diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index abe673cd8..9c79894c3 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2872,6 +2872,7 @@ version = "0.19.3"
 dependencies = [
  "actix-web",
  "anyhow",
+ "cfg-if",
  "deser-hjson",
  "diesel",
  "doku",
diff --git a/crates/utils/Cargo.toml b/crates/utils/Cargo.toml
index e61d92b78..2a68c3c5d 100644
--- a/crates/utils/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/utils/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,42 +13,95 @@ name = "lemmy_utils"
 path = "src/lib.rs"
 doctest = false
 
+[[bin]]
+name = "lemmy_util_bin"
+path = "src/main.rs"
+required-features = ["default"]
+
 [lints]
 workspace = true
 
 [features]
-full = ["ts-rs"]
+default = [
+  "error",
+  "request",
+  "response",
+  "settings",
+  "misc",
+  "rate-limit",
+  "apub",
+  "cache-header",
+  "email"
+]
+full = ["default", "ts-rs"]
+ts-rs = ["dep:ts-rs"]
+error-type = ["dep:serde", "dep:strum"]
+error = [
+  "error-type",
+  "dep:serde_json",
+  "dep:anyhow",
+  "dep:tracing-error",
+  "dep:diesel",
+  "dep:http",
+  "dep:actix-web"
+]
+request = ["dep:reqwest-middleware", "dep:tracing", "dep:strum"]
+response = ["error", "dep:actix-web"]
+settings = [
+  "error",
+  "dep:deser-hjson",
+  "dep:regex",
+  "dep:urlencoding",
+  "dep:doku",
+  "dep:url",
+  "dep:once_cell",
+  "dep:smart-default"
+]
+rate-limit = [
+  "error",
+  "dep:enum-map",
+  "dep:tracing",
+  "dep:actix-web",
+  "dep:futures",
+  "dep:tokio",
+  "dep:once_cell"
+]
+apub = ["dep:openssl"]
+cache-header = ["dep:actix-web"]
+email = ["error", "settings", "dep:html2text", "dep:lettre", "dep:uuid", "dep:rosetta-i18n"]
+misc = ["settings", "dep:itertools", "dep:markdown-it", "dep:tokio", "dep:futures", "dep:tracing"]
 
 [dependencies]
-regex = { workspace = true }
-tracing = { workspace = true }
-tracing-error = { workspace = true }
-itertools = { workspace = true }
-serde = { workspace = true }
-serde_json = { workspace = true }
-once_cell = { workspace = true }
-url = { workspace = true }
-actix-web = { workspace = true }
-anyhow = { workspace = true }
-reqwest-middleware = { workspace = true }
-strum = { workspace = true }
+regex = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+tracing = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+tracing-error = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+itertools = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+serde = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+serde_json = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+once_cell = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+url = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+actix-web = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+anyhow = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+reqwest-middleware = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+strum = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 strum_macros = { workspace = true }
-futures = { workspace = true }
-diesel = { workspace = true, features = ["chrono"] }
-http = { workspace = true }
-doku = { workspace = true, features = ["url-2"] }
-uuid = { workspace = true, features = ["serde", "v4"] }
-rosetta-i18n = { workspace = true }
-tokio = { workspace = true }
-urlencoding = { workspace = true }
-openssl = "0.10.63"
-html2text = "0.6.0"
-deser-hjson = "2.2.4"
-smart-default = "0.7.1"
-lettre = { version = "0.11.3", features = ["tokio1", "tokio1-native-tls"] }
-markdown-it = "0.6.0"
+futures = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+diesel = { workspace = true, features = ["chrono"], optional = true }
+http = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+doku = { workspace = true, features = ["url-2"], optional = true }
+uuid = { workspace = true, features = ["serde", "v4"], optional = true}
+rosetta-i18n = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+tokio = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+urlencoding = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+openssl = { version = "0.10.63", optional = true }
+html2text = { version = "0.6.0", optional = true }
+deser-hjson = { version = "2.2.4", optional = true }
+smart-default = { version = "0.7.1", optional = true }
+lettre = { version = "0.11.3", features = ["tokio1", "tokio1-native-tls"], optional = true }
+markdown-it = { version = "0.6.0", optional = true }
 ts-rs = { workspace = true, optional = true }
-enum-map = { workspace = true }
+enum-map = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+cfg-if = "1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 reqwest = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/error.rs b/crates/utils/src/error.rs
index d05b8c3a7..d42a168b9 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/error.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/error.rs
@@ -1,78 +1,13 @@
+use cfg_if::cfg_if;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
-use std::{
-  fmt,
-  fmt::{Debug, Display},
-};
-use tracing_error::SpanTrace;
-#[cfg(feature = "full")]
+use std::fmt::Debug;
+use strum_macros::{Display, EnumIter};
+#[cfg(feature = "ts-rs")]
 use ts_rs::TS;
 
