diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 57160857f..5be43a446 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -124,6 +124,12 @@ version = "1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "d468802bab17cbc0cc575e9b053f41e72aa36bfa6b7f55e3529ffa43161b97fa"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "base64"
+version = "0.13.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "904dfeac50f3cdaba28fc6f57fdcddb75f49ed61346676a78c4ffe55877802fd"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "bit-set"
 version = "0.5.2"
@@ -183,6 +189,12 @@ version = "1.4.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "14c189c53d098945499cdfa7ecc63567cf3886b3332b312a5b4585d8d3a6a610"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "bytes"
+version = "1.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c4872d67bab6358e59559027aa3b9157c53d9358c51423c17554809a8858e0f8"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "bzip2"
 version = "0.4.3"
@@ -605,6 +617,15 @@ version = "1.6.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "e78d4f1cc4ae33bbfc157ed5d5a5ef3bc29227303d595861deb238fcec4e9457"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "encoding_rs"
+version = "0.8.31"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "9852635589dc9f9ea1b6fe9f05b50ef208c85c834a562f0c6abb1c475736ec2b"
+dependencies = [
+ "cfg-if 1.0.0",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "env_logger"
 version = "0.9.0"
@@ -629,6 +650,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "fastrand"
+version = "1.7.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c3fcf0cee53519c866c09b5de1f6c56ff9d647101f81c1964fa632e148896cdf"
+dependencies = [
+ "instant",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "figment"
 version = "0.10.6"
@@ -780,6 +810,16 @@ version = "0.1.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "00b0228411908ca8685dba7fc2cdd70ec9990a6e753e89b6ac91a84c40fbaf4b"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "form_urlencoded"
+version = "1.0.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5fc25a87fa4fd2094bffb06925852034d90a17f0d1e05197d4956d3555752191"
+dependencies = [
+ "matches",
+ "percent-encoding",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "fsevent-sys"
 version = "4.1.0"
@@ -995,6 +1035,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "fj",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "h2"
+version = "0.3.13"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "37a82c6d637fc9515a4694bbf1cb2457b79d81ce52b3108bdeea58b07dd34a57"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "fnv",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-sink",
+ "futures-util",
+ "http",
+ "indexmap",
+ "slab",
+ "tokio",
+ "tokio-util",
+ "tracing",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "hashbrown"
 version = "0.11.2"
@@ -1025,18 +1084,100 @@ version = "0.2.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "dfa686283ad6dd069f105e5ab091b04c62850d3e4cf5d67debad1933f55023df"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "http"
+version = "0.2.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "31f4c6746584866f0feabcc69893c5b51beef3831656a968ed7ae254cdc4fd03"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "fnv",
+ "itoa",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "http-body"
+version = "0.4.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1ff4f84919677303da5f147645dbea6b1881f368d03ac84e1dc09031ebd7b2c6"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "http",
+ "pin-project-lite",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "httparse"
+version = "1.7.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6330e8a36bd8c859f3fa6d9382911fbb7147ec39807f63b923933a247240b9ba"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "httpdate"
+version = "1.0.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c4a1e36c821dbe04574f602848a19f742f4fb3c98d40449f11bcad18d6b17421"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "humantime"
 version = "2.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "9a3a5bfb195931eeb336b2a7b4d761daec841b97f947d34394601737a7bba5e4"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "hyper"
+version = "0.14.18"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b26ae0a80afebe130861d90abf98e3814a4f28a4c6ffeb5ab8ebb2be311e0ef2"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "futures-channel",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-util",
+ "h2",
+ "http",
+ "http-body",
+ "httparse",
+ "httpdate",
+ "itoa",
+ "pin-project-lite",
+ "socket2",
+ "tokio",
+ "tower-service",
+ "tracing",
+ "want",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "hyper-tls"
+version = "0.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d6183ddfa99b85da61a140bea0efc93fdf56ceaa041b37d553518030827f9905"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "hyper",
+ "native-tls",
+ "tokio",
+ "tokio-native-tls",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ident_case"
 version = "1.0.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "b9e0384b61958566e926dc50660321d12159025e767c18e043daf26b70104c39"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "idna"
+version = "0.2.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "418a0a6fab821475f634efe3ccc45c013f742efe03d853e8d3355d5cb850ecf8"
+dependencies = [
+ "matches",
+ "unicode-bidi",
+ "unicode-normalization",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "indexmap"
 version = "1.8.1"
@@ -1091,6 +1232,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "web-sys",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "ipnet"
