diff --git a/apps/chat2/chat2.nim b/apps/chat2/chat2.nim
index fc4e27ca1..c03f3f0c8 100644
--- a/apps/chat2/chat2.nim
+++ b/apps/chat2/chat2.nim
@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@
 when not(compileOption("threads")):
   {.fatal: "Please, compile this program with the --threads:on option!".}
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import std/[tables, strformat, strutils, times, json, options, random]
 import confutils, chronicles, chronos, stew/shims/net as stewNet,
-       eth/keys, bearssl, stew/[byteutils, endians2, results],
+       eth/keys, bearssl, stew/[byteutils, results],
        nimcrypto/pbkdf2
 import libp2p/[switch,                   # manage transports, a single entry point for dialing and listening
                crypto/crypto,            # cryptographic functions
@@ -17,10 +20,8 @@ import libp2p/[switch,                   # manage transports, a single entry poi
                peerinfo,                 # manage the information of a peer, such as peer ID and public / private key
                peerid,                   # Implement how peers interact
                protobuf/minprotobuf,     # message serialisation/deserialisation from and to protobufs
-               protocols/protocol,       # define the protocol base type
                protocols/secure/secio,   # define the protocol of secure input / output, allows encrypted communication that uses public keys to validate signed messages instead of a certificate authority like in TLS
-               nameresolving/dnsresolver,# define DNS resolution
-               muxers/muxer]             # define an interface for stream multiplexing, allowing peers to offer many protocols over a single connection
+               nameresolving/dnsresolver]# define DNS resolution
 import   
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush,
diff --git a/apps/chat2bridge/chat2bridge.nim b/apps/chat2bridge/chat2bridge.nim
index 4c29a3ab7..d0e6e0f71 100644
--- a/apps/chat2bridge/chat2bridge.nim
+++ b/apps/chat2bridge/chat2bridge.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, times, strutils, hashes, sequtils],
   chronos, confutils, chronicles, chronicles/topics_registry, chronos/streams/tlsstream,
   metrics, metrics/chronos_httpserver,
-  stew/[byteutils, endians2],
+  stew/byteutils,
   stew/shims/net as stewNet, json_rpc/rpcserver,
   # Matterbridge client imports
   ../../waku/common/utils/matterbridge_client,
diff --git a/apps/wakubridge/wakubridge.nim b/apps/wakubridge/wakubridge.nim
index abac1b608..37681aee2 100644
--- a/apps/wakubridge/wakubridge.nim
+++ b/apps/wakubridge/wakubridge.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, hashes, sequtils],
diff --git a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2.nim b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2.nim
index a92ac0791..ad15452ee 100644
--- a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2.nim
+++ b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, tables, strutils, sequtils, os],
@@ -9,18 +12,17 @@ import
   system/ansi_c,
   eth/keys,
   eth/p2p/discoveryv5/enr,
-  libp2p/[builders, multihash],
+  libp2p/builders,
+  libp2p/multihash,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/protocols/ping,
-  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/[gossipsub, rpc/messages],
-  libp2p/transports/[transport, wstransport],
+  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/gossipsub,
+  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/rpc/messages,
+  libp2p/transports/wstransport,
   libp2p/nameresolving/dnsresolver
 import
   ../../waku/common/sqlite,
   ../../waku/common/utils/nat,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange,
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage,
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/migrations as peer_store_sqlite_migrations,
@@ -35,6 +37,8 @@ import
   ../../waku/v2/node/wakuswitch, 
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_metrics,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange,
   ../../waku/v2/utils/peers,
   ../../waku/v2/utils/wakuenr,
   ./wakunode2_setup_rest,
diff --git a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rest.nim b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rest.nim
index ebd4993e1..70a6bcdbd 100644
--- a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rest.nim
+++ b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rest.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/shims/net,
diff --git a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rpc.nim b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rpc.nim
index 036a0f0d8..04173ff8e 100644
--- a/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rpc.nim
+++ b/apps/wakunode2/wakunode2_setup_rpc.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/tables,
diff --git a/tests/v1/test_rpc_waku.nim b/tests/v1/test_rpc_waku.nim
index b535adfb7..fbef0bea0 100644
--- a/tests/v1/test_rpc_waku.nim
+++ b/tests/v1/test_rpc_waku.nim
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import
   std/[options, os, strutils],
   testutils/unittests, stew/byteutils, json_rpc/[rpcserver, rpcclient],
-  eth/common as eth_common, eth/[rlp, keys, p2p],
+  eth/common as eth_common, eth/[keys, p2p],
   ../../waku/v1/protocol/waku_protocol,
   ../../waku/v1/node/rpc/[hexstrings, rpc_types, waku, key_storage]
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
index 201ed22f1..045f32c7d 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[sequtils, strutils, algorithm],
+  std/[sequtils, algorithm],
   stew/results,
   testutils/unittests
 import
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue_pagination.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue_pagination.nim
index c10561d79..73fe105b8 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue_pagination.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store_queue_pagination.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, sequtils, algorithm],
+  std/[sequtils, algorithm],
   testutils/unittests, 
   nimcrypto/sha2,
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_peer_exchange.nim b/tests/v2/test_peer_exchange.nim
index d2c24c407..8a6ef4bb5 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_peer_exchange.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_peer_exchange.nim
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import
   std/[sequtils, options],
   stew/shims/net,
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles,
   chronos,
   libp2p/peerid,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_peer_manager.nim b/tests/v2/test_peer_manager.nim
index 4630cb19d..2c7730c17 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_peer_manager.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_peer_manager.nim
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sequtils],
+  std/[options, sequtils],
   stew/shims/net as stewNet,
-  chronicles,
   testutils/unittests,
-  json_rpc/[rpcserver, rpcclient],
+  json_rpc/rpcserver,
+  json_rpc/rpcclient,
   eth/keys,
   eth/common/eth_types,
   libp2p/[builders, switch, multiaddress],
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_peer_storage.nim b/tests/v2/test_peer_storage.nim
index 15d87e378..9dd71ff22 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_peer_storage.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_peer_storage.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[unittest, sets],
+  testutils/unittests,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
   ../../waku/common/sqlite,
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage,
   ../test_helpers
 
