diff --git a/.cmake/AddOsSpecificPlugins.cmake b/.cmake/AddOsSpecificPlugins.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3abf16d73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/AddOsSpecificPlugins.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+# libopenmpt detection
+find_library(LIBOPENMPT NAMES openmpt)
+if ("${LIBOPENMPT}" STREQUAL "LIBOPENMPT-NOTFOUND")
+  message(STATUS "[libopenmpt] *not* found! plugin will not be built.")
+else()
+  message(STATUS "[libopenmpt] enabled = true; found library at ${LIBOPENMPT}")
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/libopenmptdecoder)
+endif()
+
+# systemd / MPRIS detection
+if (NOT ENABLE_MPRIS MATCHES "false")
+  find_library(LIB_SYSTEMD NAMES systemd)
+  if (NOT LIB_SYSTEMD MATCHES "LIB_SYSTEMD-NOTFOUND")
+    message(STATUS "[mpris] systemd found at " ${LIB_SYSTEMD})
+    message(STATUS "[mpris] setting ENABLE_MPRIS=true")
+    set(ENABLE_MPRIS "true")
+  else()
+    message(STATUS "[mpris] systemd *not* found. MPRIS plugin not enabled")
+    set(ENABLE_MPRIS "false")
+  endif()
+endif()
+
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/alsaout)
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout)
+  if (${ENABLE_PIPEWIRE} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pipewireout)
+  endif()
+  if (${ENABLE_MPRIS} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/mpris)
+  endif()
+  if (${ENABLE_SNDIO} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
+  endif()
+elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD")
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
+  if (${ENABLE_PULSEAUDIO} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout) # disabled by default
+  endif()
+elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD")
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
+  if (${ENABLE_PULSEAUDIO} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout) # disabled by default
+  endif()
+  if (${ENABLE_ALSA} MATCHES "true")
+    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/alsaout) # disabled by default
+  endif()
+elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/coreaudioout)
+  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/macosmediakeys)
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureBsdPaths.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureBsdPaths.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..82f44d28d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureBsdPaths.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD")
+  set(BSD_PATH_PREFIX "/usr/local")
+  if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+    execute_process(
+      COMMAND brew config
+      COMMAND grep -i HOMEBREW_PREFIX
+      COMMAND awk "{print $2}"
+      OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+      OUTPUT_VARIABLE BSD_PATH_PREFIX)
+  endif()
+  message(STATUS "resolved BSD_PATH_PREFIX to: '${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}'")
+  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/lib")
+  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/openssl/lib")
+  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/ncurses/lib")
+  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/include")
+  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/openssl/include")
+  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/ncurses/include")
+endif ()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureCompilerFlags.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureCompilerFlags.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e8ccfaeab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureCompilerFlags.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++14 -Wno-unused-result -Wno-deprecated-declarations")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} -DDEBUG -g -frtti -fexceptions")
+set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG} -DDEBUG")
+
+# enable for additional memory checking with fsanitize
+# set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} -g3 -fsanitize=address,undefined")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE} -O2 -frtti -fexceptions")
+set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE} -O2")
+
+add_definitions(-DHAVE_BOOST -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -DSIGSLOT_USE_POSIX_THREADS)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureCurses.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureCurses.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d2d1d0776
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureCurses.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+if (EXISTS "/etc/arch-release" OR EXISTS "/etc/manjaro-release" OR NO_NCURSESW)
+  add_definitions (-DNO_NCURSESW)
+elseif(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD" )
+  add_definitions (-DNO_NCURSESW)
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureRpath.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureRpath.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a3f28d7ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureRpath.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# ensure the binaries can find libmusikcore.so, which lives in the same directory.
+if (NOT CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+  # in Linux/BSD distributions we can specify the magic "$ORIGIN" value for
+  # the rpath for the dymamic linker to search the executable's directory
+  set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH "$ORIGIN")
+  set(CMAKE_BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH TRUE)
+  # note: macOS does not use $ORIGIN, and uses @executable_path/ instead. we
+  # add a custom post build step at the bottom of this file to add this value
+  # to macOS binaries.
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureStaticLinking.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureStaticLinking.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e7cf4d3e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureStaticLinking.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
+  message(STATUS "[static linking] enabling static linking...")
+
+  set(BOOST_ROOT "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/boost-bin")
+  set(BOOST_INCLUDEDIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/boost-bin/include")
+  set(BOOST_LIBRARYDIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/boost-bin/lib")
+  set(Boost_NO_SYSTEM_PATHS ON)
+  set(Boost_USE_STATIC_LIBS ON)
+  set(Boost_NO_BOOST_CMAKE ON)
+
+  include_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/include")
+  link_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/lib")
+
+  include_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/lame-bin/include")
+  link_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/lame-bin/lib")
+
+  include_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/libmicrohttpd-bin/include")
+  link_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/libmicrohttpd-bin/lib")
+
+  include_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/zlib-bin/include")
+  link_directories("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/vendor/zlib-bin/lib")
+else()
+    message(STATUS "[static linking] static linking NOT enabled!")
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/ConfigureTaglib.cmake b/.cmake/ConfigureTaglib.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..614a07d1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/ConfigureTaglib.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# we default to using a bundled version of taglib because the latest release
+# is from 2016, and the upstream git repo is hundreds of commits ahead and
+# has a number of important bugfixes.
+if (NOT DEFINED ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB)
+  message(STATUS "[build] ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB not defined, setting to 'true'")
+  set(ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB "true")
+else()
+  message(STATUS "[build] ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB specified as '${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB}'")
+endif()
diff --git a/.cmake/GenerateDeb.cmake b/.cmake/GenerateDeb.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..363bc46d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/GenerateDeb.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+if (GENERATE_DEB MATCHES "1")
+  if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
+    set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.55.0")
+    set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "10")
+    set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "3")
+    set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "55")
+    set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "57")
+    set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "2")
+    set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "5")
+    if (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "artful")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.63.0")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "bionic")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.65.1")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
