diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 332f0a297..8397f6d77 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -92,7 +92,16 @@ jobs:
     executor: clang6
     environment: { CMAKE_TEST_FLAGS: -DSIMDJSON_ENABLE_THREADS=ON }
     steps: [ init_clang6, cmake_test ]
-
+  gcc-avx-noexcept:
+    description: Build, run tests and check performance on GCC 7 and AVX 2 *without* threads
+    executor: gcc7
+    environment: { CMAKE_TEST_FLAGS: -DSIMDJSON_DISABLE_EXCEPTIONS=ON }
+    steps: [ cmake_test ]
+  clang-avx-noexcept:
+    description: Build, run tests and check performance on Clang 6 and AVX 2 with threads
+    executor: clang6
+    environment: { CMAKE_TEST_FLAGS: -DSIMDJSON_DISABLE_EXCEPTIONS=ON }
+    steps: [ init_clang6, cmake_test ]
   gcc9-avx:
     description: Build, run tests and check performance on GCC 9 and AVX 2
     executor: gcc9
@@ -197,6 +206,8 @@ workflows:
   version: 2.1
   build_and_test:
     jobs:
+      - gcc-avx-noexcept
+      - clang-avx-noexcept
       - gcc9-avx
       - gcc8-avx
       - gcc-avx
diff --git a/benchmark/distinctuseridcompetition.cpp b/benchmark/distinctuseridcompetition.cpp
index 54f40f51d..66cae9acd 100644
--- a/benchmark/distinctuseridcompetition.cpp
+++ b/benchmark/distinctuseridcompetition.cpp
@@ -65,23 +65,30 @@ void print_vec(const std::vector<int64_t> &v) {
 
 void simdjson_recurse(std::vector<int64_t> & v, simdjson::dom::element element) {
   if (element.is<simdjson::dom::array>()) {
-    auto array = element.get<simdjson::dom::array>();
+    simdjson::dom::array array;
+    simdjson::error_code error;
+    element.get<simdjson::dom::array>().tie(array, error);
     for (auto child : array) {
       if (child.is<simdjson::dom::array>() || child.is<simdjson::dom::object>()) {
         simdjson_recurse(v, child);
       }
     }
   } else if (element.is<simdjson::dom::object>()) {
-    auto object = element.get<simdjson::dom::object>();
+    simdjson::dom::object object;
+    simdjson::error_code error;
+    element.get<simdjson::dom::object>().tie(object, error);
     for (auto [key, value] : object) {
       if((key.size() == 4) && (memcmp(key.data(), "user", 4) == 0)) {
         // we are in an object under the key "user"
         if(value.is<simdjson::dom::object>()) {
-          auto child_object = value.get<simdjson::dom::object>();
+          simdjson::dom::object child_object;
+          value.get<simdjson::dom::object>().tie(child_object, error);
           for (auto [child_key, child_value] : child_object) {
             if((child_key.size() == 2) && (memcmp(child_key.data(), "id", 2) == 0)) {
               if(child_value.is<int64_t>()) {
-                v.push_back(child_value.get<int64_t>());
+                int64_t x;
+                child_value.get<int64_t>().tie(x, error);
+                v.push_back(x);
               }
             }
             if (child_value.is<simdjson::dom::array>() || child_value.is<simdjson::dom::object>()) {
@@ -111,9 +118,13 @@ __attribute__((noinline)) std::vector<int64_t>
 simdjson_compute_stats(const simdjson::padded_string &p) {
   std::vector<int64_t> answer;
   simdjson::dom::parser parser;
-  simdjson::dom::element doc = parser.parse(p);
-  simdjson_recurse(answer, doc);
-  remove_duplicates(answer);
+  simdjson::dom::element doc;
+  simdjson::error_code error;
+  parser.parse(p).tie(doc, error);
+  if(!error) {
+    simdjson_recurse(answer, doc);
+    remove_duplicates(answer);
+  }
   return answer;
 }
 
