diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index e49b6eacb..0a1a6cc60 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -576,7 +576,6 @@ importFrom(crayon,italic)
 importFrom(crayon,make_style)
 importFrom(crayon,red)
 importFrom(crayon,underline)
-importFrom(curl,curl_version)
 importFrom(grDevices,col2rgb)
 importFrom(grDevices,colors)
 importFrom(grDevices,rgb)
diff --git a/R/api.R b/R/api.R
index 0b65bee80..650cc55e5 100644
--- a/R/api.R
+++ b/R/api.R
@@ -306,14 +306,13 @@ set_crunch_config <- function(cfg = c(
 #' globally with [set_crunch_config()].
 #' @export
 #' @keywords internal
-#' @importFrom curl curl_version
 crunch_user_agent <- function(...) {
     ## Cf. httr:::default_ua
     ## Include versions of any of these packages, if attached
     pkgs <- ua_packages[ua_packages %in% loadedNamespaces()]
     ua <- c(
         # Also include the libcurl version
-        paste0("libcurl/", curl_version()$version),
+        paste0("libcurl/", curl::curl_version()$version),
         mapply(packageUA, pkgs, names(pkgs)),
         # And any extra bits provided
         ...
diff --git a/R/crunch.R b/R/crunch.R
index 0ac151c45..2674cde24 100644
--- a/R/crunch.R
+++ b/R/crunch.R
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 
 #' @importFrom httr config add_headers
 .onLoad <- function(lib, pkgname = "crunch") {
+    if (envOrOption("crunch.skip.startup", FALSE, expect_lgl = TRUE)) return()
+
     setIfNotAlready(
         httpcache.on = TRUE,
         crunch.api = "https://app.crunch.io/api/",
diff --git a/R/export-dataset.R b/R/export-dataset.R
index d6a1f8723..58c0356d3 100644
--- a/R/export-dataset.R
+++ b/R/export-dataset.R
@@ -86,13 +86,11 @@ variablesFilter <- function(dataset, include.hidden = FALSE) {
     ## query from self. Adding it here so that we hit cache.
     dsvars <- ShojiCatalog(crGET(self(allvars), query = list(relative = "on")))
     if (include.hidden || (length(allvars) != length(dsvars))) {
-        v <- structure(lapply(urls(allvars), function(x) list(variable = x)),
-            .Names = ids(allvars)
-        )
+        v <- ids(allvars)
         ## Make sure that duplicate variables haven't been referenced (surely
         ## by accident).
         ## TODO: move this to a ShojiCatalog subset method?
-        dupes <- duplicated(names(v))
+        dupes <- duplicated(v)
         if (any(dupes)) {
             dup.aliases <- unique(aliases(allvars[dupes]))
             halt(
@@ -100,7 +98,10 @@ variablesFilter <- function(dataset, include.hidden = FALSE) {
                 serialPaste(dup.aliases)
             )
         }
-        return(list(`function` = "select", args = list(list(map = v))))
+        return(list(
+            `function` = "frame_subset",
+            args = list(list(frame = "primary"), list(value = I(v)), list(value = NULL))
+        ))
     }
     ## Else, return NULL
     return(NULL)
diff --git a/R/misc.R b/R/misc.R
index 312edba8d..3e4c4d742 100644
--- a/R/misc.R
+++ b/R/misc.R
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ vectorOrList <- function(obj, type) {
 #' | crunch.delimiter             | R_CRUNCH_DELIMITER             | "/"           | What to use as a delimiter when printing folder paths                       |
 #' | crunch.check.updates         | R_CRUNCH_CHECK_UPDATES         | TRUE          | Whether to check for updates to the crunch package                          |
 #' | crunch.debug                 | R_CRUNCH_DEBUG                 | FALSE         | Whether to print verbose information for debugging                          |
+#' | crunch.skip.startup          | R_CRUNCH_SKIP_STARTUP          | FALSE         | Whether to skip package startup (useful for webR)                           |
 #' | test.verify.ssl              | R_TEST_VERIFY_SSL              | TRUE          | Whether to verify ssl in curl during crunch tests                           |
 #' | crunch.stabilize.query       | R_CRUNCH_STABILIZE_QUERY       | FALSE         | Whether to stabilize JSON objects for saving as `httptest` objects          |
 #' | crunch.namekey.dataset       | R_CRUNCH_NAMEKEY_DATASET       | "alias"       | What variable identifier (alias or name) to use for a dataset's variables   |
diff --git a/man/envOrOption.Rd b/man/envOrOption.Rd
index 58ea195e0..8741586a4 100644
--- a/man/envOrOption.Rd
+++ b/man/envOrOption.Rd
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ the option name is in all capital letters, with "." replaced with
    crunch.delimiter \tab R_CRUNCH_DELIMITER \tab "/" \tab What to use as a delimiter when printing folder paths \cr
    crunch.check.updates \tab R_CRUNCH_CHECK_UPDATES \tab TRUE \tab Whether to check for updates to the crunch package \cr
    crunch.debug \tab R_CRUNCH_DEBUG \tab FALSE \tab Whether to print verbose information for debugging \cr
+   crunch.skip.startup \tab R_CRUNCH_SKIP_STARTUP \tab FALSE \tab Whether to skip package startup (useful for webR) \cr
    test.verify.ssl \tab R_TEST_VERIFY_SSL \tab TRUE \tab Whether to verify ssl in curl during crunch tests \cr