+    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "cosmic" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "disco" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "eoan" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "buster")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.67.0")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
+      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
+      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
+      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
+    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "focal" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "groovy" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "ulyssa")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.71.0")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
+      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
+      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
+      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
+      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
+    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "hirsute")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.71.0")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
+      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
+      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
+      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
+      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
+    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "impish" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "bullseye")
+      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.74.0")
+      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
+      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
+      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
+      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
+      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
+      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
+    endif()
+
+    set(DEPENDENCIES "libboost-thread${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-system${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-chrono${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-filesystem${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-date-time${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libmicrohttpd${DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION}, libcurl${DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION}, libogg0, libvorbis0a, libvorbisfile3, libncursesw${DEB_NCURSES_VERSION}, libasound2, libpulse0, pulseaudio, libmp3lame0, libev4, libopenmpt0, libssl1.1")
+    set(DEPENDENCIES "${DEPENDENCIES}, libavcodec-extra, libavutil${DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION}, libavformat${DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION}, libswresample${DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION}")
+
+    if (${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB} MATCHES "false")
+      set(DEPENDENCIES "${DEPENDENCIES}, libtag1v5")
+    endif()
+
+    set(CPACK_GENERATOR "DEB")
+    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION "musikcube, a terminal-based music player and library")
+    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR "${musikcube_VERSION_MAJOR}")
+    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR "${musikcube_VERSION_MINOR}")
+    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH "${musikcube_VERSION_PATCH}")
+    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_DEPENDS ${DEPENDENCIES})
+    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_MAINTAINER "casey langen")
+    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_ARCHITECTURE ${DEB_ARCHITECTURE})
+    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME "musikcube_${musikcube_VERSION}_${DEB_PLATFORM}_${DEB_DISTRO}_${DEB_ARCHITECTURE}")
+    include(CPack)
+  endif()
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/InstallFiles.cmake b/.cmake/InstallFiles.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..05601c00f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/InstallFiles.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+# plugin dynamic libraries
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+  file(GLOB plugins "bin/plugins/*.dylib")
+  install(FILES ${plugins} DESTINATION share/musikcube/plugins)
+else ()
+  file(GLOB plugins "bin/plugins/*.so")
+  install(FILES ${plugins} DESTINATION share/musikcube/plugins)
+endif ()
+
+# sdk header files
+file(GLOB sdk_headers "src/musikcore/sdk/*.h")
+install(FILES ${sdk_headers} DESTINATION include/musikcube/musikcore/sdk)
+
+# resources
+file(GLOB themes "src/musikcube/data/themes/*.json")
+file(COPY ${themes} DESTINATION bin/themes)
+install(FILES ${themes} DESTINATION share/musikcube/themes)
+
+file(GLOB locales "src/musikcube/data/locales/*.json")
+file(COPY ${locales} DESTINATION bin/locales)
+install(FILES ${locales} DESTINATION share/musikcube/locales)
+
+# linux desktop shortcuts
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
+  file(GLOB linux_share_applications "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/applications/musikcube.desktop")
+  install(FILES ${linux_share_applications} DESTINATION share/applications/)
+  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_48 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/*")
+  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_48} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/)
+  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_64 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/64x64/apps/*")
+  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_64} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/64x64/apps/)
+  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_128 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/*")
+  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_128} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/)
+endif()
+
+# libmusikcore shared library
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+  install(FILES "bin/libmusikcore.dylib" DESTINATION share/musikcube)
+else()
+  install(FILES "bin/libmusikcore.so" DESTINATION share/musikcube)
+endif()
+
+# executable and shell script for musikcube
+install(
+  FILES bin/musikcube
+  DESTINATION share/musikcube
+  PERMISSIONS
+    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
+    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
+    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
+
+install(
+  FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src/musikcube/musikcube"
+  DESTINATION bin/
+  PERMISSIONS
+    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
+    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
+    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
+
+# executable and shell script for daemon
+install(
+  FILES bin/musikcubed
+  DESTINATION share/musikcube
+  PERMISSIONS
+    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
+    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
+    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
+
+install(
+  FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src/musikcubed/musikcubed"
+  DESTINATION bin/
+  PERMISSIONS
+    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
+    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
+    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.cmake/PostBuild.cmake b/.cmake/PostBuild.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..80292253f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cmake/PostBuild.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# run `cmake .` again to pick up build plugin build artifacts that we need
+# to file glob in. these won't be picked up on the initial build because
+# they don't yet exist!
+add_custom_target(postbuild ALL DEPENDS musikcube musikcubed)
+add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND cmake .)
+
+# strip binaries in release mode
+if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES Release)
+  if ((NOT DEFINED DISABLE_STRIP) OR (NOT ${DISABLE_STRIP} MATCHES "true"))
+    message(STATUS "[build] binary stripping enabled for ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
+    add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/script/strip-nix.sh" ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
+  else()
+    message(STATUS "[build] DISABLE_STRIP=true, *NOT* stripping binaries.")
+  endif()
+endif()
+
+# ensure the binaries can find libmusikcore.so, which lives in the same directory.
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
+  add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/script/patch-macos-rpath.sh")
+endif()
+
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index f6067dd90..c3324a243 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,23 +10,22 @@ set (musikcube_VERSION_MAJOR 0)
 set (musikcube_VERSION_MINOR 96)
 set (musikcube_VERSION_PATCH 11)
 set (musikcube_VERSION "${musikcube_VERSION_MAJOR}.${musikcube_VERSION_MINOR}.${musikcube_VERSION_PATCH}")
+set (LIBRARY_OUTPUT_PATH ${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/plugins)
+set (EXECUTABLE_OUTPUT_PATH ${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin)
 
