diff --git a/.gitea/.workflows/build-and-deploy.yaml b/.gitea/.workflows/build-and-deploy.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1dac8fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitea/.workflows/build-and-deploy.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+
+# placeholder
diff --git a/client/CMakeLists.txt b/client/CMakeLists.txt
index 5d7b908..f4e1ef0 100644
--- a/client/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/client/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 add_executable(accordion-client
     src/main.cpp
     # other client source files go here
+    src/TcpClient.cpp
 )
 
 message(STATUS ${ROOT_DIR})
diff --git a/client/config/main.cfg b/client/config/main.cfg
index 1cc0b78..e4c5dd0 100644
--- a/client/config/main.cfg
+++ b/client/config/main.cfg
@@ -19,3 +19,12 @@ Logger = (
         FileName = "app.log";
     }
 );
+
+TcpClient = (
+    {
+        Id = "main";
+
+        Hostname = "127.0.0.1";
+        Port = 39500;
+    }
+);
diff --git a/client/src/TcpClient.cpp b/client/src/TcpClient.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d2b267b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/TcpClient.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+
+#include "TcpClient.hpp"
+
+TcpClient::TcpClient(ConfigService* config, LoggerService* logger) : config_(config), logger_(logger) {
+
+    if(!(config->getConfig<ClientConfig>("TcpClient", "main", &configuration_))) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Error, "Failed to get configuration");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if(init() == ErrorCode::Success) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Info, "TcpClient initialized.");
+    } else {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Error, "TcpClient failed to initialize.");
+    }
+
+}
+
+TcpClient::~TcpClient() {
+    // close port
+}
+
+ErrorCode TcpClient::init() {
+    logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Initializing TcpClient...");
+
+    // keeping everything in here for now
+    int socketFd;
+    int sendBytes;
+    int receiveBytes;
+    char buffer[1024];
+
+    struct hostent* host;
+    struct sockaddr_in serverAddress;
+    struct timeval timestamp;
+    struct timeval timestampEnd;
+
+    host = gethostbyname(configuration_.hostname.c_str());
+    if(host == NULL) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Unable to parse hostname.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    socketFd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+    if(socketFd < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Unable to open client socket.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    serverAddress.sin_family = AF_INET;
+    serverAddress.sin_port = htons(configuration_.port);
+    serverAddress.sin_addr = *((struct in_addr*)host->h_addr);
+    memset(&serverAddress.sin_zero, 0, sizeof(serverAddress.sin_zero));
+
+    if(connect(socketFd, (struct sockaddr*)&serverAddress, sizeof(struct sockaddr)) < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Unable to connect to server.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    memset(buffer, 0x67, sizeof(buffer));
+    gettimeofday(&timestamp, NULL);
+
+    sendBytes = send(socketFd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0);
+    if(sendBytes < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Unable to send to server.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    gettimeofday(&timestampEnd, NULL);
+
+    memset(buffer, 0x00, sizeof(buffer));
+    receiveBytes = recv(socketFd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0);
+    if(receiveBytes < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, "Unable to receive from server.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    std::string msg = "Received " + std::to_string(receiveBytes) + " bytes back from server.";
+    logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, msg);
+
+    close(socketFd);
+
+    return ErrorCode::Success;
+}
diff --git a/client/src/TcpClient.hpp b/client/src/TcpClient.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..780307d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/TcpClient.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <netdb.h>
+#include <netinet/in.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/time.h> // TODO replace with chrono
+
+#include "common/config/ConfigService.hpp"
+#include "common/LoggerService.hpp"
+#include "common/ErrorCodes.hpp"
+#include "config/ClientConfig.hpp"
+
+class TcpClient {
+
+public:
+
+    TcpClient(ConfigService* config, LoggerService* logger);
+    ~TcpClient();
+
+private:
+
+    ErrorCode init();
+
+    LoggerService* logger_;
+    ConfigService* config_;
+    ClientParams configuration_;
+
+};
diff --git a/client/src/config/ClientConfig.hpp b/client/src/config/ClientConfig.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d191ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/config/ClientConfig.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include "common/config/IConfig.hpp"
+
+struct ClientParams {
+    std::string id;
+
+    std::string hostname;
+    uint32_t port;
+};
+
+class ClientConfig : public IConfig<ClientParams> {
+
+public:
+
+    using IConfig<ClientParams>::IConfig;
+
+    bool parseConfig(const libconfig::Setting& setting) override {
+
+        if (!setting.lookupValue("Id", params_->id)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        setting.lookupValue("Hostname", params_->hostname);
+        setting.lookupValue("Port", params_->port);
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
+};
diff --git a/client/src/main.cpp b/client/src/main.cpp
index 4a52f21..ffddb53 100644
--- a/client/src/main.cpp
+++ b/client/src/main.cpp
@@ -2,14 +2,24 @@
 #include <iostream>
 