+
 suite "Peer Storage":
 
   test "Store, replace and retrieve from persistent peer storage":
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api.nim b/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api.nim
index a671be122..451e69788 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api.nim
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 import
   stew/shims/net,
-  chronicles,
   testutils/unittests,
   presto, presto/client as presto_client,
   libp2p/peerinfo,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api_serdes.nim b/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api_serdes.nim
index 44ba77e8b..ece336429 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api_serdes.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_rest_debug_api_serdes.nim
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {.used.}
 
-import std/typetraits
-import chronicles,
-  unittest2,
-  stew/[results, byteutils],
+import
+  stew/results, 
+  stew/byteutils,
+  testutils/unittests,
   json_serialization
 import 
   ../../waku/v2/node/rest/serdes,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_rest_relay_api.nim b/tests/v2/test_rest_relay_api.nim
index 351a3372b..a0fbcbc34 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_rest_relay_api.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_rest_relay_api.nim
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import
   std/sequtils,
   stew/byteutils,
   stew/shims/net,
-  chronicles,
   testutils/unittests,
   presto, presto/client as presto_client,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_bridge.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_bridge.nim
index a8433deda..23898711b 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_bridge.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_bridge.nim
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 
 import
   std/[sequtils, strutils, tables],
+  stew/byteutils, 
+  stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles, chronos, stew/shims/net as stewNet, stew/[byteutils, objects],
+  chronos, 
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/crypto/secp,
   libp2p/peerid,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_discv5.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_discv5.nim
index 6916185ca..67d1451c0 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_discv5.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_discv5.nim
@@ -1,15 +1,14 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/tables,
-  chronicles,
   chronos,
   testutils/unittests,
   stew/byteutils,
   stew/shims/net,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   eth/keys,
-  eth/p2p/discoveryv5/enr,
+  eth/p2p/discoveryv5/enr
+import
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
   ../../waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5,
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_filter.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_filter.nim
index f1d8f1705..d7957493c 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_filter.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_filter.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sets],
+  std/[options, tables],
   testutils/unittests,
   chronos, 
-  chronicles,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_keepalive.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_keepalive.nim
index 681100e64..ceda2f593 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_keepalive.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_keepalive.nim
@@ -1,18 +1,23 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sets],
-  testutils/unittests, chronos, chronicles,
+  std/options,
   stew/shims/net as stewNet,
+  testutils/unittests, 
+  chronos, 
+  chronicles,
   libp2p/switch,
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
   libp2p/protocols/ping,
-  libp2p/stream/[bufferstream, connection],
-  libp2p/crypto/crypto,
-  libp2p/multistream,
+  libp2p/stream/bufferstream, 
+  libp2p/stream/connection,
+  libp2p/crypto/crypto
+import
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
   ../../waku/v2/utils/peers,
-  ../test_helpers, ./utils
+  ../test_helpers, 
+  ./utils
+
 