    crunch.stabilize.query \tab R_CRUNCH_STABILIZE_QUERY \tab FALSE \tab Whether to stabilize JSON objects for saving as \code{httptest} objects \cr
    crunch.namekey.dataset \tab R_CRUNCH_NAMEKEY_DATASET \tab "alias" \tab What variable identifier (alias or name) to use for a dataset's variables \cr
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-append-subset.R b/tests/testthat/test-append-subset.R
index 814868ec8..8516c9a41 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-append-subset.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-append-subset.R
@@ -27,11 +27,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/batches/",
             '{"element":"shoji:entity","body":',
             '{"dataset":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/",',
-            '"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":',
-            '{"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":{"variable":',
-            '"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70":{"variable":',
-            '"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/"}}}]}}}'
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":',
+            '"primary"},{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552",',
+            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70"]},{"value":null}]}}}'
         )
     })
     test_that("Append with variable selection and filter", {
@@ -40,11 +38,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/batches/",
             '{"element":"shoji:entity","body":',
             '{"dataset":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/",',
-            '"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":',
-            '{"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":{"variable":',
-            '"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70":{"variable":',
-            '"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/"}}}]},',
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":',
+            '"primary"},{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552",',
+            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70"]},{"value":null}]},',
             '"filter":{"function":"==","args":[{"variable":',
             '"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},{"value":1}]}}}'
         )
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-crunchbox.R b/tests/testthat/test-crunchbox.R
index 950a9977f..89da3b4ad 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-crunchbox.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-crunchbox.R
@@ -148,15 +148,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
             crunchBox(ds[2:5], filters = NULL),
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/boxdata/",
             '{"element":"shoji:entity","body":{"filters":[],"weight":null,',
-            '"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":{',
-            '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"loc":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/variables/location/"},',
-            '"949d2dc7e7a24e6090cc88bb92e1d2fb":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/variables/mymrset/"},',
-            '"text":{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/variables/textVar/"}',
-            "}}]}}}"
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},',
+            '{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552","loc",',
+            '"949d2dc7e7a24e6090cc88bb92e1d2fb","text"]},{"value":null}]}}}'
         )
     })
     test_that("Hidden variables are automatically 'selected' out (and weight is used)", {
@@ -165,11 +159,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/boxdata/",
             '{"element":"shoji:entity","body":{"filters":[],',
             '"weight":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/",',
-            '"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":{',
-            '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/starttime/"}}}]}}}'
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},',
+            '{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552","d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c"]},',
+            '{"value":null}]}}}'
         )
     })
     test_that("Can override the current weight", {
@@ -178,11 +170,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/boxdata/",
             '{"element":"shoji:entity","body":{"filters":[],',
             '"weight":null,',
-            '"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":{',
-            '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/starttime/"}}}]}}}'
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},',
+            '{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552","d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c"]},',
+            '{"value":null}]}}}'
         )
     })
     test_that("Select filters in box", {
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-export-dataset.R b/tests/testthat/test-export-dataset.R
