diff --git a/packages/playground/build-esbuild.js b/packages/playground/build-esbuild.js
index 80703d13..9259fe59 100644
--- a/packages/playground/build-esbuild.js
+++ b/packages/playground/build-esbuild.js
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 const { sentryEsbuildPlugin } = require("@sentry/unplugin");
 const { build } = require("esbuild");
+const placeHolderOptions = require("./config.json");
 
 build({
   entryPoints: ["./src/entrypoint1.js"],
   outdir: "./out/esbuild",
-  plugins: [sentryEsbuildPlugin()],
+  plugins: [
+    sentryEsbuildPlugin({
+      ...placeHolderOptions,
+    }),
+  ],
   minify: true,
   bundle: true,
   format: "cjs",
diff --git a/packages/playground/build-webpack4.js b/packages/playground/build-webpack4.js
index 23174363..3114a1f8 100644
--- a/packages/playground/build-webpack4.js
+++ b/packages/playground/build-webpack4.js
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ const path = require("path");
 const webpack4 = require("webpack4");
 const { sentryWebpackPlugin } = require("@sentry/unplugin");
 
+const placeHolderOptions = require("./config.json");
+
 webpack4(
   {
     mode: "production",
@@ -14,7 +16,16 @@ webpack4(
       library: "ExampleBundle",
       libraryTarget: "commonjs",
     },
-    plugins: [sentryWebpackPlugin()],
+    plugins: [
+      sentryWebpackPlugin({
+        org: "sentry-sdks",
+        project: "someProj",
+        authToken: "1234",
+        include: "*",
+        debugLogging: true,
+        debug: true,
+      }),
+    ],
     devtool: "source-map",
   },
   (err) => {
diff --git a/packages/playground/build-webpack5.js b/packages/playground/build-webpack5.js
index 495384d1..886763ce 100644
--- a/packages/playground/build-webpack5.js
+++ b/packages/playground/build-webpack5.js
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ const path = require("path");
 const webpack5 = require("webpack");
 const { sentryWebpackPlugin } = require("@sentry/unplugin");
 
+const placeHolderOptions = require("./config.json");
+
 webpack5(
   {
     cache: false,
@@ -16,7 +18,7 @@ webpack5(
       },
     },
     mode: "production",
-    plugins: [sentryWebpackPlugin()],
+    plugins: [sentryWebpackPlugin({ ...placeHolderOptions })],
     devtool: "source-map",
   },
   (err) => {
diff --git a/packages/playground/config.json b/packages/playground/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e40336e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/playground/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "release": "0.0.1",
+  "org": "some-org",
+  "project": "some-proj",
+  "authToken": "some-auth-token",
+  "include": "/dist",
+  "debugLogging": true,
+  "debug": true
+}
diff --git a/packages/playground/rollup.config.js b/packages/playground/rollup.config.js
index 67a529a7..ab714fbf 100644
--- a/packages/playground/rollup.config.js
+++ b/packages/playground/rollup.config.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import commonjs from "@rollup/plugin-commonjs";
 import resolve from "@rollup/plugin-node-resolve";
 import { sentryRollupPlugin } from "@sentry/unplugin";
+import placeHolderOptions from "./config.json";
 
 const input = ["src/entrypoint1.js"];
 
@@ -9,7 +10,13 @@ const extensions = [".js"];
 
 export default {
   input,
-  plugins: [resolve({ extensions }), commonjs(), sentryRollupPlugin()],
+  plugins: [
+    resolve({ extensions }),
+    commonjs(),
+    sentryRollupPlugin({
+      ...placeHolderOptions,
+    }),
+  ],
   output: {
     dir: "./out/rollup",
     format: "cjs",
diff --git a/packages/playground/vite.config.js b/packages/playground/vite.config.js
index 1632e01f..90c5df75 100644
--- a/packages/playground/vite.config.js
+++ b/packages/playground/vite.config.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import { sentryVitePlugin } from "@sentry/unplugin";
 import { defineConfig } from "vite";
 import * as path from "path";
+import placeHolderOptions from "./config.json";
 