 list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/.cmake)
 include(CMakeToolsHelpers OPTIONAL)
 include(CheckDependencies)
 include(CheckAtomic)
-
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++14 -Wno-unused-result -Wno-deprecated-declarations")
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} -DDEBUG -g -frtti -fexceptions")
-set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_DEBUG} -DDEBUG")
-
-# enable for additional memory checking with fsanitize
-# set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_DEBUG} -g3 -fsanitize=address,undefined")
-set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE} -O2 -frtti -fexceptions")
-set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS_RELEASE} -O2")
+include(ConfigureCurses)
+include(ConfigureRpath)
+include(ConfigureTaglib)
+include(ConfigureBsdPaths)
+include(ConfigureCompilerFlags)
+include(ConfigureStaticLinking)
 
 # our include directories
-include_directories (
+include_directories(
   "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src"
   "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/musikcore"
   "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/musikcube"
@@ -34,59 +33,27 @@ include_directories (
   "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/3rdparty/include")
 
 # our library directories
-link_directories ("${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/plugins")
+link_directories("${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/plugins")
 
-# custom include/library directories for BSDs
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD")
-  set(BSD_PATH_PREFIX "/usr/local")
-  if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-    execute_process(
-      COMMAND brew config
-      COMMAND grep -i HOMEBREW_PREFIX
-      COMMAND awk "{print $2}"
-      OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
-      OUTPUT_VARIABLE BSD_PATH_PREFIX)
-  endif()
-  message(STATUS "resolved BSD_PATH_PREFIX to: '${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}'")
-  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/lib")
-  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/openssl/lib")
-  link_directories ("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/ncurses/lib")
-  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/include")
-  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/openssl/include")
-  include_directories("${BSD_PATH_PREFIX}/opt/ncurses/include")
-endif ()
-
-if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
-  set(Boost_USE_STATIC_LIBS ON)
-endif()
-
-set (BOOST_LIBS system filesystem thread)
-
-find_package(Boost 1.55.0 REQUIRED ${BOOST_LIBS})
-
-add_definitions (-DHAVE_BOOST -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 -DSIGSLOT_USE_POSIX_THREADS)
-set (BOOST_LINK_LIBS ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
-
-#message(STATUS "boost libs: " ${BOOST_LINK_LIBS})
-#message(STATUS "boost includes: " ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
-
-set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/Modules)
-
-# SET (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE DEBUG)
-set (LIBRARY_OUTPUT_PATH ${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin/plugins)
-set (EXECUTABLE_OUTPUT_PATH ${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/bin)
+find_package(Boost 1.55.0 REQUIRED system filesystem thread)
+include_directories(${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
+message(STATUS "[boost] libs: " ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
+message(STATUS "[boost] includes: " ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 
 ensure_library_exists(curl)
 ensure_library_exists(pthread)
 ensure_library_exists(ssl)
 ensure_library_exists(crypto)
 ensure_library_exists(z)
-set(COMMON_LINK_LIBS ${BOOST_LINK_LIBS} curl pthread ssl crypto)
+find_library(LIBCURL NAMES curl)
+find_library(LIBPTHREAD NAMES pthread)
+find_library(LIBSSL NAMES ssl)
+find_library(LIBCRYPTO NAMES crypto)
+set(COMMON_LINK_LIBS ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${LIBCURL} ${LIBPTHREAD} ${LIBSSL} ${LIBCRYPTO})
 
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD")
-  set (musikcube_LINK_LIBS ${COMMON_LINK_LIBS})
-else()
-  set (musikcube_LINK_LIBS ${COMMON_LINK_LIBS} dl)
+if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
+  find_library(LIBDL NAMES dl)
+  set (musikcube_LINK_LIBS ${COMMON_LINK_LIBS} ${LIBDL})
 endif()
 
 if(NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITHOUT_LIB)
@@ -96,36 +63,8 @@ if(NOT HAVE_CXX_ATOMICS_WITHOUT_LIB)
   endif()
 endif()
 