 procSuite "Waku Keepalive":
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_lightpush.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_lightpush.nim
index 61f889b1d..874021202 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_lightpush.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_lightpush.nim
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/options,
   testutils/unittests, 
-  chronicles,
   chronos, 
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_noise_sessions.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_noise_sessions.nim
index 6bfa47175..2aafff622 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_noise_sessions.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_noise_sessions.nim
@@ -1,20 +1,17 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  testutils/unittests,
-  std/random,
-  std/strutils,
-  std/tables,
+  std/[random,tables],
   stew/byteutils,
+  testutils/unittests,
+  libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf
+import
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_payload,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_types,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_utils,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_handshake_processing,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
-  libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
-  ../test_helpers,
-  stew/endians2
+  ../test_helpers
 
 procSuite "Waku Noise Sessions":
   
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_peer_exchange.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_peer_exchange.nim
index c2aa2aed7..575cc8612 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_peer_exchange.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_peer_exchange.nim
@@ -1,14 +1,13 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sets],
+  std/options,
   testutils/unittests,
   chronos,
   chronicles,
   stew/shims/net,
   libp2p/switch,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
-  libp2p/multistream,
   eth/keys,
   eth/p2p/discoveryv5/enr
 import
@@ -16,7 +15,6 @@ import
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
   ../../waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_relay,
   ../test_helpers,
   ./utils
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_rln_relay.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_rln_relay.nim
index 5edb536da..7ea27dfe6 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_rln_relay.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_rln_relay.nim
@@ -2,19 +2,22 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, os, sequtils, times, deques],
-  testutils/unittests, chronos, chronicles, stint,
-  stew/byteutils, stew/shims/net as stewNet,
-  libp2p/crypto/crypto,
-  json
+  std/[options, os, sequtils, times],
+  stew/byteutils, 
+  stew/shims/net as stewNet,
+  testutils/unittests, 
+  chronos, 
+  chronicles, 
+  stint,
+  libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/[rln, 
-      waku_rln_relay_utils,
-      waku_rln_relay_types,
-      waku_rln_relay_constants,
-      waku_rln_relay_metrics],
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/rln, 
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_constants,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics,
   ../test_helpers
 
 const RlnRelayPubsubTopic = "waku/2/rlnrelay/proto"
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
index 33313c882..5a3e83530 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sets, sequtils],
-  stew/byteutils,
+  std/[options, sequtils],
   testutils/unittests, 
   chronos, 
-  chronicles,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
   ../../waku/common/sqlite,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_store_client.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_store_client.nim
index 1bb53fd8a..aa04f986f 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_store_client.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_store_client.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables],
+  std/options,
   testutils/unittests, 
   chronos, 
-  chronicles,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
   ../../waku/common/sqlite,
@@ -13,7 +12,6 @@ import
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/client,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics,
   ./testlib/common,
   ./testlib/switch
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_store_rpc_codec.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_store_rpc_codec.nim
index a6e189ebb..9a0745a67 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_store_rpc_codec.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_store_rpc_codec.nim
@@ -2,12 +2,9 @@
 
 import
   std/[options, times],
-  stew/byteutils,
-  testutils/unittests, 
-  chronos, 
-  chronicles
+  testutils/unittests,
+  chronos
 import
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store,
   ../../waku/v2/utils/time,
   ./testlib/common
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_swap.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_swap.nim
index 9055ac143..79e24b99d 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_swap.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_swap.nim
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[options, tables, sets],
-  stew/byteutils,
+  std/tables,
   stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
   testutils/unittests,
   chronos, 
@@ -14,7 +13,6 @@ import
   libp2p/switch,
   eth/keys
 import
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_store,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap,
   ../../waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue,
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode.nim
index 222de0a63..c928d06bc 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode.nim
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
+  stew/byteutils,
+  stew/shims/net as stewNet,
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles, chronos, stew/shims/net as stewNet, stew/byteutils, std/os,
+  chronicles, 
+  chronos, 
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/crypto/secp,
   libp2p/multiaddress,
@@ -10,11 +13,13 @@ import
   libp2p/protocols/pubsub/rpc/messages,
   libp2p/protocols/pubsub/pubsub,
   libp2p/protocols/pubsub/gossipsub,
-  libp2p/nameresolving/mockresolver,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/[waku_relay, waku_message],
+  libp2p/nameresolving/mockresolver
+import
+  ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
-  ../../waku/v2/utils/peers,
-  ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_relay,
+  ../../waku/v2/utils/peers
 