 export default defineConfig({
   build: {
@@ -14,5 +15,9 @@ export default defineConfig({
     },
     sourcemap: true,
   },
-  plugins: [sentryVitePlugin()],
+  plugins: [
+    sentryVitePlugin({
+      ...placeHolderOptions,
+    }),
+  ],
 });
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/package.json b/packages/unplugin/package.json
index 248f2c0e..ca0057ef 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin/package.json
+++ b/packages/unplugin/package.json
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@
     "check:types:src": "tsc --project ./src/tsconfig.json --noEmit",
     "check:types:test": "tsc --project ./test/tsconfig.json --noEmit",
     "test": "jest",
-    "lint": "eslint ./src ./test --max-warnings=0"
+    "lint": "eslint ./src ./test"
   },
   "dependencies": {
+    "@sentry/cli": "1.74.5",
     "magic-string": "0.26.2",
     "unplugin": "0.9.4"
   },
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@
     "@babel/preset-typescript": "7.17.12",
     "@rollup/plugin-babel": "5.3.1",
     "@rollup/plugin-commonjs": "22.0.1",
+    "@rollup/plugin-json": "^4.1.0",
     "@rollup/plugin-node-resolve": "13.3.0",
     "@swc/core": "^1.2.205",
     "@swc/jest": "^0.2.21",
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/rollup.config.js b/packages/unplugin/rollup.config.js
index 112364f4..4b84dba1 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin/rollup.config.js
+++ b/packages/unplugin/rollup.config.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import commonjs from "@rollup/plugin-commonjs";
 import resolve from "@rollup/plugin-node-resolve";
 import babel from "@rollup/plugin-babel";
 import packageJson from "./package.json";
+import json from "@rollup/plugin-json";
 
 const input = ["src/index.ts"];
 
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ export default {
   plugins: [
     resolve({ extensions, preferBuiltins: true }),
     commonjs(),
+    json(),
     babel({
       extensions,
       babelHelpers: "bundled",
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/src/cli.ts b/packages/unplugin/src/cli.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e1a5123e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/unplugin/src/cli.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import SentryCli from "@sentry/cli";
+import { Options } from "./types";
+
+/** Creates a new Sentry CLI instance. */
+export function makeSentryCli(options: Options) {
+  //TODO: pass config file instead of null
+  const cli = new SentryCli(undefined, {
+    silent: false, //TODO read from options
+    org: options.org,
+    project: options.project,
+    authToken: options.authToken,
+    url: options.url,
+    vcsRemote: "origin", //TODO set from options,
+  });
+
+  // Let's not worry about dry run for now
+  //   if (this.isDryRun()) {
+  //   this.outputDebug("DRY Run Mode");
+
+  //     return {
+  //       releases: {
+  //         proposeVersion: () =>
+  //           cli.releases.proposeVersion().then((version) => {
+  //             this.outputDebug("Proposed version:\n", version);
+  //             return version;
+  //           }),
+  //         new: (release) => {
+  //           this.outputDebug("Creating new release:\n", release);
+  //           return Promise.resolve(release);
+  //         },
+  //         uploadSourceMaps: (release, config) => {
+  //           this.outputDebug("Calling upload-sourcemaps with:\n", config);
+  //           return Promise.resolve(release, config);
+  //         },
+  //         finalize: (release) => {
+  //           this.outputDebug("Finalizing release:\n", release);
+  //           return Promise.resolve(release);
+  //         },
+  //         setCommits: (release, config) => {
+  //           this.outputDebug("Calling set-commits with:\n", config);
+  //           return Promise.resolve(release, config);
+  //         },
+  //         newDeploy: (release, config) => {
+  //           this.outputDebug("Calling deploy with:\n", config);
+  //           return Promise.resolve(release, config);
+  //         },
+  //       },
+  //     };
+  //   }
+
+  return cli;
+}
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/src/facade.ts b/packages/unplugin/src/facade.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5308ff05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/unplugin/src/facade.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/* eslint-disable @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars */
+/* eslint-disable no-console */
+//TODO: remove eslint rules
+
+// Build a facade that exposes necessary sentry functionality
+// Idea: We start out with Sentry-CLI and replace the cli-commands one by one afterwards.
+// Goal: eventually replace everything sentry-cli does with "native" code here
+// Reason: We don't want to depend on a binary that gets downloaded in a postinstall hook
+//           - no fixed version
+//           - huge download
+//           - unnecessary functionality
+
+import { makeSentryCli } from "./cli";
+import { Options } from "./types";
+
+export type SentryFacade = {
+  createNewRelease: () => any;
+  cleanArtifacts: () => any;
+  uploadSourceMaps: () => any;
+  setCommits: () => any;
+  finalizeRelease: () => any;
+  addDeploy: () => any;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Factory function that provides all necessary Sentry functionality for creating
+ * a release on Sentry. This includes uploading source maps and finalizing the release
+ */
+export function makeSentryFacade(version: string, options: Options): SentryFacade {
+  makeSentryCli(options);
+  //TODO: remove
+  // void cli.execute(["--version"], true);
+
+  return {
+    createNewRelease: () => createNewRelease(version),
+    cleanArtifacts: () => cleanArtifacts(),
+    uploadSourceMaps: () => uploadSourceMaps(version),
+    setCommits: () => setCommits(version),
+    finalizeRelease: () => finalizeRelease(version),
+    addDeploy: () => addDeploy(version),
+  };
+}
+
+function createNewRelease(version: string) {
+  //TODO(must have): implement release creation logic here
+}
+
+function uploadSourceMaps(version: string) {
+  //TODO(must have): implement source maps upload logic here
+}
+
+function finalizeRelease(version: string) {
+  //TODO(must have): implement release finalization logic here
+}
+
+// TODO: Stuff we worry about later:
+
+function cleanArtifacts() {
+  // NOOP for now
+}
+
+function setCommits(version: string) {
+  // NOOP for now
+}
+
+function addDeploy(version: string) {
+  // NOOP for now
+}
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/src/index.ts b/packages/unplugin/src/index.ts
index bd7ae4f5..240fbb06 100644
--- a/packages/unplugin/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/unplugin/src/index.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ import { createUnplugin } from "unplugin";
 import MagicString from "magic-string";
 import { getReleaseName } from "./getReleaseName";
 import * as path from "path";
+import { Options } from "./types";
+import { makeSentryFacade } from "./facade";
 
