diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3da69152af..bc7d2a1c92 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ BUILD_SYSTEM_DIR := vendor/nimbus-build-system
 	appimage \
 	clean \
 	deps \
-	nim_status_client \
-	run \
 	update
 
 ifeq ($(NIM_PARAMS),)
@@ -37,57 +35,37 @@ GIT_SUBMODULE_UPDATE := git submodule update --init --recursive
 
 else # "variables.mk" was included. Business as usual until the end of this file.
 
-all: nim_status_client
+
+ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)     # is Windows_NT on XP, 2000, 7, Vista, 10...
+    detected_OS := Windows
+else
+    detected_OS := $(strip $(shell uname))
+endif
+
+
+DEFAULT_TARGET := None
+ifeq ($(detected_OS), Darwin)
+	DEFAULT_TARGET := build-macos
+else
+	DEFAULT_TARGET := build-linux	
+endif
+
+all: $(DEFAULT_TARGET)
 
 # must be included after the default target
 -include $(BUILD_SYSTEM_DIR)/makefiles/targets.mk
 
-ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)     # is Windows_NT on XP, 2000, 7, Vista, 10...
- detected_OS := Windows
-else
- detected_OS := $(strip $(shell uname))
-endif
-
-ifeq ($(detected_OS), Darwin)
- NIM_PARAMS := $(NIM_PARAMS) -L:"-framework Foundation -framework Security -framework IOKit -framework CoreServices"
-endif
-
-DOTHERSIDE := vendor/DOtherSide/lib/libDOtherSideStatic.a
-
-# Qt5 dirs (we can't indent with tabs here)
-QT5_PCFILEDIR := $(shell pkg-config --variable=pcfiledir Qt5Core 2>/dev/null)
-QT5_LIBDIR := $(shell pkg-config --variable=libdir Qt5Core 2>/dev/null)
-ifeq ($(QT5_PCFILEDIR),)
- ifeq ($(QTDIR),)
-  $(error Can't find your Qt5 installation. Please run "$(MAKE) QTDIR=/path/to/your/Qt5/installation/prefix ...")
- else
-  ifeq ($(detected_OS), Darwin)
-   QT5_PCFILEDIR := $(QTDIR)/clang_64/lib/pkgconfig
-   QT5_LIBDIR := $(QTDIR)/clang_64/lib
-   # some manually installed Qt5 instances have wrong paths in their *.pc files, so we pass the right one to the linker here
-   NIM_PARAMS += --passL:"-F$(QT5_LIBDIR)"
-  else
-   QT5_PCFILEDIR := $(QTDIR)/gcc_64/lib/pkgconfig
-   QT5_LIBDIR := $(QTDIR)/gcc_64/lib
-   NIM_PARAMS += --passL:"-L$(QT5_LIBDIR)"
-  endif
- endif
-endif
-export QT5_LIBDIR
-# order matters here, due to "-Wl,-as-needed"
-NIM_PARAMS += --passL:"$(DOTHERSIDE) $(shell PKG_CONFIG_PATH="$(QT5_PCFILEDIR)" pkg-config --libs Qt5Core Qt5Qml Qt5Gui Qt5Quick Qt5QuickControls2 Qt5Widgets)"
-
-# TODO: control debug/release builds with a Make var
-# We need `-d:debug` to get Nim's default stack traces.
-NIM_PARAMS += --outdir:./bin -d:debug
-# Enable debugging symbols in DOtherSide, in case we need GDB backtraces from it.
-CFLAGS += -g
-CXXFLAGS += -g
-
 deps: | deps-common
 
 update: | update-common
 
+DOTHERSIDE := None
+ifeq ($(detected_OS), Darwin)
+DOTHERSIDE := vendor/DOtherSide/build/lib/libDOtherSide.dylib
+else
+DOTHERSIDE := vendor/DOtherSide/build/lib/libDOtherSide.so
+endif
+
 APPIMAGETOOL := appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage
 
 $(APPIMAGETOOL):
@@ -97,23 +75,28 @@ $(APPIMAGETOOL):
 $(DOTHERSIDE): | deps
 	echo -e $(BUILD_MSG) "DOtherSide"
 	+ cd vendor/DOtherSide && \
-		rm -f CMakeCache.txt && \
-		cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DENABLE_DOCS=OFF -DENABLE_TESTS=OFF -DENABLE_DYNAMIC_LIBS=OFF -DENABLE_STATIC_LIBS=ON . $(HANDLE_OUTPUT) && \
-		$(MAKE) VERBOSE=$(V) $(HANDLE_OUTPUT)
+		mkdir -p build && \
+		cd build && \
+		cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release .. $(HANDLE_OUTPUT) && \
+		$(MAKE) DOtherSide # IF WE WANT TO USE LIBDOTHERSIDE AS STATIC LIBRARY, USE `$(MAKE) DOtherSideStatic` INSTEAD
 