-pub type LemmyResult<T> = Result<T, LemmyError>;
-
-pub struct LemmyError {
-  pub error_type: LemmyErrorType,
-  pub inner: anyhow::Error,
-  pub context: SpanTrace,
-}
-
-/// Maximum number of items in an array passed as API parameter. See [[LemmyErrorType::TooManyItems]]
-pub const MAX_API_PARAM_ELEMENTS: usize = 10_000;
-
-impl<T> From<T> for LemmyError
-where
-  T: Into<anyhow::Error>,
-{
-  fn from(t: T) -> Self {
-    let cause = t.into();
-    LemmyError {
-      error_type: LemmyErrorType::Unknown(format!("{}", &cause)),
-      inner: cause,
-      context: SpanTrace::capture(),
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-impl Debug for LemmyError {
-  fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
-    f.debug_struct("LemmyError")
-      .field("message", &self.error_type)
-      .field("inner", &self.inner)
-      .field("context", &self.context)
-      .finish()
-  }
-}
-
-impl Display for LemmyError {
-  fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
-    write!(f, "{}: ", &self.error_type)?;
-    // print anyhow including trace
-    // https://docs.rs/anyhow/latest/anyhow/struct.Error.html#display-representations
-    // this will print the anyhow trace (only if it exists)
-    // and if RUST_BACKTRACE=1, also a full backtrace
-    writeln!(f, "{:?}", self.inner)?;
-    fmt::Display::fmt(&self.context, f)
-  }
-}
-
-impl actix_web::error::ResponseError for LemmyError {
-  fn status_code(&self) -> http::StatusCode {
-    if self.error_type == LemmyErrorType::IncorrectLogin {
-      return http::StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED;
-    }
-    match self.inner.downcast_ref::<diesel::result::Error>() {
-      Some(diesel::result::Error::NotFound) => http::StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
-      _ => http::StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
-    }
-  }
-
-  fn error_response(&self) -> actix_web::HttpResponse {
-    actix_web::HttpResponse::build(self.status_code()).json(&self.error_type)
-  }
-}
-
 #[derive(Display, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, Clone, PartialEq, EnumIter)]
-#[cfg_attr(feature = "full", derive(TS))]
-#[cfg_attr(feature = "full", ts(export))]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "ts-rs", derive(TS))]
+#[cfg_attr(feature = "ts-rs", ts(export))]
 #[serde(tag = "error", content = "message", rename_all = "snake_case")]
 // TODO: order these based on the crate they belong to (utils, federation, db, api)
 pub enum LemmyErrorType {
@@ -231,6 +166,74 @@ pub enum LemmyErrorType {
   Unknown(String),
 }
 
+cfg_if! {
+  if #[cfg(feature = "error")] {
+
+use tracing_error::SpanTrace;
+use std::fmt;
+ pub type LemmyResult<T> = Result<T, LemmyError>;
+
+pub struct LemmyError {
+  pub error_type: LemmyErrorType,
+  pub inner: anyhow::Error,
+  pub context: SpanTrace,
+}
+
+/// Maximum number of items in an array passed as API parameter. See [[LemmyErrorType::TooManyItems]]
+pub const MAX_API_PARAM_ELEMENTS: usize = 10_000;
+
+impl<T> From<T> for LemmyError
+where
+  T: Into<anyhow::Error>,
+{
+  fn from(t: T) -> Self {
+    let cause = t.into();
+    LemmyError {
+      error_type: LemmyErrorType::Unknown(format!("{}", &cause)),
+      inner: cause,
+      context: SpanTrace::capture(),
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+impl Debug for LemmyError {
+  fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+    f.debug_struct("LemmyError")
+      .field("message", &self.error_type)
+      .field("inner", &self.inner)
+      .field("context", &self.context)
+      .finish()
+  }
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for LemmyError {
+  fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+    write!(f, "{}: ", &self.error_type)?;
+    // print anyhow including trace
+    // https://docs.rs/anyhow/latest/anyhow/struct.Error.html#display-representations
+    // this will print the anyhow trace (only if it exists)
+    // and if RUST_BACKTRACE=1, also a full backtrace
+    writeln!(f, "{:?}", self.inner)?;
+    fmt::Display::fmt(&self.context, f)
+  }
+}
+
+impl actix_web::error::ResponseError for LemmyError {
+  fn status_code(&self) -> http::StatusCode {
+    if self.error_type == LemmyErrorType::IncorrectLogin {
+      return http::StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED;
+    }
+    match self.inner.downcast_ref::<diesel::result::Error>() {
+      Some(diesel::result::Error::NotFound) => http::StatusCode::NOT_FOUND,
+      _ => http::StatusCode::BAD_REQUEST,
+    }
+  }
+
+  fn error_response(&self) -> actix_web::HttpResponse {
+    actix_web::HttpResponse::build(self.status_code()).json(&self.error_type)
+  }
+}
+
 impl From<LemmyErrorType> for LemmyError {
   fn from(error_type: LemmyErrorType) -> Self {
     let inner = anyhow::anyhow!("{}", error_type);
@@ -273,6 +276,9 @@ impl<T> LemmyErrorExt2<T> for Result<T, LemmyError> {
   }
 }
 
