diff --git a/CODEOWNERS b/CODEOWNERS
index 75b0327623..2992bcf66f 100644
--- a/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 *       @jaekwon
+*       @ebuchman
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 703a0803e3..a238e7e7c6 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ ci: get_tools get_vendor_deps build test_cover
 ########################################
 ### Build
 
+# This can be unified later, here for easy demos
+gaia:
+	go build $(BUILD_FLAGS) -o build/gaiad ./examples/gaia/gaiad
+	go build $(BUILD_FLAGS) -o build/gaiacli ./examples/gaia/gaiacli
+
 build:
 	@rm -rf examples/basecoin/vendor/
 	go build $(BUILD_FLAGS) -o build/basecoin ./examples/basecoin/cmd/...
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiacli/client.go b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/client.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..682a571e6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/client.go
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+package main
+
+import "github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+const (
+	// these are needed for every init
+	flagChainID = "chain-id"
+	flagNode    = "node"
+
+	// one of the following should be provided to verify the connection
+	flagGenesis = "genesis"
+	flagCommit  = "commit"
+	flagValHash = "validator-set"
+
+	flagSelect = "select"
+	flagTags   = "tag"
+	flagAny    = "any"
+
+	flagBind      = "bind"
+	flagCORS      = "cors"
+	flagTrustNode = "trust-node"
+
+	// this is for signing
+	flagName = "name"
+)
+
+var (
+	statusCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "status",
+		Short: "Query remote node for status",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+)
+
+// AddClientCommands returns a sub-tree of all basic client commands
+//
+// Call AddGetCommand and AddPostCommand to add custom txs and queries
+func AddClientCommands(cmd *cobra.Command) {
+	cmd.AddCommand(
+		initClientCommand(),
+		statusCmd,
+		blockCommand(),
+		validatorCommand(),
+		lineBreak,
+		txSearchCommand(),
+		txCommand(),
+		lineBreak,
+	)
+}
+
+// GetCommands adds common flags to query commands
+func GetCommands(cmds ...*cobra.Command) []*cobra.Command {
+	for _, c := range cmds {
+		c.Flags().Bool(flagTrustNode, false, "Don't verify proofs for responses")
+	}
+	return cmds
+}
+
+// PostCommands adds common flags for commands to post tx
+func PostCommands(cmds ...*cobra.Command) []*cobra.Command {
+	for _, c := range cmds {
+		c.Flags().String(flagName, "", "Name of private key with which to sign")
+		c.Flags().String(flagPassword, "", "Password to use the named private key")
+	}
+	return cmds
+}
+
+func initClientCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "init",
+		Short: "Initialize light client",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagChainID, "c", "", "ID of chain we connect to")
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagNode, "n", "tcp://localhost:46657", "Node to connect to")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagGenesis, "", "Genesis file to verify header validity")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagCommit, "", "File with trusted and signed header")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagValHash, "", "Hash of trusted validator set (hex-encoded)")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func blockCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "block <height>",
+		Short: "Get verified data for a the block at given height",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringSlice(flagSelect, []string{"header", "tx"}, "Fields to return (header|txs|results)")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func validatorCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "validatorset <height>",
+		Short: "Get the full validator set at given height",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func serveCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "serve",
+		Short: "Start LCD (light-client daemon), a local REST server",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	// TODO: handle unix sockets also?
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagBind, "b", "localhost:1317", "Interface and port that server binds to")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagCORS, "", "Set to domains that can make CORS requests (* for all)")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func txSearchCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "txs",
+		Short: "Search for all transactions that match the given tags",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringSlice(flagTags, nil, "Tags that must match (may provide multiple)")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool(flagAny, false, "Return transactions that match ANY tag, rather than ALL")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func txCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "tx <hash>",
+		Short: "Matches this txhash over all committed blocks",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	return cmd
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiacli/key.go b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/key.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b3ffa323ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/key.go
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+package main
+
+import "github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+const (
+	flagPassword    = "password"
+	flagNewPassword = "new-password"
+	flagType        = "type"
+	flagSeed        = "seed"
+	flagDryRun      = "dry-run"
+)
+
+var (
+	listKeysCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "list",
+		Short: "List all locally availably keys",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+
+	showKeysCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "show <name>",
+		Short: "Show key info for the given name",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+)
+
+// KeyCommands registers a sub-tree of commands to interact with
+// local private key storage.
