diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 18eb42d..765aafc 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ endif()
 if(TARGET RapidJSON OR TARGET RapidJSON::RapidJSON)
     list(APPEND LIB_SOURCES 
     	src/iss/plugin/cycle_estimate.cpp
-    	src/iss/plugin/pctrace.cpp
     )
 endif()
 if(TARGET jsoncpp::jsoncpp)
@@ -88,10 +87,6 @@ target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC elfio::elfio softfloat scc-util Boo
 if(TARGET jsoncpp::jsoncpp)
 	target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC jsoncpp::jsoncpp)
 endif()
-if(TARGET lz4::lz4)
-    target_compile_definitions(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC WITH_LZ4)
-    target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC lz4::lz4)
-endif()
 if(TARGET RapidJSON)
     target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PUBLIC RapidJSON)
 endif()
diff --git a/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.cpp b/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index 97f6ee9..0000000
--- a/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,228 +0,0 @@
-/*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (C) 2017 - 2023, MINRES Technologies GmbH
- * All rights reserved.
- *
- * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
- * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- *
- * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
- *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- *
- * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
- *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
- *    and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
- *
- * 3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors
- *    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
- *    without specific prior written permission.
- *
- * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
- * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
- * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
- * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
- * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
- * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
- * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
- * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
- * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
- * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
- * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- *
- * Contributors:
- *       alex@minres.com - initial implementation
- ******************************************************************************/
-
-#include <iss/arch_if.h>
-#include <iss/plugin/pctrace.h>
-#include <util/logging.h>
-#include <util/ities.h>
-#include <rapidjson/document.h>
-#include <rapidjson/istreamwrapper.h>
-#include <rapidjson/writer.h>
-#include <rapidjson/stringbuffer.h>
-#include <rapidjson/ostreamwrapper.h>
-#include <rapidjson/error/en.h>
-#include <fstream>
-#include <iostream>
-#ifdef WITH_LZ4
-#include <lz4frame.h>
-#endif
-
-namespace iss {
-namespace plugin {
-
-using namespace rapidjson;
-using namespace std;
-
-#ifdef WITH_LZ4
-class lz4compress_streambuf: public std::streambuf {
-public:
-    lz4compress_streambuf(const lz4compress_streambuf&) = delete;
-    lz4compress_streambuf& operator=(const lz4compress_streambuf&) = delete;
-    lz4compress_streambuf(std::ostream &sink, size_t buf_size)
-    : sink(sink)
-    , src_buf(buf_size)
-    , dest_buf(LZ4F_compressBound(buf_size, nullptr))
-    {
-        auto errCode = LZ4F_createCompressionContext(&ctx, LZ4F_VERSION);
-        if (LZ4F_isError(errCode) != 0)
-            throw std::runtime_error(std::string("Failed to create LZ4 context: ") + LZ4F_getErrorName(errCode));
-        size_t ret = LZ4F_compressBegin(ctx, &dest_buf.front(), dest_buf.capacity(), nullptr);
-        if (LZ4F_isError(ret) != 0)
-            throw std::runtime_error(std::string("Failed to start LZ4 compression: ") + LZ4F_getErrorName(ret));
-        setp(src_buf.data(), src_buf.data() + src_buf.size() - 1);
-        sink.write(dest_buf.data(), ret);
-    }
-
-    ~lz4compress_streambuf() {
-        close();
-    }
-
-    void close() {
-        if (closed)
-            return;
-        sync();
-        auto ret = LZ4F_compressEnd(ctx, dest_buf.data(), dest_buf.capacity(), nullptr);
-        if (LZ4F_isError(ret) != 0)
-            throw std::runtime_error(std::string("Failed to finish LZ4 compression: ") + LZ4F_getErrorName(ret));
-        sink.write(dest_buf.data(), ret);
-        LZ4F_freeCompressionContext(ctx);
-        closed = true;
-    }
-
-private:
-    int_type overflow(int_type ch) override {
-        compress_and_write();
-        *pptr() = static_cast<char_type>(ch);
-        pbump(1);
-        return ch;
-    }
-
-    int_type sync() override {
-        compress_and_write();
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    void compress_and_write() {
-        if (closed)
-            throw std::runtime_error("Cannot write to closed stream");
-        if(auto orig_size = pptr() - pbase()){
