diff --git a/cli.cpp b/cli.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc8ce68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+#include <map>
+#include <functional>
+#include <iomanip>
+
+#include "cli.h"
+#include "utils.h"
+#include "random.h"
+#include "authenticator.h"
+#include "config.h"
+#include "logger.h"
+
+CLIHandler::CLIHandler(Config &config, Database &db)
+{
+	this->db = &db;
+	this->conf = &config;
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_add(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	std::string username = args.at(0);
+	std::string password = args.at(1);
+
+	auto userDao = db->createUserDao();
+
+	Permissions perms = this->conf->handlersConfig.anon_permissions;
+	int p = perms.getPermissions();
+	p |= PERM_CAN_CREATE | PERM_CAN_SEARCH | PERM_CAN_EDIT;
+	Permissions newPermissions = Permissions{p};
+
+	Random r;
+	User user;
+	user.enabled = true;
+	user.login = username;
+	user.salt = r.getRandom(AUTH_DEFAULT_SALT_SIZE);
+	user.permissions = newPermissions;
+
+	Authenticator auth{*userDao};
+	std::vector<char> hashResult = auth.hash(password, user.salt);
+	if(hashResult.empty())
+	{
+		return {false, "Error during hashing - Got empty hash"};
+	}
+	user.password = hashResult;
+
+	try
+	{
+		userDao->save(user);
+	}
+	catch(std::runtime_error &e)
+	{
+		return {false, "Exception: " + std::string(e.what())};
+	}
+	return {true, ""};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_change_pw(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	std::string username = args.at(0);
+	std::string password = args.at(1);
+
+	auto userDao = db->createUserDao();
+
+	auto user = userDao->find(username);
+	if(user)
+	{
+		Random r;
+		Authenticator auth{*userDao};
+		user->salt = r.getRandom(AUTH_DEFAULT_SALT_SIZE);
+		user->password = auth.hash(password, user->salt);
+		if(user->password.empty())
+		{
+			return {false, "Error during hashing - Got empty hash"};
+		}
+
+		userDao->save(*user);
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		return {false, "User not found"};
+	}
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_rename(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+
+	return {true, ""};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_set_perms(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	auto userDao = this->db->createUserDao();
+	std::string username = args.at(0);
+	std::string permission_string = args.at(1);
+
+	Permissions perms{permission_string};
+
+	auto user = userDao->find(username);
+	if(user)
+	{
+		user->permissions = perms;
+		userDao->save(*user);
+		user_show({username});
+		return {true, ""};
+	}
+
+	return {false, "User not found"};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_list(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	auto userDao = this->db->createUserDao();
+	QueryOption o;
+	auto result = userDao->list(o);
+	std::stringstream stream;
+	for(User &u : result)
+	{
+		stream << u.login << "\t" << std::string(u.enabled ? "enabled" : "disabled") << "\t" << u.permissions.toString()
+			   << std::endl;
+	}
+	return {true, stream.str()};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::user_show(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	std::string username = args.at(0);
+	auto userDao = this->db->createUserDao();
+	auto user = userDao->find(username);
+	std::stringstream stream;
+	if(user)
+	{
+		stream << "Username: " << user->login << std::endl;
+
+		stream << "Enabled: " << std::string(user->enabled ? "yes" : "no") << std::endl;
+		stream << "Permissions (general): " << user->permissions.toString() << std::endl;
+		return {true, stream.str()};
+	}
+	return {false, "User not found"};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::attach(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	/* TODO: consider authentication */
+	pid_t pid = getpid();
+	return {true, "Hi, I am pid: " + std::to_string(pid)};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::cli_help(const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	std::string command;
+	if(args.size() > 0)
+		command = args[0];
+	std::stringstream stream;
+	for(struct cmd &cmd : cmds)
+	{
+		if(command != "" && cmd.name != command)
+		{
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		stream << cmd.name << " - " << cmd.helptext << std::endl;
+		for(struct cmd &subCmd : cmd.subCommands)
+		{
+			stream << "\t" << subCmd.name << " " << subCmd.helptext << std::endl;
+		}
+		stream << std::endl;
+	}
+	return {true, stream.str()};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::processCommand(const std::vector<CLIHandler::cmd> &commands, std::string cmd,