@@ -373,7 +384,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
   BEST_TIME("sasjon (just parse) ", sasjon_just_parse(p), false, , repeat,
             volume, !just_data);
   simdjson::dom::parser parser;
-  simdjson::dom::element doc = parser.parse(p);
+  simdjson::dom::element doc;
+  parser.parse(p).tie(doc, error);
   BEST_TIME("simdjson (just dom)  ", simdjson_just_dom(doc).size(), size,
             , repeat, volume, !just_data);
   char *buffer = (char *)malloc(p.size() + 1);
diff --git a/benchmark/parseandstatcompetition.cpp b/benchmark/parseandstatcompetition.cpp
index 088d69781..7016d4a29 100644
--- a/benchmark/parseandstatcompetition.cpp
+++ b/benchmark/parseandstatcompetition.cpp
@@ -54,7 +54,10 @@ really_inline void simdjson_process_atom(stat_t &s,
   if (element.is<double>()) {
     s.number_count++;
   } else if (element.is<bool>()) {
-    if (element.get<bool>()) {
+    simdjson::error_code err;
+    bool v;
+    element.get<bool>().tie(v,err);
+    if (v) {
       s.true_count++;
     } else {
       s.false_count++;
diff --git a/benchmark/perfdiff.cpp b/benchmark/perfdiff.cpp
index 63a010b82..f936950d7 100644
--- a/benchmark/perfdiff.cpp
+++ b/benchmark/perfdiff.cpp
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ std::string exec(const char* cmd) {
     std::string result;
     std::unique_ptr<FILE, decltype(&closepipe)> pipe(popen(cmd, "r"), closepipe);
     if (!pipe) {
-        throw std::runtime_error("popen() failed!");
+        std::cerr << "popen() failed!" << std::endl;
+        abort();
     }
     while (fgets(buffer.data(), buffer.size(), pipe.get()) != nullptr) {
         result += buffer.data();
diff --git a/benchmark/statisticalmodel.cpp b/benchmark/statisticalmodel.cpp
index 38e575ccd..c666a5d7e 100644
--- a/benchmark/statisticalmodel.cpp
+++ b/benchmark/statisticalmodel.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,10 @@ really_inline void simdjson_process_atom(stat_t &s,
   } else if(element.is<double>()) {
     s.float_count++;
   } else if (element.is<bool>()) {
-    if (element.get<bool>()) {
+    simdjson::error_code err;
+    bool v;
+    element.get<bool>().tie(v,err);
+    if (v) {
       s.true_count++;
     } else {
       s.false_count++;
diff --git a/doc/basics.md b/doc/basics.md
index 655d3cc9e..958e1dec3 100644
--- a/doc/basics.md
+++ b/doc/basics.md
@@ -190,6 +190,29 @@ behavior.
 > parser.parse(json).tie(doc, error); // <-- Assigns to doc and error just like "auto [doc, error]"
 > ```
 
+
+We can write a "quick start" example where we attempt to parse a file and access some data, without triggering exceptions:
+
+```C++
+#include "simdjson.h"
+
+int main(void) {
+  simdjson::dom::parser parser;
+  simdjson::dom::element tweets;
+  simdjson::error_code error;
+  parser.load("twitter.json").tie(tweets,error);
+  if (error) { std::cerr << error << std::endl; return EXIT_FAILURE; }
+  simdjson::dom::element res;
+
+  tweets["search_metadata"]["count"].tie(res,error);
+  if(error) {
+    std::cerr << "could not access keys" << std::endl;
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+  }
+  std::cout << res << " results." << std::endl;
+}
+```
+
 ### Error Handling Example
 
 This is how the example in "Using the Parsed JSON" could be written using only error code checking:
diff --git a/examples/quickstart/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/quickstart/CMakeLists.txt
index 7b7ff855a..ced2aa31c 100644
--- a/examples/quickstart/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/quickstart/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
-add_executable(quickstart quickstart.cpp)
-target_link_libraries(quickstart PRIVATE simdjson)
+if(SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS)
+  add_executable(quickstart quickstart.cpp)
+  target_link_libraries(quickstart PRIVATE simdjson)
+endif()
+add_executable(quickstart_noexceptions quickstart_noexceptions.cpp)
+target_link_libraries(quickstart_noexceptions PRIVATE simdjson)
diff --git a/examples/quickstart/quickstart.cpp b/examples/quickstart/quickstart.cpp
index 818a3d229..ed66159f2 100644
--- a/examples/quickstart/quickstart.cpp
+++ b/examples/quickstart/quickstart.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include "simdjson.h"
+
 int main(void) {
   simdjson::dom::parser parser;
   simdjson::dom::element tweets = parser.load("twitter.json");
   std::cout << tweets["search_metadata"]["count"] << " results." << std::endl;
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/quickstart/quickstart_noexceptions.cpp b/examples/quickstart/quickstart_noexceptions.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b6ca8aebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/quickstart/quickstart_noexceptions.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#include "simdjson.h"
+
+int main(void) {
+  simdjson::dom::parser parser;
+  simdjson::dom::element tweets;
+  simdjson::error_code error;
+  parser.load("twitter.json").tie(tweets,error);
+  if (error) { std::cerr << error << std::endl; return EXIT_FAILURE; }
+  simdjson::dom::element res;
+
+  tweets["search_metadata"]["count"].tie(res,error);
+  if(error) {
+    std::cerr << "could not access keys" << std::endl;
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+  }
+  std::cout << res << " results." << std::endl;
+}
+
diff --git a/fuzz/fuzz_dump.cpp b/fuzz/fuzz_dump.cpp
index b6f30992a..868a79677 100644
--- a/fuzz/fuzz_dump.cpp
+++ b/fuzz/fuzz_dump.cpp
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 // example from doc/basics.md#tree-walking-and-json-element-types
 static void print_json(std::ostream& os, simdjson::dom::element element) {
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     const char endl='\n';
     switch (element.type()) {
     case simdjson::dom::element_type::ARRAY:
@@ -46,9 +47,10 @@ static void print_json(std::ostream& os, simdjson::dom::element element) {
         os << "null" << endl;
         break;
     }
+#endif
 }
 extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
-
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     try {
         simdjson::dom::parser pj;
         auto elem=pj.parse(Data, Size);
@@ -58,6 +60,6 @@ extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
         print_json(os,v);
     } catch (...) {
     }
+#endif
     return 0;
-
 }
diff --git a/fuzz/fuzz_dump_raw_tape.cpp b/fuzz/fuzz_dump_raw_tape.cpp
index 5b150a263..5de7654a9 100644
--- a/fuzz/fuzz_dump_raw_tape.cpp
+++ b/fuzz/fuzz_dump_raw_tape.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include "NullBuffer.h"
 
 extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
-
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     try {
         simdjson::dom::parser pj;
         auto elem=pj.parse(Data, Size);
@@ -16,5 +16,6 @@ extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
         UNUSED auto dumpstatus=v.dump_raw_tape(os);
     } catch (...) {
     }
+#endif
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/fuzz/fuzz_minify.cpp b/fuzz/fuzz_minify.cpp
index 9916bd1db..19223a944 100644
--- a/fuzz/fuzz_minify.cpp
+++ b/fuzz/fuzz_minify.cpp
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
     auto end = begin + Size;
 
     std::string str(begin, end);
-
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     try {
         simdjson::dom::parser parser;
         simdjson::dom::element doc = parser.parse(str);
@@ -17,5 +17,6 @@ extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
     } catch (...) {
 
     }
+#endif
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/fuzz/fuzz_parser.cpp b/fuzz/fuzz_parser.cpp
index e45e08b2d..25a880d8b 100644
--- a/fuzz/fuzz_parser.cpp
+++ b/fuzz/fuzz_parser.cpp
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <string>
 extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
-
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     try {
         simdjson::dom::parser pj;
         auto result=pj.parse(Data, Size);
         UNUSED auto v=result.value();
     }catch(...) {
     }
+#endif
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/fuzz/fuzz_print_json.cpp b/fuzz/fuzz_print_json.cpp
index 6925dd8a7..9811f1554 100644
--- a/fuzz/fuzz_print_json.cpp
+++ b/fuzz/fuzz_print_json.cpp
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 
 extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
-
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     try {
         simdjson::dom::parser pj;
         auto elem=pj.parse(Data, Size);
@@ -15,5 +15,6 @@ extern "C" int LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput(const uint8_t *Data, size_t Size) {
         os<<elem;
     } catch (...) {
     }
+#endif
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/include/CMakeLists.txt b/include/CMakeLists.txt
index 23d1373eb..7c10d422a 100644
--- a/include/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/include/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ option(SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS "Enable simdjson's exception-throwing interface" ON)
 if(NOT SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS)
   message(STATUS "simdjson exception interface turned off. Code that does not check error codes will not compile.")
   target_compile_definitions(simdjson-headers INTERFACE SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS=0)
+	if(UNIX)
+	    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -fno-exceptions")
+	endif(UNIX)
 endif()
 
 option(SIMDJSON_ENABLE_THREADS "Enable threaded operation" ON)
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index bec6d859c..39276f88f 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -73,18 +73,24 @@ endfunction(add_compile_test)
 
 # Don't add the tests if we're on VS2017 or older; they don't succeed.
 if(NOT (MSVC AND MSVC_VERSION LESS 1920))
+if(SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS)
   add_compile_test(readme_examples readme_examples.cpp quicktests)
+  set_property(
+    TEST readme_examples
+    APPEND PROPERTY LABELS quicktests
+  )
+endif()
   add_compile_test(readme_examples_noexceptions readme_examples_noexceptions.cpp quicktests)
 