-            auto ret = LZ4F_compressUpdate(ctx, dest_buf.data(), dest_buf.capacity(), pbase(), orig_size, nullptr);
-            if (LZ4F_isError(ret) != 0)
-                throw std::runtime_error(std::string("LZ4 compression failed: ") + LZ4F_getErrorName(ret));
-            if(ret) sink.write(dest_buf.data(), ret);
-            pbump(-orig_size);
-        }
-    }
-
-    std::ostream &sink;
-    std::vector<char> src_buf;
-    std::vector<char> dest_buf;
-    LZ4F_compressionContext_t ctx{ nullptr };
-    bool closed{ false };
-};
-#endif
-
-pctrace::pctrace(std::string const &filename)
-: instr_if(nullptr)
-, filename(filename)
-, reg_dump(getenv("REGDUMP"))
-, no_compres(getenv("NOCOMPRES"))
-, output("output.trc")
-#ifdef WITH_LZ4
-, strbuf( (no_compres || reg_dump)? nullptr: new lz4compress_streambuf(output, 4096))
-, ostr(strbuf.get())
-#endif
-{}
-
-pctrace::~pctrace() { }
-
-bool pctrace::registration(const char *const version, vm_if& vm) {
-    instr_if = vm.get_arch()->get_instrumentation_if();
-    reg_base_ptr = reinterpret_cast<uint32_t*>(vm.get_arch()->get_regs_base_ptr());
-
-    if(!instr_if) return false;
-    const string  core_name = instr_if->core_type_name();
-    if (filename.length() > 0) {
-        ifstream is(filename);
-        if (is.is_open()) {
-            try {
-                IStreamWrapper isw(is);
-                Document d;
-                ParseResult ok = d.ParseStream(isw);
-                if(ok) {
-                    Value& val = d[core_name.c_str()];
-                    if(val.IsArray()){
-                        delays.reserve(val.Size());
-                        for (auto it = val.Begin(); it != val.End(); ++it) {
-                            auto& name = (*it)["name"];
-                            auto& size = (*it)["size"];
-                            auto& delay = (*it)["delay"];
-                            auto& branch = (*it)["branch"];
-                            if(delay.IsArray()) {
-                                auto dt = delay[0].Get<unsigned>();
-                                auto dnt = delay[1].Get<unsigned>();
-                                delays.push_back(instr_desc{size.Get<unsigned>(), dt, dnt, branch.Get<bool>()});
-                            } else if(delay.Is<unsigned>()) {
-                                auto d = delay.Get<unsigned>();
-                                delays.push_back(instr_desc{size.Get<unsigned>(), d, d, branch.Get<bool>()});
-                            } else
-                                throw runtime_error("JSON parse error");
-
-                        }
-                    } else {
-                        LOG(ERR)<<"plugin cycle_estimate: could not find an entry for "<<core_name<<" in JSON file"<<endl;
-                        return false;
-                    }
-                } else {
-                    LOG(ERR)<<"plugin cycle_estimate: could not parse in JSON file at "<< ok.Offset()<<": "<<GetParseError_En(ok.Code())<<endl;
-                    return false;
-                }
-            } catch (runtime_error &e) {
-                LOG(ERR) << "Could not parse input file " << filename << ", reason: " << e.what();
-                return false;
-            }
-        } else {
-            LOG(ERR) << "Could not open input file " << filename;
-            return false;
-        }
-    }
-    return true;
-}
-
-void pctrace::callback(instr_info_t iinfo) {
-    auto delay = 0;
-    size_t id = iinfo.instr_id;
-    auto entry = delays[id];
-    auto instr = instr_if->get_instr_word();
-    auto call = id==65 || id ==86 || ((id==2 || id==3) && bit_sub<7,5>(instr)!=0) ;//not taking care of tail calls (jalr with loading x6)
-    bool taken = instr_if->is_branch_taken();
-    bool compressed = (instr&0x3)!=0x3;
-    if (taken) {
-        delay = entry.taken;
-        if(entry.taken > 1)
-            instr_if->update_last_instr_cycles(entry.taken);
-    } else {
-        delay = entry.not_taken;
-        if (entry.not_taken > 1)
-            instr_if->update_last_instr_cycles(entry.not_taken);
-    }
-    if(no_compres|| reg_dump){
-        if(reg_dump){
-            for(size_t i=0; i< instr_if->get_reg_num(); ++i){
-                uint32_t reg_val = *(reg_base_ptr+i);
-                output << "0x" << std::setfill('0') << std::setw(8) << std::hex << reg_val << " ";
-            }
-            output<<"\n" ;
-        }
-        else{
-             output<<std::hex <<"0x" << instr_if->get_pc() <<"," << delay <<"," << call<<","<<(compressed?2:4) <<std::endl;
-        }
-        
-    }else{
-        
-        ostr<<std::hex <<"0x" << instr_if->get_pc() <<"," << delay <<"," << call<<","<<(compressed?2:4) <<"\n";
-    }
-}
-}//namespace plugin
-}//namespace iss
diff --git a/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.h b/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.h
deleted file mode 100644
index ca5d677..0000000
--- a/src/iss/plugin/pctrace.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,104 +0,0 @@
-/*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (C) 2017 - 2023, MINRES Technologies GmbH
- * All rights reserved.