 STATUSGO := vendor/status-go/build/bin/libstatus.a
 
 $(STATUSGO): | deps
 	echo -e $(BUILD_MSG) "status-go"
 	+ cd vendor/status-go && \
-	  $(MAKE) statusgo-library $(HANDLE_OUTPUT)
+	  $(MAKE) statusgo-library
 
-nim_status_client: | $(DOTHERSIDE) $(STATUSGO) deps
+build-linux: $(DOTHERSIDE) $(STATUSGO) src/nim_status_client.nim | deps
 	echo -e $(BUILD_MSG) "$@" && \
-		$(ENV_SCRIPT) nim c $(NIM_PARAMS) --passL:"$(STATUSGO)" --passL:"-lm" src/nim_status_client.nim
+		$(ENV_SCRIPT) nim c -d:nimDebugDlOpen -L:$(STATUSGO) -d:ssl -L:-lm $(NIM_PARAMS) -L:$(DOTHERSIDE) --outdir:./bin src/nim_status_client.nim
+
+build-macos: $(DOTHERSIDE) $(STATUSGO) src/nim_status_client.nim | deps
+	echo -e $(BUILD_MSG) "$@" && \
+		$(ENV_SCRIPT) nim c -d:nimDebugDlOpen -L:$(STATUSGO) -d:ssl -L:-lm -L:"-framework Foundation -framework Security -framework IOKit -framework CoreServices" $(NIM_PARAMS) -L:$(DOTHERSIDE) --outdir:./bin src/nim_status_client.nim
 
 run:
-	LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$(QT5_LIBDIR)" ./bin/nim_status_client
+	LD_LIBRARY_PATH=vendor/DOtherSide/build/lib ./bin/nim_status_client
 
 APPIMAGE := NimStatusClient-x86_64.AppImage
 
@@ -152,7 +135,6 @@ $(APPIMAGE): $(DEFAULT_TARGET) $(APPIMAGETOOL) nim-status.desktop
 appimage: $(APPIMAGE)
 
 clean: | clean-common
-	rm -rf $(APPIMAGE) bin/* tmp/dist $(STATUSGO)
-	+ $(MAKE) -C vendor/DOtherSide --no-print-directory clean
+	rm -rf $(APPIMAGE) bin/* vendor/* tmp/dist
 
 endif # "variables.mk" was not included
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5066f29929..bc3da1cbbd 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,15 +8,34 @@ Experiments calling status-go from nim, inspired in [nim-stratus](https://github
 
 * QT
 
-Linux users should install Qt through the system's package manager:
+install QT https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer
+and add it to the PATH
+```
+# Linux
+export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/gcc_64/bin
+
+# macos
+export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/clang_64/bin
+```
+
+Linux users can also install Qt through the system's package manager:
 
 ```
 # Debian/Ubuntu:
 sudo apt install qtbase5-dev qtdeclarative5-dev qml-module-qt-labs-platform
 ```
 
-If that's not possible, manually install QT from https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer
-and add it to the PATH
+* go - (used to build status-go)
+
+```
+# linux
+<TODO>
+
+# macos
+brew install go
+```
+
+### 1. Install QT, and add it to the PATH
 
 ```
 # Linux
@@ -26,43 +45,24 @@ export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/gcc_64/bin
 export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/clang_64/bin
 ```
 
-* Go - (used to build status-go)
-
-```
-# Linux
-<TODO>
-
-# macOS
-brew install go
-```
-
-### 1. Install QT, and add it to the PATH
-
-```
-# Linux users should use their distro's package manager, but in case they do a manual install:
-export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/gcc_64/bin
-
-# macOS:
-export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/Qt/5.14.2/clang_64/bin
-```
-
 ### 2. Clone the repo and build `nim-status-client`
 ```
-git clone https://github.com/status-im/nim-status-client
-cd nim-status-client
-make update
+git clone https://github.com/status-im/nim-status-client/ --recurse-submodules
 make
 ```
 
-For more output use `make V=1 ...`.
+if you previously cloned the repo without the `--recurse-submodule` options, then do
 
-Use 4 CPU cores with `make -j4 ...`.
+```
+git submodule update --init --recursive
+make
+```
 
-Users with manually installed Qt5 packages need to run `make QTDIR="/path/to/Qt" ...`
+for more output use `make V=1`
 
-**Troubleshooting**:
+**Trouble Shooting**:
 
-If the `make` command fails due to already installed Homebrew packages, such as:
+If the `make` command fails due to already installed homebrew packages, such as:
 
 ```
 Error: protobuf 3.11.4 is already installed
@@ -74,12 +74,15 @@ make: *** [vendor/status-go/build/bin/libstatus.a] Error 2
 This can be fixed by uninstalling the package e.g. `brew uninstall protobuf` followed by rerunning `make`.
 
 
-### 3. Run the app
+### 3. Setup Library Path
+```
+export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=vendor/DOtherSide/build/lib/
+```
+
+### 4. Run the app
 