+version = "2.4.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "35e70ee094dc02fd9c13fdad4940090f22dbd6ac7c9e7094a46cf0232a50bc7c"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "itoa"
 version = "1.0.1"
@@ -1219,6 +1366,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "regex-automata",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "matches"
+version = "0.1.9"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a3e378b66a060d48947b590737b30a1be76706c8dd7b8ba0f2fe3989c68a853f"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "matrixmultiply"
 version = "0.3.2"
@@ -1266,6 +1419,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "objc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "mime"
+version = "0.3.16"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2a60c7ce501c71e03a9c9c0d35b861413ae925bd979cc7a4e30d060069aaac8d"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "minimal-lexical"
 version = "0.2.1"
@@ -1350,6 +1509,24 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "native-tls"
+version = "0.2.10"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "fd7e2f3618557f980e0b17e8856252eee3c97fa12c54dff0ca290fb6266ca4a9"
+dependencies = [
+ "lazy_static",
+ "libc",
+ "log",
+ "openssl",
+ "openssl-probe",
+ "openssl-sys",
+ "schannel",
+ "security-framework",
+ "security-framework-sys",
+ "tempfile",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ndk"
 version = "0.5.0"
@@ -1560,6 +1737,39 @@ version = "1.10.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "87f3e037eac156d1775da914196f0f37741a274155e34a0b7e427c35d2a2ecb9"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl"
+version = "0.10.38"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0c7ae222234c30df141154f159066c5093ff73b63204dcda7121eb082fc56a95"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags",
+ "cfg-if 1.0.0",
+ "foreign-types",
+ "libc",
+ "once_cell",
+ "openssl-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-probe"
+version = "0.1.5"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "ff011a302c396a5197692431fc1948019154afc178baf7d8e37367442a4601cf"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-sys"
+version = "0.9.72"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7e46109c383602735fa0a2e48dd2b7c892b048e1bf69e5c3b1d804b7d9c203cb"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+ "cc",
+ "libc",
+ "pkg-config",
+ "vcpkg",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "optional"
 version = "0.5.0"
@@ -1933,7 +2143,7 @@ checksum = "f497285884f3fcff424ffc933e56d7cbca511def0c9831a7f9b5f6153e3cc89b"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "release-operator"
-version = "0.2.0"
+version = "0.3.1"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "cargo_metadata",
@@ -1942,18 +2152,64 @@ dependencies = [
  "env_logger",
  "log",
  "regex",
+ "reqwest",
  "secstr",
  "semver",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "remove_dir_all"
+version = "0.5.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3acd125665422973a33ac9d3dd2df85edad0f4ae9b00dafb1a05e43a9f5ef8e7"
+dependencies = [
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "renderdoc-sys"
 version = "0.7.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "f1382d1f0a252c4bf97dc20d979a2fdd05b024acd7c2ed0f7595d7817666a157"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "reqwest"
+version = "0.11.10"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "46a1f7aa4f35e5e8b4160449f51afc758f0ce6454315a9fa7d0d113e958c41eb"
+dependencies = [
+ "base64",
+ "bytes",
+ "encoding_rs",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-util",
+ "h2",
+ "http",
+ "http-body",
+ "hyper",
+ "hyper-tls",
+ "ipnet",
+ "js-sys",
+ "lazy_static",
+ "log",
+ "mime",
+ "native-tls",
+ "percent-encoding",
+ "pin-project-lite",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
+ "serde_urlencoded",
+ "tokio",
+ "tokio-native-tls",
+ "url",
+ "wasm-bindgen",
+ "wasm-bindgen-futures",
+ "web-sys",
+ "winreg",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "robust"
 version = "0.2.3"
@@ -1990,6 +2246,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi-util",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "schannel"
+version = "0.1.19"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "8f05ba609c234e60bee0d547fe94a4c7e9da733d1c962cf6e59efa4cd9c8bc75"
+dependencies = [
+ "lazy_static",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "scoped-tls"
 version = "1.0.0"
@@ -2011,6 +2277,29 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "security-framework"
+version = "2.6.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2dc14f172faf8a0194a3aded622712b0de276821addc574fa54fc0a1167e10dc"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags",
+ "core-foundation 0.9.3",
+ "core-foundation-sys 0.8.3",
+ "libc",
+ "security-framework-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "security-framework-sys"
+version = "2.6.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0160a13a177a45bfb43ce71c01580998474f556ad854dcbca936dd2841a5c556"
+dependencies = [
+ "core-foundation-sys 0.8.3",
+ "libc",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "semver"
 version = "1.0.7"
@@ -2051,6 +2340,18 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "serde_urlencoded"
+version = "0.7.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d3491c14715ca2294c4d6a88f15e84739788c1d030eed8c110436aafdaa2f3fd"
+dependencies = [
+ "form_urlencoded",
+ "itoa",
+ "ryu",
+ "serde",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "sharded-slab"