 
 procSuite "WakuNode":
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_filter.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_filter.nim
index 08702e5f0..48fd9bcde 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_filter.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_filter.nim
@@ -1,17 +1,14 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  stew/byteutils, 
   stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles,
   chronos, 
   libp2p/crypto/crypto
 import
   ../../waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
   ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
   ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter,
   ../../waku/v2/utils/peers,
   ./testlib/common
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
index fcd569813..e28596b1b 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_lightpush.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  stew/byteutils, 
   stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles, 
   chronos, 
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/switch
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_rln_relay.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_rln_relay.nim
index a9ecd54f5..de6bde812 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_rln_relay.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_rln_relay.nim
@@ -3,10 +3,10 @@
 import
   std/sequtils,
   stew/byteutils,
-  stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
+  stew/shims/net as stewNet,
   testutils/unittests,
-  chronicles, 
-  chronos, 
+  chronicles,
+  chronos,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/peerid,
   libp2p/multiaddress,
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ import
   libp2p/protocols/pubsub/pubsub,
   eth/keys
 import
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/[waku_rln_relay_utils,
-        waku_rln_relay_types,
-        waku_rln_relay_constants],
-  ../../waku/v2/protocol/[waku_relay, waku_message],
-  ../../waku/v2/utils/peers,
-  ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node
+  ../../waku/v2/node/waku_node,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_message,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types,
+  ../../waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_constants,
+  ../../waku/v2/utils/peers
 
 from std/times import epochTime
 
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
index eb182f200..267219def 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_wakunode_store.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  stew/byteutils, 
   stew/shims/net as stewNet, 
   testutils/unittests,
   chronicles, 
diff --git a/tests/whisper/test_shh_config.nim b/tests/whisper/test_shh_config.nim
index 5bb938314..ce470baec 100644
--- a/tests/whisper/test_shh_config.nim
+++ b/tests/whisper/test_shh_config.nim
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 {.used.}
 
 import
-  std/[sequtils, options, unittest, times],
+  std/[sequtils, unittest, times],
   ../../waku/whisper/whisper_protocol as whisper
 
 suite "Whisper envelope validation":
diff --git a/waku/common/utils/matterbridge_client.nim b/waku/common/utils/matterbridge_client.nim
index 63d641cf3..9771dc01d 100644
--- a/waku/common/utils/matterbridge_client.nim
+++ b/waku/common/utils/matterbridge_client.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[httpclient, json, uri, options],
diff --git a/waku/common/utils/nat.nim b/waku/common/utils/nat.nim
index 16ecb1f21..470eca255 100644
--- a/waku/common/utils/nat.nim
+++ b/waku/common/utils/nat.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[strutils, options],
diff --git a/waku/v1/node/rpc/hexstrings.nim b/waku/v1/node/rpc/hexstrings.nim
index e8f4fdff3..6a2b0c693 100644
--- a/waku/v1/node/rpc/hexstrings.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/node/rpc/hexstrings.nim
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 ]#
 
 import
-  stint, stew/byteutils, eth/[keys, rlp], eth/common/eth_types,
+  stint, stew/byteutils, eth/keys, eth/common/eth_types,
   ../../protocol/waku_protocol
 
 type
diff --git a/waku/v1/node/rpc/rpc_types.nim b/waku/v1/node/rpc/rpc_types.nim
index 245e150ae..cd1cda4bb 100644
--- a/waku/v1/node/rpc/rpc_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/node/rpc/rpc_types.nim
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import
-  hexstrings, options, eth/[keys, rlp],
+  hexstrings, options, eth/keys,
   ../../protocol/waku_protocol
 