index cbf8ad625..cf47cb428 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-export-dataset.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-export-dataset.R
@@ -82,10 +82,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
         expect_POST(
             write.csv(ds["gender"], file = ""),
             "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/export/csv/",
-            '{"filter":null,"where":{"function":"select",',
-            '"args":[{"map":{"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/1/variables/gender/"}}}]},',
-            '"options":{"use_category_ids":false}}'
+            '{"filter":null,"where":{"function":"frame_subset",',
+            '"args":[{"frame":"primary"},{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552"]},',
+            '{"value":null}]},"options":{"use_category_ids":false}}'
         )
     })
 
@@ -103,14 +102,10 @@ with_mock_crunch({
     url <- "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/export/csv/"
     post_request <- paste0(
         '{"filter":null,',
-        '"where":{"function":"select",',
-        '"args":[{"map":{',
-        '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-        '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-        '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70":',
-        '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/"},',
-        '"d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c":',
-        '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/starttime/"}}}]'
+        '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},',
+        '{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552",',
+        '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70","d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c"',
+        ']},{"value":null}]}'
     )
     test_that("exporting hidden variables", {
         ds <- cachedLoadDataset("ECON.sav")
@@ -130,12 +125,9 @@ with_mock_crunch({
 
         subset_post <- paste0(
             '{"filter":null,',
-            '"where":{"function":"select",',
-            '"args":[{"map":{',
-            '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70":',
-            '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/"}}}]}'
+            '"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},',
+            '{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552",',
+            '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70"]},{"value":null}]}'
         )
         # Hidden variables can be exported by name without include.hidden
         expect_POST(
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-merge-datasets.R b/tests/testthat/test-merge-datasets.R
index 57f11f428..ac548e5ca 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-merge-datasets.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-merge-datasets.R
@@ -20,11 +20,8 @@ with_mock_crunch({
         genderFilter, "}"
     )
     testSubsetPayloadPart1 <- paste0(
-        '{"function":"select","args":[{"map":{',
-        '"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-        '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-        '"f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70":',
-        '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/"}}}],',
+        '{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":"primary"},{"value":',
+        '["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552","f78ca47313144b57adfb495893968e70"]},{"value":null}],',
         '"frame":'
     )
     testSubsetPayload <- paste0(testSubsetPayloadPart1, testPayload, "}")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-multitables.R b/tests/testthat/test-multitables.R
index 0074f42ba..1a7946f4d 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-multitables.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-multitables.R
@@ -379,11 +379,9 @@ if (tolower(Sys.info()[["sysname"]]) != "windows") {
                     "https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/multitables/ed30c4/export/",
                     '{\"filter\":null,',
                     '\"weight\":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/birthyr/",',
-                    '\"options\":[],"where":{"function":"select","args":[{"map":',
-                    '{"66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552":',
-                    '{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/gender/"},',
-                    '"d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c"',
-                    ':{"variable":"https://app.crunch.io/api/datasets/3/variables/starttime/"}}}]}'
+                    '\"options\":[],"where":{"function":"frame_subset","args":[{"frame":',
+                    '"primary"},{"value":["66ae9881e3524f7db84970d556c34552",',
+                    '"d7c21314ca9e453c93069168681a285c"]},{"value":null}]}}'
                 ),
                 "Accept: application/json"
             )