-# we default to using a bundled version of taglib because the latest release
-# is from 2016, and the upstream git repo is hundreds of commits ahead and
-# has a number of important bugfixes.
-if (NOT DEFINED ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB)
-  message(STATUS "[build] ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB not defined, setting to 'true'")
-  set(ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB "true")
-else()
-  message(STATUS "[build] ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB specified as '${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB}'")
-endif()
-
 message(STATUS "[build] link libraries are: ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS}")
 
-# ensure the binaries can find libmusikcore.so, which lives in the same directory.
-if (NOT CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-  # in Linux/BSD distributions we can specify the magic "$ORIGIN" value for
-  # the rpath for the dymamic linker to search the executable's directory
-  set(CMAKE_INSTALL_RPATH "$ORIGIN")
-  set(CMAKE_BUILD_WITH_INSTALL_RPATH TRUE)
-
-  # note: macOS does not use $ORIGIN, and uses @executable_path/ insetad. we
-  # add a custom post build step at the bottom of this file to add this value
-  # to macOS binaries.
-endif()
-
-if (EXISTS "/etc/arch-release" OR EXISTS "/etc/manjaro-release" OR NO_NCURSESW)
-  add_definitions (-DNO_NCURSESW)
-elseif(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD" OR CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD" )
-  add_definitions (-DNO_NCURSESW)
-endif()
-
 add_subdirectory(src/musikcore)
 add_subdirectory(src/core_c_demo)
 add_subdirectory(src/musikcube)
@@ -137,250 +76,12 @@ add_subdirectory(src/plugins/httpdatastream)
 add_subdirectory(src/plugins/stockencoders)
 add_subdirectory(src/plugins/supereqdsp)
 add_subdirectory(src/plugins/gmedecoder)
+add_subdirectory(src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder)
 
-find_library(LIBOPENMPT NAMES openmpt)
-if ("${LIBOPENMPT}" STREQUAL "LIBOPENMPT-NOTFOUND")
-  message(STATUS "[libopenmpt] *not* found! plugin will not be built.")
-else()
-  message(STATUS "[libopenmpt] enabled = true; found library at ${LIBOPENMPT}")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/libopenmptdecoder)
-endif()
+add_dependencies(musikcube musikcore)
+add_dependencies(musikcubed musikcore)
 
