="myremote")
-
-    assert main(["add", "remote://myremote/foo"]) == 0
-    d = (tmp_dir / "foo.dvc").load_yaml()
-    assert d["outs"][0]["path"] == "remote://myremote/foo"
-
-    assert main(["add", (tmp_dir / "bar").fs_path]) == 0
-    d = (tmp_dir / "bar.dvc").load_yaml()
-    assert d["outs"][0]["path"] == "bar"
-
-
 def test_cmd_add(tmp_dir, dvc):
     tmp_dir.gen("foo", "foo")
     ret = main(["add", "foo"])
@@ -755,15 +705,9 @@ def test_add_symlink_file(tmp_dir, dvc):
     dvc.add(os.path.join("dir", "foo"))
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("external", [True, False])
-def test_add_symlink_dir(make_tmp_dir, tmp_dir, dvc, external):
-    if external:
-        data_dir = make_tmp_dir("data")
-        data_dir.gen({"foo": "foo"})
-        target = os.fspath(data_dir)
-    else:
-        tmp_dir.gen({"data": {"foo": "foo"}})
-        target = os.path.join(".", "data")
+def test_add_symlink_dir(make_tmp_dir, tmp_dir, dvc):
+    tmp_dir.gen({"data": {"foo": "foo"}})
+    target = os.path.join(".", "data")
 
     tmp_dir.gen({"data": {"foo": "foo"}})
 
@@ -774,15 +718,9 @@ def test_add_symlink_dir(make_tmp_dir, tmp_dir, dvc, external):
         dvc.add("dir")
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("external", [True, False])
-def test_add_file_in_symlink_dir(make_tmp_dir, tmp_dir, dvc, external):
-    if external:
-        data_dir = make_tmp_dir("data")
-        data_dir.gen({"dir": {"foo": "foo"}})
-        target = os.fspath(data_dir / "dir")
-    else:
-        tmp_dir.gen({"data": {"foo": "foo"}})
-        target = os.path.join(".", "data")
+def test_add_file_in_symlink_dir(make_tmp_dir, tmp_dir, dvc):
+    tmp_dir.gen({"data": {"foo": "foo"}})
+    target = os.path.join(".", "data")
 
     (tmp_dir / "dir").symlink_to(target)
 
diff --git a/tests/func/test_gc.py b/tests/func/test_gc.py
index 75087adec7..c281599d20 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_gc.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_gc.py
@@ -251,34 +251,6 @@ def test_gc_not_collect_pipeline_tracked_files(tmp_dir, dvc, run_copy):
     assert _count_files(dvc.cache.local.path) == 0
 
 
-def test_gc_external_output(tmp_dir, dvc, workspace):
-    workspace.gen({"foo": "foo", "bar": "bar"})
-
-    (foo_stage,) = dvc.add("remote://workspace/foo")
-    (bar_stage,) = dvc.add("remote://workspace/bar")
-
-    foo_hash = foo_stage.outs[0].hash_info.value
-    bar_hash = bar_stage.outs[0].hash_info.value
-
-    assert (
-        workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / foo_hash[:2] / foo_hash[2:]
-    ).read_text() == "foo"
-    assert (
-        workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / bar_hash[:2] / bar_hash[2:]
-    ).read_text() == "bar"
-
-    (tmp_dir / "foo.dvc").unlink()
-
-    dvc.gc(workspace=True)
-
-    assert not (
-        workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / foo_hash[:2] / foo_hash[2:]
-    ).exists()
-    assert (
-        workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / bar_hash[:2] / bar_hash[2:]
-    ).read_text() == "bar"
-
-
 def test_gc_all_experiments(tmp_dir, scm, dvc):
     from dvc.repo.experiments.refs import ExpRefInfo
 
diff --git a/tests/func/test_get.py b/tests/func/test_get.py
index 1b03e02dd4..1c5d0b536b 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_get.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_get.py
@@ -129,20 +129,6 @@ def test_get_a_dvc_file(tmp_dir, erepo_dir):
         Repo.get(os.fspath(erepo_dir), "some_file.dvc")
 
 
-# https://github.com/iterative/dvc/pull/2837#discussion_r352123053
-def test_get_full_dvc_path(tmp_dir, erepo_dir, tmp_path_factory):
-    path = tmp_path_factory.mktemp("ext")
-    external_data = path / "ext_data"
-    external_data.write_text("ext_data")
-
-    with erepo_dir.chdir():
-        erepo_dir.dvc.add(os.fspath(external_data), external=True)
-        erepo_dir.scm_add("ext_data.dvc", commit="add external data")
-
-    Repo.get(os.fspath(erepo_dir), os.fspath(external_data), "ext_data_imported")
-    assert (tmp_dir / "ext_data_imported").read_text() == "ext_data"
-
-
 def test_non_cached_output(tmp_dir, erepo_dir):
     src = "non_cached_file"
     dst = src + "_imported"
diff --git a/tests/func/test_odb.py b/tests/func/test_odb.py
index 5e5f5b2759..49b6391a45 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_odb.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_odb.py
@@ -81,17 +81,6 @@ def test_external_cache_dir(tmp_dir, dvc, make_tmp_dir):
     assert len(os.listdir(cache_dir)) != 0
 
