diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 472ffc2d..c51fc72b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 setup:
 	sudo pip3 install -r requirements.txt
+	-@cd onionr/static-data/ui/; ./compile.py
 
 install:
 	sudo rm -rf /usr/share/onionr/
diff --git a/onionr/api.py b/onionr/api.py
index 256f55f9..705a4781 100755
--- a/onionr/api.py
+++ b/onionr/api.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class API:
             if not hmac.compare_digest(timingToken, self.timeBypassToken):
                 if elapsed < self._privateDelayTime:
                     time.sleep(self._privateDelayTime - elapsed)
-            return send_from_directory('static-data/ui/', path)
+            return send_from_directory('static-data/ui/dist/', path)
 
         @app.route('/client/')
         def private_handler():
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/common/footer.html b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/footer.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b5cfb06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/footer.html
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.slim.min.js" integrity="sha384-q8i/X+965DzO0rT7abK41JStQIAqVgRVzpbzo5smXKp4YfRvH+8abtTE1Pi6jizo" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.14.3/umd/popper.min.js" integrity="sha384-ZMP7rVo3mIykV+2+9J3UJ46jBk0WLaUAdn689aCwoqbBJiSnjAK/l8WvCWPIPm49" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-ChfqqxuZUCnJSK3+MXmPNIyE6ZbWh2IMqE241rYiqJxyMiZ6OW/JmZQ5stwEULTy" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="js/main.js"></script>
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/common/header.html b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/header.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2a2b4f56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/header.html
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<title><$= LANG.ONIONR_TITLE $></title>
+
+        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
+        <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
+
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous" />
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main.css" />
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/themes/dark.css" />
+
+
+        <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-dark bg-dark fixed-top">
+            <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Onionr</a>
+            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarSupportedContent" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
+                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
+            </button>
+
+            <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent">
+                <ul class="navbar-nav mr-auto">
+                    <li class="nav-item active">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="index.html"><$= LANG.TIMELINE $></a>
+                    </li>
+                    <li class="nav-item">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="notifications.html"><$= LANG.NOTIFICATIONS $></a>
+                    </li>
+                    <li class="nav-item">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="messages.html"><$= LANG.MESSAGES $></a>
+                    </li>
+                </ul>
+            </div>
+        </nav>
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/common/onionr-timeline-post.html b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/onionr-timeline-post.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ceff5c65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/common/onionr-timeline-post.html
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<!-- POST -->
+<div class="col-12">
+    <div class="onionr-post">
+        <div class="row">
+            <div class="col-2">
+                <img class="onionr-post-user-icon" src="$user-image">
+            </div>
+            <div class="col-10">
+                <div class="row">
+                    <div class="col">
+                        <a class="onionr-post-user-name" href="#!" onclick="viewProfile('$user-id-url', '$user-name-url')">$user-name</a>
+                        <a class="onionr-post-user-id" href="#!" onclick="viewProfile('$user-id-url', '$user-name-url')" data-placement="top" data-toggle="tooltip" title="$user-id">$user-id-truncated</a>
+                    </div>
+                    <div class="text-right pl-3 pr-3">
+                        <div class="onionr-post-date" data-placement="top" data-toggle="tooltip" title="$date">$date-relative</div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+                
+                <div class="onionr-post-content">
+                    $content
+                </div>
+                
+                <div class="onionr-post-controls pt-2">
+                    <a href="#!" class="glyphicon glyphicon-heart mr-2">like</a>
+                    <a href="#!" class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment mr-2">comment</a>
+                </div>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+</div>
+<!-- END POST -->
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/compile.py b/onionr/static-data/ui/compile.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c93e4aa7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/compile.py
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python3
+
+import shutil, os, re, json, traceback
+
+# get user's config
+settings = {}
+with open('config.json', 'r') as file:
+    settings = json.loads(file.read())
+
+# "hardcoded" config, not for user to mess with
+HEADER_FILE = 'common/header.html'
+FOOTER_FILE = 'common/footer.html'
+SRC_DIR = 'src/'
+DST_DIR = 'dist/'
+HEADER_STRING = '<header />'
