diff --git a/packages/core/pluggableElementTypes/models/BaseTrackModel.ts b/packages/core/pluggableElementTypes/models/BaseTrackModel.ts
index 67b7913fb1..62651a1e9f 100644
--- a/packages/core/pluggableElementTypes/models/BaseTrackModel.ts
+++ b/packages/core/pluggableElementTypes/models/BaseTrackModel.ts
@@ -84,6 +84,13 @@ export function createBaseTrackModel(
         return getConf(self, 'textSearchAdapter')
       },
 
+      /**
+       * #getter
+       */
+      get adapterConfig() {
+        return getConf(self, 'adapter')
+      },
+
       /**
        * #getter
        */
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/BamAdapter/BamAdapter.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/BamAdapter/BamAdapter.ts
index d348770630..9b972102ff 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/BamAdapter/BamAdapter.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/BamAdapter/BamAdapter.ts
@@ -80,38 +80,31 @@ export default class BamAdapter extends BaseFeatureDataAdapter {
     return bam.getHeaderText()
   }
 
-  private async setupPre(opts?: BaseOptions) {
-    const { statusCallback = () => {} } = opts || {}
+  private async setupPre(_opts?: BaseOptions) {
     const { bam } = await this.configure()
-    this.samHeader = await updateStatus(
-      'Downloading index',
-      statusCallback,
-      async () => {
-        const samHeader = await bam.getHeader()
-
-        // use the @SQ lines in the header to figure out the
-        // mapping between ref ref ID numbers and names
-        const idToName: string[] = []
-        const nameToId: Record<string, number> = {}
-        samHeader
-          ?.filter(l => l.tag === 'SQ')
-          .forEach((sqLine, refId) => {
-            const SN = sqLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'SN')
-            if (SN) {
-              // this is the ref name
-              const refName = SN.value
-              nameToId[refName] = refId
-              idToName[refId] = refName
-            }
-          })
-
-        return { idToName, nameToId }
-      },
-    )
+    const samHeader = await bam.getHeader()
+
+    // use the @SQ lines in the header to figure out the
+    // mapping between ref ref ID numbers and names
+    const idToName: string[] = []
+    const nameToId: Record<string, number> = {}
+    samHeader
+      ?.filter(l => l.tag === 'SQ')
+      .forEach((sqLine, refId) => {
+        const SN = sqLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'SN')
+        if (SN) {
+          // this is the ref name
+          const refName = SN.value
+          nameToId[refName] = refId
+          idToName[refId] = refName
+        }
+      })
+
+    this.samHeader = { idToName, nameToId }
     return this.samHeader
   }
 
-  async setup(opts?: BaseOptions) {
+  async setupPre2(opts?: BaseOptions) {
     if (!this.setupP) {
       this.setupP = this.setupPre(opts).catch((e: unknown) => {
         this.setupP = undefined
@@ -121,6 +114,13 @@ export default class BamAdapter extends BaseFeatureDataAdapter {
     return this.setupP
   }
 
+  async setup(opts?: BaseOptions) {
+    const { statusCallback = () => {} } = opts || {}
+    return updateStatus('Downloading index', statusCallback, () =>
+      this.setupPre2(opts),
+    )
+  }
+
   async getRefNames(opts?: BaseOptions) {
     const { idToName } = await this.setup(opts)
     return idToName
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/CramAdapter/CramAdapter.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/CramAdapter/CramAdapter.ts
index 1a348f954a..339376605c 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/CramAdapter/CramAdapter.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/CramAdapter/CramAdapter.ts
@@ -148,42 +148,39 @@ export default class CramAdapter extends BaseFeatureDataAdapter {
     return sequence
   }
 
