diff --git a/.formatter.exs b/.formatter.exs
index d2cda26..7f59b1f 100644
--- a/.formatter.exs
+++ b/.formatter.exs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Used by "mix format"
 [
-  inputs: ["{mix,.formatter}.exs", "{config,lib,test}/**/*.{ex,exs}"]
+  inputs: ["{mix,.formatter}.exs", "{lib,test}/**/*.{ex,exs}"]
 ]
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6c4ff9d..59ee71d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- make Hammer startup explicit
+
 ## 6.2.1 - 2024-02-23
 
 - Fix issue in OTP 26 and Elixir 1.15 by not using to_existing_atom in configuration
diff --git a/config/config.exs b/config/config.exs
deleted file mode 100644
index 86d7cb7..0000000
--- a/config/config.exs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-# This file is responsible for configuring your application
-# and its dependencies with the aid of the Mix.Config module.
-import Config
-
-config :hammer,
-  backend:
-    {Hammer.Backend.ETS,
-     [
-       ets_table_name: :hammer_backend_ets_buckets,
-       expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
-       cleanup_interval_ms: 60_000 * 2
-     ]}
diff --git a/lib/hammer/application.ex b/lib/hammer/application.ex
deleted file mode 100644
index d406d96..0000000
--- a/lib/hammer/application.ex
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-defmodule Hammer.Application do
-  @moduledoc """
-  Hammer application, responsible for starting the backend worker pools.
-
-  Configured with the `:hammer` environment key:
-
-  - `:backend`, Either a tuple of `{module, config}`, or a keyword-list
-    of separate, named backends. Examples:
-    `{Hammer.Backend.ETS, []}`, `[ets: {Hammer.Backend.ETS, []}, ...]`
-  - `:suppress_logs`, if set to `true`, stops all log messages from Hammer
-
-  ### General Backend Options
-
-  Different backends take different options, but all will accept the following
-  options, and with the same effect:
-
-  - `:expiry_ms` (int): expiry time in milliseconds, after which a bucket will
-    be deleted. The exact mechanism for cleanup will vary by backend. This configuration
-    option is mandatory
-  - `:pool_size` (int): size of the backend worker pool (default=2)
-  - `:pool_max_overflow` int(): number of extra workers the pool is permitted
-    to spawn when under pressure. The worker pool (managed by the poolboy library)
-    will automatically create and destroy workers up to the max-overflow limit
-    (default=0)
-
-  Example of a single backend:
-
-      config :hammer,
-        backend: {Hammer.Backend.ETS, [expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2]}
-
-  Example of config for multiple-backends:
-
-      config :hammer,
-        backend: [
-          ets: {
-            Hammer.Backend.ETS,
-            [
-              ets_table_name: :hammer_backend_ets_buckets,
-              expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
-              cleanup_interval_ms: 60_000 * 2,
-            ]
-          },
-          redis: {
-            Hammer.Backend.Redis,
-            [
-              expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
-              redix_config: [host: "localhost", port: 6379],
-              pool_size: 4,
-            ]
-          }
-        ]
-
-  """
-
-  use Application
-  require Logger
-
-  def start(_type, _args) do
-    config =
-      Application.get_env(
-        :hammer,
-        :backend,
-        {Hammer.Backend.ETS, []}
-      )
-
-    Hammer.Supervisor.start_link(config, name: Hammer.Supervisor)
-  end
-end
diff --git a/lib/hammer/supervisor.ex b/lib/hammer/supervisor.ex
index 3b37fc9..d3c5441 100644
--- a/lib/hammer/supervisor.ex
+++ b/lib/hammer/supervisor.ex
@@ -4,13 +4,65 @@ defmodule Hammer.Supervisor do
 
   Starts a set of poolboy pools based on provided configuration,
   which are latter called to by the `Hammer` module.
-  See the Application module for configuration examples.
+
+  Configured with the `:hammer` environment key:
+
+  - `:backend`, Either a tuple of `{module, config}`, or a keyword-list
+    of separate, named backends. Examples:
+    `{Hammer.Backend.ETS, []}`, `[ets: {Hammer.Backend.ETS, []}, ...]`
+  - `:suppress_logs`, if set to `true`, stops all log messages from Hammer
+
+  ### General Backend Options
+
+  Different backends take different options, but all will accept the following
+  options, and with the same effect:
+
+  - `:expiry_ms` (int): expiry time in milliseconds, after which a bucket will
+    be deleted. The exact mechanism for cleanup will vary by backend. This configuration
+    option is mandatory
+  - `:pool_size` (int): size of the backend worker pool (default=2)
+  - `:pool_max_overflow` int(): number of extra workers the pool is permitted
+    to spawn when under pressure. The worker pool (managed by the poolboy library)
+    will automatically create and destroy workers up to the max-overflow limit
+    (default=0)
+
+  Example of a single backend:
+
+      children = [
+        {Hammer.Supervisor, backend: {Hammer.Backend.ETS, [expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2]}}
+      ]
+
+  Example of config for multiple-backends:
+
+      children = [
+        {Hammer.Supervisor,
+         backend: [
+           ets: {
+             Hammer.Backend.ETS,
+             [
+               ets_table_name: :hammer_backend_ets_buckets,
+               expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
+               cleanup_interval_ms: 60_000 * 2
+             ]
+           },
+         redis: {
+             Hammer.Backend.Redis,
+             [
+               expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
+               redix_config: [host: "localhost", port: 6379],
+               pool_size: 4
+             ]
+           }
+         ]}
+      ]
+
   """
 
   use Supervisor
 
-  def start_link(config, opts) do
-    Supervisor.start_link(__MODULE__, config, opts)
+  def start_link(config) do
+    backend = Keyword.fetch!(config, :backend)
+    Supervisor.start_link(__MODULE__, backend, name: Hammer.Supervisor)
   end
 
   # Single backend
diff --git a/mix.exs b/mix.exs
index b37b064..565e93b 100644
--- a/mix.exs
+++ b/mix.exs
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@ defmodule Hammer.Mixfile do
   end
 
   def application do
-    # Specify extra applications you'll use from Erlang/Elixir
-    [mod: {Hammer.Application, []}, extra_applications: [:logger, :runtime_tools]]
+    [extra_applications: []]
   end
 
   defp deps do
diff --git a/test/hammer_test.exs b/test/hammer_test.exs
index d07177f..d0d2feb 100644
--- a/test/hammer_test.exs
+++ b/test/hammer_test.exs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 defmodule HammerTest do
-  use ExUnit.Case, async: false
+  use ExUnit.Case
 
   setup _context do
     pool = Hammer.Utils.pool_name()
diff --git a/test/hammer_util_test.exs b/test/hammer_util_test.exs
index e7939b4..dc14faa 100644
--- a/test/hammer_util_test.exs
+++ b/test/hammer_util_test.exs
@@ -1,6 +1,21 @@
 defmodule UtilsTest do
   use ExUnit.Case
 
+  setup do
+    start_supervised!(
+      {Hammer.Supervisor,
+       backend: [
+         ets:
+           {Hammer.Backend.ETS,
+            ets_table_name: :utils_test,
+            expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 2,
+            cleanup_interval_ms: 60_000 * 2}
+       ]}
+    )
+
+    :ok
+  end
+
   test "timestamp" do
     assert is_integer(Hammer.Utils.timestamp())
   end