+func KeyCommands() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "keys",
+		Short: "Add or view local private keys",
+	}
+	cmd.AddCommand(
+		addKeyCommand(),
+		listKeysCmd,
+		showKeysCmd,
+		lineBreak,
+		deleteKeyCommand(),
+		updateKeyCommand(),
+	)
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func addKeyCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "add <name>",
+		Short: "Create a new key, or import from seed",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagPassword, "p", "", "Password to encrypt private key")
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagType, "t", "ed25519", "Type of private key (ed25519|secp256k1|ledger)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagSeed, "s", "", "Provide seed phrase to recover existing key instead of creating")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool(flagDryRun, false, "Perform action, but don't add key to local keystore")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func updateKeyCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "update <name>",
+		Short: "Change the password used to protect private key",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagPassword, "p", "", "Current password to decrypt key")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagNewPassword, "", "New password to use to protect key")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func deleteKeyCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "delete <name>",
+		Short: "Delete the given key",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flagPassword, "p", "", "Password of existing key to delete")
+	return cmd
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiacli/main.go b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6321e25ee7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/cli"
+)
+
+const (
+	flagTo     = "to"
+	flagAmount = "amount"
+	flagFee    = "fee"
+)
+
+// gaiacliCmd is the entry point for this binary
+var (
+	gaiacliCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "gaiacli",
+		Short: "Gaia light-client",
+	}
+
+	lineBreak = &cobra.Command{Run: func(*cobra.Command, []string) {}}
+
+	getAccountCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "account <address>",
+		Short: "Query account balance",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+)
+
+func todoNotImplemented(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+	return errors.New("TODO: Command not yet implemented")
+}
+
+func postSendCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "send",
+		Short: "Create and sign a send tx",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagTo, "", "Address to send coins")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagAmount, "", "Amount of coins to send")
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagFee, "", "Fee to pay along with transaction")
+	return cmd
+}
+
+func main() {
+	// disable sorting
+	cobra.EnableCommandSorting = false
+
+	// generic client commands
+	AddClientCommands(gaiacliCmd)
+	// query commands (custom to binary)
+	gaiacliCmd.AddCommand(
+		GetCommands(getAccountCmd)...)
+	// post tx commands (custom to binary)
+	gaiacliCmd.AddCommand(
+		PostCommands(postSendCommand())...)
+
+	// add proxy, version and key info
+	gaiacliCmd.AddCommand(
+		lineBreak,
+		serveCommand(),
+		KeyCommands(),
+		lineBreak,
+		VersionCmd,
+	)
+
+	// prepare and add flags
+	executor := cli.PrepareBaseCmd(gaiacliCmd, "GA", os.ExpandEnv("$HOME/.gaiacli"))
+	executor.Execute()
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiacli/version.go b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/version.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..59fd799c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiacli/version.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
+)
+
+var (
+	// VersionCmd prints out the current sdk version
+	VersionCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "version",
+		Short: "Print the app version",
+		Run:   doVersionCmd,
+	}
+)
+
+func doVersionCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	v := version.Version
+	if version.GitCommit != "" {
+		v = v + " " + version.GitCommit
+	}
+	fmt.Println(v)
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiad/main.go b/examples/gaia/gaiad/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ca9bb20dba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiad/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/cli"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/baseapp"
+)
+
+const (
+	flagTo     = "to"
+	flagAmount = "amount"
+	flagFee    = "fee"
+)
+
+// gaiadCmd is the entry point for this binary
+var (
+	gaiadCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "gaiad",
+		Short: "Gaia Daemon (server)",
+	}
+)
+
+func todoNotImplemented(_ *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+	return errors.New("TODO: Command not yet implemented")
+}
+
+func main() {
+	// TODO: set this to something real
+	var node baseapp.BaseApp
+
+	AddNodeCommands(gaiadCmd, node)
+	gaiadCmd.AddCommand(
+		VersionCmd,
+	)
+
+	// prepare and add flags
+	executor := cli.PrepareBaseCmd(gaiadCmd, "GA", os.ExpandEnv("$HOME/.gaiad"))
+	executor.Execute()
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiad/node.go b/examples/gaia/gaiad/node.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8d362a6a78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiad/node.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/baseapp"
+)
+
+const (
+	flagWithTendermint = "with-tendermint"
+)
+
+var (
+	initNodeCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "init <flags???>",
+		Short: "Initialize full node",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+
+	resetNodeCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "unsafe_reset_all",
+		Short: "Reset full node data (danger, must resync)",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+)
+
+// AddNodeCommands registers all commands to interact
+// with a local full-node as subcommands of the argument.