 
-def test_remote_cache_references(tmp_dir, dvc):
-    with dvc.config.edit() as conf:
-        conf["remote"]["storage"] = {"url": "ssh://user@localhost:23"}
-        conf["remote"]["cache"] = {"url": "remote://storage/tmp"}
-        conf["cache"]["ssh"] = "cache"
-
-    dvc.cache = CacheManager(dvc)
-
-    assert dvc.cache.ssh.path == "/tmp/files/md5"
-
-
 def test_shared_cache_dir(tmp_dir):
     cache_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.curdir, "cache"))
     for d in ["dir1", "dir2"]:
diff --git a/tests/func/test_remote.py b/tests/func/test_remote.py
index e4bbb60a58..6375321ecb 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_remote.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_remote.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
 from dvc.cli import main
 from dvc.config import Config
-from dvc.exceptions import DownloadError, RemoteCacheRequiredError, UploadError
+from dvc.exceptions import DownloadError, UploadError
 from dvc.utils.fs import remove
 
 
@@ -257,22 +257,6 @@ def test_remote_modify_local_on_repo_config(tmp_dir, dvc):
     }
 
 
-def test_external_dir_resource_on_no_cache(tmp_dir, dvc, tmp_path_factory):
-    # https://github.com/iterative/dvc/issues/2647, is some situations
-    # (external dir dependency) cache is required to calculate dir md5
-    external_dir = tmp_path_factory.mktemp("external_dir")
-    file = external_dir / "file"
-
-    dvc.cache.local = None
-    with pytest.raises(RemoteCacheRequiredError):
-        dvc.run(
-            cmd=f"echo content > {file}",
-            outs=[os.fspath(file)],
-            name="echo",
-            external=True,
-        )
-
-
 def test_push_order(tmp_dir, dvc, tmp_path_factory, mocker, local_remote):
     from dvc_objects.fs import generic
 
diff --git a/tests/func/test_repo_index.py b/tests/func/test_repo_index.py
index a890df7414..fb5ce0702b 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_repo_index.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_repo_index.py
@@ -143,17 +143,7 @@ def test_skip_graph_checks(dvc, mocker):
     assert mock_build_graph.called
 
 
-def get_index(dvc, rev):
-    if rev:
-        brancher = dvc.brancher(revs=[rev])
-        if rev != "workspace":
-            assert next(brancher) == "workspace"
-        next(brancher)
-    return Index.from_repo(dvc)
-
-
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("rev", ["workspace", "HEAD"])
-def test_used_objs(tmp_dir, scm, dvc, run_copy, rev):
+def test_used_objs(tmp_dir, scm, dvc, run_copy):
     from dvc_data.hashfile.hash_info import HashInfo
 
     dvc.scm_context.autostage = True
@@ -161,30 +151,31 @@ def test_used_objs(tmp_dir, scm, dvc, run_copy, rev):
     run_copy("foo", "bar", name="copy-foo-bar")
     scm.commit("commit")
 
-    index = get_index(dvc, rev)
-
-    expected_objs = [
-        HashInfo(
-            name="md5",
-            value="acbd18db4cc2f85cedef654fccc4a4d8",
-            obj_name="bar",
-        ),
-        HashInfo(
-            name="md5",
-            value="8c7dd922ad47494fc02c388e12c00eac",
-            obj_name="dir/subdir/file",
-        ),
-        HashInfo(
-            name="md5",
-            value="d28c9e28591aeb7e303dc6772ffa6f6b.dir",
-            obj_name="dir",
-        ),
-    ]
-
-    assert index.used_objs() == {None: set(expected_objs)}
-    assert index.used_objs("dir") == {None: set(expected_objs[1:])}
-    assert index.used_objs(".", recursive=True) == {None: set(expected_objs)}
-    assert index.used_objs("copy-foo-bar", with_deps=True) == {None: {expected_objs[0]}}
+    for _ in dvc.brancher(revs=["HEAD"]):
+        expected_objs = [
+            HashInfo(
+                name="md5",
+                value="acbd18db4cc2f85cedef654fccc4a4d8",
+                obj_name="bar",
+            ),
+            HashInfo(
+                name="md5",
+                value="8c7dd922ad47494fc02c388e12c00eac",
+                obj_name="dir/subdir/file",
+            ),
+            HashInfo(
+                name="md5",
+                value="d28c9e28591aeb7e303dc6772ffa6f6b.dir",
+                obj_name="dir",
+            ),
+        ]
+
+        assert dvc.index.used_objs() == {None: set(expected_objs)}
+        assert dvc.index.used_objs("dir") == {None: set(expected_objs[1:])}
+        assert dvc.index.used_objs(".", recursive=True) == {None: set(expected_objs)}
+        assert dvc.index.used_objs("copy-foo-bar", with_deps=True) == {
+            None: {expected_objs[0]}
+        }
 
