diff --git a/config.example.yaml b/config.example.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5d3fbac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config.example.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+watbot:
+  server:
+    host: irc.casa  # mandatory, no default
+    port: 6697
+    tls_verify: true
+  name: watest
+  nick: watest  # nick is name by default
+  user: watest  # user is nick by default
+  admins:  # optional, no default
+    hosts:
+      - admin.example.com
+  ignores:  # optional, no default
+    hosts:
+      - annoying.example.com
+  channels:  # optional, no default
+    join:
+        - crantest  # channels without a prefix character will be prefixed with "#"
+    permitted:
+        - '#lucy'
+
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index d3cef45..84d6919 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,8 +3,11 @@ module git.circuitco.de/self/watbot
 go 1.15
 
 require (
+	github.com/creasty/defaults v1.8.0
 	github.com/go-irc/irc v2.1.0+incompatible
-	github.com/namsral/flag v1.7.4-pre
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 // indirect
+	gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
+	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
 	gorm.io/driver/sqlite v1.1.4
 	gorm.io/gorm v1.20.11
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 32fef9d..0d79cef 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
-github.com/go-irc/irc v1.3.0 h1:IMD+d/+EzY51ecMLOz73r/NXTZrEp8khrePxRCvX71M=
+github.com/creasty/defaults v1.8.0 h1:z27FJxCAa0JKt3utc0sCImAEb+spPucmKoOdLHvHYKk=
+github.com/creasty/defaults v1.8.0/go.mod h1:iGzKe6pbEHnpMPtfDXZEr0NVxWnPTjb1bbDy08fPzYM=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.0/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c=
+github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/go-irc/irc v2.1.0+incompatible h1:pg7pMVq5OYQbqTxceByD/EN8VIsba7DtKn49rsCnG8Y=
 github.com/go-irc/irc v2.1.0+incompatible/go.mod h1:jJILTRy8s/qOvusiKifAEfhQMVwft1ZwQaVJnnzmyX4=
 github.com/jinzhu/inflection v1.0.0 h1:K317FqzuhWc8YvSVlFMCCUb36O/S9MCKRDI7QkRKD/E=
@@ -7,8 +11,24 @@ github.com/jinzhu/now v1.1.1 h1:g39TucaRWyV3dwDO++eEc6qf8TVIQ/Da48WmqjZ3i7E=
 github.com/jinzhu/now v1.1.1/go.mod h1:d3SSVoowX0Lcu0IBviAWJpolVfI5UJVZZ7cO71lE/z8=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.5 h1:1IdxlwTNazvbKJQSxoJ5/9ECbEeaTTyeU7sEAZ5KKTQ=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.5/go.mod h1:WVKg1VTActs4Qso6iwGbiFih2UIHo0ENGwNd0Lj+XmI=
-github.com/namsral/flag v1.7.4-pre h1:b2ScHhoCUkbsq0d2C15Mv+VU8bl8hAXV8arnWiOHNZs=
-github.com/namsral/flag v1.7.4-pre/go.mod h1:OXldTctbM6SWH1K899kPZcf65KxJiD7MsceFUpB5yDo=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
+github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.1.0/go.mod h1:HFkY916IF+rwdDfMAkV7OtwuqBVzrE8GR6GFx+wExME=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.4.0/go.mod h1:YvHI0jy2hoMjB+UWwv71VJQ9isScKT/TqJzVSSt89Yw=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.5.0/go.mod h1:Yh+to48EsGEfYuaHDzXPcE3xhTkx73EhmCGUpEOglKo=
+github.com/stretchr/objx v0.5.2/go.mod h1:FRsXN1f5AsAjCGJKqEizvkpNtU+EGNCLh3NxZ/8L+MA=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.1/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:yNjHg4UonilssWZ8iaSj1OCr/vHnekPRkoO+kdMU+MU=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4/go.mod h1:sz/lmYIOXD/1dqDmKjjqLyZ2RngseejIcXlSw2iwfAo=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0 h1:HtqpIVDClZ4nwg75+f6Lvsy/wHu+3BoSGCbBAcpTsTg=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.9.0/go.mod h1:r2ic/lqez/lEtzL7wO/rwa5dbSLXVDPFyf8C91i36aY=
+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.v2 v2.4.0 h1:D8xgwECY7CYvx+Y2n4sBz93Jn9JRvxdiyyo8CTfuKaY=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.4.0/go.mod h1:RDklbk79AGWmwhnvt/jBztapEOGDOx6ZbXqjP6csGnQ=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200313102051-9f266ea9e77c/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 h1:fxVm/GzAzEWqLHuvctI91KS9hhNmmWOoWu0XTYJS7CA=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
 gorm.io/driver/sqlite v1.1.4 h1:PDzwYE+sI6De2+mxAneV9Xs11+ZyKV6oxD3wDGkaNvM=
 gorm.io/driver/sqlite v1.1.4/go.mod h1:mJCeTFr7+crvS+TRnWc5Z3UvwxUN1BGBLMrf5LA9DYw=
 gorm.io/gorm v1.20.7/go.mod h1:0HFTzE/SqkGTzK6TlDPPQbAYCluiVvhzoA1+aVyzenw=
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index e817bcc..c242571 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -1,40 +1,113 @@
 package main
 
-import "fmt"
-import "crypto/tls"
+import (
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"os"
 
-import "github.com/go-irc/irc"
-import "github.com/namsral/flag"
+	"flag"
+	"github.com/go-irc/irc"
 
