diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b9c46f2..15c9bcf 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,3 +25,5 @@ lambda-*.tar
 
 *.lock
 *.swp
+
+.DS_Store
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/config/config.exs b/elixir_runtime/config/config.exs
index a845745..a0f0d89 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/config/config.exs
+++ b/elixir_runtime/config/config.exs
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Copyright 2018 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT-0
 
-use Mix.Config
+import Config
 
 config :logger,
        :console,
@@ -9,4 +9,4 @@ config :logger,
        metadata: [:module, :function, :line]
 
 # Uncomment to enable environment-specific configuration
-# import_config "#{Mix.env()}.exs"
+# import_config "#{config_env()}.exs"
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/lambda_service_client.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/lambda_service_client.ex
index 1e6b9c3..5037e53 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/lambda_service_client.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/lambda_service_client.ex
@@ -23,17 +23,17 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.LambdaServiceClient do
         ) :: no_return
   def invocation_error(err_msg, id) do
     url =
-      'http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/#{id}/error'
+      ~c"http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/#{id}/error"
 
-    request = {url, [], 'text/plain', err_msg}
+    request = {url, [], ~c"text/plain", err_msg}
     {:ok, _response} = :httpc.request(:post, request, [], [])
   end
 
   @impl true
   @spec init_error(Monitor.Client.error()) :: no_return
   def init_error(err_msg) do
-    url = 'http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/init/error'
-    request = {url, [], 'text/plain', err_msg}
+    url = ~c"http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/init/error"
+    request = {url, [], ~c"text/plain", err_msg}
     {:ok, _response} = :httpc.request(:post, request, [], [])
   end
 
@@ -44,16 +44,16 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.LambdaServiceClient do
         ) :: no_return
   def complete_invocation(id, response) do
     url =
-      'http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/#{id}/response'
+      ~c"http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/#{id}/response"
 
-    request = {url, [], 'text/plain', response}
+    request = {url, [], ~c"text/plain", response}
     {:ok, _response} = :httpc.request(:post, request, [], [])
   end
 
   @impl true
   @spec next_invocation() :: Runtime.Client.invocation()
   def next_invocation do
-    url = 'http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/next'
+    url = ~c"http://#{service_endpoint()}/2018-06-01/runtime/invocation/next"
     response = :httpc.request(:get, {url, []}, [], [])
     Logger.debug("Http get from #{url} was #{Kernel.inspect(response)}")
     parse(response)
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/loop.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/loop.ex
index 76ee035..87ffc49 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/loop.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/loop.ex
@@ -50,8 +50,8 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Loop do
 
     response =
       handler
-      |> Handler.invoke(Poison.decode!(body), context)
-      |> Poison.encode!()
+      |> Handler.invoke(Jason.decode!(body), context)
+      |> Jason.encode!()
 
     client.complete_invocation(id, response)
   end
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/error.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/error.ex
index b71089f..06d1c1f 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/error.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/error.ex
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Monitor.Error do
 
   alias __MODULE__
 
-  @derive Poison.Encoder
+  @derive Jason.Encoder
   defstruct [
     :errorMessage,
     :errorType,
@@ -23,15 +23,15 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Monitor.Error do
           stackTrace: list
         }
 
-  @doc "Build an Error from a structured process-exit reason"
-  @spec from_exit_reason(error_type, {atom(), list()}) :: error
+  @doc "Build an Error from a process-exit reason"
+  @spec from_exit_reason(error_type, term) :: error
+  def from_exit_reason(error_type, reason)
+
   def from_exit_reason(error_type, _reason = {error, stacktrace}) do
     exception = Exception.normalize(:error, error, stacktrace)
     build_error(error_name(error_type, exception), exception, stacktrace)
   end
 
-  @doc "Build an Error from an unknown process-exit reason"
-  @spec from_exit_reason(error_type, term) :: error
   def from_exit_reason(error_type, reason) do
     exception = Exception.normalize(:error, {"unexpected exit", reason})
     build_error(error_name(error_type, exception), exception, [])
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/state.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/state.ex
index af135a7..a486e27 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/state.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/elixir_runtime/monitor/state.ex
@@ -22,17 +22,17 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Monitor.State do
 
   @doc "report an error before an invocation was started"
   @spec error(monitor_state, term()) :: no_return
+  def error(monitor_state, reason)
+
   def error({:not_started, client}, reason) do
     Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:runtime, reason)
-    |> Poison.encode!()
+    |> Jason.encode!()
     |> client.init_error()
   end
 