   # Compile tests that *should fail*
   add_compile_test(readme_examples_will_fail_with_exceptions_off readme_examples.cpp)
   target_compile_definitions(readme_examples_will_fail_with_exceptions_off PRIVATE SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS=0)
   set_tests_properties(readme_examples_will_fail_with_exceptions_off PROPERTIES WILL_FAIL TRUE)
-
   set_property(
-    TEST readme_examples readme_examples_noexceptions readme_examples_will_fail_with_exceptions_off
+    TEST readme_examples_noexceptions readme_examples_will_fail_with_exceptions_off
     APPEND PROPERTY LABELS quicktests
   )
+
 endif()
 
 
diff --git a/tests/basictests.cpp b/tests/basictests.cpp
index 934a741a8..8b6c983cc 100644
--- a/tests/basictests.cpp
+++ b/tests/basictests.cpp
@@ -258,7 +258,14 @@ namespace document_tests {
         "}"_padded;
     simdjson::dom::parser parser;
     std::ostringstream myStream;
+#if SIMDJSON_EXCEPTIONS
     myStream << parser.parse(json);
+#else
+    simdjson::dom::element doc;
+    simdjson::error_code error;
+    parser.parse(json).tie(doc, error);
+    myStream << doc;
+#endif
     std::string newjson = myStream.str();
     if(static_cast<std::string>(json) != newjson) {
       std::cout << "serialized json differs!" << std::endl;
@@ -1280,7 +1287,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
       // T() == expected
       actual = T(result);
       ASSERT_EQUAL(actual, expected);
-
       actual = T(element);
       ASSERT_EQUAL(actual, expected);
 
@@ -1309,6 +1315,7 @@ namespace type_tests {
     return true;
   }
 
+
   template<typename T>
   bool test_cast(simdjson_result<dom::element> result) {
     std::cout << "  test_cast<" << typeid(T).name() << "> expecting success" << std::endl;
@@ -1369,7 +1376,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
   bool test_cast(simdjson_result<dom::element> result, simdjson::error_code expected_error) {
     std::cout << "  test_cast<" << typeid(T).name() << "> expecting error '" << expected_error << "'" << std::endl;
     dom::element element = result.first;
-
     // get<T>() == expected
     T actual;
     simdjson::error_code error;
@@ -1428,7 +1434,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
   bool test_type(simdjson_result<dom::element> result, dom::element_type expected_type) {
     std::cout << "  test_type() expecting " << expected_type << std::endl;
     dom::element element = result.first;
-
     dom::element_type actual_type;
     simdjson::error_code error;
     result.type().tie(actual_type, error);
@@ -1460,7 +1465,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
     std::cout << "  test_is_null() expecting " << expected_is_null << std::endl;
     // Grab the element out and check success
     dom::element element = result.first;
-
     bool actual_is_null;
     simdjson::error_code error;
     result.is_null().tie(actual_is_null, error);
@@ -1549,7 +1553,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
 
     dom::parser parser;
     simdjson_result<dom::element> result = parser.parse(ALL_TYPES_JSON)[key];
-
     return true
       && test_type(result, dom::element_type::INT64)
       && test_cast<dom::array>(result, INCORRECT_TYPE)
@@ -1589,7 +1592,6 @@ namespace type_tests {
 
     dom::parser parser;
     simdjson_result<dom::element> result = parser.parse(ALL_TYPES_JSON)[key];
-
     return true
       && test_type(result, dom::element_type::DOUBLE)
       && test_cast<dom::array>(result, INCORRECT_TYPE)
diff --git a/tools/jsonstats.cpp b/tools/jsonstats.cpp
index c136ec1b7..4486c35ae 100644
--- a/tools/jsonstats.cpp
+++ b/tools/jsonstats.cpp
@@ -96,12 +96,15 @@ void recurse(simdjson::dom::element element, stat_t &s, size_t depth) {
       }
     }
   } else {
+    simdjson::error_code error;
     if (element.is<double>()) {
       s.float_count++;
     } else if (element.is<int64_t>()) {
       s.integer_count++;
     } else if (element.is<bool>()) {
-      if (element.get<bool>()) {
+      bool v;
+      element.get<bool>().tie(v,error);
+      if (v) {
         s.true_count++;
       } else {
         s.false_count++;
@@ -110,15 +113,19 @@ void recurse(simdjson::dom::element element, stat_t &s, size_t depth) {
       s.null_count++;
     } else if (element.is<std::string_view>()) {
       s.string_count++;
-      if (is_ascii(element.get<std::string_view>())) {
+      std::string_view v;
+      element.get<std::string_view>().tie(v,error);
+      if (is_ascii(v)) {
         s.ascii_string_count++;
       }
-      const std::string_view strval = element.get<std::string_view>();
+      std::string_view strval;
+      element.get<std::string_view>().tie(strval, error);
       if (strval.size() > s.string_maximum_length) {
         s.string_maximum_length = strval.size();
       }
     } else {
-      throw std::runtime_error("unrecognized node.");
+      std::cerr << "unrecognized node." << std::endl;
+      abort();
     }
   }
 }