-if (${ENABLE_FFMPEG} MATCHES "false")
-  message(STATUS "[ffmpeg] enabled = false")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/m4adecoder)
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/oggdecoder)
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/nomaddecoder)
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/flacdecoder)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube m4adecoder oggdecoder nomaddecoder flacdecoder)
-else()
-  message(STATUS "[ffmpeg] enabled = true")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube ffmpegdecoder)
-endif()
-
-# systemd / MPRIS detection
-
-if (NOT ENABLE_MPRIS MATCHES "false")
-  find_library(LIB_SYSTEMD NAMES systemd)
-  if (NOT LIB_SYSTEMD MATCHES "LIB_SYSTEMD-NOTFOUND")
-    message(STATUS "[mpris] systemd found at " ${LIB_SYSTEMD})
-    message(STATUS "[mpris] setting ENABLE_MPRIS=true")
-    set(ENABLE_MPRIS "true")
-  else()
-    message(STATUS "[mpris] systemd *not* found. MPRIS plugin not enabled")
-    set(ENABLE_MPRIS "false")
-  endif()
-endif()
-
-#end systemd / MPRIS detection
-
-add_dependencies(musikcube musikcore taglibreader nullout server httpdatastream stockencoders)
-add_dependencies(musikcubed musikcube)
-
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/alsaout)
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout)
-  if (${ENABLE_PIPEWIRE} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pipewireout)
-    add_dependencies(musikcube pipewireout)
-  endif()
-  if (${ENABLE_MPRIS} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/mpris)
-    add_dependencies(musikcube mpris)
-  endif()
-  if (${ENABLE_SNDIO} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
-    add_dependencies(musikcube sndioout)
-  endif()
-elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "OpenBSD")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube sndioout)
-  if (${ENABLE_PULSEAUDIO} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout) # disabled by default
-    add_dependencies(musikcube pulseout)
-  endif()
-elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "FreeBSD")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/sndioout)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube sndioout)
-  if (${ENABLE_PULSEAUDIO} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/pulseout) # disabled by default
-    add_dependencies(musikcube pulseout)
-  endif()
-  if (${ENABLE_ALSA} MATCHES "true")
-    add_subdirectory(src/plugins/alsaout) # disabled by default
-    add_dependencies(musikcube alsaout)
-  endif()
-elseif (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/coreaudioout)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube coreaudioout)
-  add_subdirectory(src/plugins/macosmediakeys)
-  add_dependencies(musikcube macosmediakeys)
-endif()
-
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-  file(GLOB plugins "bin/plugins/*.dylib")
-  install(FILES ${plugins} DESTINATION share/musikcube/plugins)
-else ()
-  file(GLOB plugins "bin/plugins/*.so")
-  install(FILES ${plugins} DESTINATION share/musikcube/plugins)
-endif ()
-
-file(GLOB sdk_headers "src/musikcore/sdk/*.h")
-install(FILES ${sdk_headers} DESTINATION include/musikcube/musikcore/sdk)
-
-file(GLOB themes "src/musikcube/data/themes/*.json")
-file(COPY ${themes} DESTINATION bin/themes)
-install(FILES ${themes} DESTINATION share/musikcube/themes)
-
-file(GLOB locales "src/musikcube/data/locales/*.json")
-file(COPY ${locales} DESTINATION bin/locales)
-install(FILES ${locales} DESTINATION share/musikcube/locales)
-
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
-  file(GLOB linux_share_applications "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/applications/musikcube.desktop")
-  install(FILES ${linux_share_applications} DESTINATION share/applications/)
-  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_48 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/*")
-  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_48} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps/)
-  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_64 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/64x64/apps/*")
-  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_64} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/64x64/apps/)
-  file(GLOB linux_share_icons_128 "src/musikcube/data/linux/share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/*")
-  install(FILES ${linux_share_icons_128} DESTINATION share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/)
-endif()
-
-# libmusikcore sshared library
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-  install(FILES "bin/libmusikcore.dylib" DESTINATION share/musikcube)
-else()
-  install(FILES "bin/libmusikcore.so" DESTINATION share/musikcube)
-endif()
-
-# executable and shell script for musikcube
-install(
-  FILES bin/musikcube
-  DESTINATION share/musikcube
-  PERMISSIONS
-    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
-    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
-    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
-
-install(
-  FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src/musikcube/musikcube"
-  DESTINATION bin/
-  PERMISSIONS
-    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
-    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
-    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
-
-# executable and shell script for daemon
-install(
-  FILES bin/musikcubed
-  DESTINATION share/musikcube
-  PERMISSIONS
-    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
-    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
-    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
-
-install(
-  FILES "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/src/musikcubed/musikcubed"
-  DESTINATION bin/
-  PERMISSIONS
-    OWNER_EXECUTE OWNER_READ OWNER_WRITE
-    GROUP_EXECUTE GROUP_READ GROUP_WRITE
-    WORLD_EXECUTE WORLD_READ)
-
-# deb generation
-if (GENERATE_DEB MATCHES "1")
-  if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Linux")
-    set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.55.0")
-    set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "10")
-    set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "3")
-    set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "55")
-    set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "57")
-    set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "2")
-    set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "5")
-    if (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "artful")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.63.0")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "bionic")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.65.1")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
-    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "cosmic" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "disco" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "eoan" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "buster")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.67.0")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
-      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
-      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
-      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
-    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "focal" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "groovy" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "ulyssa")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.71.0")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
-      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
-      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
-      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
-      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
-    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "hirsute")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.71.0")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
-      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
-      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
-      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
-      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
-    elseif (DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "impish" OR DEB_DISTRO MATCHES "bullseye")
-      set(DEB_BOOST_VERSION "1.74.0")
-      set(DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION "12")
-      set(DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION "4")
-      set(DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION "56")
-      set(DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION "58")
-      set(DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION "3")
-      set(DEB_NCURSES_VERSION "6")
-    endif()
-
-    set(DEPENDENCIES "libboost-thread${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-system${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-chrono${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-filesystem${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libboost-date-time${DEB_BOOST_VERSION}, libmicrohttpd${DEB_MICROHTTPD_VERSION}, libcurl${DEB_LIBCURL_VERSION}, libogg0, libvorbis0a, libvorbisfile3, libncursesw${DEB_NCURSES_VERSION}, libasound2, libpulse0, pulseaudio, libmp3lame0, libev4, libopenmpt0, libssl1.1")
-
-    if (${ENABLE_FFMPEG} MATCHES "false")
-      set(DEPENDENCIES "${DEPENDENCIES}, libflac8, libfaad2")
-    else()
-      set(DEPENDENCIES "${DEPENDENCIES}, libavcodec-extra, libavutil${DEB_AVUTIL_VERSION}, libavformat${DEB_AVFORMAT_VERSION}, libswresample${DEB_SWRESAMPLE_VERSION}")
-    endif()
-
-    if (${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB} MATCHES "false")
-      set(DEPENDENCIES "${DEPENDENCIES}, libtag1v5")
-    endif()
-
-    set(CPACK_GENERATOR "DEB")
-    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION "musikcube, a terminal-based music player and library")
-    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MAJOR "${musikcube_VERSION_MAJOR}")
-    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_MINOR "${musikcube_VERSION_MINOR}")
-    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VERSION_PATCH "${musikcube_VERSION_PATCH}")
-    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_DEPENDS ${DEPENDENCIES})
-    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_MAINTAINER "casey langen")
-    set(CPACK_DEBIAN_PACKAGE_ARCHITECTURE ${DEB_ARCHITECTURE})
-    set(CPACK_PACKAGE_FILE_NAME "musikcube_${musikcube_VERSION}_${DEB_PLATFORM}_${DEB_DISTRO}_${DEB_ARCHITECTURE}")
-    include(CPack)
-  endif()
-endif()
-
-# run `cmake .` again to pick up build plugin build artifacts that we need
-# to file glob in. these won't be picked up on the initial build because
-# they don't yet exist!
-add_custom_target(postbuild ALL DEPENDS musikcube musikcubed)
-add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND cmake .)
-
-# strip binaries in release mode
-if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES Release)
-  if ((NOT DEFINED DISABLE_STRIP) OR (NOT ${DISABLE_STRIP} MATCHES "true"))
-    message(STATUS "[build] binary stripping enabled for ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}")
-    add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/script/strip-nix.sh" ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
-  else()
-    message(STATUS "[build] DISABLE_STRIP=true, *NOT* stripping binaries.")
-  endif()
-endif()
-
-# ensure the binaries can find libmusikcore.so, which lives in the same directory.
-if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-  add_custom_command(TARGET postbuild POST_BUILD COMMAND "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/script/patch-macos-rpath.sh")
-endif()
\ No newline at end of file
+include(AddOsSpecificPlugins)
+include(InstallFiles)
+include(GenerateDeb)
+include(PostBuild)
diff --git a/script/archive-macos.sh b/script/archive-macos.sh
index 8b9c4c426..fccd0e6c2 100755
--- a/script/archive-macos.sh
+++ b/script/archive-macos.sh
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ SCRIPTDIR=`dirname "$0"`
 rm -rf bin/
 