-  @doc "report an error before an invocation was started"
-  @spec error(monitor_state, term()) :: no_return
   def error({:in_progress, id, client}, reason) do
     Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:function, reason)
-    |> Poison.encode!()
+    |> Jason.encode!()
     |> client.invocation_error(id)
   end
 
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/epmd/stub_client.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/epmd/stub_client.ex
index f4431ea..d1e9817 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/epmd/stub_client.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/epmd/stub_client.ex
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT-0
 
 defmodule EPMD.StubClient do
+  @doc since: "0.2.0"
+  @deprecated "No longer needed when using mix release."
   @moduledoc """
   This module implements an EPMD client which does not actually coordinate
   with the real EPMD or allow the current node to communicate with other
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/bootstrap.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/bootstrap.ex
index 736589b..5e66f13 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/bootstrap.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/bootstrap.ex
@@ -9,25 +9,23 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Bootstrap do
 
   use Mix.Task
 
-  @runtime_libs "elixir_runtime-0.1.0/priv"
-
   @shortdoc "Generate a bootstrap script for the project"
   def run(_) do
-    name =
-      Mix.Project.config()
-      |> Keyword.fetch!(:app)
-      |> to_string
+    name = app_name()
 
     path = "_build/#{Mix.env()}/rel/#{name}/bootstrap"
 
     Mix.Generator.create_file(path, bootstrap(name))
     File.chmod!(path, 0o777)
+
+    Mix.shell().info("Bootstrap file created: #{path}")
+
   end
 
   # The bootstrap script contents
   defp bootstrap(app) when is_binary(app) do
     """
-    \#!/bin/bash
+    \#!/bin/sh
 
     set -x
 
@@ -38,11 +36,30 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Bootstrap do
     export HOME
 
     \# So that distillery doesn't try to write any files
+    \# Ignored and not needed when using mix release
     export RELEASE_READ_ONLY=true
 
-    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$BASE/lib/#{@runtime_libs}
+    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$BASE/lib/#{runtime_app_name()}-#{runtime_version()}/priv
 
-    $EXE foreground
+    $EXE start
     """
   end
+
+  defp app_name() do
+    Mix.Project.config()
+    |> Keyword.fetch!(:app)
+    |> to_string
+  end
+
+  defp runtime_app_name() do
+    Application.get_application(__MODULE__)
+    |> Atom.to_string()
+
+  end
+
+  defp runtime_version() do
+    Application.get_application(__MODULE__)
+    |> Application.spec(:vsn)
+  end
+
 end
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/gen_lambda_release.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/gen_lambda_release.ex
index a11a911..4620710 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/gen_lambda_release.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/gen_lambda_release.ex
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT-0
 
 defmodule Mix.Tasks.GenLambdaRelease do
+  @doc since: "0.2.0"
+  @deprecated "No longer needed when using mix release."
   @moduledoc """
   Generate a distillery release configuration file for lambda release builds.
   """
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/zip.ex b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/zip.ex
index b03e414..4f32253 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/zip.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/lib/mix/tasks/zip.ex
@@ -7,10 +7,13 @@ defmodule Mix.Tasks.Zip do
   @shortdoc "zip the contents of the current release"
   def run(_) do
     path = release_path(app_name())
+    zip_file = "#{app_name()}_lambda.zip"
 
-    cmd = "cd #{path} && zip -r lambda.zip * && cp lambda.zip #{System.cwd()}"
+    cmd = "set -xe && cd #{path} && zip -r #{zip_file} *"
 
     System.cmd("sh", ["-c", cmd])
+
+    Mix.shell().info("Zip file created: #{Path.join(path, zip_file)}")
   end
 
   defp app_name() do
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/mix.exs b/elixir_runtime/mix.exs
index 36ca8ef..cf05f12 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/mix.exs
+++ b/elixir_runtime/mix.exs
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ defmodule Lambda.MixProject do
   def project do
     [
       app: :aws_lambda_elixir_runtime,
-      version: "0.1.0",
-      elixir: "~> 1.7",
+      version: "0.2.0",
+      elixir: "~> 1.15",
       elixirc_paths: elixirc_paths(Mix.env()),
       start_permanent: Mix.env() == :prod,
       deps: deps(),
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ defmodule Lambda.MixProject do
       # Docs
       name: "AWS Lambda Elixir Runtime",
       source_url: "https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-lambda-elixir-runtime",
-      homepage_url: "https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-lambda-elixir-runtime/tree/master/elixir_runtime",
+      homepage_url:
+        "https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-lambda-elixir-runtime/tree/master/elixir_runtime",
       docs: [
         source_url_pattern:
           "https://github.com/aws-samples/aws-lambda-elixir-runtime/blob/master/elixir_runtime/%{path}#L%{line}",
@@ -34,16 +35,17 @@ defmodule Lambda.MixProject do
   def application do
     [
       mod: {ElixirRuntime.Application, []},
-      extra_applications: [:logger, :inets]
+      extra_applications: [:logger, :inets, :ssl]
     ]
   end
 