 #[
diff --git a/waku/v1/node/rpc/waku.nim b/waku/v1/node/rpc/waku.nim
index be8db8876..141201787 100644
--- a/waku/v1/node/rpc/waku.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/node/rpc/waku.nim
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import
   json_rpc/rpcserver, tables, options, sequtils,
-  eth/[common, rlp, keys, p2p],
+  eth/[common, keys, p2p],
   nimcrypto/[sysrand, hmac, sha2, pbkdf2],
   rpc_types, hexstrings, key_storage,
   ../../protocol/waku_protocol
diff --git a/waku/v1/node/wakunode1.nim b/waku/v1/node/wakunode1.nim
index 9f212fd31..da7b42efd 100644
--- a/waku/v1/node/wakunode1.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/node/wakunode1.nim
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   confutils, chronos, json_rpc/rpcserver, 
   metrics, metrics/chronicles_support, metrics/chronos_httpserver,
   stew/shims/net as stewNet,
-  eth/[keys, p2p], eth/common/utils,
-  eth/p2p/[discovery, enode, peer_pool, bootnodes],
+  eth/[keys, p2p],
+  eth/p2p/[enode, peer_pool],
   ../../whisper/[whispernodes, whisper_protocol],
   ../protocol/[waku_protocol, waku_bridge],
   ../../common/utils/nat,
diff --git a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_bridge.nim b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_bridge.nim
index bde679a37..84cc17490 100644
--- a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_bridge.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_bridge.nim
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@
 #            MIT license (LICENSE-MIT)
 #
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   eth/p2p,
diff --git a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_mail.nim b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_mail.nim
index 40358db60..e8023f22f 100644
--- a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_mail.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_mail.nim
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@
 #            MIT license (LICENSE-MIT)
 #
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   chronos,
diff --git a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_protocol.nim b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_protocol.nim
index b0cd79d3d..d015099be 100644
--- a/waku/v1/protocol/waku_protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/v1/protocol/waku_protocol.nim
@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@
 ## However, they only make real sense after ``connectToNetwork`` was started. As
 ## else there will be no peers to send and receive messages from.
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   options, tables, times, chronos, chronicles, metrics,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5.nim b/waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5.nim
index 34126c9bf..9abc4f749 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/discv5/waku_discv5.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[strutils, options],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/dnsdisc/waku_dnsdisc.nim b/waku/v2/node/dnsdisc/waku_dnsdisc.nim
index b19eb031f..85e52904b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/dnsdisc/waku_dnsdisc.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/dnsdisc/waku_dnsdisc.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 ## A set of utilities to integrate EIP-1459 DNS-based discovery
 ## for Waku v2 nodes.
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/admin_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/admin_api.nim
index da4bb15fe..4a9333cc2 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/admin_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/admin_api.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
-  std/[options, sequtils, sets],
+  std/sequtils,
   chronicles,
   json_rpc/rpcserver,
   libp2p/[peerinfo, switch]
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/debug_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/debug_api.nim
index ce642b92d..f03693683 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/debug_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/debug_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   chronicles,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/filter_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/filter_api.nim
index e0e0b47b1..2b5caa8e7 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/filter_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/filter_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_types.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_types.nim
index 296e84619..8ae5248c5 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_types.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options,tables],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_utils.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_utils.nim
index 7002619ec..3105fe2cc 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_utils.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/jsonrpc_utils.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, json],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/private_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/private_api.nim
index bc021c78e..579c186f0 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/private_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/private_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables,sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/relay_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/relay_api.nim
index 1c3a113bc..703c2627b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/relay_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/relay_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables,sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/store_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/store_api.nim
index 53e009348..9cf0c9c84 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/store_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/jsonrpc/store_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/options,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/message_cache.nim b/waku/v2/node/message_cache.nim
index 848be7423..f3d361a69 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/message_cache.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/message_cache.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage.nim b/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage.nim
index 7426074ae..4515150cf 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/peer_store/waku_peer_storage.nim
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
   {.push raises: [Defect].}
 else:
   {.push raises: [].}
-  
+
 
 import
   std/sets, 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/waku_peer_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/waku_peer_store.nim
index 8cbe0591a..807423fba 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/waku_peer_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/peer_manager/waku_peer_store.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, sequtils, sets],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/base64.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/base64.nim
index ba40ca933..102dfa862 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/base64.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/base64.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import stew/[results, byteutils, base64]
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/client.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/client.nim
index 230e7fc39..7693e8878 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/client.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/client.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import presto/client
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/api_types.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/api_types.nim
index 1c56de304..ac277e93f 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/api_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/api_types.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   chronicles,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/debug_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/debug_api.nim
index bed75a785..fa2c7e279 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/debug_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/debug/debug_api.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
-  stew/byteutils,
   chronicles,
   json_serialization,
   json_serialization/std/options,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/api_types.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/api_types.nim
index 74e7962b9..a60a03cf8 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/api_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/api_types.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[sets, strformat],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/relay_api.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/relay_api.nim
index 9193ee756..312a33a5d 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/relay_api.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/relay_api.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[sets, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/topic_cache.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/topic_cache.nim
index f640c4485..32e846c9d 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/topic_cache.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/relay/topic_cache.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/results,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/serdes.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/serdes.nim
index fab84bdc8..f87c157c0 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/serdes.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/serdes.nim
@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/typetraits,
   stew/results,
+  stew/byteutils,
   chronicles,
   serialization,
   json_serialization,
-  json_serialization/std/[options, net, sets],
+  json_serialization/std/options,
+  json_serialization/std/net,
+  json_serialization/std/sets,
   presto/common
 