+  }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
   #![allow(clippy::unwrap_used)]
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/lib.rs b/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
index 6f261febd..66e50787b 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,23 +1,24 @@
-#[macro_use]
-extern crate strum_macros;
-#[macro_use]
-extern crate smart_default;
-
+#[cfg(feature = "apub")]
 pub mod apub;
+#[cfg(feature = "cache-header")]
 pub mod cache_header;
+#[cfg(feature = "email")]
 pub mod email;
+#[cfg(feature = "error-type")]
 pub mod error;
+#[cfg(feature = "rate-limit")]
 pub mod rate_limit;
+#[cfg(feature = "request")]
 pub mod request;
+#[cfg(feature = "response")]
 pub mod response;
+#[cfg(feature = "settings")]
 pub mod settings;
+#[cfg(feature = "misc")]
 pub mod utils;
 pub mod version;
 
-use error::LemmyError;
-use futures::Future;
 use std::time::Duration;
-use tracing::Instrument;
 
 pub type ConnectionId = usize;
 
@@ -35,10 +36,14 @@ macro_rules! location_info {
   };
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "misc")]
 /// tokio::spawn, but accepts a future that may fail and also
 /// * logs errors
 /// * attaches the spawned task to the tracing span of the caller for better logging
-pub fn spawn_try_task(task: impl Future<Output = Result<(), LemmyError>> + Send + 'static) {
+pub fn spawn_try_task(
+  task: impl futures::Future<Output = Result<(), error::LemmyError>> + Send + 'static,
+) {
+  use tracing::Instrument;
   tokio::spawn(
     async {
       if let Err(e) = task.await {
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/mod.rs b/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/mod.rs
index b2efbe2c9..2b5e951bb 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/mod.rs
@@ -2,8 +2,7 @@ use crate::error::{LemmyError, LemmyErrorType};
 use actix_web::dev::{ConnectionInfo, Service, ServiceRequest, ServiceResponse, Transform};
 use enum_map::{enum_map, EnumMap};
 use futures::future::{ok, Ready};
-pub use rate_limiter::{ActionType, BucketConfig};
-use rate_limiter::{InstantSecs, RateLimitState};
+use rate_limiter::{ActionType, BucketConfig, InstantSecs, RateLimitState};
 use std::{
   future::Future,
   net::{IpAddr, Ipv4Addr, SocketAddr},
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/rate_limiter.rs b/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/rate_limiter.rs
index 93ef1beec..7c68003d8 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/rate_limiter.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/rate_limit/rate_limiter.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use std::{
   net::{IpAddr, Ipv4Addr, Ipv6Addr},
   time::Instant,
 };
+use strum_macros::AsRefStr;
 use tracing::debug;
 
 static START_TIME: Lazy<Instant> = Lazy::new(Instant::now);
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/settings/mod.rs b/crates/utils/src/settings/mod.rs
index 4642a67cf..f630d0217 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/settings/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/settings/mod.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,4 @@
-use crate::{
-  error::LemmyError,
-  location_info,
-  settings::structs::{PictrsConfig, Settings},
-};
+use crate::{error::LemmyError, location_info};
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Context};
 use deser_hjson::from_str;
 use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
@@ -12,8 +8,7 @@ use urlencoding::encode;
 
 pub mod structs;
 
-use crate::settings::structs::PictrsImageMode;
-use structs::DatabaseConnection;
+use structs::{DatabaseConnection, PictrsConfig, PictrsImageMode, Settings};
 
 static DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE: &str = "config/config.hjson";
 
diff --git a/crates/utils/src/settings/structs.rs b/crates/utils/src/settings/structs.rs
index 46e9b747c..4a8d8afb6 100644
--- a/crates/utils/src/settings/structs.rs
+++ b/crates/utils/src/settings/structs.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use doku::Document;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use smart_default::SmartDefault;
 use std::{
   env,
   net::{IpAddr, Ipv4Addr},