diff --git a/project_template/barebones/foo.cabal b/project_template/barebones/foo.cabal
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/barebones/foo.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+Name:                projname
+Version:             0.1
+Synopsis:            Project Synopsis Here
+Description:         Project Description Here
+License:             AllRightsReserved
+Author:              Author
+Maintainer:          maintainer@example.com
+Stability:           Experimental
+Category:            Web
+Build-type:          Simple
+Cabal-version:       >=1.2
+
+Executable projname
+  hs-source-dirs: src
+  main-is: Main.hs
+
+  Build-depends:
+    base >= 4,
+    haskell98,
+    monads-fd >= 0.1 && <0.2,
+    bytestring >= 0.9.1 && <0.10,
+    snap-core >= 0.2 && <0.3,
+    snap-server >= 0.2 && <0.3,
+    unix,
+    containers,
+    MonadCatchIO-transformers,
+    filepath >= 1.1 && <1.2
+
+  if impl(ghc >= 6.12.0)
+    ghc-options: -Wall -fwarn-tabs -funbox-strict-fields -O2
+                 -fno-warn-unused-do-bind
+  else
+    ghc-options: -Wall -fwarn-tabs -funbox-strict-fields -O2
diff --git a/project_template/barebones/src/Common.hs b/project_template/barebones/src/Common.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/barebones/src/Common.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Common where
+
+import           Control.Concurrent
+import           Control.Exception (SomeException)
+import           Control.Monad
+import           Control.Monad.CatchIO
+import           Prelude hiding (catch)
+import           Snap.Http.Server
+import           Snap.Types
+import           Snap.Util.GZip
+import           System
+import           System.Posix.Env
+
+setLocaleToUTF8 :: IO ()
+setLocaleToUTF8 = do
+    mapM_ (\k -> setEnv k "en_US.UTF-8" True)
+          [ "LANG"
+          , "LC_CTYPE"
+          , "LC_NUMERIC"
+          , "LC_TIME"
+          , "LC_COLLATE"
+          , "LC_MONETARY"
+          , "LC_MESSAGES"
+          , "LC_PAPER"
+          , "LC_NAME"
+          , "LC_ADDRESS"
+          , "LC_TELEPHONE"
+          , "LC_MEASUREMENT"
+          , "LC_IDENTIFICATION"
+          , "LC_ALL" ]
+
+data AppConfig = AppConfig {
+    accessLog :: Maybe FilePath,
+    errorLog :: Maybe FilePath
+}
+
+quickServer :: AppConfig -> Snap () -> IO ()
+quickServer config siteHandlers = do
+    args   <- getArgs
+    port   <- case args of
+                []       -> error "You must specify a port!" >> exitFailure
+                (port:_) -> return $ read port
+
+    setLocaleToUTF8
+
+    (try $ httpServe "*" port "myserver"
+             (accessLog config)
+             (errorLog config)
+             (withCompression siteHandlers))
+             :: IO (Either SomeException ())
+
+    threadDelay 1000000
+    putStrLn "exiting"
+    return ()
+
diff --git a/project_template/barebones/src/Main.hs b/project_template/barebones/src/Main.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/barebones/src/Main.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+module Main where
+
+import           Control.Applicative
+import           Snap.Types
+import           Snap.Util.FileServe
+
+import           Common
+
+config :: AppConfig
+config = AppConfig {
+  accessLog = Just "access.log",
+  errorLog = Just "error.log"
+}
+
+main :: IO ()
+main = do
+    quickServer config site
+
+site :: Snap ()
+site =
+    ifTop (writeBS "hello world") <|>
+    route [ ("foo", writeBS "bar")
+          , ("echo/:echoparam", echoHandler)
+          ] <|>
+    dir "static" (fileServe ".")
