diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
index 55c6803..29d97fb 100644
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
@@ -1,20 +1,14 @@
-// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
-// README at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates/tree/main/src/go
 {
-	"name": "Go",
-	// Or use a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. More info: https://containers.dev/guide/dockerfile
+	"name": "Espresso",
 	"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/go:1-1.22-bookworm",
-	// Features to add to the dev container. More info: https://containers.dev/features.
-	"features": {},
+	"features": {
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker": "latest",
+		"ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/java": {
+			"jdkDistro": "amzn",
+			"version": "21"
+		}
+	},
 	"remoteEnv": {
 		"ESPRESSO_DEBUG": "1"
-	},
-	// Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
-	// "forwardPorts": [],
-	// Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
-	"postCreateCommand": "curl -s 'https://get.sdkman.io' | bash && source ~/.bashrc"
-	// Configure tool-specific properties.
-	// "customizations": {},
-	// Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
-	// "remoteUser": "root"
+	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.devcontainer/dockerfile b/.devcontainer/dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..72ea916
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.devcontainer/dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+FROM mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/go:1-1.22-bookworm AS builder
+
+# upgrade the container
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/project/build.go b/project/build.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7dac6f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project/build.go
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+package project
diff --git a/project/command.go b/project/command.go
index d74bc3b..8fd8fef 100644
--- a/project/command.go
+++ b/project/command.go
@@ -19,7 +19,18 @@ func AssembleCommandHierarchy() *cobra.Command {
 		Short:   "Build the project.",
 		Aliases: []string{"b"},
 		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-			println("TODO")
+			// get the config
+			cfg, err := GetConfig()
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("An error occurred while reading the config: %s\n", err)
+			}
+
+			// discover source files
+			files, err := DiscoverSourceFiles(cfg)
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("An error occurred while discovering source files: %s\n", err)
+			}
+			fmt.Printf("Discovered %d source file(s)\n", len(files))
 		},
 	}
 	root.AddCommand(build)
@@ -63,6 +74,9 @@ func AssembleCommandHierarchy() *cobra.Command {
 				Toolchain: Toolchain{
 					Path: *javaHome,
 				},
+				Dependencies: Dependencies{
+					Repositories: []Registry{{Url: "https://github.com/Kerosene-Labs/espresso-registry/archive/refs/heads/main.zip"}},
+				},
 			}
 
 			// write some example code
diff --git a/project/discover.go b/project/discover.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..72842ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project/discover.go
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+package project
+
+import (
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// SourceFIle represents a .java source file on the filesystem
+type SourceFile struct {
+	Path    string
+	Content string
+}
+
+// readSourceFile reads the file at the given path, or returns an error
+func readSourceFile(path string) (*SourceFile, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+// IntrospectSourceFiles iterates over the project's base package looking for .java files
+// TODO: make this a goroutine?
+func DiscoverSourceFiles(cfg *ProjectConfig) ([]SourceFile, error) {
+	// get the source path
+	srcPath, err := GetSourcePath(cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// iterate recursively over child directories
+	var files []SourceFile = []SourceFile{}
+	err = filepath.Walk(*srcPath, func(path string, info fs.FileInfo, err error) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if !info.IsDir() && strings.HasSuffix(info.Name(), ".java") {
+			text, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			files = append(files, SourceFile{
+				Path:    path,
+				Content: string(text),
+			})
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return files, nil
+}
diff --git a/project/fs.go b/project/fs.go
index 671c2d6..4c0969c 100644
--- a/project/fs.go
+++ b/project/fs.go
@@ -46,3 +46,19 @@ func GetConfigPath() (*string, error) {
 		return &path, nil
 	}
 }
+
+// GetBuildPath gets the absolute path to the build directory
+func GetBuildPath(cfg *ProjectConfig) (*string, error) {
+	wd, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	path := wd
+
+	if IsDebugMode() {
+		path += "/ESPRESSO_DEBUG"
+	}
+
+	path += "/build"
+	return &path, nil
+}
diff --git a/project/handler.go b/project/handler.go
index 126f195..c1b6a31 100644
--- a/project/handler.go
+++ b/project/handler.go
@@ -7,6 +7,24 @@ import (
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 )
 
+// Dependency represents a particular dependency
+type Dependency struct {
+	GroupID    string `yaml:"groupId"`
+	ArtifactID string `yaml:"artifactId"`
+	Version    string `yaml:"version"`
+}
+
+// Registry represents a particular repository
+type Registry struct {
+	Url string `yaml:"url"`
+}
+
+// Dependencies represents dependency management configuration
+type Dependencies struct {
+	Repositories []Registry   `yaml:"registries"`
+	Dependencies []Dependency `yaml:"uses"`
+}
+
 // Toolchain represents the toolchain on the system
 type Toolchain struct {
 	Path string `yaml:"path"`
@@ -20,12 +38,23 @@ type Version struct {
 	Hotfix *string `yaml:"hotfix"`
 }
 
-// Project represents an Espresso project
+// ProjectConfig represents an Espresso project
 type ProjectConfig struct {
-	Name        string    `yaml:"name"`
-	Version     Version   `yaml:"version"`
-	BasePackage string    `yaml:"base_package"`
-	Toolchain   Toolchain `yaml:"toolchain"`
+	Name         string       `yaml:"name"`
+	Version      Version      `yaml:"version"`
+	BasePackage  string       `yaml:"basePackage"`
+	Toolchain    Toolchain    `yaml:"toolchain"`
+	Dependencies Dependencies `yaml:"dependencies"`
+}
+
+// UnmarshalConfig marshals the given ProjectConfig to yml
+func UnmarshalConfig(cfgYml string) (*ProjectConfig, error) {
+	var cfg ProjectConfig
+	err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(cfgYml), &cfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &cfg, nil
 }
 
 // MarshalConfig marshals the given ProjectConfig to yml
@@ -38,6 +67,28 @@ func MarshalConfig(cfg *ProjectConfig) (*string, error) {
 	return &resp, nil
 }
 
+// GetConfig reads the config from the filesystem and returns a pointer to a ProjectConfig, or an error
+func GetConfig() (*ProjectConfig, error) {
+	// get the config path for this context
+	path, err := GetConfigPath()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// read the file
+	file, err := os.ReadFile(*path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// unmarshal into a cfg struct
+	cfg, err := UnmarshalConfig(string(file))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return cfg, nil
+}
+
 // ConfigExists gets if a config exists at the current directory
 func ConfigExists() (*bool, error) {
 	configPath, err := GetConfigPath()
diff --git a/toolchain/handler.go b/toolchain/handler.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 4b74680..0000000
--- a/toolchain/handler.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-package toolchain