+FOOTER_STRING = '<footer />'
+
+# remove dst folder
+shutil.rmtree(DST_DIR, ignore_errors=True)
+
+# taken from https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1868714/how-do-i-copy-an-entire-directory-of-files-into-an-existing-directory-using-pyth
+def copytree(src, dst, symlinks=False, ignore=None):
+    for item in os.listdir(src):
+        s = os.path.join(src, item)
+        d = os.path.join(dst, item)
+        if os.path.isdir(s):
+            shutil.copytree(s, d, symlinks, ignore)
+        else:
+            shutil.copy2(s, d)
+
+# copy src to dst
+copytree(SRC_DIR, DST_DIR, False)
+
+# load in lang map
+langmap = {}
+
+with open('lang.json', 'r') as file:
+    langmap = json.loads(file.read())[settings['language']]
+
+LANG = type('LANG', (), langmap)
+
+# templating
+def jsTemplate(template):
+    with open('common/%s.html' % template, 'r') as file:
+        return file.read().replace('\\', '\\\\').replace('\'', '\\\'').replace('\n', "\\\n")
+
+def htmlTemplate(template):
+    with open('common/%s.html' % template, 'r') as file:
+        return file.read()
+
+# tag parser
+def parseTags(contents):
+    # <$ logic $>
+    for match in re.findall(r'(<\$(?!=)(.*?)\$>)', contents):
+        try:
+            out = exec(match[1].strip())
+            contents = contents.replace(match[0], '' if out is None else str(out))
+        except Exception as e:
+            print('Error: Failed to execute python tag (%s): %s\n' % (filename, match[1]))
+            traceback.print_exc()
+            print('\nIgnoring this error, continuing to compile...\n')
+
+    # <$= data $>
+    for match in re.findall(r'(<\$=(.*?)\$>)', contents):
+        try:
+            out = eval(match[1].strip())
+            contents = contents.replace(match[0], '' if out is None else str(out))
+        except NameError as e:
+            name = match[1].strip()
+            print('Warning: %s does not exist, treating as an str' % name)
+            contents = contents.replace(match[0], name)
+        except Exception as e:
+            print('Error: Failed to execute python tag (%s): %s\n' % (filename, match[1]))
+            traceback.print_exc()
+            print('\nIgnoring this error, continuing to compile...\n')
+
+    return contents
+
+# get header file
+with open(HEADER_FILE, 'r') as file:
+    HEADER_FILE = file.read()
+    if settings['python_tags']:
+        HEADER_FILE = parseTags(HEADER_FILE)
+
+# get footer file
+with open(FOOTER_FILE, 'r') as file:
+    FOOTER_FILE = file.read()
+    if settings['python_tags']:
+        FOOTER_FILE = parseTags(FOOTER_FILE)
+
+# iterate dst, replace files
+def iterate(directory):
+    for filename in os.listdir(directory):
+        if filename.split('.')[-1].lower() in ['htm', 'html', 'css', 'js']:
+            try:
+                path = os.path.join(directory, filename)
+                if os.path.isdir(path):
+                    iterate(path)
+                else:
+                    contents = ''
+                    with open(path, 'r') as file:
+                        # get file contents
+                        contents = file.read()
+
+                    os.remove(path)
+
+                    with open(path, 'w') as file:
+                        # set the header & footer
+                        contents = contents.replace(HEADER_STRING, HEADER_FILE)
+                        contents = contents.replace(FOOTER_STRING, FOOTER_FILE)
+
+                        # do python tags
+                        if settings['python_tags']:
+                            contents = parseTags(contents)
+
+                        # write file
+                        file.write(contents)
+            except Exception as e:
+                print('Error: Failed to parse file: %s\n' % filename)
+                traceback.print_exc()
+                print('\nIgnoring this error, continuing to compile...\n')
+
+iterate(DST_DIR)
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/config.json b/onionr/static-data/ui/config.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f87539ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/config.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+    "language" : "eng",
+    "python_tags" : true
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/main.css b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/main.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d9e76be6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/main.css
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/* general formatting */
+
+@media (min-width: 768px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 300px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 970px;
+    }
+}
+@media (min-width: 992px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 500px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 1170px;
+    }
+}
+@media (min-width: 1200px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 700px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 1500px;
+    }
+}
+
+.container-small, .container-large {
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* navbar */
+
+body {
+    margin-top: 5rem;
+}
+
+/* timeline */
+
+.onionr-post {
+    padding: 1rem;
+    margin-bottom: 1rem;
+
+    width: 100%;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-name {
+    display: inline;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-id:before { content: "("; }
+.onionr-post-user-id:after { content: ")"; }
+
+.onionr-post-content {
+    word-wrap: break-word;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-icon {
+    border-radius: 100%;
+    width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* profile */
+
+.onionr-profile-user-icon {
+    border-radius: 100%;
+    width: 100%;
+    margin-bottom: 1rem;