   # Run "mix help deps" to learn about dependencies.
   defp deps do
     [
-      {:poison, "~> 3.1"},
-      {:mox, "~> 0.4", only: :test},
-      {:ex_doc, "~> 0.19", only: :dev, runtime: false}
+      {:jason, "~> 1.4"},
+      {:mox, "~> 1.0", only: :test},
+      {:ex_doc, "~> 0.27", only: :dev, runtime: false},
+      {:castore, "~> 1.0", only: [:dev, :test]}
     ]
   end
 
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 b/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.0.0
deleted file mode 100644
index 0f177da..0000000
Binary files a/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.0.0 and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.1 b/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.1
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..36af4bd
Binary files /dev/null and b/elixir_runtime/priv/libcrypto.so.1.1 differ
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/priv/libssl.so b/elixir_runtime/priv/libssl.so
index 93d5e91..1fb4345 100644
Binary files a/elixir_runtime/priv/libssl.so and b/elixir_runtime/priv/libssl.so differ
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/test/elixir_runtime/monitor/state_test.exs b/elixir_runtime/test/elixir_runtime/monitor/state_test.exs
index 2112005..92263a3 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/test/elixir_runtime/monitor/state_test.exs
+++ b/elixir_runtime/test/elixir_runtime/monitor/state_test.exs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Monitor.State.Test do
 
   test "report an error from initial state" do
     reason = {:badarg, []}
-    expected = Poison.encode!(Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:runtime, reason))
+    expected = Jason.encode!(Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:runtime, reason))
 
     State.initial(FakeClient) |> State.error(reason)
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ defmodule ElixirRuntime.Monitor.State.Test do
   test "report an error while an invocation is in progress" do
     invoke_id = "fakeid"
     reason = {:badarg, []}
-    expected = Poison.encode!(Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:function, reason))
+    expected = Jason.encode!(Monitor.Error.from_exit_reason(:function, reason))
 
     State.initial(FakeClient)
     |> State.start_invocation(invoke_id)
diff --git a/elixir_runtime/test/support/fake_invoke.ex b/elixir_runtime/test/support/fake_invoke.ex
index e6c3537..2e0fe7e 100644
--- a/elixir_runtime/test/support/fake_invoke.ex
+++ b/elixir_runtime/test/support/fake_invoke.ex
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ defmodule Support.FakeInvoke do
 
   def with_message(message) do
     body = %{msg: message}
-    {generated_id(), Poison.encode!(body), %{}}
+    {generated_id(), Jason.encode!(body), %{}}
   end
 
   def id({id, _body, _context}), do: id
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/config/config.exs b/examples/hello_world/config/config.exs
index 2e34aab..0944882 100644
--- a/examples/hello_world/config/config.exs
+++ b/examples/hello_world/config/config.exs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Copyright 2018 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT-0
 
-use Mix.Config
+import Config
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/config/runtime.exs b/examples/hello_world/config/runtime.exs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04cf944
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/hello_world/config/runtime.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import Config
+
+# config/runtime.exs is executed for all environments, including
+# during releases. It is executed after compilation and before the
+# system starts, so it is typically used to load production configuration
+# and secrets from environment variables or elsewhere. Do not define
+# any compile-time configuration in here, as it won't be applied.
+# The block below contains prod specific runtime configuration.
+if config_env() == :prod do
+
+end
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/mix.exs b/examples/hello_world/mix.exs
index ca28524..418f393 100644
--- a/examples/hello_world/mix.exs
+++ b/examples/hello_world/mix.exs
@@ -7,10 +7,19 @@ defmodule HelloWorld.MixProject do
   def project do
     [
       app: :hello_world,
-      version: "0.1.0",
-      elixir: "~> 1.7",
+      version: "0.2.0",
+      elixir: "~> 1.15",
       start_permanent: Mix.env() == :prod,
-      deps: deps()
+      deps: deps(),
+      releases: [
+        hello_world: [
+          version: "0.2.0",
+          applications: [hello_world: :permanent, aws_lambda_elixir_runtime: :permanent],
+          include_erts: true,
+          include_executables_for: [:unix],
+
+        ]
+      ]
     ]
   end
 