+//
+// Accept an application it should start
+func AddNodeCommands(cmd *cobra.Command, node baseapp.BaseApp) {
+	cmd.AddCommand(
+		initNodeCmd,
+		startNodeCmd(node),
+		resetNodeCmd,
+	)
+}
+
+func startNodeCmd(node baseapp.BaseApp) *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "start",
+		Short: "Run the full node",
+		RunE:  todoNotImplemented,
+	}
+	cmd.Flags().Bool(flagWithTendermint, true, "run abci app embedded in-process with tendermint")
+	return cmd
+}
diff --git a/examples/gaia/gaiad/version.go b/examples/gaia/gaiad/version.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..59fd799c07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/gaia/gaiad/version.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
+)
+
+var (
+	// VersionCmd prints out the current sdk version
+	VersionCmd = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "version",
+		Short: "Print the app version",
+		Run:   doVersionCmd,
+	}
+)
+
+func doVersionCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	v := version.Version
+	if version.GitCommit != "" {
+		v = v + " " + version.GitCommit
+	}
+	fmt.Println(v)
+}
diff --git a/glide.lock b/glide.lock
index 2ce3afb93c..bb013ee718 100644
--- a/glide.lock
+++ b/glide.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-hash: b0d6b76ffe90ef74c9c9672f18eb9abb90c3e7636dbc0504e343d88c337b1ea0
-updated: 2018-02-03T12:28:51.055275+01:00
+hash: 2b4ad3bf1489a7cb5e62c6cb4c1fa976d4ae21993743e4968418c4e81925fb99
+updated: 2018-02-13T08:33:22.402132782-05:00
 imports:
 - name: github.com/btcsuite/btcd
   version: 50de9da05b50eb15658bb350f6ea24368a111ab7
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ imports:
   version: 346938d642f2ec3594ed81d874461961cd0faa76
   subpackages:
   - spew
+- name: github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify
+  version: c2828203cd70a50dcccfb2761f8b1f8ceef9a8e9
 - name: github.com/go-kit/kit
   version: 4dc7be5d2d12881735283bcab7352178e190fc71
   subpackages:
@@ -38,14 +40,47 @@ imports:
   - ptypes/timestamp
 - name: github.com/golang/snappy
   version: 553a641470496b2327abcac10b36396bd98e45c9
+- name: github.com/hashicorp/hcl
+  version: 23c074d0eceb2b8a5bfdbb271ab780cde70f05a8
+  subpackages:
+  - hcl/ast
+  - hcl/parser
+  - hcl/scanner
+  - hcl/strconv
+  - hcl/token
+  - json/parser
+  - json/scanner
+  - json/token
+- name: github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap
+  version: 76626ae9c91c4f2a10f34cad8ce83ea42c93bb75
 - name: github.com/jmhodges/levigo
   version: c42d9e0ca023e2198120196f842701bb4c55d7b9
 - name: github.com/kr/logfmt
   version: b84e30acd515aadc4b783ad4ff83aff3299bdfe0
+- name: github.com/magiconair/properties
+  version: 49d762b9817ba1c2e9d0c69183c2b4a8b8f1d934
+- name: github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure
+  version: b4575eea38cca1123ec2dc90c26529b5c5acfcff
+- name: github.com/pelletier/go-toml
+  version: acdc4509485b587f5e675510c4f2c63e90ff68a8
 - name: github.com/pkg/errors
   version: 645ef00459ed84a119197bfb8d8205042c6df63d
 - name: github.com/rigelrozanski/common
   version: f691f115798593d783b9999b1263c2f4ffecc439
+- name: github.com/spf13/afero
+  version: bb8f1927f2a9d3ab41c9340aa034f6b803f4359c
+  subpackages:
+  - mem
+- name: github.com/spf13/cast
+  version: acbeb36b902d72a7a4c18e8f3241075e7ab763e4
+- name: github.com/spf13/cobra
+  version: 7b2c5ac9fc04fc5efafb60700713d4fa609b777b
+- name: github.com/spf13/jwalterweatherman
+  version: 7c0cea34c8ece3fbeb2b27ab9b59511d360fb394
+- name: github.com/spf13/pflag
+  version: e57e3eeb33f795204c1ca35f56c44f83227c6e66
+- name: github.com/spf13/viper
+  version: 25b30aa063fc18e48662b86996252eabdcf2f0c7
 - name: github.com/syndtr/goleveldb
   version: 211f780988068502fe874c44dae530528ebd840f
   subpackages:
@@ -62,7 +97,7 @@ imports:
   - leveldb/table
   - leveldb/util
 - name: github.com/tendermint/abci
-  version: 5a4f56056e23cdfd5f3733db056968e016468508
+  version: bf70f5e273bd7dd6e22e64186cd1ccc4e3a03df1
   subpackages:
   - server
   - types
@@ -78,8 +113,9 @@ imports:
 - name: github.com/tendermint/iavl
   version: 1a59ec0c82dc940c25339dd7c834df5cb76a95cb
 - name: github.com/tendermint/tmlibs
-  version: deaaf014d8b8d1095054380a38b1b00e293f725f
+  version: c858b3ba78316fdd9096a11409a7e7a493e7d974
   subpackages:
+  - cli
   - common
   - db
   - log
@@ -103,6 +139,10 @@ imports:
   - internal/timeseries
   - lex/httplex
   - trace
+- name: golang.org/x/sys
+  version: 37707fdb30a5b38865cfb95e5aab41707daec7fd
+  subpackages:
+  - unix
 - name: golang.org/x/text
   version: e19ae1496984b1c655b8044a65c0300a3c878dd3
   subpackages:
@@ -133,6 +173,8 @@ imports:
   - status
   - tap
   - transport
+- name: gopkg.in/yaml.v2
+  version: d670f9405373e636a5a2765eea47fac0c9bc91a4
 testImports:
 - name: github.com/pmezard/go-difflib
   version: 792786c7400a136282c1664665ae0a8db921c6c2
diff --git a/glide.yaml b/glide.yaml
index ea7856ff2c..276513b2ce 100644
--- a/glide.yaml
+++ b/glide.yaml
@@ -28,6 +28,12 @@ import:
 - package: golang.org/x/crypto
   subpackages:
   - ripemd160
+- package: github.com/spf13/pflag
+  version: v1.0.0
+- package: github.com/spf13/cobra
+  version: v0.0.1
+- package: github.com/spf13/viper
+  version: ^1.0.0
 testImport:
 - package: github.com/stretchr/testify
   version: ^1.2.1
diff --git a/version/version.go b/version/version.go
index 14dd668d51..419e406adf 100644
--- a/version/version.go
+++ b/version/version.go
@@ -9,4 +9,7 @@ const Maj = "0"
 const Min = "9"
 const Fix = "0"
 
-const Version = "0.9.0"
+const Version = "0.9.0-dev"
+
+// GitCommit set by build flags
+var GitCommit = ""