 ```
-make run
-# or
-LD_LIBRARY_PATH=vendor/DOtherSide/lib ./bin/nim_status_client
+./bin/nim_status_client
 ```
 
 ## Development
@@ -89,7 +92,7 @@ If making changes in the nim code `src/` then doing `make` again is needed (it's
 
 ## Cold Reload
 
-### "Cold" reload using VSCode
+### 5. "Cold" reload using VSCode
 
 We can setup a "cold" reload, whereby the app will be rebuilt and restarted when changes in the source are saved. This will not save state, as the app will be restarted, but it will save us some time from manually restarting the app. We can handily force an app rebuild/relaunch with the shortcut `Cmd+Shift+b` (execute the default build task, which we'll setup below).
 
diff --git a/config.nims b/config.nims
deleted file mode 100644
index 0a3a111f9c..0000000000
--- a/config.nims
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-when defined(macosx):
-  import algorithm, strutils
-
-if defined(release):
-  switch("nimcache", "nimcache/release/$projectName")
-else:
-  switch("nimcache", "nimcache/debug/$projectName")
-
-proc linkLib(name: string): string =
-  var resLib = name
-
-  when defined(macosx):
-    # In macOS Catalina, unversioned libraries may be broken stubs, so we need to
-    # find a versioned one: https://github.com/status-im/nim-status-client/pull/209
-    var matches: seq[string]
-    for path in listFiles("/usr/lib"):
-      # /usr/lib/libcrypto.0.9.8.dylib
-      let file = path[9..^1]
-      # libcrypto.0.9.8.dylib
-      if file.startsWith("lib" & name) and file != "lib" & name & ".dylib":
-        matches.add(path)
-    matches.sort(order = SortOrder.Descending)
-    if matches.len > 0:
-      resLib = matches[0]
-      # Passing "/usr/lib/libcrypto.44.dylib" directly to the linker works for
-      # dynamic linking.
-      return resLib
-
-  return "-l" & resLib
-
---threads:on
---opt:speed # -O3
---debugger:native # passes "-g" to the C compiler
---dynliboverrideall # don't use dlopen()
---define:ssl # needed by the stdlib to enable SSL procedures
-
-if defined(macosx):
-  # DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH doesn't seem to work with Qt5
-  switch("passL", "-rpath" & " " & getEnv("QT5_LIBDIR"))
-  switch("passL", "-lstdc++")
-  # dynamically link these libs, since we're opting out of dlopen()
-  switch("passL", linkLib("crypto"))
-  switch("passL", linkLib("ssl"))
-  # https://code.videolan.org/videolan/VLCKit/-/issues/232
-  switch("passL", "-Wl,-no_compact_unwind")
-else:
-  switch("passL", linkLib("crypto") & " " & linkLib("ssl")) # dynamically link these libs, since we're opting out of dlopen()
-  switch("passL", "-Wl,-as-needed") # don't link libraries we're not actually using
-
---define:chronicles_line_numbers # useful when debugging
-
diff --git a/nim.cfg b/nim.cfg
deleted file mode 100644
index c16a8a07be..0000000000
--- a/nim.cfg
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# we need to link C++ libraries
-gcc.linkerexe="g++"
-
diff --git a/src/nim_status_client.nim b/src/nim_status_client.nim
index 3f57e9cf21..40d9983f8f 100644
--- a/src/nim_status_client.nim
+++ b/src/nim_status_client.nim
@@ -85,11 +85,9 @@ proc mainProc() =
   # it will be passed as a regular C function to libstatus. This means that
   # we cannot capture any local variables here (we must rely on globals)
   var callback: SignalCallback = proc(p0: cstring) {.cdecl.} =
-    when not compileOption("tlsEmulation"):
-      setupForeignThreadGc()
+    setupForeignThreadGc()
     signal_handler(signalsQObjPointer, p0, "receiveSignal")
-    when not compileOption("tlsEmulation"):
-      tearDownForeignThreadGc()
+    tearDownForeignThreadGc()
 
   libstatus.setSignalEventCallback(callback)
 
diff --git a/src/nim_status_client.nim.cfg b/src/nim_status_client.nim.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fbbf66627e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/nim_status_client.nim.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+--threads:on
+--tlsEmulation:off 
+
+@if release:
+  nimcache = "nimcache/release/$projectName"
+@else:
+  nimcache = "nimcache/debug/$projectName"
+@end
+
diff --git a/vendor/DOtherSide b/vendor/DOtherSide
index 407787b72b..3ecf2595f1 160000
--- a/vendor/DOtherSide
+++ b/vendor/DOtherSide
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 407787b72bb0e861c98a26a7e7dc768911830f30
+Subproject commit 3ecf2595f1616b36b5de95227f8a7b5581d419c3