+}
+
+.onionr-profile-username {    
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/themes/dark.css b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/themes/dark.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4a547a29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/css/themes/dark.css
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+body {
+    background-color: #96928f;
+    color: #25383C;
+}
+
+/* timeline */
+
+.onionr-post {
+    border: 1px solid black;
+    border-radius: 1rem;
+    
+    background-color: lightgray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-name {
+    color: green;
+    font-weight: bold;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-id {
+    color: gray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-date {
+    color: gray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-content {
+    font-family: sans-serif, serif;
+    border-top: 1px solid black;
+    font-size: 15pt;
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/img/default.png b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/img/default.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c4227916
Binary files /dev/null and b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/img/default.png differ
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/index.html b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..886404dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+    <head>
+        <title>Onionr UI</title>
+
+        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
+        <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
+
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha384-MCw98/SFnGE8fJT3GXwEOngsV7Zt27NXFoaoApmYm81iuXoPkFOJwJ8ERdknLPMO" crossorigin="anonymous" />
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/main.css" />
+        <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="css/themes/dark.css" />
+
+
+        <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-dark bg-dark fixed-top">
+            <a class="navbar-brand" href="#">Onionr</a>
+            <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarSupportedContent" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
+                <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
+            </button>
+
+            <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent">
+                <ul class="navbar-nav mr-auto">
+                    <li class="nav-item active">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="index.html">Timeline</a>
+                    </li>
+                    <li class="nav-item">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="notifications.html">Notifications</a>
+                    </li>
+                    <li class="nav-item">
+                        <a class="nav-link" href="messages.html">Messages</a>
+                    </li>
+                </ul>
+            </div>
+        </nav>
+
+    </head>
+    <body>
+        <div class="container">
+            <div class="row">
+                <div class="d-none d-lg-block col-lg-3">
+                    <div class="onionr-profile">
+                        <div class="row">
+                            <div class="col-12">
+                                <img id="onionr-profile-user-icon" class="onionr-profile-user-icon" src="img/default.png">
+                            </div>
+                            <div class="col-12">
+                                <h2 id="onionr-profile-username" class="onionr-profile-username">arinerron</h2>
+                            </div>
+                        </div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
+                <div class="col-sm-12 col-lg-6">
+                    <div class="row" id="onionr-timeline-posts">
+                        
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
+                <div class="d-none d-lg-block col-lg-3">
+                    <div class="row">
+                        <div class="col-12">
+                            <div class="onionr-trending">
+                                <h2>Trending</h2>
+                            </div>
+                        </div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.3.1.slim.min.js" integrity="sha384-q8i/X+965DzO0rT7abK41JStQIAqVgRVzpbzo5smXKp4YfRvH+8abtTE1Pi6jizo" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/popper.js/1.14.3/umd/popper.min.js" integrity="sha384-ZMP7rVo3mIykV+2+9J3UJ46jBk0WLaUAdn689aCwoqbBJiSnjAK/l8WvCWPIPm49" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.1.3/js/bootstrap.min.js" integrity="sha384-ChfqqxuZUCnJSK3+MXmPNIyE6ZbWh2IMqE241rYiqJxyMiZ6OW/JmZQ5stwEULTy" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
+        <script src="js/main.js"></script>
+
+        <script src="js/timeline.js"></script>
+    </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/main.js b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/main.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0141c5a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/main.js
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+/* returns a relative date format, e.g. "5 minutes" */
+function timeSince(date) {
+    // taken from https://stackoverflow.com/a/3177838/3678023
+
+    var seconds = Math.floor((new Date() - date) / 1000);
+    var interval = Math.floor(seconds / 31536000);
+
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " years";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 2592000);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " months";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 86400);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " days";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 3600);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " hours";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 60);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " minutes";