-  private async setupPre(opts?: BaseOptions) {
-    const { statusCallback = () => {} } = opts || {}
-    return updateStatus('Downloading index', statusCallback, async () => {
-      const conf = await this.configure()
-      const { cram } = conf
-      const samHeader = await cram.cram.getSamHeader()
-
-      // use the @SQ lines in the header to figure out the mapping between ref
-      // ID numbers and names
-      const idToName: string[] = []
-      const nameToId: Record<string, number> = {}
-      samHeader
-        .filter(l => l.tag === 'SQ')
-        .forEach((sqLine, refId) => {
-          const SN = sqLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'SN')
-          if (SN) {
-            const refName = SN.value
-            nameToId[refName] = refId
-            idToName[refId] = refName
-          }
-        })
+  private async setupPre(_opts?: BaseOptions) {
+    const conf = await this.configure()
+    const { cram } = conf
+    const samHeader = await cram.cram.getSamHeader()
+
+    // use the @SQ lines in the header to figure out the mapping between ref
+    // ID numbers and names
+    const idToName: string[] = []
+    const nameToId: Record<string, number> = {}
+    samHeader
+      .filter(l => l.tag === 'SQ')
+      .forEach((sqLine, refId) => {
+        const SN = sqLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'SN')
+        if (SN) {
+          const refName = SN.value
+          nameToId[refName] = refId
+          idToName[refId] = refName
+        }
+      })
 
-      const readGroups = samHeader
-        .filter(l => l.tag === 'RG')
-        .map(rgLine => rgLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'ID')?.value)
+    const readGroups = samHeader
+      .filter(l => l.tag === 'RG')
+      .map(rgLine => rgLine.data.find(item => item.tag === 'ID')?.value)
 
-      const data = { idToName, nameToId, readGroups }
-      this.samHeader = data
-      return {
-        samHeader: data,
-        ...conf,
-      }
-    })
+    const data = { idToName, nameToId, readGroups }
+    this.samHeader = data
+    return {
+      samHeader: data,
+      ...conf,
+    }
   }
 
-  private async setup(opts?: BaseOptions) {
+  private async setupPre2(opts?: BaseOptions) {
     if (!this.setupP) {
       this.setupP = this.setupPre(opts).catch((e: unknown) => {
         this.setupP = undefined
@@ -193,6 +190,13 @@ export default class CramAdapter extends BaseFeatureDataAdapter {
     return this.setupP
   }
 