+														const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	auto c = std::find_if(commands.begin(), commands.end(),
+						  [&cmd](const struct CLIHandler::cmd &a) { return a.name == cmd; });
+	if(c == commands.end())
+	{
+		std::cout << "No such command: " << cmd << std::endl;
+		return cli_help({});
+	}
+
+	if(!c->subCommands.empty() && args.size() >= c->required_args)
+	{
+		std::string newcmd = args[0];
+		std::vector<std::string> newargs = args;
+		newargs.erase(newargs.begin());
+		return processCommand(c->subCommands, newcmd, newargs);
+	}
+	if(args.size() < c->required_args)
+	{
+		return {false, "not enough parameters passed"};
+	}
+
+	try
+	{
+		return c->func(this, args);
+	}
+	catch(std::runtime_error &e)
+	{
+		return {false, "Exception: " + std::string(e.what())};
+	}
+	return {false, ""};
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIHandler::processCommand(std::string cmd, const std::vector<std::string> &args)
+{
+	return processCommand(this->cmds, cmd, args);
+}
+
+std::pair<std::string, std::vector<std::string>> CLIHandler::splitCommand(std::string input)
+{
+	input = utils::trim(input);
+	std::vector<std::string> splitted = utils::split(input, "\\s+");
+	if(splitted.empty())
+	{
+		return {" ", splitted};
+	}
+	std::string cmd = splitted[0];
+	splitted.erase(splitted.begin());
+	return {cmd, splitted};
+}
diff --git a/cli.h b/cli.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab26530
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli.h
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+#ifndef CLI_H
+#define CLI_H
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+#include "database/database.h"
+#include "config.h"
+
+class CLIHandler
+{
+	struct cmd
+	{
+		std::string name;
+		std::string helptext;
+		unsigned int required_args;
+		std::vector<cmd> subCommands;
+		std::function<std::pair<bool, std::string>(CLIHandler *, const std::vector<std::string> &)> func;
+	};
+
+  private:
+	Database *db;
+	Config *conf;
+
+  protected:
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> attach(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> cli_help(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_add(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_change_pw(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_rename(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_set_perms(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_list(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> user_show(const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+
+	std::vector<struct cmd> cmds{
+		{{"user",
+		  "user operations on the database",
+		  1,
+		  {{{"add", "[user] [password] - creates a user", 2, {}, &CLIHandler::user_add},
+			{"changepw", "[user] [password] - changes the password of user", 2, {}, &CLIHandler::user_change_pw},
+			{"rename", "[user] [new name] - renames a user", 2, {}, &CLIHandler::user_rename},
+			{"setperms", "[user] [perms] - sets the permissions of the user", 2, {}, &CLIHandler::user_set_perms},
+			{"list", "- lists users", 0, {}, &CLIHandler::user_list},
+			{"show", "[user] - show detailed information about user", 1, {}, &CLIHandler::user_show}}},
+		  &CLIHandler::cli_help},
+		 {"exit",
+		  "exit cli",
+		  0,
+		  {},
+		  [](CLIHandler *, const std::vector<std::string> &args) -> std::pair<bool, std::string>
+		  {
+			  exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+			  return {true, ""};
+		  }},
+		 {"help", "print this help", 0, {}, &CLIHandler::cli_help},
+		 {"attach", "attach to running instance", 0, {}, &CLIHandler::attach}}};
+
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> processCommand(const std::vector<CLIHandler::cmd> &commands, std::string cmd,
+												const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+
+  public:
+	CLIHandler(Config &config, Database &d);
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> processCommand(std::string cmd, const std::vector<std::string> &args);
+	static std::pair<std::string, std::vector<std::string>> splitCommand(std::string input);
+};
+
+#endif // CLI_H
diff --git a/cliconsole.cpp b/cliconsole.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..28e1d10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cliconsole.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+#include "cliconsole.h"
+
+CLIConsole::CLIConsole(CLIHandler &cliHandler, std::string socketPath)
+{
+	this->handler = &cliHandler;
+	this->socketPath = socketPath;
+}
+
+std::pair<bool, std::string> CLIConsole::send(std::string input)
+{
+	ssize_t ret =
+		sendto(this->sock, input.c_str(), input.size(), 0, (const sockaddr *)&this->server, sizeof(this->server));