-import "git.circuitco.de/self/watbot/wat"
+	"git.circuitco.de/self/watbot/wat"
+	"github.com/creasty/defaults"
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+)
+
+type Config struct {
+	Watbot		watConfig	`yaml:"watbot"`
+}
+
+type watConfig struct {
+	Nick		string		`yaml:"nick"`
+	Pass		string		`yaml:"pass"`
+	User		string		`yaml:"user"`
+	Name		string		`yaml:"name"`
+	Admins		struct {
+		Hosts []string		`yaml:"hosts"`
+	}				`yaml:"admins"`
+	Channels 	struct {
+		Join      []string	`yaml:"join"`
+		Permitted []string	`yaml:"permitted"`
+	}				`yaml:"channels"`
+	Ignores struct {
+		Hosts []string		`yaml:"hosts"`
+	}				`yaml:"ignores"`
+	Server struct {
+		Host string		`yaml:"host"`
+		Port int		`default:"6697" yaml:"port"`
+		TlsVerify bool		`default:"true" yaml:"tls_verify"`
+	}				`yaml:"server"`
+}
+
+func readConfig(configPath string) (*watConfig, error) {
+	allConfig := Config{}
+
+	buffer, err := os.ReadFile(configPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Could not read configuration file: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	err = yaml.Unmarshal(buffer, &allConfig)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Could not parse configuration file: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	config := &allConfig.Watbot
+	defaults.Set(config)
+
+	if config.Server.Host == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("Shall I play wattery to know where to connect to?")
+	}
+
+	if config.Name != "" && config.Nick == "" {
+		config.Nick = config.Name
+	}
+	
+	if config.Nick != "" && config.User == "" {
+		config.User = config.Nick
+	}
+
+	if config.Name == "" || config.Nick == "" || config.User == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("Don't know who I am.")
+	}
+
+	return config, nil
+}
 
 func main() {
-	pass := flag.String("pass", "", "password")
+	var configPathArg string
+	flag.StringVar(&configPathArg, "config", "config.yaml", "Path to configuration file")
 	flag.Parse()
-	fmt.Printf("PASS len %d\n", len(*pass))
-	config := irc.ClientConfig{
-		Nick: "watt",
-		Pass: *pass,
-		User: "wat",
-		Name: "wat",
+	log.Println("Starting with configuration:", configPathArg)
+
+	config, err := readConfig(configPathArg)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalln(err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
+	ircConfig := irc.ClientConfig{
+		Nick: config.Nick,
+		Pass: config.Pass,
+		User: config.User,
+		Name: config.Name,
 	}
 	watConfig := wat.WatConfig{
-		PermittedChannels: []string{
-			"#lucy",
-			"#sweden",
-		},
-		IgnoredHosts: []string{
-			"tripsit/user/creatonez",
-		},
+		AutoJoinChannels:  config.Channels.Join,
+		PermittedChannels: config.Channels.Permitted,
+		IgnoredHosts:      config.Ignores.Hosts,
+		AdminHosts:        config.Admins.Hosts,
 	}
 	tcpConf := &tls.Config{
-		InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: !config.Server.TlsVerify,
 	}
-	conn, err := tls.Dial("tcp", "127.0.0.1:6697", tcpConf)
+	conn, err := tls.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", config.Server.Host, config.Server.Port), tcpConf)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Println("err " + err.Error())
 		return
 	}
-	wwat := wat.NewWatBot(&config, &watConfig, conn)
+	wwat := wat.NewWatBot(&ircConfig, &watConfig, conn)
 	wwat.Run()
 }
diff --git a/wat/bot.go b/wat/bot.go
index 48559d4..a555de4 100644
--- a/wat/bot.go
+++ b/wat/bot.go
@@ -18,8 +18,10 @@ type WatBot struct {
 }
 
 type WatConfig struct {
-	PermittedChannels []string
+	AdminHosts        []string
 	IgnoredHosts      []string
+	AutoJoinChannels  []string
+	PermittedChannels []string
 }
 
 func NewWatBot(config *irc.ClientConfig, watConfig *WatConfig, serverConn *tls.Conn) *WatBot {
@@ -35,23 +37,29 @@ func CleanNick(nick string) string {
 	return string(nick[0]) + "\u200c" + nick[1:]
 }
 
+func PrefixChannel(channel string) string {
+	// there could theoretically be other channel prefixes ..
+	if channel[0] != '#' && channel[0] != '!' {
+		channel = "#" + channel
+	}
+	return channel
+}
+
 func (w *WatBot) HandleIrcMsg(c *irc.Client, m *irc.Message) {
 	switch cmd := m.Command; cmd {
 	case "PING":
 		w.write("PONG", m.Params[0])
 	case "PRIVMSG":
 		w.Msg(m)
+	case "001":
+		for _, channel := range w.c.AutoJoinChannels {
+			w.write("JOIN", PrefixChannel(channel))
+		}
 	}
 }
 
 func (w *WatBot) Admin(m *irc.Message) bool {
-	admins := [2]string{"mph.monster", "cranberry.juice"}
-	for _, admin := range admins {
-		if m.Prefix.Host == admin {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
+	return w.Allowed(m.Prefix.Host, w.c.AdminHosts)
 }
 
 func (w *WatBot) Allowed(c string, r []string) bool {
@@ -73,7 +81,7 @@ func (w *WatBot) CanRespond(m *irc.Message) bool {
 	// if !strings.Contains(m.Prefix.Host, "") {
 	// 	return false
 	// }
-	if !w.Allowed(m.Params[0], w.c.PermittedChannels) {
+	if !w.Allowed(PrefixChannel(m.Params[0]), w.c.PermittedChannels) {
 		return false
 	}
 	return true