 function generateGlobalInjectorCode({ release }: { release: string }) {
   return `
@@ -17,15 +19,12 @@ function generateGlobalInjectorCode({ release }: { release: string }) {
     _global.SENTRY_RELEASE={id:"${release}"};`;
 }
 
-export interface Options {
-  debugLogging?: boolean;
-}
-
 const unplugin = createUnplugin<Options>((options) => {
-  function debugLog(message: string) {
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+  function debugLog(...args: any) {
     if (options?.debugLogging) {
       // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-      console.log(`[Sentry-plugin] ${message}`);
+      console.log("[Sentry-plugin]}", args);
     }
   }
 
@@ -88,7 +87,9 @@ const unplugin = createUnplugin<Options>((options) => {
     transform(code, id) {
       if (entrypoints.has(path.normalize(id))) {
         const ms = new MagicString(code);
-        ms.prepend(generateGlobalInjectorCode({ release: getReleaseName() }));
+        ms.prepend(
+          generateGlobalInjectorCode({ release: getReleaseName(options.release || "0.0.1") })
+        );
         return {
           code: ms.toString(),
           map: ms.generateMap(),
@@ -98,6 +99,11 @@ const unplugin = createUnplugin<Options>((options) => {
         return undefined;
       }
     },
+    buildEnd() {
+      const sentryFacade = makeSentryFacade(getReleaseName(options.release || "0.0.1"), options);
+      //TODO: do stuff with the facade here lol
+      debugLog("this is my facade:", sentryFacade);
+    },
   };
 });
 
@@ -109,3 +115,5 @@ export const sentryRollupPlugin: (options: Options) => any = unplugin.rollup;
 export const sentryWebpackPlugin: (options: Options) => any = unplugin.webpack;
 // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
 export const sentryEsbuildPlugin: (options: Options) => any = unplugin.esbuild;
+
+export type { Options } from "./types";
diff --git a/packages/unplugin/src/types.ts b/packages/unplugin/src/types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d4041e28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/unplugin/src/types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+//TODO: JsDoc for all properties
+export type Options = {
+  debugLogging?: boolean;
+
+  /* --- authentication/identification: */
+  org?: string;
+  project?: string;
+  authToken?: string;
+  url?: string;
+  // configFile: string
+
+  /* --- release properties: */
+  release?: string;
+  // dist: string,
+  // entries: string[] | RegExp | ((key: string) => boolean);
+
+  /* --- source maps properties: */
+  //TODO: make this required
+  include?: string; //| string[] | IncludeEntry[];
+  // ignoreFile: string
+  // ignore: string | string[]
+  // ext: string[]
+  // urlPrefix: string,
+  // urlSuffix: string,
+  // validate: boolean
+  // stripPrefix?: boolean,
+  // stripCommonPrefix?: boolean,
+  // sourceMapReference?: boolean,
+  // rewrite?: boolean,
+
+  /* --- other unimportant (for now) stuff- properties: */
+  // vcsRemote: string,
+  // customHeader: string,
+
+  // finalize?: boolean,
+  // dryRun?: boolean,
+  debug?: boolean;
+  // silent?: boolean,
+  // cleanArtifacts?: boolean,
+  // errorHandler?: (err: Error, invokeErr: function(): void, compilation: unknown) => void,
+  // setCommits?: {
+  //   repo?: string,
+  //   commit?: string,
+  //   previousCommit?: string,
+  //   auto?: boolean,
+  //   ignoreMissing?: boolean
+  // },
+  // deploy?: {
+  //   env: string,
+  //   started?: number,
+  //   finished?: number,
+  //   time?: number,
+  //   name?: string,
+  //   url?: string,
+  // }
+};
+
+/*
+type IncludeEntry = {
+  paths: string[];
+  //TODO: what about the other entries??
+};
+*/
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 42490257..0927cbd4 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2032,6 +2032,13 @@
     magic-string "^0.25.7"
     resolve "^1.17.0"
 