 logScope: 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/server.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/server.nim
index a0d617579..96764b132 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/server.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/server.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/results,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/rest/utils.nim b/waku/v2/node/rest/utils.nim
index baaee7bbd..12bc44a27 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/rest/utils.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/rest/utils.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import std/typetraits
 import 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy.nim
index 009a75dae..2a3a9fa78 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/results
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_capacity.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_capacity.nim
index 5acd54548..d682a5b1c 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_capacity.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_capacity.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   stew/results,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_time.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_time.nim
index 361d1405c..f5504f1e8 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_time.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_retention_policy_time.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/times,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/index.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/index.nim
index e47ccbc0d..ff02c2794 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/index.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/index.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/byteutils,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/queue_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/queue_store.nim
index 7dc99ac2f..6feb21f41 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/queue_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/queue_store/queue_store.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, times],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store.nim
index e9889a7c9..7cfc1cd03 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import ./sqlite_store/sqlite_store
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/queries.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/queries.nim
index 0d84230c8..e33c5af0f 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/queries.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/queries.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
index 3824770e9..b11305a59 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/sqlite_store/sqlite_store.nim
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # The code in this file is an adaptation of the Sqlite KV Store found in nim-eth.
 # https://github.com/status-im/nim-eth/blob/master/eth/db/kvstore_sqlite3.nim
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/[options, tables],
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
index 8697dae73..5dd34dd27 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_store_queue.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   ./queue_store/index,
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/migration/migration_utils.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/migration/migration_utils.nim
index 7e1338f80..a5d89b199 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/migration/migration_utils.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/migration/migration_utils.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/[os, algorithm, tables, strutils], 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/waku_metrics.nim b/waku/v2/node/waku_metrics.nim
index 148392ef7..4944004a4 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/waku_metrics.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/waku_metrics.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/shims/net,
@@ -8,10 +11,7 @@ import
   metrics/chronos_httpserver
 import
   ../protocol/waku_filter/protocol_metrics as filter_metrics,
-  ../protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics as store_metrics,
-  ../protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol_metrics as lightpush_metrics,
   ../protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap,
-  ../protocol/waku_peer_exchange,
   ../utils/collector,
   ./peer_manager/peer_manager,
   ./waku_node
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import
 when defined(rln) or defined(rlnzerokit):
   import ../protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics
 
+
 const LogInterval = 30.seconds
 
 logScope:
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/waku_node.nim b/waku/v2/node/waku_node.nim
index c51accb15..9cb12f5d2 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/waku_node.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/waku_node.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[hashes, options, tables, strutils, sequtils, os],
@@ -11,19 +14,23 @@ import
   eth/p2p/discoveryv5/enr,
   libp2p/crypto/crypto,
   libp2p/protocols/ping,
-  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/[gossipsub, rpc/messages],
+  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/gossipsub,
+  libp2p/protocols/pubsub/rpc/messages,
   libp2p/nameresolving/nameresolver,
-  libp2p/[builders, multihash],
-  libp2p/transports/[transport, tcptransport, wstransport]
+  libp2p/builders,
+  libp2p/multihash,
+  libp2p/transports/tcptransport,
+  libp2p/transports/wstransport
 import
-  ../protocol/[waku_relay, waku_message],
+  ../protocol/waku_message,
+  ../protocol/waku_relay,
   ../protocol/waku_store,
-  ../protocol/waku_store/client,
+  ../protocol/waku_store/client as store_client,
   ../protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap,
   ../protocol/waku_filter,
-  ../protocol/waku_filter/client,
+  ../protocol/waku_filter/client as filter_client,
   ../protocol/waku_lightpush,
-  ../protocol/waku_lightpush/client,
+  ../protocol/waku_lightpush/client as lightpush_client,
   ../protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types,
   ../protocol/waku_peer_exchange,
   ../utils/peers, 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/waku_payload.nim b/waku/v2/node/waku_payload.nim
index e8fe2e886..dacae3fbd 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/waku_payload.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/waku_payload.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/options,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter.nim
index 81685e09b..d59a63aa6 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   ./waku_filter/rpc,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/client.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/client.nim
index 3848befda..943e17530 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/client.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/client.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/[options, tables, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/protocol_metrics.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/protocol_metrics.nim
index f9dd7ad15..de266e16b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/protocol_metrics.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/protocol_metrics.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import metrics
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/rpc_codec.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/rpc_codec.nim
index d1e610d7d..2bbda4a27 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/rpc_codec.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_filter/rpc_codec.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/client.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/client.nim
index c0e616d1c..ca5d25456 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/client.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/client.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/options,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol.nim
index 02a7301e4..acb77536a 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/options,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol_metrics.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol_metrics.nim
index b55486378..98cb5fa67 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol_metrics.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/protocol_metrics.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import metrics
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc.nim
index 5893b189b..0bb05746e 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   ../waku_message
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc_codec.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc_codec.nim
index 9647afcf9..dd57b5650 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc_codec.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_lightpush/rpc_codec.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 
 import
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_message.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_message.nim
index 88799c27a..1f1fef66b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_message.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_message.nim
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 ## For payload content and encryption, see waku/v2/node/waku_payload.nim
 