+
+echoHandler :: Snap ()
+echoHandler = do
+    param <- getParam "echoparam"
+    maybe (writeBS "must specify echo/param in URL")
+          writeBS param
+
diff --git a/project_template/default/foo.cabal b/project_template/default/foo.cabal
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/default/foo.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+Name:                projname
+Version:             0.1
+Synopsis:            Project Synopsis Here
+Description:         Project Description Here
+License:             AllRightsReserved
+Author:              Author
+Maintainer:          maintainer@example.com
+Stability:           Experimental
+Category:            Web
+Build-type:          Simple
+Cabal-version:       >=1.2
+
+Executable projname
+  hs-source-dirs: src
+  main-is: Main.hs
+
+  Build-depends:
+    base >= 4,
+    haskell98,
+    monads-fd >= 0.1 && <0.2,
+    bytestring >= 0.9.1 && <0.10,
+    snap-core >= 0.2 && <0.3,
+    snap-server >= 0.2 && <0.3,
+    heist >= 0.1 && <0.2,
+    hexpat == 0.16,
+    xhtml-combinators,
+    unix,
+    text,
+    containers,
+    MonadCatchIO-transformers,
+    filepath >= 1.1 && <1.2
+
+  if impl(ghc >= 6.12.0)
+    ghc-options: -Wall -fwarn-tabs -funbox-strict-fields -O2
+                 -fno-warn-unused-do-bind
+  else
+    ghc-options: -Wall -fwarn-tabs -funbox-strict-fields -O2
diff --git a/project_template/default/src/Common.hs b/project_template/default/src/Common.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/default/src/Common.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
+module Common where
+
+import           Data.ByteString.Char8 (ByteString)
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as B
+import           Data.Maybe
+import qualified Data.Text as T
+import           Control.Applicative
+import           Control.Concurrent
+import           Control.Exception (SomeException)
+import           Control.Monad
+import           Control.Monad.CatchIO
+import           Control.Monad.Trans
+import           Prelude hiding (catch)
+import           Snap.Http.Server
+import           Snap.Types
+import           Snap.Util.FileServe
+import           Snap.Util.GZip
+import           System
+import           System.Posix.Env
+import           Text.Templating.Heist
+import           Text.Templating.Heist.Splices.Static
+import qualified Text.XHtmlCombinators.Escape as XH
+
+
+setLocaleToUTF8 :: IO ()
+setLocaleToUTF8 = do
+    mapM_ (\k -> setEnv k "en_US.UTF-8" True)
+          [ "LANG"
+          , "LC_CTYPE"
+          , "LC_NUMERIC"
+          , "LC_TIME"
+          , "LC_COLLATE"
+          , "LC_MONETARY"
+          , "LC_MESSAGES"
+          , "LC_PAPER"
+          , "LC_NAME"
+          , "LC_ADDRESS"
+          , "LC_TELEPHONE"
+          , "LC_MEASUREMENT"
+          , "LC_IDENTIFICATION"
+          , "LC_ALL" ]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- General purpose code.  This code will eventually get moved into Snap once
+-- we have a good place to put it.
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- |
+renderTmpl :: MVar (TemplateState Snap)
+           -> ByteString
+           -> Snap ()
+renderTmpl tsMVar n = do
+    ts <- liftIO $ readMVar tsMVar
+    maybe pass writeBS =<< renderTemplate ts n
+
+
+templateServe :: TemplateState Snap
+              -> MVar (TemplateState Snap)
+              -> StaticTagState
+              -> Snap ()
+templateServe orig tsMVar staticState = do
+    p
+    modifyResponse $ setContentType "text/html"
+
+  where
+    p = ifTop (renderTmpl tsMVar "index") <|>
+        path "admin/reload" (reloadTemplates orig tsMVar staticState) <|>
+        (renderTmpl tsMVar . B.pack =<< getSafePath)
+
+
+loadError :: String -> String
+loadError str = "Error loading templates\n"++str
+
+reloadTemplates :: TemplateState Snap
+                -> MVar (TemplateState Snap)
+                -> StaticTagState
+                -> Snap ()
+reloadTemplates origTs tsMVar staticState = do
+    liftIO $ clearStaticTagCache staticState
+    ts <- liftIO $ loadTemplates "templates" origTs
+    either bad good ts
+  where
+    bad msg = do writeBS $ B.pack $ loadError msg ++ "Keeping old templates."