+  async setup(opts?: BaseOptions) {
+    const { statusCallback = () => {} } = opts || {}
+    return updateStatus('Downloading index', statusCallback, () =>
+      this.setupPre2(opts),
+    )
+  }
+
   async getRefNames(opts?: BaseOptions) {
     const { samHeader } = await this.setup(opts)
     if (!samHeader.idToName) {
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/doAfterAttach.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/doAfterAttach.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..575c1d8401
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/doAfterAttach.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import { getContainingView, getSession } from '@jbrowse/core/util'
+import { getRpcSessionId } from '@jbrowse/core/util/tracks'
+import { isAlive } from 'mobx-state-tree'
+
+import { getUniqueModifications } from '../shared/getUniqueModifications'
+import { createAutorun } from '../util'
+
+import type { ModificationType, SortedBy } from '../shared/types'
+import type { AnyConfigurationModel } from '@jbrowse/core/configuration'
+import type { LinearGenomeViewModel } from '@jbrowse/plugin-linear-genome-view'
+
+type LGV = LinearGenomeViewModel
+
+export function doAfterAttach(model: {
+  autorunReady: boolean
+  sortedBy?: SortedBy
+  adapterConfig: AnyConfigurationModel
+  rendererType: { name: string }
+  sortReady: boolean
+  currSortBpPerPx: number
+  parentTrack: any
+  renderPropsPre: () => Record<string, unknown>
+  setCurrSortBpPerPx: (arg: number) => void
+  setError: (arg: unknown) => void
+  updateVisibleModifications: (arg: ModificationType[]) => void
+  setModificationsReady: (arg: boolean) => void
+  setSortReady: (arg: boolean) => void
+  setMessage: (arg: string) => void
+}) {
+  createAutorun(
+    model,
+    async () => {
+      const view = getContainingView(model) as LGV
+      if (!model.autorunReady) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      model.setCurrSortBpPerPx(view.bpPerPx)
+    },
+    { delay: 1000 },
+  )
+  createAutorun(
+    model,
+    async () => {
+      const { rpcManager } = getSession(model)
+      const view = getContainingView(model) as LGV
+      if (!model.autorunReady) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      const { sortedBy, adapterConfig, rendererType, sortReady } = model
+      const { bpPerPx } = view
+
+      if (sortedBy && (!sortReady || model.currSortBpPerPx === view.bpPerPx)) {
+        const { pos, refName, assemblyName } = sortedBy
+        // render just the sorted region first
+        // @ts-expect-error
+        await model.rendererType.renderInClient(rpcManager, {
+          assemblyName,
+          regions: [
+            {
+              start: pos,
+              end: pos + 1,
+              refName,
+              assemblyName,
+            },
+          ],
+          adapterConfig,
+          rendererType: rendererType.name,
+          sessionId: getRpcSessionId(model),
+          layoutId: view.id,
+          timeout: 1_000_000,
+          statusCallback: (arg: string) => {
+            model.setMessage(arg)
+          },
+          ...model.renderPropsPre(),
+        })
+      }
+      if (isAlive(model)) {
+        model.setCurrSortBpPerPx(bpPerPx)
+        model.setSortReady(true)
+      }
+    },
+    { delay: 1000 },
+  )
+
+  createAutorun(
+    model,
+    async () => {
+      if (!model.autorunReady) {
+        return
+      }
+      const { adapterConfig } = model
+      const { staticBlocks } = getContainingView(model) as LGV
+      const vals = await getUniqueModifications({
+        model,
+        adapterConfig,
+        blocks: staticBlocks,
+      })
+      if (isAlive(model)) {
+        model.updateVisibleModifications(vals)
+        model.setModificationsReady(true)
+      }
+    },
+    { delay: 1000 },
+  )
+}
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/model.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/model.ts
index 07a47e580d..d43e77b0aa 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/model.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearPileupDisplay/model.ts
@@ -6,21 +6,15 @@ import {
   readConfObject,
 } from '@jbrowse/core/configuration'
 import { getContainingView, getEnv, getSession } from '@jbrowse/core/util'
-import { getRpcSessionId } from '@jbrowse/core/util/tracks'
 import ColorLensIcon from '@mui/icons-material/ColorLens'
 import SwapVertIcon from '@mui/icons-material/SwapVert'
 import VisibilityIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Visibility'
 import WorkspacesIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Workspaces'
 import { observable } from 'mobx'
-import { isAlive, types } from 'mobx-state-tree'
+import { types } from 'mobx-state-tree'
 
 import { SharedLinearPileupDisplayMixin } from './SharedLinearPileupDisplayMixin'
-import { getUniqueModifications } from '../shared/getUniqueModifications'
-import {
-  createAutorun,
-  getColorForModification,
-  modificationData,
-} from '../util'
+import { getColorForModification, modificationData } from '../util'
 