+	if((size_t)ret != input.size())
+	{
+		return {false, "sendto failed: " + std::to_string(ret) + " " + std::string(strerror(errno))};
+	}
+	char buffer[1024] = {0};
+	ret = recvfrom(this->sock, buffer, sizeof(buffer) - 1, 0, NULL, NULL);
+	if(ret == -1)
+	{
+		return {false, "recvfrom failed: " + std::string(strerror(errno))};
+	}
+
+	bool success = false;
+	std::string_view view = buffer;
+	if(view[0] == '1')
+	{
+		success = true;
+	}
+	view.remove_prefix(1);
+	std::string msg = std::string{view};
+
+	return {success, msg};
+}
+
+void CLIConsole::attach()
+{
+	if(attached)
+	{
+		std::cout << "Already attached" << std::endl;
+		return;
+	}
+	if(socketPath.size() > sizeof(this->server.sun_path) - 1)
+	{
+		std::cout << "Socket path too long" << std::endl;
+		return;
+	}
+	memset(&this->server, 0, sizeof(this->server));
+	this->server.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+	memcpy(&this->server.sun_path, socketPath.c_str(), socketPath.size());
+	this->server.sun_path[socketPath.size()] = 0;
+
+	int s = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_DGRAM, 0);
+	if(s == -1)
+	{
+		std::cout << "Failed to create socket" << strerror(errno) << std::endl;
+		return;
+	}
+	this->sock = s;
+
+	struct sockaddr_un client;
+	client.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+	client.sun_path[0] = '\0';
+
+	int ret = bind(this->sock, (struct sockaddr *)&client, sizeof(client));
+	if(ret != 0)
+	{
+		std::cout << "bind() failed: " << strerror(errno) << std::endl;
+		return;
+	}
+	auto result = this->send("attach");
+	if(result.first)
+	{
+		std::cout << "Attached successfully: " << result.second << std::endl;
+		this->attached = true;
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		std::cout << "Attached unsuccessfully: " << result.second << std::endl;
+	}
+}
+
+void CLIConsole::startInteractive()
+{
+	std::cout << "qswiki CLI" << std::endl;
+	std::cout << "not attached - use 'attach' to connect to running instance" << std::endl;
+
+	while(true)
+	{
+		std::string input;
+		std::cout << "> ";
+		std::getline(std::cin, input);
+
+		if(std::cin.bad() || std::cin.eof())
+		{
+			std::cout << "Exiting" << std::endl;
+			return;
+		}
+		if(input.empty())
+		{
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		auto pair = CLIHandler::splitCommand(input);
+		if(pair.first == "exit")
+		{
+			std::cout << "Exiting CLI";
+			exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+		}
+		if(pair.first == "attach")
+		{
+			attach();
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		std::pair<bool, std::string> result;
+		if(!attached)
+		{
+			result = handler->processCommand(pair.first, pair.second);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			result = this->send(input);
+		}
+
+		if(!result.second.empty())
+		{
+			std::cout << result.second << std::endl;
+		}
+		if(!result.first)
+		{
+			std::cout << "Command failed" << std::endl;
+		}
+	}
+
+	std::cout << "\n";
+}
diff --git a/cliconsole.h b/cliconsole.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1545020
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cliconsole.h
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#ifndef CLICONSOLE_H
+#define CLICONSOLE_H
+
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/un.h>
+#include "cli.h"
+
+class CLIConsole
+{
+  private:
+	struct sockaddr_un server;
+	int sock;
+	CLIHandler *handler;
+	std::string socketPath;
+	bool attached = false;
+	std::pair<bool, std::string> send(std::string input);
+	void attach();
+
+  public:
+	CLIConsole(CLIHandler &cliHandler, std::string socketPath);
+	void startInteractive();
+};
+
+#endif // CLICONSOLE_H
diff --git a/cliserver.cpp b/cliserver.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ba76d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cliserver.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/un.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include "cliserver.h"
+#include "logger.h"
+CLIServer::CLIServer(CLIHandler &handler)
+{
+	this->handler = &handler;
+}
+
+bool CLIServer::detachServer(std::string socketpath)
+{
+	struct sockaddr_un name;
+	const int max_socket_length = sizeof(name.sun_path) - 1;
+	if(socketpath.size() > max_socket_length)
+	{
+		perror("socket path too long");
+		return false;
+	}
+	int s = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_DGRAM, 0);
+	if(s == -1)
+	{
+		perror("socket");
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	memset(&name, 0, sizeof(name));
+	name.sun_family = AF_UNIX;
+	memcpy(&name.sun_path, socketpath.c_str(), socketpath.size());
+
+	unlink(socketpath.c_str());
+	int ret = bind(s, (const struct sockaddr *)&name, sizeof(name));
