diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c4444c6668a0389a73e049f1d4491c4ec6f46923..829ce5c3daba4654aa4f391db7139ea7d821868b 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
 set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
 
-set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake" ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH})
+# set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake" ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH})
 
 IF (WIN32)
     set(CMAKE_WINDOWS_EXPORT_ALL_SYMBOLS ON)
@@ -55,20 +55,20 @@ ENDIF()
 ### DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT with CONAN
 ###########################################
 message(STATUS "Build directory ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}")
-include(${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/conanbuildinfo.cmake)
-conan_basic_setup()
+# include(${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/conanbuildinfo.cmake)
+# conan_basic_setup()
 
-# fix grpc - remove unsecure (no-op ssl implementations)
-string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_LIBS_GRPC
-    "${CONAN_LIBS_GRPC}")
-string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_PKG_LIBS_GRPC
-    "${CONAN_PKG_LIBS_GRPC}")
-string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_LIBS
-    "${CONAN_LIBS}")
-string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_PKG_LIBS
-    "${CONAN_PKG_LIBS}")
+# # fix grpc - remove unsecure (no-op ssl implementations)
+# string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_LIBS_GRPC
+#     "${CONAN_LIBS_GRPC}")
+# string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_PKG_LIBS_GRPC
+#     "${CONAN_PKG_LIBS_GRPC}")
+# string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_LIBS
+#     "${CONAN_LIBS}")
+# string(REGEX REPLACE "grpc\\+?\\+?_unsecure" "" CONAN_PKG_LIBS
+#     "${CONAN_PKG_LIBS}")
 
-message(STATUS "CONAN_LIBS: ${CONAN_LIBS}")
+# message(STATUS "CONAN_LIBS: ${CONAN_LIBS}")
 
 ###########################################
 ### GENERAL SETUP of SOURCES
@@ -157,85 +157,102 @@ add_custom_command(
 ### * ccaosdbcli - A plain C test client.
 ###############################################################################
 
-if("${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" MATCHES "Debug")
-  add_library(caosdb_grpc SHARED ${GRPC_GENERATED})
-  add_library(caosdb SHARED ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${libcaosdb_SRC})
-    target_link_libraries(caosdb caosdb_grpc)
-    set(LIBCAOSDB caosdb caosdb_grpc)
-
-    target_include_directories(caosdb_grpc PUBLIC
-        $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
-        $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
-
-        $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
-    )
-    target_include_directories(caosdb_grpc SYSTEM PUBLIC
-        ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-    )
-else()
-    add_library(caosdb
-        SHARED ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${libcaosdb_SRC} ${GRPC_GENERATED})
-    set(LIBCAOSDB caosdb)
-endif()
-target_link_libraries(caosdb
-    ${CONAN_LIBS}
-    stdc++fs
-)
-target_include_directories(caosdb PUBLIC
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/src>
-    $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
-)
-target_include_directories(caosdb SYSTEM PUBLIC
-    ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-)
-
-add_library(ccaosdb SHARED src/ccaosdb.cpp)
-target_link_libraries(ccaosdb
-    ${CONAN_LIBS}
-    ${LIBCAOSDB}
-    stdc++fs
-)
-target_include_directories(ccaosdb PUBLIC
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
-    $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
-)
-target_include_directories(ccaosdb SYSTEM PUBLIC
-    ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-)
-
+find_package(gRPC)
+find_package(protobuf)
+find_package(Boost)
+find_package(GTest)
 
-add_executable(ccaosdbcli EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL src/ccaosdbcli.c)
-target_include_directories(ccaosdbcli PUBLIC
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
-    $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
-)
-target_include_directories(ccaosdbcli SYSTEM PUBLIC
-    ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-)
-
-target_link_libraries(ccaosdbcli
-    ${CONAN_LIBS}
-    ${LIBCAOSDB}
-    ccaosdb
-)
+add_library(caosdb
+         SHARED ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${libcaosdb_SRC} ${GRPC_GENERATED})
+set(LIBCAOSDB caosdb)
 