 import type {
   ModificationType,
@@ -453,78 +447,16 @@ function stateModelFactory(configSchema: AnyConfigurationSchemaType) {
     })
     .actions(self => ({
       afterAttach() {
-        createAutorun(
-          self,
-          async () => {
-            const view = getContainingView(self) as LGV
-            if (!self.autorunReady) {
-              return
-            }
-
-            self.setCurrSortBpPerPx(view.bpPerPx)
-          },
-          { delay: 1000 },
-        )
-        createAutorun(
-          self,
-          async () => {
-            const { rpcManager } = getSession(self)
-            const view = getContainingView(self) as LGV
-            if (!self.autorunReady) {
-              return
-            }
-
-            const { sortedBy, adapterConfig, rendererType, sortReady } = self
-            const { bpPerPx } = view
-
-            if (
-              sortedBy &&
-              (!sortReady || self.currSortBpPerPx === view.bpPerPx)
-            ) {
-              const { pos, refName, assemblyName } = sortedBy
-              // render just the sorted region first
-              // @ts-expect-error
-              await self.rendererType.renderInClient(rpcManager, {
-                assemblyName,
-                regions: [
-                  {
-                    start: pos,
-                    end: pos + 1,
-                    refName,
-                    assemblyName,
-                  },
-                ],
-                adapterConfig,
-                rendererType: rendererType.name,
-                sessionId: getRpcSessionId(self),
-                layoutId: view.id,
-                timeout: 1_000_000,
-                ...self.renderPropsPre(),
-              })
-            }
-            if (isAlive(self)) {
-              self.setCurrSortBpPerPx(bpPerPx)
-              self.setSortReady(true)
-            }
-          },
-          { delay: 1000 },
-        )
-
-        createAutorun(self, async () => {
-          if (!self.autorunReady) {
-            return
-          }
-          const { staticBlocks } = getContainingView(self) as LGV
-          const vals = await getUniqueModifications({
-            self,
-            adapterConfig: getConf(self.parentTrack, 'adapter'),
-            blocks: staticBlocks,
-          })
-          if (isAlive(self)) {
-            self.updateVisibleModifications(vals)
-            self.setModificationsReady(true)
+        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-floating-promises
+        ;(async () => {
+          try {
+            const { doAfterAttach } = await import('./doAfterAttach')
+            doAfterAttach(self)
+          } catch (e) {
+            getSession(self).notifyError(`${e}`, e)
+            console.error(e)
           }
-        })
+        })()
       },
     }))
 }
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/LinearSNPCoverageDisplay/model.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearSNPCoverageDisplay/model.ts
index b0b5ab40c6..8dd18269c4 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/LinearSNPCoverageDisplay/model.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/LinearSNPCoverageDisplay/model.ts
@@ -263,11 +263,11 @@ function stateModelFactory(
             }
             const view = getContainingView(self) as LGV
             const { staticBlocks } = view
-            const { colorBy } = self
+            const { colorBy, adapterConfig } = self
             if (colorBy?.type === 'modifications') {
               const vals = await getUniqueModifications({
-                self,
-                adapterConfig: getConf(self.parentTrack, 'adapter'),
+                model: self,
+                adapterConfig,
                 blocks: staticBlocks,
               })
               if (isAlive(self)) {
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetGlobalValueForTag.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetGlobalValueForTag.ts
index 93fc99b6f6..f34bf62e81 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetGlobalValueForTag.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetGlobalValueForTag.ts
@@ -21,14 +21,17 @@ export default class PileupGetGlobalValueForTag extends PileupBaseRPC {
     },
     rpcDriver: string,
   ) {
-    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions, tag } =
-      await this.deserializeArguments(args, rpcDriver)
+    const deserializedArgs = await this.deserializeArguments(args, rpcDriver)
+    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions, tag } = deserializedArgs
 
     const dataAdapter = (
       await getAdapter(this.pluginManager, sessionId, adapterConfig)
     ).dataAdapter as BaseFeatureDataAdapter
 
-    const features = dataAdapter.getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(regions)
+    const features = dataAdapter.getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(
+      regions,
+      deserializedArgs,
+    )
     const featuresArray = await firstValueFrom(features.pipe(toArray()))
     return [
       ...new Set(
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetReducedFeatures.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetReducedFeatures.ts
index 9eed223f9d..22e69f811b 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetReducedFeatures.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetReducedFeatures.ts
@@ -25,14 +25,16 @@ export default class PileupGetReducedFeatures extends PileupBaseRPC {
     },
     rpcDriver: string,
   ) {
-    const des = await this.deserializeArguments(args, rpcDriver)
-    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions } = des
+    const deserializedArgs = await this.deserializeArguments(args, rpcDriver)
+    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions } = deserializedArgs
     const dataAdapter = (
       await getAdapter(this.pluginManager, sessionId, adapterConfig)
     ).dataAdapter as BaseFeatureDataAdapter
 