+	if(ret == -1)
+	{
+		perror("bind");
+		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+	}
+
+	auto worker = [=]
+	{
+		while(true)
+		{
+			char buffer[1024] = {0};
+			struct sockaddr_un peer;
+			socklen_t peerlen = sizeof(peer);
+
+			int ret = recvfrom(s, buffer, sizeof(buffer) - 1, 0, (struct sockaddr *)&peer, &peerlen);
+			if(ret == -1)
+			{
+				Logger::error() << "Error during recvfrom in CLI server: " << strerror(errno);
+				return false;
+			}
+
+			std::string input{buffer};
+
+			auto pair = CLIHandler::splitCommand(input);
+
+			auto result = handler->processCommand(pair.first, pair.second);
+			char resultCode = '0';
+			if(result.first)
+			{
+				resultCode = '1';
+			}
+			std::string resultString;
+			resultString += resultCode;
+			resultString += result.second;
+			ret = sendto(s, resultString.c_str(), resultString.size(), 0, (struct sockaddr *)&peer, peerlen);
+			if(ret == -1)
+			{
+				Logger::error() << "Error during sendto in CLI server: " << strerror(errno);
+			}
+		}
+	};
+	std::thread t1{worker};
+	t1.detach();
+	return true;
+}
diff --git a/cliserver.h b/cliserver.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9745da8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cliserver.h
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#ifndef CLISERVER_H
+#define CLISERVER_H
+#include <thread>
+#include "cli.h"
+
+class CLIServer
+{
+  private:
+	CLIHandler *handler = nullptr;
+
+  public:
+	CLIServer(CLIHandler &handler);
+	bool detachServer(std::string socketpath);
+};
+
+#endif // CLISERVER_H
diff --git a/qswiki.cpp b/qswiki.cpp
index 1f8f53f..9d5738e 100644
--- a/qswiki.cpp
+++ b/qswiki.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ SOFTWARE.
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
 #include <filesystem>
+#include <getopt.h>
 #include "gateway/gatewayinterface.h"
 #include "gateway/gatewayfactory.h"
 #include "handlers/handlerfactory.h"
@@ -37,6 +38,10 @@ SOFTWARE.
 #include "requestworker.h"
 #include "cache/fscache.h"
 #include "sandbox/sandboxfactory.h"
+#include "cli.h"
+#include "cliconsole.h"
+#include "cliserver.h"
+
 void sigterm_handler(int arg)
 {
 	// TODO: proper shutdown.
@@ -56,6 +61,10 @@ void setup_signal_handlers()
 	}
 }
 
+#define OPT_PRINT_VERSION 23
+
+static struct option long_options[] = {{"cli", no_argument, 0, 'c'}, {"version", no_argument, 0, OPT_PRINT_VERSION}};
+
 std::unique_ptr<ICache> createCache(const ConfigVariableResolver &resolver)
 {
 
@@ -63,13 +72,48 @@ std::unique_ptr<ICache> createCache(const ConfigVariableResolver &resolver)
 
 	return std::make_unique<FsCache>(path);
 }
+
+std::string get_version_string()
+{
+	return "master";
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
+
+	char *configfilepath = NULL;
+	int option;
+	int option_index;
+	bool cli_mode = false;
+
 	if(geteuid() == 0)
 	{
 		std::cerr << "Do not run this as root!" << std::endl;
 		return 1;
 	}
+
+	while((option = getopt_long(argc, argv, "cv", long_options, &option_index)) != -1)
+	{
+		switch(option)
+		{
+		case 'c':
+			cli_mode = true;
+			break;
+		case OPT_PRINT_VERSION:
+			std::cout << get_version_string() << std::endl;
+			exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+			break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if(optind == argc)
+	{
+		std::cerr << "Missing config path" << std::endl;
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	configfilepath = argv[optind++];
+
 	auto sandbox = createSandbox();
 	// TODO: do we want to keep it mandatory or configurable?
 	if(!sandbox->supported())
@@ -82,7 +126,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		std::cerr << "no path to config file provided" << std::endl;
 		return 1;
 	}
-	std::string configpath = std::filesystem::absolute(argv[1]).string();
+	std::string configpath = std::filesystem::absolute(configfilepath).string();
 	if(!sandbox->enableForInit())
 	{
 		Logger::error() << "Sandboxing for init mode could not be activated.";
@@ -113,6 +157,21 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		Logger::setStream(&logstream);
 
 		auto database = createDatabase(config);
+		std::string socketPath = config.configVarResolver.getConfig("socketpath");
+		CLIHandler cliHandler(config, *database);
+
+		if(cli_mode)
+		{
+			CLIConsole console{cliHandler, socketPath};
+			console.startInteractive();
+			return 0;
+		}
+		CLIServer cliServer{cliHandler};
+		if(!cliServer.detachServer(socketPath))
+		{
+			Logger::error() << "Error: Failed to detach unix socket server";
+			return 1;
+		}
 
 		// TODO: quite ugly, anon-handling must be rethought
 		auto userdao = database->createUserDao();