diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 82b0ca4..defda8c 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,6 +16,15 @@ FetchContent_Declare(
 )
 FetchContent_MakeAvailable(libconfig)
 
+# qt setup
+find_package(Qt6 REQUIRED COMPONENTS
+    Core
+    Gui
+    Qml
+    Quick
+    QuickControls2
+)
+
 set(ROOT_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
 
 add_subdirectory(common)
diff --git a/client/CMakeLists.txt b/client/CMakeLists.txt
index f4e1ef0..396da3a 100644
--- a/client/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/client/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 
-add_executable(accordion-client
+qt_standard_project_setup()
+
+qt_add_executable(accordion-client
     src/main.cpp
     # other client source files go here
     src/TcpClient.cpp
+    src/TimerComponent.cpp
 )
 
+set_target_properties(accordion-client PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME "accordion.out")
+
 message(STATUS ${ROOT_DIR})
 
 target_include_directories(accordion-client PRIVATE
@@ -12,5 +17,20 @@ target_include_directories(accordion-client PRIVATE
 )
 
 target_link_libraries(accordion-client PRIVATE
+    Qt6::Core
+    Qt6::Qml
+    Qt6::Gui
+    Qt6::Quick
+    Qt6::QuickControls2
     accordion-common
 )
+
+qt_add_qml_module(accordion-client
+    URI accordion
+    VERSION 1.0
+    QML_FILES ui/Main.qml
+)
+
+install(TARGETS accordion-client)
+
+# if you get lots of wsl warnings use QT_QUICK_BACKEND=software in your execution environment
diff --git a/client/src/TimerComponent.cpp b/client/src/TimerComponent.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1aa3db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/TimerComponent.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+
+#include "TimerComponent.hpp"
+
+TimerComponent::TimerComponent(QObject* parent) : QObject(parent) {
+
+    // QTimer attach callback
+    connect(&timer_, &QTimer::timeout, this, &TimerComponent::increment);
+    timer_.start(1000);
+
+}
+
+void TimerComponent::reset() {
+
+    seconds_ = 0;
+    emit secondsChanged();
+
+}
+
+void TimerComponent::increment() {
+
+    seconds_++;
+    emit secondsChanged();
+
+}
diff --git a/client/src/TimerComponent.hpp b/client/src/TimerComponent.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ab906e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/src/TimerComponent.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <QObject>
+#include <QTimer>
+
+class TimerComponent : public QObject {
+
+    Q_OBJECT
+    Q_PROPERTY(int seconds READ seconds NOTIFY secondsChanged)
+
+    public:
+
+    explicit TimerComponent(QObject* parent = nullptr);
+
+    int seconds() const { return seconds_; }
+
+    public slots:
+
+    void reset();
+
+    signals:
+
+    void secondsChanged();
+
+    private:
+
+    void increment();
+
+    int seconds_ = 0;
+    QTimer timer_;
+
+};
diff --git a/client/src/main.cpp b/client/src/main.cpp
index ffddb53..7ee24b7 100644
--- a/client/src/main.cpp
+++ b/client/src/main.cpp
@@ -1,13 +1,23 @@
 
 #include <iostream>
 
+#include <QGuiApplication>
+#include <QQmlApplicationEngine>
+#include <QQmlContext>
+
+#include "TimerComponent.hpp"
+#include "TcpClient.hpp"
 #include "common/config/ConfigService.hpp"
 #include "common/LoggerService.hpp"
 
-#include "TcpClient.hpp"
-
 int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
+    // create application
+    QGuiApplication app(argc, argv);
+    QQmlApplicationEngine engine;
+
+
+    // instantiate app services
     std::string centralConfigPath = "client/config/main.cfg"; // default path
     if(argc > 1) {
         centralConfigPath = std::string(argv[1]);
@@ -16,10 +26,22 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     ConfigService config { centralConfigPath };
     LoggerService logger {&config, "main"};
 
-    logger.log("main", LogFlag::Debug, "hello world from the client!");
+    // attach backend gui components
+    qmlRegisterType<TimerComponent>("accordion", 1, 0, "TimerComponent");
+    // alternative is engine.rootContext()->setContextProperty("timerComponent", &timerComponent);
+    // which basically gives qml access to a singleton reference (qmlRegisterSingletonType is preferred)
 
-    TcpClient client {&config, &logger};
+    //TcpClient client {&config, &logger};
 
-    return 0;
+    // load qml
+    engine.load(QUrl::fromLocalFile("client/ui/Main.qml")); // ugh
+
+    if(engine.rootObjects().isEmpty()) {
+        logger.log("Main", LogFlag::Error, "GuiEngine is empty.");
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    // execute app
+    return app.exec();
 
 }
diff --git a/client/ui/Main.qml b/client/ui/Main.qml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79d6698
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/ui/Main.qml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+
+import QtQuick
+import QtQuick.Controls
+
+import accordion
+
+ApplicationWindow {
+
+    visible: true
+    width: 1200
+    height: 800
+    title: "accordion"
+
+    TimerComponent {
+        id: timerComponent
+    }
+
+    Column {
+        anchors.centerIn: parent
+        spacing: 20
+
+        Label {
+            text: timerComponent.seconds + " s"
+            font.pixelSize: 32
+            horizontalAlignment: Text.AlignHCenter
+        }
+
+        Button {
+            text: "Reset"
+            onClicked: timerComponent.reset()
+        }
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file