@@ -24,8 +33,7 @@ defmodule HelloWorld.MixProject do
   # Run "mix help deps" to learn about dependencies.
   defp deps do
     [
-      {:aws_lambda_elixir_runtime, path: "../../elixir_runtime"},
-      {:distillery, "~> 2.0"}
+      {:aws_lambda_elixir_runtime, path: "../../elixir_runtime"}
     ]
   end
 end
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/rel/config.exs b/examples/hello_world/rel/config.exs
deleted file mode 100644
index 42274c5..0000000
--- a/examples/hello_world/rel/config.exs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright 2018 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT-0
-
-~w(rel plugins *.exs)
-|> Path.join()
-|> Path.wildcard()
-|> Enum.map(&Code.eval_file(&1))
-
-use Mix.Releases.Config,
-    default_release: :hello_world,
-    default_environment: :lambda
-
-environment :lambda do
-  set include_erts: true
-  set include_src: false
-  set cookie: :test
-  set include_system_libs: true
-
-  # Distillery forces the ERTS into 'distributed' mode which will
-  # attempt to connect to EPMD. This is not supported behavior in the
-  # AWS Lambda runtime because our process isn't allowed to connect to
-  # other ports on this host.
-  #
-  # So '-start_epmd false' is set so the ERTS doesn't try to start EPMD.
-  # And '-epmd_module' is set to use a no-op implementation of EPMD
-  set erl_opts: "-start_epmd false -epmd_module Elixir.EPMD.StubClient"
-end
-
-release :hello_world do
-  set version: current_version(:hello_world)
-  set applications: [
-    :runtime_tools, :aws_lambda_elixir_runtime
-  ]
-end
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/rel/env.bat.eex b/examples/hello_world/rel/env.bat.eex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d82afd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/hello_world/rel/env.bat.eex
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+@echo off
+rem Set the release to load code on demand (interactive) instead of preloading (embedded).
+rem set RELEASE_MODE=interactive
+
+rem Set the release to work across nodes.
+rem RELEASE_DISTRIBUTION must be "sname" (local), "name" (distributed) or "none".
+rem set RELEASE_DISTRIBUTION=name
+rem set RELEASE_NODE=<%= @release.name %>
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/rel/env.sh.eex b/examples/hello_world/rel/env.sh.eex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab7b76a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/hello_world/rel/env.sh.eex
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# # Sets and enables heart (recommended only in daemon mode)
+# case $RELEASE_COMMAND in
+#   daemon*)
+#     HEART_COMMAND="$RELEASE_ROOT/bin/$RELEASE_NAME $RELEASE_COMMAND"
+#     export HEART_COMMAND
+#     export ELIXIR_ERL_OPTIONS="-heart"
+#     ;;
+#   *)
+#     ;;
+# esac
+
+# # Set the release to load code on demand (interactive) instead of preloading (embedded).
+# export RELEASE_MODE=interactive
+
+# # Set the release to work across nodes.
+# # RELEASE_DISTRIBUTION must be "sname" (local), "name" (distributed) or "none".
+# export RELEASE_DISTRIBUTION=name
+# export RELEASE_NODE=<%= @release.name %>
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/rel/remote.vm.args.eex b/examples/hello_world/rel/remote.vm.args.eex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..983397a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/hello_world/rel/remote.vm.args.eex
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+## Customize flags given to the VM: https://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erl.html
+## -mode/-name/-sname/-setcookie are configured via env vars, do not set them here
+
+## Increase number of concurrent ports/sockets
+##+Q 65536
+
+## Tweak GC to run more often
+##-env ERL_FULLSWEEP_AFTER 10
diff --git a/examples/hello_world/rel/vm.args.eex b/examples/hello_world/rel/vm.args.eex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6553e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/hello_world/rel/vm.args.eex
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+## Customize flags given to the VM: https://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erl.html
+## -mode/-name/-sname/-setcookie are configured via env vars, do not set them here
+
+## Increase number of concurrent ports/sockets
+##+Q 65536
+
+## Tweak GC to run more often
+##-env ERL_FULLSWEEP_AFTER 10
+
+# Running ERTS in distributed mode will attempt to connect to EPMD. 
+# This is not supported behavior in the AWS Lambda runtime because our 
+# process isn't allowed to connect to other ports on this host.
+#
+# So '-start_epmd false' is set so the ERTS doesn't try to start EPMD.
+# And '-epmd_module' is set to use a no-op implementation of EPMD
+-start_epmd false -epmd_module Elixir.EPMD.StubClient