 version = "0.1.4"
@@ -2113,6 +2414,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "wayland-protocols",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "socket2"
+version = "0.4.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "66d72b759436ae32898a2af0a14218dbf55efde3feeb170eb623637db85ee1e0"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "spacer"
 version = "0.1.0"
@@ -2172,6 +2483,20 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-xid",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tempfile"
+version = "3.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "5cdb1ef4eaeeaddc8fbd371e5017057064af0911902ef36b39801f67cc6d79e4"
+dependencies = [
+ "cfg-if 1.0.0",
+ "fastrand",
+ "libc",
+ "redox_syscall",
+ "remove_dir_all",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "termcolor"
 version = "1.1.3"
@@ -2236,6 +2561,61 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tinyvec"
+version = "1.5.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2c1c1d5a42b6245520c249549ec267180beaffcc0615401ac8e31853d4b6d8d2"
+dependencies = [
+ "tinyvec_macros",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tinyvec_macros"
+version = "0.1.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cda74da7e1a664f795bb1f8a87ec406fb89a02522cf6e50620d016add6dbbf5c"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tokio"
+version = "1.17.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2af73ac49756f3f7c01172e34a23e5d0216f6c32333757c2c61feb2bbff5a5ee"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "libc",
+ "memchr",
+ "mio",
+ "num_cpus",
+ "pin-project-lite",
+ "socket2",
+ "winapi",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tokio-native-tls"
+version = "0.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f7d995660bd2b7f8c1568414c1126076c13fbb725c40112dc0120b78eb9b717b"
+dependencies = [
+ "native-tls",
+ "tokio",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tokio-util"
+version = "0.7.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0edfdeb067411dba2044da6d1cb2df793dd35add7888d73c16e3381ded401764"
+dependencies = [
+ "bytes",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-sink",
+ "pin-project-lite",
+ "tokio",
+ "tracing",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "toml"
 version = "0.5.8"
@@ -2245,6 +2625,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tower-service"
+version = "0.3.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "360dfd1d6d30e05fda32ace2c8c70e9c0a9da713275777f5a4dbb8a1893930c6"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing"
 version = "0.1.33"
@@ -2307,6 +2693,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "tracing-log",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "try-lock"
+version = "0.2.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "59547bce71d9c38b83d9c0e92b6066c4253371f15005def0c30d9657f50c7642"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ttf-parser"
 version = "0.15.0"
@@ -2339,6 +2731,21 @@ dependencies = [
  "version_check",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "unicode-bidi"
+version = "0.3.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1a01404663e3db436ed2746d9fefef640d868edae3cceb81c3b8d5732fda678f"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "unicode-normalization"
+version = "0.1.19"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d54590932941a9e9266f0832deed84ebe1bf2e4c9e4a3554d393d18f5e854bf9"
+dependencies = [
+ "tinyvec",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-width"
 version = "0.1.9"
@@ -2351,12 +2758,30 @@ version = "0.2.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "8ccb82d61f80a663efe1f787a51b16b5a51e3314d6ac365b08639f52387b33f3"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "url"
+version = "2.2.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a507c383b2d33b5fc35d1861e77e6b383d158b2da5e14fe51b83dfedf6fd578c"
+dependencies = [
+ "form_urlencoded",
+ "idna",
+ "matches",
+ "percent-encoding",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "valuable"
 version = "0.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "830b7e5d4d90034032940e4ace0d9a9a057e7a45cd94e6c007832e39edb82f6d"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "vcpkg"
+version = "0.2.15"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "accd4ea62f7bb7a82fe23066fb0957d48ef677f6eeb8215f372f52e48bb32426"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "version_check"
 version = "0.9.4"
@@ -2374,6 +2799,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "winapi-util",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "want"
+version = "0.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "1ce8a968cb1cd110d136ff8b819a556d6fb6d919363c61534f6860c7eb172ba0"
+dependencies = [
+ "log",
+ "try-lock",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "wasi"
 version = "0.10.2+wasi-snapshot-preview1"
@@ -2755,6 +3190,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "x11-dl",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "winreg"
+version = "0.10.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "80d0f4e272c85def139476380b12f9ac60926689dd2e01d4923222f40580869d"
+dependencies = [
+ "winapi",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "x11-dl"
 version = "2.19.1"
diff --git a/release-operator/Cargo.toml b/release-operator/Cargo.toml
index b142974c7..0b0344b81 100644
--- a/release-operator/Cargo.toml
+++ b/release-operator/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "release-operator"
-version = "0.3.0"
+version = "0.3.1"
 edition = "2021"
 
