diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9edb9980b..c183772f6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ BUILD_SYSTEM_DIR := vendor/nimbus-build-system
 # -d:chronicles_colors:none - Necessary to disable colors in logs for Docker
 DOCKER_IMAGE_NIM_PARAMS ?= -d:chronicles_colors:none -d:insecure
 
+LINK_PCRE := 0
+
 # we don't want an error here, so we can handle things later, in the ".DEFAULT" target
 -include $(BUILD_SYSTEM_DIR)/makefiles/variables.mk
 
diff --git a/config.nims b/config.nims
index 3c12d3cb7..0abfe8382 100644
--- a/config.nims
+++ b/config.nims
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ else:
 # for heap-usage-by-instance-type metrics and object base-type strings
 --define:nimTypeNames
 
+switch("define", "withoutPCRE")
+
 # the default open files limit is too low on macOS (512), breaking the
 # "--debugger:native" build. It can be increased with `ulimit -n 1024`.
 if not defined(macosx):
diff --git a/waku/v1/README.md b/waku/v1/README.md
index b7f3c10e0..3c185c650 100644
--- a/waku/v1/README.md
+++ b/waku/v1/README.md
@@ -20,9 +20,6 @@ All of the below commands should be executed at the root level, i.e. `cd ../..`.
 ### Prerequisites
 
 * GNU Make, Bash and the usual POSIX utilities. Git 2.9.4 or newer.
-* PCRE
-
-More information on the installation of these can be found [here](https://github.com/status-im/nimbus#prerequisites).
 
 ### Wakunode
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/README.md b/waku/v2/README.md
index 0dd17f978..bab652d80 100644
--- a/waku/v2/README.md
+++ b/waku/v2/README.md
@@ -13,9 +13,6 @@ See [spec](https://specs.vac.dev/specs/waku/v2/waku-v2.html).
 ### Prerequisites
 
 * GNU Make, Bash and the usual POSIX utilities. Git 2.9.4 or newer.
-* PCRE
-
-More information on the installation of these can be found [here](https://github.com/status-im/nimbus#prerequisites).
 
 ### Wakunode