+    
+    return Math.floor(seconds) + " seconds";
+}
+
+/* replace all instances of string */
+String.prototype.replaceAll = function(search, replacement) {
+    // taken from https://stackoverflow.com/a/17606289/3678023
+    var target = this;
+    return target.split(search).join(replacement);
+};
+
+/* sanitizes HTML in a string */
+function encodeHTML(html) {
+    return String(html).replace(/&/g, '&amp;').replace(/</g, '&lt;').replace(/>/g, '&gt;').replace(/"/g, '&quot;');
+}
+
+/* URL encodes a string */
+function encodeURL(url) {
+    return encodeURIComponent(url);
+}
+
+/* user class */
+class User {    
+    constructor() {
+        this.name = 'Unknown';
+        this.id = 'unknown';
+        this.image = 'img/default.png';
+    }
+
+    setName(name) {
+        this.name = name;
+    }
+
+    getName() {
+        return this.name;
+    }
+    
+    setID(id) {
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+    
+    getID() {
+        return this.id;
+    }
+    
+    setIcon(image) {
+        this.image = image;
+    }
+    
+    getIcon() {
+        return this.image;
+    }
+}
+
+/* post class */
+class Post {
+    /* returns the html content of a post */
+    getHTML() {
+        var postTemplate = '<!-- POST -->\
+<div class="col-12">\
+    <div class="onionr-post">\
+        <div class="row">\
+            <div class="col-2">\
+                <img class="onionr-post-user-icon" src="$user-image">\
+            </div>\
+            <div class="col-10">\
+                <div class="row">\
+                    <div class="col">\
+                        <a class="onionr-post-user-name" href="#!" onclick="viewProfile(\'$user-id-url\', \'$user-name-url\')">$user-name</a>\
+                        <a class="onionr-post-user-id" href="#!" onclick="viewProfile(\'$user-id-url\', \'$user-name-url\')" data-placement="top" data-toggle="tooltip" title="$user-id">$user-id-truncated</a>\
+                    </div>\
+                    <div class="text-right pl-3 pr-3">\
+                        <div class="onionr-post-date" data-placement="top" data-toggle="tooltip" title="$date">$date-relative</div>\
+                    </div>\
+                </div>\
+                \
+                <div class="onionr-post-content">\
+                    $content\
+                </div>\
+                \
+                <div class="onionr-post-controls pt-2">\
+                    <a href="#!" class="glyphicon glyphicon-heart mr-2">like</a>\
+                    <a href="#!" class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment mr-2">comment</a>\
+                </div>\
+            </div>\
+        </div>\
+    </div>\
+</div>\
+<!-- END POST -->\
+';
+        
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-name-url', encodeHTML(encodeURL(this.getUser().getName())));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-name', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getName()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id-url', encodeHTML(encodeURL(this.getUser().getID())));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id-truncated', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getID().split('-').slice(0, 4).join('-')));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getID()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-image', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getIcon()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$content', encodeHTML(this.getContent()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$date-relative', timeSince(this.getPostDate()) + ' ago');
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$date', this.getPostDate().toLocaleString());
+        
+        return postTemplate;
+    }
+    
+    setUser(user) {
+        this.user = user;
+    }
+    
+    getUser() {
+        return this.user;
+    }
+    
+    setContent(content) {
+        this.content = content;
+    }
+    
+    getContent() {
+        return this.content;
+    }
+    
+    setPostDate(date) { // unix timestamp input
+        if(date instanceof Date)
+            this.date = date;
+        else
+            this.date = new Date(date * 1000);
+    }
+    
+    getPostDate() {
+        return this.date;
+    }
+}
+
+/* handy localstorage functions for quick usage */
+
+function set(key, val) {
+    return localStorage.setItem(key, val);
+}
+
+function get(key, df) { // df is default
+    value = localStorage.getItem(key);
+    if(value == null)
+        value = df;
+    
+    return value;
+}
+
+function remove(key) {
+    return localStorage.removeItem(key);
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/timeline.js b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/timeline.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..834568ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/dist/js/timeline.js
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/* write a random post to the page, for testing */
+function addRandomPost() {
+    var post = new Post();
+    var user = new User();
+    var items = ['arinerron', 'beardog108', 'samyk', 'snowden', 'aaronswartz'];
+    user.setName(items[Math.floor(Math.random()*items.length)]);
+    user.setID('i-eat-waffles-often-its-actually-crazy-like-i-dont-know-wow');
+    post.setContent('spammm ' + btoa(Math.random() + ' wow'));
+    post.setUser(user);
+    post.setPostDate(new Date(new Date() - (Math.random() * 1000000)));
+    
+    document.getElementById('onionr-timeline-posts').innerHTML += post.getHTML();
+}
+
+for(var i = 0; i < Math.round(50 * Math.random()); i++)
+    addRandomPost();