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ secstr = "0.5.0"
 semver = "1.0.7"
 serde_json = "1.0.79"
 
+[dependencies.reqwest]
+version = "0.11.10"
+features = ["blocking"]
+
 [dependencies.clap]
 version = "3.1.8"
 features = ["std", "derive", "env"]
diff --git a/release-operator/src/registry.rs b/release-operator/src/registry.rs
index 55049e108..76ef418b9 100644
--- a/release-operator/src/registry.rs
+++ b/release-operator/src/registry.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Context};
 use secstr::SecStr;
+use serde::Deserialize;
 use std::fmt::{Display, Formatter};
 use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader};
 use std::path::PathBuf;
@@ -64,21 +65,51 @@ impl Crate {
 
     fn determine_state(&self) -> anyhow::Result<CrateState> {
         let theirs = {
-            let name = format!("{self}");
-            let search_result = cmd_lib::run_fun!(cargo search "${name}")
-                .context("search for crate on crates.io")?;
+            #[derive(Deserialize)]
+            struct CrateVersions {
+                versions: Vec<CrateVersion>,
+            }
 
-            if search_result.is_empty() {
+            #[derive(Deserialize)]
+            struct CrateVersion {
+                #[serde(rename = "num")]
+                version: semver::Version,
+            }
+
+            let client = reqwest::blocking::ClientBuilder::new()
+                .user_agent(concat!(
+                    env!("CARGO_PKG_NAME"),
+                    "/",
+                    env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION")
+                ))
+                .build()
+                .context("build http client")?;
+
+            let resp = client
+                .get(format!("https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/{self}"))
+                .send()
+                .context("fetching crate versions from the registry")?;
+
+            if resp.status() == reqwest::StatusCode::NOT_FOUND {
                 log::info!("{self} has not been published yet");
                 return Ok(CrateState::Unknown);
             }
 
-            let version = cmd_lib::run_fun!(cargo search "${name}" | head -n1 | awk r#"{print $3}"# | tr -d '"')
-                .context("search crates.io for published crate version")?;
-            log::debug!("{self} found as {version} on their side");
+            if resp.status() != reqwest::StatusCode::OK {
+                return Err(anyhow!(
+                    "{self} request to crates.io failed with {} '{}'",
+                    resp.status(),
+                    resp.text().unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+                        "[response body could not be read]".to_string()
+                    })
+                ));
+            }
 
-            semver::Version::from_str(&version)
-                .context("parse their version")?
+            let versions =
+                serde_json::from_str::<CrateVersions>(resp.text()?.as_str())
+                    .context("deserializing crates.io response")?;
+
+            versions.versions.get(0).unwrap().version.to_owned()
         };
 
         let ours = {