+"@rollup/plugin-json@^4.1.0":
+  version "4.1.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@rollup/plugin-json/-/plugin-json-4.1.0.tgz#54e09867ae6963c593844d8bd7a9c718294496f3"
+  integrity sha512-yfLbTdNS6amI/2OpmbiBoW12vngr5NW2jCJVZSBEz+H5KfUJZ2M7sDjk0U6GOOdCWFVScShte29o9NezJ53TPw==
+  dependencies:
+    "@rollup/pluginutils" "^3.0.8"
+
 "@rollup/plugin-node-resolve@13.3.0":
   version "13.3.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@rollup/plugin-node-resolve/-/plugin-node-resolve-13.3.0.tgz#da1c5c5ce8316cef96a2f823d111c1e4e498801c"
@@ -2044,7 +2051,7 @@
     is-module "^1.0.0"
     resolve "^1.19.0"
 
-"@rollup/pluginutils@^3.1.0":
+"@rollup/pluginutils@^3.0.8", "@rollup/pluginutils@^3.1.0":
   version "3.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@rollup/pluginutils/-/pluginutils-3.1.0.tgz#706b4524ee6dc8b103b3c995533e5ad680c02b9b"
   integrity sha512-GksZ6pr6TpIjHm8h9lSQ8pi8BE9VeubNT0OMJ3B5uZJ8pz73NPiqOtCog/x2/QzM1ENChPKxMDhiQuRHsqc+lg==
@@ -2053,6 +2060,19 @@
     estree-walker "^1.0.1"
     picomatch "^2.2.2"
 
+"@sentry/cli@1.74.5":
+  version "1.74.5"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/cli/-/cli-1.74.5.tgz#4a5c622913087c9ab6f82994da9a7526423779b8"
+  integrity sha512-Ze1ec306ZWHtrxKypOJ8nhtFqkrx2f/6bRH+DcJzEQ3bBePQ0ZnqJTTe4BBHADYBtxFIaUWzCZ6DquLz2Zv/sw==
+  dependencies:
+    https-proxy-agent "^5.0.0"
+    mkdirp "^0.5.5"
+    node-fetch "^2.6.7"
+    npmlog "^4.1.2"
+    progress "^2.0.3"
+    proxy-from-env "^1.1.0"
+    which "^2.0.2"
+
 "@sinclair/typebox@^0.23.3":
   version "0.23.5"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sinclair/typebox/-/typebox-0.23.5.tgz#93f7b9f4e3285a7a9ade7557d9a8d36809cbc47d"
@@ -2735,6 +2755,13 @@ agent-base@4, agent-base@^4.3.0:
   dependencies:
     es6-promisify "^5.0.0"
 
+agent-base@6:
+  version "6.0.2"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/agent-base/-/agent-base-6.0.2.tgz#49fff58577cfee3f37176feab4c22e00f86d7f77"
+  integrity sha512-RZNwNclF7+MS/8bDg70amg32dyeZGZxiDuQmZxKLAlQjr3jGyLx+4Kkk58UO7D2QdgFIQCovuSuZESne6RG6XQ==
+  dependencies:
+    debug "4"
+
 agent-base@~4.2.1:
   version "4.2.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/agent-base/-/agent-base-4.2.1.tgz#d89e5999f797875674c07d87f260fc41e83e8ca9"
@@ -4053,6 +4080,13 @@ debug@3.1.0:
   dependencies:
     ms "2.0.0"
 