+    
+function viewProfile(id, name) {
+    document.getElementById("onionr-profile-username").innerHTML = encodeHTML(decodeURIComponent(name));
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/lang.json b/onionr/static-data/ui/lang.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..49bde688
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/lang.json
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{
+    "eng" : {
+        "ONIONR_TITLE" : "Onionr UI",
+        
+        "TIMELINE" : "Timeline",
+        "NOTIFICATIONS" : "Notifications",
+        "MESSAGES" : "Messages",
+        
+        "TRENDING" : "Trending"
+    },
+    
+    "spa" : {
+        "ONIONR_TITLE" : "Onionr UI",
+        
+        "TIMELINE" : "Linea de Tiempo",
+        "NOTIFICATIONS" : "Notificaciones",
+        "MESSAGES" : "Mensaje",
+        
+        "TRENDING" : "Trending"
+    },
+    
+    "zho" : {
+        "ONIONR_TITLE" : "洋葱 用户界面",
+        
+        "TIMELINE" : "时间线",
+        "NOTIFICATIONS" : "通知",
+        "MESSAGES" : "消息",
+        
+        "TRENDING" : "趋势"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/main.css b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/main.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d9e76be6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/main.css
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/* general formatting */
+
+@media (min-width: 768px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 300px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 970px;
+    }
+}
+@media (min-width: 992px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 500px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 1170px;
+    }
+}
+@media (min-width: 1200px) {
+    .container-small {
+        width: 700px;
+    }
+    .container-large {
+        width: 1500px;
+    }
+}
+
+.container-small, .container-large {
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* navbar */
+
+body {
+    margin-top: 5rem;
+}
+
+/* timeline */
+
+.onionr-post {
+    padding: 1rem;
+    margin-bottom: 1rem;
+
+    width: 100%;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-name {
+    display: inline;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-id:before { content: "("; }
+.onionr-post-user-id:after { content: ")"; }
+
+.onionr-post-content {
+    word-wrap: break-word;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-icon {
+    border-radius: 100%;
+    width: 100%;
+}
+
+/* profile */
+
+.onionr-profile-user-icon {
+    border-radius: 100%;
+    width: 100%;
+    margin-bottom: 1rem;
+}
+
+.onionr-profile-username {    
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/themes/dark.css b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/themes/dark.css
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4a547a29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/css/themes/dark.css
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+body {
+    background-color: #96928f;
+    color: #25383C;
+}
+
+/* timeline */
+
+.onionr-post {
+    border: 1px solid black;
+    border-radius: 1rem;
+    
+    background-color: lightgray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-name {
+    color: green;
+    font-weight: bold;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-user-id {
+    color: gray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-date {
+    color: gray;
+}
+
+.onionr-post-content {
+    font-family: sans-serif, serif;
+    border-top: 1px solid black;
+    font-size: 15pt;
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/img/default.png b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/img/default.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c4227916
Binary files /dev/null and b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/img/default.png differ
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/index.html b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b23945b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+    <head>
+        <header />
+    </head>
+    <body>
+        <div class="container">
+            <div class="row">
+                <div class="d-none d-lg-block col-lg-3">
+                    <div class="onionr-profile">
+                        <div class="row">
+                            <div class="col-12">
+                                <img id="onionr-profile-user-icon" class="onionr-profile-user-icon" src="img/default.png">
+                            </div>
+                            <div class="col-12">
+                                <h2 id="onionr-profile-username" class="onionr-profile-username">arinerron</h2>
+                            </div>
+                        </div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
+                <div class="col-sm-12 col-lg-6">
+                    <div class="row" id="onionr-timeline-posts">
+                        
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+
+                <div class="d-none d-lg-block col-lg-3">
+                    <div class="row">
+                        <div class="col-12">
+                            <div class="onionr-trending">
+                                <h2><$= LANG.TRENDING $></h2>
+                            </div>
+                        </div>
+                    </div>
+                </div>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+
+        <footer />
+        <script src="js/timeline.js"></script>
+    </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/main.js b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/main.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7208cd21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/main.js
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+
