diff --git a/.changeset/gorgeous-lamps-chew.md b/.changeset/gorgeous-lamps-chew.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..49efca435
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/gorgeous-lamps-chew.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'style-dictionary': minor
+---
+
+options.log to be respected in all error logging, including platform specific logs.
diff --git a/.changeset/unlucky-cameras-draw.md b/.changeset/unlucky-cameras-draw.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a26cf1bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/unlucky-cameras-draw.md
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+---
+'style-dictionary': major
+---
+
+BREAKING: StyleDictionary to be initialized with a new API and have async methods. Use:
+
+```js
+import StyleDictionary from 'style-dictionary';
+
+/**
+ * old: 
+ *   const sd = StyleDictionary.extend({ source: ['tokens.json'], platforms: {} });
+ *   sd.buildAllPlatforms();
+ */ 
+const sd = new StyleDictionary({ source: ['tokens.json'], platforms: {} });
+await sd.buildAllPlatforms();
+```
+
+You can still extend a dictionary instance with an extended config, but `.extend()` is only used for this, it is no longer used to initialize the first instance:
+
+```js
+import StyleDictionary from 'style-dictionary';
+
+const sd = new StyleDictionary({ source: ['tokens.json'], platforms: {} });
+const extended = await sd.extend({ 
+  fileHeader: {
+    myFileHeader: (defaultMessage) => {
+      return [...defaultMessage, 'hello, world!'];
+    }
+  }
+});
+```
+
+To ensure your initialized StyleDictionary instance is fully ready and has imported all your tokens, you can await `hasInitialized`:
+
+```js
+import StyleDictionary from 'style-dictionary';
+
+const sd = new StyleDictionary({ source: ['tokens.json'], platforms: {} });
+await sd.hasInitialized;
+console.log(sd.allTokens);
+```
+
+For error handling and testing purposes, you can also manually initialize the style-dictionary config:
+
+```js
+import StyleDictionary from 'style-dictionary';
+
+const sd = new StyleDictionary({ source: ['tokens.js'], platforms: {} }, { init: false });
+try {
+  await sd.init();
+} catch(e) {
+  // handle error, e.g. when tokens.js file has syntax errors and cannot be imported
+}
+console.log(sd.allTokens);
+```
+
+The main reason for an initialize step after class instantiation is that async constructors are not a thing in JavaScript, and if you return a promise from a constructor to "hack it", TypeScript will eventually trip over it.
+
+Due to being able to dynamically (asynchronously) import ES Modules rather than synchronously require CommonJS modules, we had to make the APIs asynchronous, so the following methods are now async:
+
+- extend
+- exportPlatform
+- buildAllPlatforms & buildPlatform
+- cleanAllPlatforms & cleanPlatform
+
+In a future release, most other methods will be made async or support async as well, such as parsers, transforms, formats etc.
diff --git a/__tests__/__setup.js b/__tests__/__setup.js
index d9a4dabd2..1c593e74a 100644
--- a/__tests__/__setup.js
+++ b/__tests__/__setup.js
@@ -4,15 +4,18 @@ import path from '@bundled-es-modules/path-browserify';
 import { fs } from 'style-dictionary/fs';
 import { chaiWtrSnapshot } from '../snapshot-plugin/chai-wtr-snapshot.js';
 
-const constantDate = new Date('2000-01-01');
-// eslint-disable-next-line no-undef
-window.Date = function () {
-  return constantDate;
-};
-// eslint-disable-next-line no-undef
-window.Date.now = function () {
-  return constantDate;
-};
+export function fixDate() {
+  const constantDate = new Date('2000-01-01');
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-undef
+  window.Date = function () {
+    return constantDate;
+  };
+  // eslint-disable-next-line no-undef
+  window.Date.now = function () {
+    return constantDate;
+  };
+}
+fixDate();
 
 /**
  * We have a bunch of files that we use a mock data for our tests
diff --git a/__tests__/common/formatHelpers/fileHeader.test.js b/__tests__/common/formatHelpers/fileHeader.test.js
index f421918cd..1e8365721 100644
--- a/__tests__/common/formatHelpers/fileHeader.test.js
+++ b/__tests__/common/formatHelpers/fileHeader.test.js
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
  * and limitations under the License.
  */
 import { expect } from 'chai';
+import { fixDate } from '../../__setup.js';
 import fileHeader from '../../../lib/common/formatHelpers/fileHeader.js';
 
 const defaultLine1 = `Do not edit directly`;
@@ -18,6 +19,10 @@ const defaultLine2 = `Generated on Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 GMT`;
 
 describe('common', () => {
   describe('formatHelpers', () => {
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      fixDate();
+    });
+
     describe('fileHeader', () => {
       it(`should default to /**/ comment style`, () => {
         const comment = fileHeader({});
diff --git a/lib/StyleDictionary.js b/lib/StyleDictionary.js
index cd9777af9..e613ad6ca 100644
--- a/lib/StyleDictionary.js
+++ b/lib/StyleDictionary.js
@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ export default class StyleDictionary {
 
     console.log('\n' + platform);
 
-    if (!this.options || !(platform in (this.options.platforms || {}))) {
+    if (!this.options || !this.options?.platforms[platform]) {
       throw new Error(`Platform "${platform}" does not exist`);
     }
 
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ export default class StyleDictionary {
 
     console.log('\n' + platform);
 
-    if (!this.options || !(platform in (this.options.platforms || {}))) {
+    if (!this.options || !this.options?.platforms[platform]) {
       throw new Error('Platform ' + platform + " doesn't exist");
     }
 
diff --git a/lib/transform/config.js b/lib/transform/config.js
index 619afa8a4..8ed4265cd 100644
--- a/lib/transform/config.js
+++ b/lib/transform/config.js
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const MISSING_TRANSFORM_ERRORS = GroupMessages.GROUP.MissingRegisterTransformErr
  */
 export default function transformConfig(platformConfig, dictionary, platformName) {
   const to_ret = clone(platformConfig);
-  to_ret.log = dictionary.log;
+  to_ret.log = platformConfig.log ?? dictionary.log;
 
   // The platform can define either a transformGroup or an array
   // of transforms. If given a transformGroup that doesn't exist,
@@ -131,17 +131,7 @@ None of ${transform_warnings} match the name of a registered transform.
       }
     }
 
-    if (file.template) {
-      if (dictionary.format[file.template]) {
-        GroupMessages.add(
-          TEMPLATE_DEPRECATION_WARNINGS,
-          `${file.destination} (template: ${file.template})`,
-        );
-        ext.format = dictionary.format[file.template];
-      } else {
-        throw new Error("Can't find template: " + file.template);
-      }
-    } else if (file.format) {
+    if (file.format) {
       if (dictionary.format[file.format]) {
         ext.format = dictionary.format[file.format];
       } else {