 ${SCRIPTDIR}/clean-nix.sh
-cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLINK_STATICALLY=true -DENABLE_FFMPEG=false .
+cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLINK_STATICALLY=true .
 make -j7
 
 DIRNAME="musikcube_macos_$VERSION"
diff --git a/src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder/CMakeLists.txt b/src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder/CMakeLists.txt
index b33c8f065..9a595e314 100644
--- a/src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/plugins/ffmpegdecoder/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,20 +1,29 @@
-# libresample2 libavcodec-extra57 libavutil55 libavformat57
-# libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev libswresample-dev
-
 set (ffmpegdecoder_SOURCES
     plugin.cpp
     FfmpegDecoder.cpp
 )
 
-# fedora (and probably other RPM-based distros) put ffmpeg includes here...
-include_directories("/usr/include/ffmpeg")
-include_directories("/usr/local/include/ffmpeg")
-
-ensure_library_exists(avcodec)
-ensure_library_exists(avutil)
-ensure_library_exists(avformat)
-ensure_library_exists(swresample)
-
-# note: static linking is a no-go (too many dependencies). sorry macOS.
 add_library(ffmpegdecoder SHARED ${ffmpegdecoder_SOURCES})
-target_link_libraries(ffmpegdecoder ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} avcodec avutil avformat swresample)
+
+if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
+    find_library(LIBAVCODEC NAMES libavcodec-musikcube.a PATHS "/home/clangen/src/musikcube/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/lib/")
+    find_library(LIBAVUTIL NAMES libavutil-musikcube.a PATHS "/home/clangen/src/musikcube/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/lib/")
+    find_library(LIBAVFORMAT NAMES libavformat-musikcube.a PATHS "/home/clangen/src/musikcube/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/lib/")
+    find_library(LIBSWRESAMPLE NAMES libswresample-musikcube.a PATHS "/home/clangen/src/musikcube/vendor/ffmpeg-bin/lib/")
+    target_link_libraries(ffmpegdecoder ${LIBAVCODEC} ${LIBAVUTIL} ${LIBAVFORMAT} ${LIBSWRESAMPLE})
+    #target_link_libraries(ffmpegdecoder -Wl,-Bdynamic libavcodec-musikcube.a libavutil-musikcube.a libavformat-musikcube.a libswresample-musikcube.a)
+
+else()
+    # fedora (and probably other RPM-based distros) put ffmpeg includes here...
+    include_directories("/usr/include/ffmpeg")
+    include_directories("/usr/local/include/ffmpeg")
+    ensure_library_exists(avcodec)
+    ensure_library_exists(avutil)
+    ensure_library_exists(avformat)
+    ensure_library_exists(swresample)
+    target_link_libraries(ffmpegdecoder avcodec avutil avformat swresample)
+endif()
+
+message(STATUS "clclcl ${LIBAVCODEC} ${LIBAVUTIL} ${LIBAVFORMAT} ${LIBSWRESAMPLE}")
+
+#target_link_libraries(ffmpegdecoder ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS})
diff --git a/src/plugins/httpdatastream/CMakeLists.txt b/src/plugins/httpdatastream/CMakeLists.txt
index 6c9094fc3..9a9a6b786 100644
--- a/src/plugins/httpdatastream/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/plugins/httpdatastream/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,5 +6,4 @@ set (httpdatastream_SOURCES
 )
 
 add_library(httpdatastream SHARED ${httpdatastream_SOURCES})
-
-target_link_libraries(httpdatastream ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} -lcurl)
+target_link_libraries(httpdatastream ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS})
diff --git a/src/plugins/server/CMakeLists.txt b/src/plugins/server/CMakeLists.txt
index f8cf04a6a..b9acaac29 100644
--- a/src/plugins/server/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/plugins/server/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,46 +8,18 @@ set (server_SOURCES
   Util.cpp
   WebSocketServer.cpp)
 
-set (BOOST_LIBS
-  system
-  filesystem
-  thread)
-
-find_package(Boost 1.55.0 REQUIRED ${BOOST_LIBS})
-add_definitions (-DHAVE_BOOST -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64)
-set (BOOST_LINK_LIBS ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
-
 add_library(server SHARED ${server_SOURCES})
 