- *
- * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
- * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
- *
- * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
- *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
- *
- * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
- *    this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
- *    and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
- *
- * 3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors
- *    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
- *    without specific prior written permission.
- *
- * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
- * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
- * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
- * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
- * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
- * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
- * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
- * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
- * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
- * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
- * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
- *
- * Contributors:
- *       eyck@minres.com - initial API and implementation
- ******************************************************************************/
-
-#ifndef _ISS_PLUGIN_COV_H_
-#define _ISS_PLUGIN_COV_H_
-
-#include <iss/vm_plugin.h>
-#include "iss/instrumentation_if.h"
-#include <string>
-#include <fstream>
-#include <cstdlib>
-namespace iss {
-namespace plugin {
-class lz4compress_streambuf;
-class pctrace : public iss::vm_plugin {
-    struct instr_delay {
-        std::string instr_name;
-        size_t size;
-        size_t not_taken_delay;
-        size_t taken_delay;
-    };
-    BEGIN_BF_DECL(instr_desc, uint32_t)
-        BF_FIELD(taken, 24, 8)
-        BF_FIELD(not_taken, 16, 8)
-        BF_FIELD(is_branch, 8, 8)
-        BF_FIELD(size, 0, 8)
-        instr_desc(uint32_t size, uint32_t taken, uint32_t not_taken, bool branch): instr_desc() {
-            this->size=size;
-            this->taken=taken;
-            this->not_taken=not_taken;
-            this->is_branch=branch;
-        }
-    END_BF_DECL();
-
-public:
-
-    pctrace(const pctrace &) = delete;
-
-    pctrace(const pctrace &&) = delete;
-
-    pctrace(std::string const &);
-
-    virtual ~pctrace();
-
-    pctrace &operator=(const pctrace &) = delete;
-
-    pctrace &operator=(const pctrace &&) = delete;
-
-    bool registration(const char *const version, vm_if &arch) override;
-
-    sync_type get_sync() override { return POST_SYNC; };
-
-    void callback(instr_info_t) override;
-
-private:
-    iss::instrumentation_if *instr_if  {nullptr};
-    uint32_t* reg_base_ptr {nullptr};
-    bool reg_dump {false};
-    bool no_compres {false};   
-    std::ofstream output;
-
-#ifdef WITH_LZ4
-    std::unique_ptr<lz4compress_streambuf> strbuf;
-    std::ostream ostr;
-#endif
-    std::string filename;
-    std::vector<instr_desc> delays;
-    bool jumped{false}, first{true};
-};
-}
-}
-
-#endif /* _ISS_PLUGIN_COV_H_ */
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index c476611..1d3d8e9 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -44,7 +44,6 @@
 #include <iss/log_categories.h>
 #include "iss/plugin/cycle_estimate.h"
 #include "iss/plugin/instruction_count.h"
-#include "iss/plugin/pctrace.h"
 #ifndef WIN32
 #include <iss/plugin/loader.h>
 #endif
@@ -157,11 +156,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                     auto *ce_plugin = new iss::plugin::cycle_estimate(arg);
                     vm->register_plugin(*ce_plugin);
                     plugin_list.push_back(ce_plugin);
-                } else if (plugin_name == "pctrace") {
-                    auto *plugin = new iss::plugin::pctrace(arg);
-                    vm->register_plugin(*plugin);
-                    plugin_list.push_back(plugin);
-               } else {
+                }else {
 #ifndef WIN32
                     std::vector<char const*> a{};
                     if(arg.length())