     const featuresArray = await firstValueFrom(
-      dataAdapter.getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(regions, des).pipe(toArray()),
+      dataAdapter
+        .getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(regions, deserializedArgs)
+        .pipe(toArray()),
     )
 
     const reduced = dedupe(
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetVisibleModifications.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetVisibleModifications.ts
index e2472665cc..cb78c950e4 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetVisibleModifications.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRPC/methods/GetVisibleModifications.ts
@@ -24,24 +24,29 @@ export default class PileupGetVisibleModifications extends PileupBaseRPC {
     },
     rpcDriver: string,
   ) {
-    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions } =
-      await this.deserializeArguments(args, rpcDriver)
+    const deserializeArguments = await this.deserializeArguments(
+      args,
+      rpcDriver,
+    )
+    const { adapterConfig, sessionId, regions } = deserializeArguments
     const dataAdapter = (
       await getAdapter(this.pluginManager, sessionId, adapterConfig)
     ).dataAdapter as BaseFeatureDataAdapter
 
     const featuresArray = await firstValueFrom(
-      dataAdapter.getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(regions).pipe(toArray()),
+      dataAdapter
+        .getFeaturesInMultipleRegions(regions, deserializeArguments)
+        .pipe(toArray()),
     )
 
     const uniqueModifications = new Map<string, ModificationType>()
-    featuresArray.forEach(f => {
-      for (const mod of getModTypes(getTagAlt(f, 'MM', 'Mm') || '')) {
+    for (const feat of featuresArray) {
+      for (const mod of getModTypes(getTagAlt(feat, 'MM', 'Mm') || '')) {
         if (!uniqueModifications.has(mod.type)) {
           uniqueModifications.set(mod.type, mod)
         }
       }
-    })
+    }
     return [...uniqueModifications.values()]
   }
 }
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/PileupRenderer.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/PileupRenderer.ts
index 302728f495..24a841c1ad 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/PileupRenderer.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/PileupRenderer.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { readConfObject } from '@jbrowse/core/configuration'
 import { getAdapter } from '@jbrowse/core/data_adapters/dataAdapterCache'
 import BoxRendererType from '@jbrowse/core/pluggableElementTypes/renderers/BoxRendererType'
-import { renderToAbstractCanvas } from '@jbrowse/core/util'
+import { renderToAbstractCanvas, updateStatus } from '@jbrowse/core/util'
 
 import { PileupLayoutSession } from './PileupLayoutSession'
 import { fetchSequence } from '../util'
@@ -53,39 +53,39 @@ export default class PileupRenderer extends BoxRendererType {
   async render(renderProps: RenderArgsDeserialized) {
     const features = await this.getFeatures(renderProps)
     const layout = this.createLayoutInWorker(renderProps)
-    const { colorBy, regions, bpPerPx } = renderProps
+    const { statusCallback = () => {}, colorBy, regions, bpPerPx } = renderProps
     const region = regions[0]!
-
-    const regionSequence =
-      colorBy?.type === 'methylation' && features.size
-        ? await this.fetchSequence(renderProps, region)
-        : undefined
-
+    const width = (region.end - region.start) / bpPerPx
     const { layoutRecords, height } = layoutFeats({
       ...renderProps,
       features,
       layout,
     })
-    const width = (region.end - region.start) / bpPerPx
-    const { makeImageData } = await import('./makeImageData')
 
-    const res = await renderToAbstractCanvas(
-      width,
-      height,
-      renderProps,
-      ctx => {
-        makeImageData({
-          ctx,
-          layoutRecords,
-          canvasWidth: width,
-          renderArgs: {
-            ...renderProps,
-            layout,
-            features,
-            regionSequence,
-          },
+    const res = await updateStatus(
+      'Rendering alignments',
+      statusCallback,
+      async () => {
+        const regionSequence =
+          colorBy?.type === 'methylation' && features.size
+            ? await this.fetchSequence(renderProps, region)
+            : undefined
+        const { makeImageData } = await import('./makeImageData')
+
+        return renderToAbstractCanvas(width, height, renderProps, ctx => {
+          makeImageData({
+            ctx,
+            layoutRecords,
+            canvasWidth: width,
+            renderArgs: {
+              ...renderProps,
+              layout,
+              features,
+              regionSequence,
+            },
+          })
+          return undefined
         })
-        return undefined
       },
     )
 
