diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 53a2b2e..b33d17d 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,3 +3,5 @@ module git.tilde.town/tildetown/bbj2
 go 1.18
 
 require gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20210107192922-496545a6307b
+
+require github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.12
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index e387ff0..4d5935b 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.12 h1:TJ1bhYJPV44phC+IMu1u2K/i5RriLTPe+yc68XDJ1Z0=
+github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.12/go.mod h1:NyWgC/yNuGj7Q9rpYnZvas74GogHl5/Z4A/KQRfk6bU=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405 h1:yhCVgyC4o1eVCa2tZl7eS0r+SDo693bJlVdllGtEeKM=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20210107192922-496545a6307b h1:h8qDotaEPuJATrMmW04NCwg7v22aHH28wwpauUhK9Oo=
diff --git a/server/cmd/config.go b/server/cmd/config.go
index c086628..8484039 100644
--- a/server/cmd/config.go
+++ b/server/cmd/config.go
@@ -11,17 +11,9 @@ const (
 	defaultPort         = 7099
 	defaultInstanceName = "BBJ"
 	defaultHost         = "127.0.0.1"
+	defaultDBPath       = "db.sqlite3"
 )
 
-type Config struct {
-	Admins       []string
-	Port         int
-	Host         string
-	InstanceName string `yaml:"instance_name"`
-	AllowAnon    bool   `yaml:"allow_anon"`
-	Debug        bool
-}
-
 func parseConfig(configPath string) (*Config, error) {
 	cfgBytes, err := os.ReadFile(configPath)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -47,5 +39,9 @@ func parseConfig(configPath string) (*Config, error) {
 		cfg.Host = defaultHost
 	}
 
+	if cfg.DBPath == "" {
+		cfg.DBPath = defaultDBPath
+	}
+
 	return &cfg, nil
 }
diff --git a/server/cmd/main.go b/server/cmd/main.go
index c8d8a57..fe2053b 100644
--- a/server/cmd/main.go
+++ b/server/cmd/main.go
@@ -1,13 +1,26 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"database/sql"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"os"
+
+	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
 )
 
+type Config struct {
+	Admins       []string
+	Port         int
+	Host         string
+	InstanceName string `yaml:"instance_name"`
+	AllowAnon    bool   `yaml:"allow_anon"`
+	Debug        bool
+	DBPath       string `yaml:"db_path"`
+}
+
 type iostreams struct {
 	Err io.Writer
 	Out io.Writer
@@ -18,6 +31,8 @@ type Opts struct {
 	IO         iostreams
 	Log        func(string)
 	Logf       func(string, ...interface{})
+	Config     Config
+	DB         *sql.DB
 }
 
 func main() {
@@ -27,7 +42,7 @@ func main() {
 		Err: os.Stderr,
 		Out: os.Stdout,
 	}
-	opts := Opts{
+	opts := &Opts{
 		ConfigPath: *configFlag,
 		IO:         io,
 		// TODO use real logger
@@ -45,14 +60,33 @@ func main() {
 	}
 }
 
-func _main(opts Opts) error {
+type Teardown func()
+
+func setupDB(opts *Opts) (Teardown, error) {
+	db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", opts.Config.DBPath)
+	fmt.Printf("DBG %#v\n", db)
+
+	opts.DB = db
+
+	return func() { db.Close() }, err
+}
+
+func _main(opts *Opts) error {
 	cfg, err := parseConfig(opts.ConfigPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not read config file '%s'", opts.ConfigPath)
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
-	setupAPI(opts, *cfg)
+	opts.Config = *cfg
+
+	teardown, err := setupDB(opts)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("could not initialize DB: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer teardown()
+
+	setupAPI(*opts)
 
 	// TODO TLS or SSL or something
 	opts.Logf("starting server at %s:%d\n", cfg.Host, cfg.Port)
@@ -63,7 +97,7 @@ func _main(opts Opts) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func handler(opts Opts, cfg Config, f http.HandlerFunc) http.HandlerFunc {
+func handler(opts Opts, f http.HandlerFunc) http.HandlerFunc {
 	// TODO make this more real
 	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
 		opts.Log(req.URL.Path)
@@ -71,8 +105,8 @@ func handler(opts Opts, cfg Config, f http.HandlerFunc) http.HandlerFunc {
 	}
 }
 
-func setupAPI(opts Opts, cfg Config) {
-	http.HandleFunc("/instance", handler(opts, cfg, func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
-		io.WriteString(w, cfg.InstanceName)
+func setupAPI(opts Opts) {
+	http.HandleFunc("/instance", handler(opts, func(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
+		io.WriteString(w, opts.Config.InstanceName)
 	}))
 }