 
 def test_view_granular_dir(tmp_dir, scm, dvc, run_copy):
diff --git a/tests/func/test_run.py b/tests/func/test_run.py
index 94c1342949..50e5d598ea 100644
--- a/tests/func/test_run.py
+++ b/tests/func/test_run.py
@@ -534,7 +534,7 @@ def test_run_external_outputs(
         name="mystage",
         cmd="mycmd",
         deps=["remote://workspace/foo"],
-        outs=["remote://workspace/bar"],
+        outs_no_cache=["remote://workspace/bar"],
         no_exec=True,
     )
 
@@ -545,7 +545,8 @@ def test_run_external_outputs(
         "    deps:\n"
         "    - remote://workspace/foo\n"
         "    outs:\n"
-        "    - remote://workspace/bar\n"
+        "    - remote://workspace/bar:\n"
+        "        cache: false\n"
     )
 
     assert (tmp_dir / "dvc.yaml").read_text() == dvc_yaml
@@ -574,9 +575,7 @@ def test_run_external_outputs(
 
     assert (local_workspace / "foo").read_text() == "foo"
     assert (local_workspace / "bar").read_text() == "bar"
-    assert (
-        local_workspace / "cache" / "files" / "md5" / bar_hash[:2] / bar_hash[2:]
-    ).read_text() == "bar"
+    assert not (local_workspace / "cache").exists()
 
 
 def test_rerun_callback(dvc):
diff --git a/tests/unit/command/test_add.py b/tests/unit/command/test_add.py
index 398eb3b473..45e1d2ff83 100644
--- a/tests/unit/command/test_add.py
+++ b/tests/unit/command/test_add.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ def test_add(mocker, dvc):
         [
             "add",
             "--no-commit",
-            "--external",
             "--glob",
             "data",
         ]
@@ -25,7 +24,6 @@ def test_add(mocker, dvc):
         ["data"],
         no_commit=True,
         glob=True,
-        external=True,
         out=None,
         remote=None,
         to_remote=False,
@@ -57,7 +55,6 @@ def test_add_to_remote(mocker):
         ["s3://bucket/foo"],
         no_commit=False,
         glob=False,
-        external=False,
         out="bar",
         remote="remote",
         to_remote=True,
diff --git a/tests/unit/stage/test_stage.py b/tests/unit/stage/test_stage.py
index 35ce11ef03..5468461aec 100644
--- a/tests/unit/stage/test_stage.py
+++ b/tests/unit/stage/test_stage.py
@@ -120,5 +120,8 @@ def test_external_outs(tmp_path_factory, dvc):
     with dvc.config.edit() as conf:
         conf["remote"]["myremote"] = {"url": os.fspath(tmp_path)}
 
-    create_stage(Stage, dvc, "path.dvc", outs=["remote://myremote/foo"])
-    create_stage(Stage, dvc, "path.dvc", outs=[os.fspath(foo)], external=True)
+    with pytest.raises(StageExternalOutputsError):
+        create_stage(Stage, dvc, "path.dvc", outs=["remote://myremote/foo"])
+
+    create_stage(Stage, dvc, "path.dvc", outs_no_cache=["remote://myremote/foo"])
+    create_stage(Stage, dvc, "path.dvc", outs_no_cache=[os.fspath(foo)])
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_info.py b/tests/unit/test_info.py
index 7cf27fe737..f75cbfeffe 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_info.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_info.py
@@ -85,14 +85,10 @@ def test_info_in_broken_git_repo(tmp_dir, dvc, scm, caplog):
 
 
 def test_caches(tmp_dir, dvc, caplog):
-    tmp_dir.add_remote(name="sshcache", url="ssh://example.com/path", default=False)
-    with tmp_dir.dvc.config.edit() as conf:
-        conf["cache"]["ssh"] = "sshcache"
-
     dvc_info = get_dvc_info()
 
     # Order of cache types is runtime dependent
-    assert re.search("Caches: (local, ssh|ssh, local)", dvc_info)
+    assert re.search("Caches: local", dvc_info)
 
 
 def test_remotes_empty(tmp_dir, dvc, caplog):