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/types.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/types.ts
index ecb178b232..256036ee4b 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/types.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/PileupRenderer/types.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ export interface RenderArgsDeserialized extends BoxRenderArgsDeserialized {
   sortedBy?: SortedBy
   showSoftClip: boolean
   highResolutionScaling: number
+  statusCallback?: (arg: string) => void
 }
 
 export interface ProcessedRenderArgs extends RenderArgsDeserialized {
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/SNPCoverageRenderer.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/SNPCoverageRenderer.ts
index bc88878af4..4172f833f9 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/SNPCoverageRenderer.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/SNPCoverageRenderer.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { updateStatus } from '@jbrowse/core/util'
 import { WiggleBaseRenderer } from '@jbrowse/plugin-wiggle'
 
 import type { RenderArgsDeserializedWithFeatures } from './types'
@@ -10,8 +11,11 @@ export default class SNPCoverageRenderer extends WiggleBaseRenderer {
     ctx: CanvasRenderingContext2D,
     props: RenderArgsDeserializedWithFeatures,
   ) {
+    const { statusCallback = () => {} } = props
     const { makeImage } = await import('./makeImage')
-    await makeImage(ctx, props)
+    await updateStatus('Rendering coverage', statusCallback, () =>
+      makeImage(ctx, props),
+    )
     return undefined
   }
 }
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/types.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/types.ts
index 1f4bf61fe8..cf77dba145 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/types.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/SNPCoverageRenderer/types.ts
@@ -16,5 +16,6 @@ export interface RenderArgsDeserializedWithFeatures
   ticks: { values: number[] }
   displayCrossHatches: boolean
   visibleModifications?: Record<string, ModificationTypeWithColor>
+  statusCallback?: (arg: string) => void
   colorBy: ColorBy
 }
diff --git a/plugins/alignments/src/shared/getUniqueModifications.ts b/plugins/alignments/src/shared/getUniqueModifications.ts
index 7997449a1d..9bf0c2c2cf 100644
--- a/plugins/alignments/src/shared/getUniqueModifications.ts
+++ b/plugins/alignments/src/shared/getUniqueModifications.ts
@@ -6,23 +6,25 @@ import type { AnyConfigurationModel } from '@jbrowse/core/configuration'
 import type { BlockSet } from '@jbrowse/core/util/blockTypes'
 import type { IAnyStateTreeNode } from 'mobx-state-tree'
 
+export interface ModificationOpts {
+  headers?: Record<string, string>
+  stopToken?: string
+  filters: string[]
+}
+
 export async function getUniqueModifications({
-  self,
+  model,
   adapterConfig,
   blocks,
   opts,
 }: {
-  self: IAnyStateTreeNode
+  model: IAnyStateTreeNode
   adapterConfig: AnyConfigurationModel
   blocks: BlockSet
-  opts?: {
-    headers?: Record<string, string>
-    stopToken?: string
-    filters: string[]
-  }
+  opts?: ModificationOpts
 }) {
-  const { rpcManager } = getSession(self)
-  const sessionId = getRpcSessionId(self)
+  const { rpcManager } = getSession(model)
+  const sessionId = getRpcSessionId(model)
   const values = await rpcManager.call(
     sessionId,
     'PileupGetVisibleModifications',
@@ -30,6 +32,9 @@ export async function getUniqueModifications({
       adapterConfig,
       sessionId,
       regions: blocks.contentBlocks,
+      statusCallback: (arg: string) => {
+        model.setMessage(arg)
+      },
       ...opts,
     },
   )