 #include "common/config/ConfigService.hpp"
-#include "common/config/LoggerConfig.hpp"
 #include "common/LoggerService.hpp"
 
+#include "TcpClient.hpp"
+
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
-    ConfigService config {"client/config/main.cfg"}; // TODO: main config file should be the foremost cli argument
+    std::string centralConfigPath = "client/config/main.cfg"; // default path
+    if(argc > 1) {
+        centralConfigPath = std::string(argv[1]);
+    }
+
+    ConfigService config { centralConfigPath };
     LoggerService logger {&config, "main"};
 
     logger.log("main", LogFlag::Debug, "hello world from the client!");
 
+    TcpClient client {&config, &logger};
+
+    return 0;
+
 }
diff --git a/common/ErrorCodes.hpp b/common/ErrorCodes.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4824fa0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/ErrorCodes.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+enum class ErrorCode : int {
+
+    Success = 0,
+    Error = -1,
+    // ...
+
+};
diff --git a/server/CMakeLists.txt b/server/CMakeLists.txt
index 019810d..4631bfb 100644
--- a/server/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/server/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 add_executable(accordion-server
     src/main.cpp
     # other server source files go here
+    src/TcpServer.cpp
 )
 
 target_include_directories(accordion-server PRIVATE
diff --git a/lib/.gitkeep b/server/Dockerfile
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/.gitkeep
rename to server/Dockerfile
diff --git a/server/config/main.cfg b/server/config/main.cfg
index 0ddef13..7833c19 100644
--- a/server/config/main.cfg
+++ b/server/config/main.cfg
@@ -19,3 +19,11 @@ Logger = (
         FileName = "app.log";
     }
 );
+
+TcpServer = (
+    {
+        Id = "main";
+
+        Port = 39500;
+    }
+);
diff --git a/server/docker-compose.yaml b/server/docker-compose.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/server/src/TcpServer.cpp b/server/src/TcpServer.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd39bef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/TcpServer.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+
+#include "TcpServer.hpp"
+
+TcpServer::TcpServer(ConfigService* config, LoggerService* logger) : config_(config), logger_(logger) {
+
+    if(!(config->getConfig<ServerConfig>("TcpServer", "main", &configuration_))) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Failed to get configuration");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if(init() == ErrorCode::Success) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Info, "TcpServer initialized.");
+    } else {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "TcpServer failed to initialize.");
+    }
+
+}
+
+TcpServer::~TcpServer() {
+    // close port
+}
+
+ErrorCode TcpServer::init() {
+    logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Debug, "Initializing TcpServer...");
+
+    // keeping everything in here for now
+    int socketFd;
+    int clientFd;
+    char buffer[1024];
+    int receiveBytes;
+    int sendBytes;
+
+    struct sockaddr_in serverAddress;
+    struct sockaddr_in clientAddress;
+
+    socketFd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
+    if(socketFd < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Unable to open Server socket.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    int on = 1;
+    setsockopt(socketFd, SOL_SOCKET, SO_REUSEADDR, &on, sizeof(on));
+
+    serverAddress.sin_family = AF_INET;
+    serverAddress.sin_port = htons(configuration_.port);
+    serverAddress.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
+    memset(&serverAddress.sin_zero, 0, sizeof(serverAddress.sin_zero));
+
+    if(bind(socketFd, (struct sockaddr*)&serverAddress, sizeof(struct sockaddr)) < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Unable to bind server socket.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    memset(buffer, 0x0, sizeof(buffer));
+    listen(socketFd, 10);
+    logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Debug, "Server listening...");
+
+    unsigned int sinSize = sizeof(struct sockaddr);