-add_executable(cxxcaosdbcli EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL src/cxxcaosdbcli.cpp)
-target_include_directories(cxxcaosdbcli PUBLIC
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
-    $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
-    $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
-)
-target_include_directories(cxxcaosdbcli SYSTEM PUBLIC
-    ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
-)
-target_link_libraries(cxxcaosdbcli
-    ${LIBCAOSDB}
-    ${CONAN_LIBS}
-)
+target_link_libraries(caosdb grpc::grpc protobuf::protobuf boost::boost gtest::gtest)
+target_link_libraries(caosdb grpc::grpc protobuf::protobuf)
+target_include_directories(caosdb PUBLIC
+     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/src>
+     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+ )
+# if("${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" MATCHES "Debug")
+#   add_library(caosdb_grpc SHARED ${GRPC_GENERATED})
+#   add_library(caosdb SHARED ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${libcaosdb_SRC})
+#     target_link_libraries(caosdb caosdb_grpc)
+#     set(LIBCAOSDB caosdb caosdb_grpc)
+
+#     target_include_directories(caosdb_grpc PUBLIC
+#         $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+#         $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+
+#         $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+#     )
+#     target_include_directories(caosdb_grpc SYSTEM PUBLIC
+#         ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+#     )
+# else()
+#     add_library(caosdb
+#         SHARED ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${libcaosdb_SRC} ${GRPC_GENERATED})
+#     set(LIBCAOSDB caosdb)
+# endif()
+# target_link_libraries(caosdb
+#     ${CONAN_LIBS}
+#     stdc++fs
+# )
+# target_include_directories(caosdb PUBLIC
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/src>
+#     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+# )
+# target_include_directories(caosdb SYSTEM PUBLIC
+#     ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+# )
+
+# add_library(ccaosdb SHARED src/ccaosdb.cpp)
+# target_link_libraries(ccaosdb
+#     ${CONAN_LIBS}
+#     ${LIBCAOSDB}
+#     stdc++fs
+# )
+# target_include_directories(ccaosdb PUBLIC
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+#     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+# )
+# target_include_directories(ccaosdb SYSTEM PUBLIC
+#     ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+# )
+
+
+# add_executable(ccaosdbcli EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL src/ccaosdbcli.c)
+# target_include_directories(ccaosdbcli PUBLIC
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+#     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+# )
+# target_include_directories(ccaosdbcli SYSTEM PUBLIC
+#     ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+# )
+
+# target_link_libraries(ccaosdbcli
+#     ${CONAN_LIBS}
+#     ${LIBCAOSDB}
+#     ccaosdb
+# )
+
+# add_executable(cxxcaosdbcli EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL src/cxxcaosdbcli.cpp)
+# target_include_directories(cxxcaosdbcli PUBLIC
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_SOURCE_DIR}/include>
+#     $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${libcaosdb_BINARY_DIR}/include>
+#     $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include>
+# )
+# target_include_directories(cxxcaosdbcli SYSTEM PUBLIC
+#     ${CONAN_INCLUDE_DIRS}
+# )
+# target_link_libraries(cxxcaosdbcli
+#     ${LIBCAOSDB}
+#     ${CONAN_LIBS}
+# )
 
 
 
@@ -366,76 +383,76 @@ if("${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" MATCHES "Debug")
     add_subdirectory(test)
 endif()
 
