diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+Copyright Sean Hess (c) 2017
+
+All rights reserved.
+
+Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
+modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
+
+    * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
+      notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
+
+    * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
+      copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following
+      disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided
+      with the distribution.
+
+    * Neither the name of Sean Hess nor the names of other
+      contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
+      from this software without specific prior written permission.
+
+THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
+"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
+A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
+OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
+SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
+DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
+THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
+(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
+OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
diff --git a/Setup.hs b/Setup.hs
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/Setup.hs
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+import Distribution.Simple
+main = defaultMain
diff --git a/aeson-flat.cabal b/aeson-flat.cabal
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+++ b/aeson-flat.cabal
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+name:                aeson-flat
+version:             0.1.0.0
+synopsis:            Tools for creating flat JSON serializations
+description:         Tools for creating flat JSON serializations
+homepage:            https://github.com/seanhess/aeson-flat#readme
+license:             BSD3
+license-file:        LICENSE
+author:              Sean Hess
+maintainer:          seanhess@gmail.com
+copyright:           Sean Hess
+category:            Web
+build-type:          Simple
+extra-source-files:  README.md
+cabal-version:       >=1.10
+
+library
+  hs-source-dirs:      src
+  exposed-modules:     Data.Aeson.Flat
+  build-depends:
+      base >= 4.7 && < 5
+    , aeson >= 0.8
+    , text
+    , vector
+    , unordered-containers
+  default-language:    Haskell2010
+
+test-suite aeson-flat-test
+  type:                exitcode-stdio-1.0
+  hs-source-dirs:      test
+  main-is:             Spec.hs
+  build-depends:       base
+                     , aeson-flat
+  ghc-options:         -threaded -rtsopts -with-rtsopts=-N
+  default-language:    Haskell2010
+
+source-repository head
+  type:     git
+  location: https://github.com/seanhess/aeson-flat
diff --git a/src/Data/Aeson/Flat.hs b/src/Data/Aeson/Flat.hs
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/Aeson/Flat.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DuplicateRecordFields #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveGeneric #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+
+module Data.Aeson.Flat where
+
+-- import Debug.Trace (trace)
+import Control.Applicative ((<|>))
+import Data.Aeson (Value(..))
+import Data.Aeson.Types (genericToJSON, genericParseJSON, defaultOptions, GToJSON, GFromJSON, Parser, typeMismatch)
+import Data.Text (Text, unpack)
+import qualified Data.Vector as V
+import Data.Monoid ((<>))
+import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HM
+import GHC.Generics (Generic, Rep)
+-- import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as BSL
+
+
+
+-- | Merge values together. Useful for creating compound JSON structures that should be parsed as one object
+--
+-- > data A = A { one :: String, two :: String } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+-- > instance ToJSON A
+-- > instance FromJSON A
+-- >
+-- > data B = B { three :: String } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+-- > instance ToJSON B
+-- > instance FromJSON B
+-- >
+-- > data AB = AB A B deriving (Show, Eq)
+-- >
+-- > instance ToJSON AB where