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise.nim
index e3f634a39..abe9d5077 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise.nim
@@ -6,17 +6,20 @@
 ## Implementation partially inspired by noise-libp2p:
 ## https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/blob/master/libp2p/protocols/secure/noise.nim
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
-import std/[oids, options, strutils, tables]
+import std/[options, strutils]
+import stew/byteutils
 import chronos
 import chronicles
 import bearssl/rand
-import stew/[results, byteutils, endians2]
-import nimcrypto/[utils, sha2, hmac]
+import stew/endians2
+import nimcrypto/[sha2, hmac]
 
 import libp2p/utility
-import libp2p/errors
 import libp2p/crypto/[crypto, chacha20poly1305, hkdf]
 import libp2p/protocols/secure/secure
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_handshake_processing.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_handshake_processing.nim
index 399b446fb..1c38df279 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_handshake_processing.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_handshake_processing.nim
@@ -2,16 +2,17 @@
 ## See spec for more details:
 ## https://github.com/vacp2p/rfc/tree/master/content/docs/rfcs/35
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
-import std/[oids, options, strutils, tables]
+import std/[options, strutils, tables]
 import chronos
 import chronicles
 import bearssl/rand
-import stew/[results, endians2]
-import nimcrypto/[utils, sha2, hmac]
+import stew/results
 
-import libp2p/errors
 import libp2p/crypto/[chacha20poly1305, curve25519]
 
 import ./noise_types
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_types.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_types.nim
index 911803010..855c4ff00 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_types.nim
@@ -5,14 +5,16 @@
 ## Implementation partially inspired by noise-libp2p:
 ## https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/blob/master/libp2p/protocols/secure/noise.nim
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
-import std/[options, strutils, tables]
+import std/[options, tables]
 import chronos
 import chronicles
 import bearssl
-import stew/[results, endians2]
-import nimcrypto/[utils, sha2, hmac]
+import nimcrypto/[sha2, hmac]
 
 import libp2p/errors
 import libp2p/crypto/[crypto, chacha20poly1305, curve25519]
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_utils.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_utils.nim
index a16208e68..443460a8a 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_utils.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_noise/noise_utils.nim
@@ -3,16 +3,18 @@
 ## See spec for more details:
 ## https://github.com/vacp2p/rfc/tree/master/content/docs/rfcs/35
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import std/[algorithm, base64, oids, options, strutils, tables, sequtils]
 import chronos
 import chronicles
 import bearssl/rand
 import stew/[results, endians2, byteutils]
-import nimcrypto/[utils, sha2, hmac]
+import nimcrypto/[sha2, hmac]
 
-import libp2p/errors
 import libp2p/crypto/[chacha20poly1305, curve25519, hkdf]
 
 import ./noise_types
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange.nim
index e8b61e25b..d11ff7ca4 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   ./waku_peer_exchange/rpc,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/protocol.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/protocol.nim
index 3ed514f3c..6a095aa01 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/protocol.nim
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import
 import
   ../../node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
   ../../node/discv5/waku_discv5,
-  ../../utils/requests,
   ../waku_message,
   ../waku_relay,
   ./rpc,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/rpc_codec.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/rpc_codec.nim
index 9301204da..3432353f3 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/rpc_codec.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_peer_exchange/rpc_codec.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/rln.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/rln.nim
index fcc516652..5e0073ae0 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/rln.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/rln.nim
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # this module contains the Nim wrappers for the rln library https://github.com/kilic/rln/blob/3bbec368a4adc68cd5f9bfae80b17e1bbb4ef373/src/ffi.rs
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   os,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics.nim
index 9e05a43b8..4c1b60fd8 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_metrics.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   chronicles,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types.nim
index 1dc3f3da4..cba2126ab 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_types.nim
@@ -1,15 +1,20 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
-  std/[tables, deques],
-  options, chronos, stint,
+  std/[options, tables, deques],
+  stew/arrayops,
+  chronos, 
+  stint,
   web3,
   eth/keys,
-  libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
-  stew/arrayops,
-  waku_rln_relay_constants,
+  libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf
+import
   ../../utils/protobuf
 