-###############################################
-############ INSTALLATION #####################
-###############################################
-
-set(libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST "include/caosdb")
-set(libcaosdb_LIB_DEST "lib")
-
-set(CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX "$ENV{HOME}/.local/")
-install(
-    # targets to install
-    TARGETS ${LIBCAOSDB} ccaosdb
-    # name of the CMake "export group" containing the targets we want to install
-    EXPORT caosdbTargets
-    # Dynamic, static library and include destination locations after running
-    # "make install"
-    LIBRARY DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}
-    ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}
-    INCLUDES DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST}
-)
-
-
-set(libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST "${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}/cmake/caosdb")
-install(
-    # The export we want to save (matches name defined above containing the
-    # install targets)
-    EXPORT caosdbTargets
-    # CMake file in which to store the export's information
-    FILE  caosdbTargets.cmake
-    # Namespace prepends all targets in the export (when we import later, we
-    # will use caosdb::caosdb)
-    NAMESPACE caosdb::
-    # where to place the resulting file (here, we're putting it with the library)
-    DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST}
-)
-
-install(FILES ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/ccaosdb.h DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST})
-foreach(i RANGE "${len_proto_files}")
-    list(GET PROTO_FILES ${i} next_proto_file)
-
-    # strip away the prefix path and the ".proto" suffix
-    string(REPLACE
-        "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/proto/proto/caosdb/"
-        ""
-        next_proto_module
-        "${next_proto_file}")
-    string(REPLACE
-        "/main.proto"
-        ""
-        next_proto_module
-        "${next_proto_module}")
-    set(next_proto_hdr
-        "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/caosdb/${next_proto_module}/main.pb.h")
-    set(next_grpc_hdr
-        "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/caosdb/${next_proto_module}/main.grpc.pb.h")
-    install(FILES ${next_proto_hdr} ${next_grpc_hdr} DESTINATION
-        ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST}/${next_proto_module})
-endforeach()
-
-install(FILES ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfig.cmake
-    DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST})
-
-#set_property(TARGET caosdb PROPERTY VERSION ${libcaosdb_VERSION})
-include(CMakePackageConfigHelpers)
-write_basic_package_version_file(
-    "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfigVersion.cmake"
-  VERSION ${libcaosdb_VERSION}
-  COMPATIBILITY AnyNewerVersion
-)
-install(FILES ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfigVersion.cmake
-    DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST})
+# ###############################################
+# ############ INSTALLATION #####################
+# ###############################################
+
+# set(libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST "include/caosdb")
+# set(libcaosdb_LIB_DEST "lib")
+
+# set(CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX "$ENV{HOME}/.local/")
+# install(
+#     # targets to install
+#     TARGETS ${LIBCAOSDB} ccaosdb
+#     # name of the CMake "export group" containing the targets we want to install
+#     EXPORT caosdbTargets
+#     # Dynamic, static library and include destination locations after running
+#     # "make install"
+#     LIBRARY DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}
+#     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}
+#     INCLUDES DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST}
+# )
+
+
+# set(libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST "${libcaosdb_LIB_DEST}/cmake/caosdb")
+# install(
+#     # The export we want to save (matches name defined above containing the
+#     # install targets)
+#     EXPORT caosdbTargets
+#     # CMake file in which to store the export's information
+#     FILE  caosdbTargets.cmake
+#     # Namespace prepends all targets in the export (when we import later, we
+#     # will use caosdb::caosdb)
+#     NAMESPACE caosdb::
+#     # where to place the resulting file (here, we're putting it with the library)
+#     DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST}
+# )
+
+# install(FILES ${libcaosdb_INCL} ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/ccaosdb.h DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST})
+# foreach(i RANGE "${len_proto_files}")
+#     list(GET PROTO_FILES ${i} next_proto_file)
+
+#     # strip away the prefix path and the ".proto" suffix
+#     string(REPLACE
+#         "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/proto/proto/caosdb/"
+#         ""
+#         next_proto_module
+#         "${next_proto_file}")
+#     string(REPLACE
+#         "/main.proto"
+#         ""
+#         next_proto_module
+#         "${next_proto_module}")
+#     set(next_proto_hdr
+#         "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/caosdb/${next_proto_module}/main.pb.h")
+#     set(next_grpc_hdr
+#         "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include/caosdb/${next_proto_module}/main.grpc.pb.h")
+#     install(FILES ${next_proto_hdr} ${next_grpc_hdr} DESTINATION
+#         ${libcaosdb_INCLUDE_DEST}/${next_proto_module})
+# endforeach()
+
+# install(FILES ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfig.cmake
+#     DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST})
+
+# #set_property(TARGET caosdb PROPERTY VERSION ${libcaosdb_VERSION})
+# include(CMakePackageConfigHelpers)
+# write_basic_package_version_file(
+#     "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfigVersion.cmake"
+#   VERSION ${libcaosdb_VERSION}
+#   COMPATIBILITY AnyNewerVersion
+# )
+# install(FILES ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/caosdbConfigVersion.cmake
+#     DESTINATION ${libcaosdb_CMAKE_DEST})
 
 #######################################################
 ### code formatting with clang-format