-set (server_LINK_LIBS ${BOOST_LINK_LIBS})
+set (server_LINK_LIBS ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
 
 include_directories ("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/3rdparty/include")
+include_directories(${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 
 ensure_library_exists(microhttpd)
 
 if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
-  # libmicrohttpd on macOS now depends on `gnutls`. when we build statically,
-  # we also need to build libmicrohttpd ourselves and disable TLS to avoid this
-  # homebrew-only dependency
-  if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
-    include (ExternalProject)
-
-    ExternalProject_Add(libmicrohttpd
-      URL https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/libmicrohttpd/libmicrohttpd-0.9.71.tar.gz
-      BUILD_IN_SOURCE 1
-      CONFIGURE_COMMAND ./configure --enable-https=no --disable-curl --prefix=${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/microhttpd/.libs/
-      BUILD_COMMAND make
-      INSTALL_COMMAND make install
-      TEST_COMMAND "")
-
-    add_dependencies(server libmicrohttpd)
-    include_directories ("${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/microhttpd/include")
-    file(GLOB EXTRA_OBJS "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/libmicrohttpd-prefix/src/libmicrohttpd/src/microhttpd/*.o")
-    target_link_libraries(server ${server_LINK_LIBS} z crypto ${EXTRA_OBJS})
-  else()
-    find_library(MICROHTTPDLIB NAMES libmicrohttpd.a microhttpd)
-    target_link_libraries(server ${server_LINK_LIBS} ${MICROHTTPDLIB} z)
-  endif()
+  find_library(MICROHTTPDLIB NAMES libmicrohttpd.a)
+  target_link_libraries(server ${server_LINK_LIBS} ${MICROHTTPDLIB})
 else()
   set(EXTRA_LIBS "")
   if (CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME MATCHES "Darwin")
diff --git a/src/plugins/stockencoders/CMakeLists.txt b/src/plugins/stockencoders/CMakeLists.txt
index f1e41020b..88de7086d 100644
--- a/src/plugins/stockencoders/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/plugins/stockencoders/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,29 +8,29 @@ add_library(stockencoders SHARED ${stockencoders_SOURCES})
 
 ensure_library_exists(mp3lame)
 
-if (${ENABLE_FFMPEG} MATCHES "false")
-  message(STATUS "[stockencoders] *not* defining ENABLE_FFMPEG")
+if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
+    ensure_library_exists(avcodec-musikcube)
+    ensure_library_exists(avutil-musikcube)
+    ensure_library_exists(avformat-musikcube)
+    ensure_library_exists(swresample-musikcube)
+    target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} libavcodec-musikcube.a libavutil-musikcube.a libavformat-musikcube.a libswresample-musikcube.a)
 else()
-  message(STATUS "[stockencoders] defining ENABLE_FFMPEG")
-  add_definitions(-DENABLE_FFMPEG)
-  
-  # fedora (and probably other RPM-based distros) put ffmpeg includes here...
-  include_directories("/usr/include/ffmpeg")
-  include_directories("/usr/local/include/ffmpeg")
-
-  ensure_library_exists(avcodec)
-  ensure_library_exists(avutil)
-  ensure_library_exists(avformat)
-  ensure_library_exists(swresample)
-  
-  # note: static linking is a no-go (too many dependencies). sorry macOS.
-  target_link_libraries(stockencoders avcodec avutil avformat swresample)
+    # fedora (and probably other RPM-based distros) put ffmpeg includes here...
+    include_directories("/usr/include/ffmpeg")
+    include_directories("/usr/local/include/ffmpeg")
+    ensure_library_exists(avcodec)
+    ensure_library_exists(avutil)
+    ensure_library_exists(avformat)
+    ensure_library_exists(swresample)
+    target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} avcodec avutil avformat swresample)
 endif()
 
 # prefer static libraries on mac to make redist easier
 if (${LINK_STATICALLY} MATCHES "true")
-  find_library(MP3LAMELIB NAMES libmp3lame.a mp3lame)
-  target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} ${MP3LAMELIB})
+  find_library(MP3LAMELIB NAMES libmp3lame.a)
+  target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${MP3LAMELIB})
 else()
-  target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS} mp3lame)
+  target_link_libraries(stockencoders mp3lame)
 endif()
+
+target_link_libraries(stockencoders ${musikcube_LINK_LIBS})
diff --git a/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.cpp b/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.cpp
index bf2a8a9ff..26c6015d9 100644
--- a/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.cpp
@@ -34,8 +34,6 @@
 
 #include "FfmpegEncoder.h"
 
-#ifdef ENABLE_FFMPEG
-
 #include "shared.h"
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <random>
@@ -633,5 +631,3 @@ AVFrame* FfmpegEncoder::ReallocFrame(
     }
     return original;
 }
-
-#endif // ENABLE_FFMPEG
diff --git a/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.h b/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.h
index de47b87f3..c13520865 100644
--- a/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.h
+++ b/src/plugins/stockencoders/FfmpegEncoder.h
@@ -34,12 +34,6 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#ifdef WIN32
-#define ENABLE_FFMPEG
-#endif
-
-#ifdef ENABLE_FFMPEG
-
 #include <musikcore/sdk/IBlockingEncoder.h>
 #include <musikcore/sdk/DataBuffer.h>
 #include <string>
@@ -104,5 +98,3 @@ class FfmpegEncoder : public musik::core::sdk::IBlockingEncoder {
         int inputChannelCount;
         int inputSampleRate;
 };
-
-#endif // ENABLE_FFMPEG
diff --git a/src/plugins/stockencoders/main.cpp b/src/plugins/stockencoders/main.cpp
index 3457af7a8..8428d85ad 100644
--- a/src/plugins/stockencoders/main.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/stockencoders/main.cpp
@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@ static IEnvironment* environment = nullptr;
 