+
 type RlnRelayResult*[T] = Result[T, string]
 
 when defined(rln) or (not defined(rln) and not defined(rlnzerokit)):
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils.nim
index 46d2fe854..f3e9da141 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_rln_relay/waku_rln_relay_utils.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[sequtils, tables, times, os, deques],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/client.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/client.nim
index b680b36d1..312818843 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/client.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/client.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, sequtils, times],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/message_store.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/message_store.nim
index d1ee0b22e..a0f0dd9e1 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/message_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/message_store.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 ## This module defines a message store interface. Implementations of
 ## MessageStore are used by the `WakuStore` protocol to store and 
 ## retrieve historical messages
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, times],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/pagination.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/pagination.nim
index 05c1442d9..9d2caf826 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/pagination.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/pagination.nim
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 ## Contains types and utilities for pagination.
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   stew/byteutils,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
index 459253ce0..a9e3c84e5 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol.nim
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 ## Waku Store protocol for historical messaging support.
 ## See spec for more details:
 ## https://github.com/vacp2p/specs/blob/master/specs/waku/v2/waku-store.md
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[tables, times, sequtils, options, algorithm],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics.nim
index c38318028..da574dca6 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/protocol_metrics.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import metrics
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc.nim
index 7dac64ff5..e35eb5ebb 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc.nim
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
-  nimcrypto/hash
-import
-  ../waku_message,
   ../../utils/time,
+  ../waku_message,
   ./pagination
 
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc_codec.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc_codec.nim
index 5b4452446..226e0e363 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc_codec.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/rpc_codec.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   nimcrypto/hash,
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap.nim
index 3a7ea8562..70f0414af 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap.nim
@@ -21,7 +21,10 @@
 ## Things like settlement is for future work.
 ##
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 # TODO Generally clean up errors here, a lot of Exceptions, Defects and KeyErros
 #
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_contracts.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_contracts.nim
index 946736211..2dc324cb8 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_contracts.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_contracts.nim
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 # Assumes swap-contracts-module node is running.
 #
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[osproc, strutils, json],
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_types.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_types.nim
index 23f491fd6..aa993321d 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_swap/waku_swap_types.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/tables,
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/collector.nim b/waku/v2/utils/collector.nim
index 64e38d26f..29310eb62 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/collector.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/collector.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   metrics
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/keyfile.nim b/waku/v2/utils/keyfile.nim
index 2c0ca7c37..c6cd2a822 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/keyfile.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/keyfile.nim
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 # - allow storage of multiple keyfiles (encrypted with different passwords) in same file and iteration among successful decryptions
 # - enable/disable at compilation time the keyfile id and version fields
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[os, strutils, json, sequtils],
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/peers.nim b/waku/v2/utils/peers.nim
index 2ae8b68bd..4c74a08e4 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/peers.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/peers.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 # Collection of utilities related to Waku peers
 import
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/protobuf.nim b/waku/v2/utils/protobuf.nim
index 0e5c86f22..c1e3fb049 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/protobuf.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/protobuf.nim
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/requests.nim b/waku/v2/utils/requests.nim
index c64df71d0..40ee6773b 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/requests.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/requests.nim
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Request utils.
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import bearssl/rand, stew/byteutils
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/utils/time.nim b/waku/v2/utils/time.nim
index 704b6d1c7..693938fd5 100644
--- a/waku/v2/utils/time.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/utils/time.nim
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 ## Contains types and utilities for timestamps.
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import 
   std/times,
diff --git a/waku/whisper/whisper_protocol.nim b/waku/whisper/whisper_protocol.nim
index ccc907ae6..8e6c311de 100644
--- a/waku/whisper/whisper_protocol.nim
+++ b/waku/whisper/whisper_protocol.nim
@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@
 ## However, they only make real sense after ``connectToNetwork`` was started. As
 ## else there will be no peers to send and receive messages from.
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[options, tables, times],
diff --git a/waku/whisper/whisper_types.nim b/waku/whisper/whisper_types.nim
index 4805d1962..b73ecf85f 100644
--- a/waku/whisper/whisper_types.nim
+++ b/waku/whisper/whisper_types.nim
@@ -5,7 +5,10 @@
 #   * Apache v2 license (license terms in the root directory or at https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
 # at your option. This file may not be copied, modified, or distributed except according to those terms.
 
-{.push raises: [Defect].}
+when (NimMajor, NimMinor) < (1, 4):
+  {.push raises: [Defect].}
+else:
+  {.push raises: [].}
 
 import
   std/[algorithm, bitops, math, options, tables, times, hashes],