+/* handy localstorage functions for quick usage */
+
+function set(key, val) {
+    return localStorage.setItem(key, val);
+}
+
+function get(key, df) { // df is default
+    value = localStorage.getItem(key);
+    if(value == null)
+        value = df;
+    
+    return value;
+}
+
+function remove(key) {
+    return localStorage.removeItem(key);
+}
+
+var usermap = JSON.parse(get('usermap', '{}'));
+
+function getUserMap() {
+    return usermap;
+}
+
+function deserializeUser(id) {
+    var serialized = getUserMap()[id]
+    var user = new User();
+    user.setName(serialized['name']);
+    user.setID(serialized['id']);
+    user.setIcon(serialized['icon']);
+}
+
+/* returns a relative date format, e.g. "5 minutes" */
+function timeSince(date) {
+    // taken from https://stackoverflow.com/a/3177838/3678023
+
+    var seconds = Math.floor((new Date() - date) / 1000);
+    var interval = Math.floor(seconds / 31536000);
+
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " years";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 2592000);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " months";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 86400);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " days";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 3600);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " hours";
+    interval = Math.floor(seconds / 60);
+    if (interval > 1)
+        return interval + " minutes";
+    
+    return Math.floor(seconds) + " seconds";
+}
+
+/* replace all instances of string */
+String.prototype.replaceAll = function(search, replacement) {
+    // taken from https://stackoverflow.com/a/17606289/3678023
+    var target = this;
+    return target.split(search).join(replacement);
+};
+
+/* sanitizes HTML in a string */
+function encodeHTML(html) {
+    return String(html).replace(/&/g, '&amp;').replace(/</g, '&lt;').replace(/>/g, '&gt;').replace(/"/g, '&quot;');
+}
+
+/* URL encodes a string */
+function encodeURL(url) {
+    return encodeURIComponent(url);
+}
+
+/* user class */
+class User {    
+    constructor() {
+        this.name = 'Unknown';
+        this.id = 'unknown';
+        this.image = 'img/default.png';
+    }
+
+    setName(name) {
+        this.name = name;
+    }
+
+    getName() {
+        return this.name;
+    }
+    
+    setID(id) {
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+    
+    getID() {
+        return this.id;
+    }
+    
+    setIcon(image) {
+        this.image = image;
+    }
+    
+    getIcon() {
+        return this.image;
+    }
+    
+    serialize() {
+        return {
+            'name' : this.getName(),
+            'id' : this.getID(),
+            'icon' : this.getIcon()
+        };
+    }
+    
+    remember() {
+        usermap[this.getID()] = this.serialize();
+        set('usermap', JSON.stringify(usermap));
+    }
+}
+
+/* post class */
+class Post {
+    /* returns the html content of a post */
+    getHTML() {
+        var postTemplate = '<$= jsTemplate('onionr-timeline-post') $>';
+        
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-name-url', encodeHTML(encodeURL(this.getUser().getName())));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-name', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getName()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id-url', encodeHTML(encodeURL(this.getUser().getID())));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id-truncated', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getID().split('-').slice(0, 4).join('-')));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-id', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getID()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$user-image', encodeHTML(this.getUser().getIcon()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$content', encodeHTML(this.getContent()));
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$date-relative', timeSince(this.getPostDate()) + ' ago');
+        postTemplate = postTemplate.replaceAll('$date', this.getPostDate().toLocaleString());
+        
+        return postTemplate;
+    }
+    
+    setUser(user) {
+        this.user = user;
+    }
+    
+    getUser() {
+        return this.user;
+    }
+    
+    setContent(content) {
+        this.content = content;
+    }
+    
+    getContent() {
+        return this.content;
+    }
+    
+    setPostDate(date) { // unix timestamp input
+        if(date instanceof Date)
+            this.date = date;
+        else
+            this.date = new Date(date * 1000);
+    }
+    
+    getPostDate() {
+        return this.date;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/timeline.js b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/timeline.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..834568ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/onionr/static-data/ui/src/js/timeline.js
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/* write a random post to the page, for testing */
+function addRandomPost() {
+    var post = new Post();
+    var user = new User();
+    var items = ['arinerron', 'beardog108', 'samyk', 'snowden', 'aaronswartz'];
+    user.setName(items[Math.floor(Math.random()*items.length)]);
+    user.setID('i-eat-waffles-often-its-actually-crazy-like-i-dont-know-wow');
+    post.setContent('spammm ' + btoa(Math.random() + ' wow'));
+    post.setUser(user);
+    post.setPostDate(new Date(new Date() - (Math.random() * 1000000)));
+    
+    document.getElementById('onionr-timeline-posts').innerHTML += post.getHTML();
+}
+
+for(var i = 0; i < Math.round(50 * Math.random()); i++)
+    addRandomPost();
+    
+function viewProfile(id, name) {
+    document.getElementById("onionr-profile-username").innerHTML = encodeHTML(decodeURIComponent(name));
+}