 static std::set<std::string> supportedFormats = {
     ".mp3",
-#ifdef ENABLE_FFMPEG
     "audio/mpeg",
     ".ogg",
     "audio/ogg",
@@ -77,7 +76,6 @@ static std::set<std::string> supportedFormats = {
     ".wma",
     "audio/x-ms-wma",
     ".wv"
-#endif
 };
 
 static class Plugin : public IPlugin {
@@ -86,11 +84,7 @@ static class Plugin : public IPlugin {
         }
 
         virtual void Release() { }
-#if defined(ENABLE_FFMPEG) || defined(WIN32)
         virtual const char* Name() { return "Stock Encoders (lame + ffmpeg)"; }
-#else
-        virtual const char* Name() { return "Stock Encoders (lame)"; }
-#endif
         virtual const char* Version() { return "0.7.0"; }
         virtual const char* Author() { return "clangen"; }
         virtual const char* Guid() { return "d4d13803-a285-4481-ad1e-106131e0d523"; }
@@ -116,11 +110,9 @@ static class EncoderFactory: public IEncoderFactory {
             if (isMp3(lowerType)) {
                 return new LameEncoder();
             }
-#ifdef ENABLE_FFMPEG
             else if (supportedFormats.find(lowerType) != supportedFormats.end()) {
                 return new FfmpegEncoder(lowerType);
             }
-#endif
             return nullptr;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/CMakeLists.txt b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/CMakeLists.txt
index 629c23808..62225d7de 100644
--- a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,15 +3,9 @@ set (taglibreader_SOURCES
   TaglibMetadataReader.cpp
 )
 
-if (${ENABLE_FFMPEG} MATCHES "false")
-  message(STATUS "[taglibmetadatareader] *not* defining ENABLE_FFMPEG")
-else()
-  message(STATUS "[taglibmetadatareader] defining ENABLE_FFMPEG")
-  add_definitions(-DENABLE_FFMPEG)
-endif()
-
 add_library(taglibreader SHARED ${taglibreader_SOURCES})
-  
+include_directories(${Boost_INCLUDE_DIRS})
+
 if (NOT ${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB} MATCHES "false")
   message(STATUS "[taglibmetadatareader] using bundled taglib = true")
 
@@ -27,10 +21,10 @@ if (NOT ${ENABLE_BUNDLED_TAGLIB} MATCHES "false")
 
   include_directories("${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib-1.11/stage/include")
   add_dependencies(taglibreader taglib)
-  target_link_libraries(taglibreader ${BOOST_LINK_LIBS} "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib-1.11/stage/lib/libtag.a" z)
+  target_link_libraries(taglibreader ${Boost_LIBRARIES} "${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib-1.11/stage/lib/libtag.a" z)
   message(STATUS "[taglibmetadatareader] using ${musikcube_SOURCE_DIR}/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib-1.11/stage/lib/libtag.a")
 else()
   message(STATUS "[taglibmetadatareader] using bundled taglib = false")
   ensure_library_exists(tag)
-  target_link_libraries(taglibreader ${BOOST_LINK_LIBS} tag z)
+  target_link_libraries(taglibreader ${Boost_LIBRARIES} tag z)
 endif()
diff --git a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/TaglibMetadataReader.cpp b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/TaglibMetadataReader.cpp
index a84ee1ea1..4bdb849ff 100644
--- a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/TaglibMetadataReader.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/TaglibMetadataReader.cpp
@@ -92,10 +92,6 @@
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <string.h>
 
-#ifdef WIN32
-#define ENABLE_FFMPEG
-#endif
-
 using namespace musik::core::sdk;
 
 namespace str {
@@ -243,7 +239,6 @@ bool TaglibMetadataReader::CanRead(const char *extension) {
     if (extension && strlen(extension)) {
         std::string ext(str::lower(extension[0] == '.' ? &extension[1] : extension));
         return
-#ifdef ENABLE_FFMPEG
             ext.compare("opus") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("wv") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("wma") == 0 ||
@@ -255,7 +250,6 @@ bool TaglibMetadataReader::CanRead(const char *extension) {
             ext.compare("wave") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("aif") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("aiff") == 0 ||
-#endif
             ext.compare("mp3") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("ogg") == 0 ||
             ext.compare("m4a") == 0 ||
diff --git a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib_plugin.cpp b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib_plugin.cpp
index 86e211970..3d09f4b82 100644
--- a/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib_plugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/taglib_plugin/taglib_plugin.cpp
@@ -52,11 +52,7 @@
 class TaglibPlugin : public musik::core::sdk::IPlugin {
     public:
         virtual void Release() { delete this; }
-#if defined(ENABLE_FFMPEG) || defined(WIN32)
         virtual const char* Name() { return "Taglib 1.11 ITagReader (+ffmpeg)"; }
-#else
-        virtual const char* Name() { return "Taglib 1.11 ITagReader"; }
-#endif
         virtual const char* Version() { return "0.6.0"; }
         virtual const char* Author() { return "Daniel Önnerby, clangen"; }
         virtual const char* Guid() { return "c77ea7a4-5d57-4f17-8521-aba8eeadeda7"; }