+-- >   toJSON (AB a b) = merge [toJSON a, toJSON b]
+-- >
+-- > instance FromJSON AB where
+-- >   parseJSON o = do
+-- >     a <- parseJSON o
+-- >     b <- parseJSON o
+-- >     return $ AB a b
+
+merge :: [Value] -> Value
+merge [] = Null
+merge (v:vs) = foldl append v vs
+  where
+    append (Object a) (Object b) =
+      Object $ a <> b
+    append (Array a) (Array b) =
+      Array $ a <> b
+    append (String a) (String b) =
+      String $ a <> b
+    append (Number a) (Number b) =
+      Number $ a + b
+    append (Bool a) (Bool b) =
+      Bool $ a && b
+    append _ _ = Null
+
+
+-- | Serialize a sumtype to a flat object, rather than to "tag" and "contents"
+--
+-- > data C = CA A | CB B deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+-- >
+-- > instance ToJSON C where
+-- >   toJSON x = flatToJSON "c" x
+--
+-- {"c": "CA", "one": "value", "two": "value"}
+-- {"c": "CB", "three": "value"}
+
+flatToJSON :: (Generic a, GToJSON (Rep a)) => Text -> a -> Value
+flatToJSON n a =
+  flatten n $ genericToJSON defaultOptions a
+  where
+  flatten n' (Object o) =
+    let t = sumTag o
+        c = sumContents o
+    in Object $ HM.insert n' (String t) c
+  flatten _ v = v
+
+  sumTag o =
+    case HM.lookup "tag" o of
+      Just (String t) ->
+        t
+      _ ->
+        ""
+
+  sumContents o =
+    case HM.lookup "contents" o of
+      Just (Object c) ->
+        c
+      Just (Array v) ->
+        V.foldl allObjects HM.empty v
+      _ ->
+        HM.empty
+
+  allObjects m (Object o) = HM.union m o
+  allObjects m _ = m
+
+
+-- | Deserialize a sumtype from a flat object
+-- >
+-- > instance FromJSON C where
+-- >   parseJSON x = flatParseJSON "c" x
+
+flatParseJSON :: (Generic a, GFromJSON (Rep a)) => Text -> Value -> Parser a
+flatParseJSON n (Object o) =
+  case HM.lookup n o of
+    Just (String t) ->
+      let o' = HM.fromList [("tag", String t), ("contents", Object o)]
+          u' = HM.fromList [("tag", String t), ("contents", Array V.empty)]
+      in parse o' <|> parse u'
+    _ -> typeMismatch ("field: " ++ unpack n) (Object o)
+  where
+    parse o' = genericParseJSON defaultOptions (Object o')
+flatParseJSON _ v = typeMismatch "Object" v
+
+
+
+fieldToJSON :: (Generic a, GToJSON (Rep a)) => Text -> a -> Value
+fieldToJSON n a =
+  flatten n $ genericToJSON defaultOptions a
+  where
+  flatten n' v =
+    Object $ HM.fromList [(n', v)]
+
+
+fieldParseJSON :: (Generic a, GFromJSON (Rep a)) => Text -> Value -> Parser a
+fieldParseJSON n (Object o) =
+  -- construct what it is expecting: tag, and contents
+  case HM.lookup n o of
+    Just v ->
+      genericParseJSON defaultOptions v
+    _ -> typeMismatch ("field: " ++ unpack n) (Object o)
+fieldParseJSON _ v = typeMismatch "Object" v
+
+
+-- | Example of how to use the above for a parent record
+--
+-- > data Example = Example
+-- >   { exa :: String
+-- >   , exb :: Int
+-- >   , exc :: C
+-- >   } deriving (Show, Eq, Generic)
+-- >
+-- > instance ToJSON Example where
+-- >   toJSON ex =
+-- >     merge
+-- >       [ object [ "a" .= toJSON (exa ex)
+-- >                , "b" .= toJSON (exb ex)
+-- >                ]
+-- >       , toJSON (exc ex)
+-- >       ]
+-- >
+-- > instance FromJSON Example where
+-- >   parseJSON (Object o) = do
+-- >     a <- o .: "a"
+-- >     b <- o .: "b"
+-- >     c <- parseJSON (Object o)
+-- >     return $ Example a b c
+
+
+
+-- test :: IO ()
+-- test = do
+--
+--   let a = A { one = "one", two = "two" }
+--       b = B { three = "three" }
+--       ab = AB a b
+--       c' = CB b
+--       ex = Example "a" 1 c'
+--
+--   -- BSL.putStrLn $ Aeson.encode ab
+--   -- print $ (Aeson.eitherDecode $ Aeson.encode ab :: Either String AB)
+--
+--   BSL.putStrLn $ Aeson.encode c'
+--   print $ (Aeson.eitherDecode $ Aeson.encode c' :: Either String C)
+--
+--   BSL.putStrLn $ Aeson.encode ex
+--   print $ (Aeson.eitherDecode $ Aeson.encode ex :: Either String Example)
diff --git a/test/Spec.hs b/test/Spec.hs
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+++ b/test/Spec.hs
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+main :: IO ()
+main = putStrLn "Test suite not yet implemented"