+debug@4, debug@^4.1.0, debug@^4.1.1, debug@^4.3.2, debug@^4.3.4:
+  version "4.3.4"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/debug/-/debug-4.3.4.tgz#1319f6579357f2338d3337d2cdd4914bb5dcc865"
+  integrity sha512-PRWFHuSU3eDtQJPvnNY7Jcket1j0t5OuOsFzPPzsekD52Zl8qUfFIPEiswXqIvHWGVHOgX+7G/vCNNhehwxfkQ==
+  dependencies:
+    ms "2.1.2"
+
 debug@^2.2.0, debug@^2.3.3:
   version "2.6.9"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/debug/-/debug-2.6.9.tgz#5d128515df134ff327e90a4c93f4e077a536341f"
@@ -4067,13 +4101,6 @@ debug@^3.1.0:
   dependencies:
     ms "^2.1.1"
 
-debug@^4.1.0, debug@^4.1.1, debug@^4.3.2, debug@^4.3.4:
-  version "4.3.4"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/debug/-/debug-4.3.4.tgz#1319f6579357f2338d3337d2cdd4914bb5dcc865"
-  integrity sha512-PRWFHuSU3eDtQJPvnNY7Jcket1j0t5OuOsFzPPzsekD52Zl8qUfFIPEiswXqIvHWGVHOgX+7G/vCNNhehwxfkQ==
-  dependencies:
-    ms "2.1.2"
-
 debuglog@^1.0.1:
   version "1.0.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/debuglog/-/debuglog-1.0.1.tgz#aa24ffb9ac3df9a2351837cfb2d279360cd78492"
@@ -5701,6 +5728,14 @@ https-proxy-agent@^2.2.1, https-proxy-agent@^2.2.3:
     agent-base "^4.3.0"
     debug "^3.1.0"
 
+https-proxy-agent@^5.0.0:
+  version "5.0.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/https-proxy-agent/-/https-proxy-agent-5.0.1.tgz#c59ef224a04fe8b754f3db0063a25ea30d0005d6"
+  integrity sha512-dFcAjpTQFgoLMzC2VwU+C/CbS7uRL0lWmxDITmqm7C+7F0Odmj6s9l6alZc6AELXhrnggM2CeWSXHGOdX2YtwA==
+  dependencies:
+    agent-base "6"
+    debug "4"
+
 human-signals@^1.1.1:
   version "1.1.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/human-signals/-/human-signals-1.1.1.tgz#c5b1cd14f50aeae09ab6c59fe63ba3395fe4dfa3"
@@ -8339,6 +8374,11 @@ process@^0.11.10:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/process/-/process-0.11.10.tgz#7332300e840161bda3e69a1d1d91a7d4bc16f182"
   integrity sha512-cdGef/drWFoydD1JsMzuFf8100nZl+GT+yacc2bEced5f9Rjk4z+WtFUTBu9PhOi9j/jfmBPu0mMEY4wIdAF8A==
 
+progress@^2.0.3:
+  version "2.0.3"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/progress/-/progress-2.0.3.tgz#7e8cf8d8f5b8f239c1bc68beb4eb78567d572ef8"
+  integrity sha512-7PiHtLll5LdnKIMw100I+8xJXR5gW2QwWYkT6iJva0bXitZKa/XMrSbdmg3r2Xnaidz9Qumd0VPaMrZlF9V9sA==
+
 promise-inflight@^1.0.1:
   version "1.0.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/promise-inflight/-/promise-inflight-1.0.1.tgz#98472870bf228132fcbdd868129bad12c3c029e3"
@@ -8393,6 +8433,11 @@ protoduck@^5.0.1:
   dependencies:
     genfun "^5.0.0"
 
+proxy-from-env@^1.1.0:
+  version "1.1.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/proxy-from-env/-/proxy-from-env-1.1.0.tgz#e102f16ca355424865755d2c9e8ea4f24d58c3e2"
+  integrity sha512-D+zkORCbA9f1tdWRK0RaCR3GPv50cMxcrz4X8k5LTSUD1Dkw47mKJEZQNunItRTkWwgtaUSo1RVFRIG9ZXiFYg==
+
 prr@~1.0.1:
   version "1.0.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/prr/-/prr-1.0.1.tgz#d3fc114ba06995a45ec6893f484ceb1d78f5f476"
@@ -10326,7 +10371,7 @@ which@1, which@^1.2.9, which@^1.3.1:
   dependencies:
     isexe "^2.0.0"
 
-which@^2.0.1:
+which@^2.0.1, which@^2.0.2:
   version "2.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/which/-/which-2.0.2.tgz#7c6a8dd0a636a0327e10b59c9286eee93f3f51b1"
   integrity sha512-BLI3Tl1TW3Pvl70l3yq3Y64i+awpwXqsGBYWkkqMtnbXgrMD+yj7rhW0kuEDxzJaYXGjEW5ogapKNMEKNMjibA==