+    clientFd = accept(socketFd, (struct sockaddr*)&clientAddress, &sinSize);
+    if(clientFd < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Unable to accept client socket.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+
+    struct sockaddr_in peerAddress;
+    unsigned int len = sizeof(peerAddress);
+    char serverIp[20];
+    std::string msg = "Accept socket... Client address: " + std::string(inet_ntoa(clientAddress.sin_addr)) + " Port: " + std::to_string(ntohs(clientAddress.sin_port));
+    logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Debug, msg);
+    getsockname(clientFd, (struct sockaddr*)&peerAddress, &len);
+    inet_ntop(AF_INET, &peerAddress, serverIp, sizeof(serverIp));
+    msg = "Accept socket... Server address: " + std::string(serverIp);
+    logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Debug, msg);
+
+    receiveBytes = recv(clientFd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0);
+    if(receiveBytes < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Unable to receive from client.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+    msg = "Received " + std::to_string(receiveBytes) + " bytes from client: " + std::to_string(buffer[2]);
+    logger_->log("TcpClient", LogFlag::Debug, msg);
+
+    // echo back
+    sendBytes = send(clientFd, buffer, sizeof(buffer), 0);
+    if(sendBytes < 0) {
+        logger_->log("TcpServer", LogFlag::Error, "Unable to send to client.");
+        return ErrorCode::Error;
+    }
+    msg = "Echoed " + std::to_string(sendBytes) + " bytes back to client.";
+
+    close(socketFd);
+
+    return ErrorCode::Success;
+}
diff --git a/server/src/TcpServer.hpp b/server/src/TcpServer.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db28d32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/TcpServer.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <netdb.h>
+#include <netinet/in.h>
+#include <arpa/inet.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <sys/time.h> // TODO replace with chrono
+
+#include "common/config/ConfigService.hpp"
+#include "common/LoggerService.hpp"
+#include "common/ErrorCodes.hpp"
+#include "config/ServerConfig.hpp"
+
+class TcpServer {
+
+public:
+
+    TcpServer(ConfigService* config, LoggerService* logger);
+    ~TcpServer();
+
+private:
+
+    ErrorCode init();
+
+    LoggerService* logger_;
+    ConfigService* config_;
+    ServerParams configuration_;
+
+};
diff --git a/server/src/config/ServerConfig.hpp b/server/src/config/ServerConfig.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8d227b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/config/ServerConfig.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include "common/config/IConfig.hpp"
+
+struct ServerParams {
+    std::string id;
+
+    uint32_t port;
+};
+
+class ServerConfig : public IConfig<ServerParams> {
+
+public:
+
+    using IConfig<ServerParams>::IConfig;
+
+    bool parseConfig(const libconfig::Setting& setting) override {
+
+        if (!setting.lookupValue("Id", params_->id)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        setting.lookupValue("Port", params_->port);
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
+};
diff --git a/server/src/main.cpp b/server/src/main.cpp
index db0a94b..913265b 100644
--- a/server/src/main.cpp
+++ b/server/src/main.cpp
@@ -2,14 +2,24 @@
 #include <iostream>
 
 #include "common/config/ConfigService.hpp"
-#include "common/config/LoggerConfig.hpp"
 #include "common/LoggerService.hpp"
 
+#include "TcpServer.hpp"
+
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
-    ConfigService config {"server/config/main.cfg"}; // TODO: main config file should be the foremost cli argument
+    std::string centralConfigPath = "server/config/main.cfg"; // default path
+    if(argc > 1) {
+        centralConfigPath = std::string(argv[1]);
+    }
+
+    ConfigService config { centralConfigPath };
     LoggerService logger {&config, "main"};
 
-    logger.log("main", LogFlag::Debug, "hello world from the server!");
+    logger.log("main", LogFlag::Debug, "hello world from the Server!");
+
+    TcpServer server {&config, &logger};
+
+    return 0;
 
 }