+    good ts = do liftIO $ modifyMVar_ tsMVar (const $ return ts)
+                 writeBS "Templates loaded successfully"
+
+
+basicHandlers :: TemplateState Snap
+              -> MVar (TemplateState Snap)
+              -> StaticTagState
+              -> Snap ()
+              -> Snap ()
+basicHandlers origTs tsMVar staticState userHandlers =
+    catch500 $ withCompression $
+        userHandlers <|>
+        templateServe origTs tsMVar staticState
+
+
+catch500 :: Snap a -> Snap ()
+catch500 m = (m >> return ()) `catch` \(e::SomeException) -> do
+    let t = T.pack $ show e
+    putResponse r
+    writeBS "<html><head><title>Internal Server Error</title></head>"
+    writeBS "<body><h1>Internal Server Error</h1>"
+    writeBS "<p>A web handler threw an exception. Details:</p>"
+    writeBS "<pre>\n"
+    writeText $ XH.escape t
+    writeBS "\n</pre></body></html>"
+
+  where
+    r = setContentType "text/html" $
+        setResponseStatus 500 "Internal Server Error" emptyResponse
+
+data AppConfig = AppConfig {
+    templateDir :: FilePath,
+    accessLog :: Maybe FilePath,
+    errorLog :: Maybe FilePath
+}
+
+quickServer :: AppConfig -> Snap () -> IO ()
+quickServer config siteHandlers = do
+    args   <- getArgs
+    port   <- case args of
+                []       -> error "You must specify a port!" >> exitFailure
+                (port:_) -> return $ read port
+
+    setLocaleToUTF8
+
+    (origTs,staticState) <- bindStaticTag emptyTemplateState
+
+    ets <- loadTemplates (templateDir config) origTs
+    let ts = either error id ets
+    either (\s -> putStrLn (loadError s) >> exitFailure) (const $ return ()) ets
+    tsMVar <- newMVar $ ts
+
+    (try $ httpServe "*" port "myserver"
+             (accessLog config)
+             (errorLog config)
+             (basicHandlers origTs tsMVar staticState siteHandlers))
+             :: IO (Either SomeException ())
+
+    threadDelay 1000000
+    putStrLn "exiting"
+    return ()
+
diff --git a/project_template/default/src/Main.hs b/project_template/default/src/Main.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/project_template/default/src/Main.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+module Main where
+
+import           Control.Applicative
+import           Snap.Types
+import           Snap.Util.FileServe
+
+import           Common
+
+config :: AppConfig
+config = AppConfig {
+  templateDir = "templates",
+  accessLog = Just "access.log",
+  errorLog = Just "error.log"
+}
+
+main :: IO ()
+main = do
+    quickServer config site
+
+site :: Snap ()
+site =
+    ifTop (writeBS "hello world") <|>
+    route [ ("foo", writeBS "bar")
+          , ("echo/:echoparam", echoHandler)
+          ] <|>
+    dir "static" (fileServe ".")
+
+echoHandler :: Snap ()
+echoHandler = do
+    param <- getParam "echoparam"
+    maybe (writeBS "must specify echo/param in URL")
+          writeBS param
+
diff --git a/snap-core.cabal b/snap-core.cabal
--- a/snap-core.cabal
+++ b/snap-core.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:           snap-core
-version:        0.2.4
+version:        0.2.5
 synopsis:       Snap: A Haskell Web Framework (Core)
 
 description:
@@ -73,6 +73,12 @@
   extra/logo.gif,
   haddock.sh,
   LICENSE,
+  project_template/barebones/foo.cabal,
+  project_template/barebones/src/Common.hs,
+  project_template/barebones/src/Main.hs,
+  project_template/default/foo.cabal,
+  project_template/default/src/Common.hs,
+  project_template/default/src/Main.hs,
   README.md,
   README.SNAP.md,
   Setup.hs,
@@ -167,6 +173,8 @@
 Executable snap
   hs-source-dirs: src
   main-is: Snap/Starter.hs
+
+  other-modules: Snap.StarterTH
 
   build-depends:
     attoparsec >= 0.8.0.2 && < 0.9,
diff --git a/src/Snap/StarterTH.hs b/src/Snap/StarterTH.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Snap/StarterTH.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE TemplateHaskell #-}
+module Snap.StarterTH where
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+import qualified Data.Foldable as F
+import           Data.List
+import           Language.Haskell.TH
+import           System.Directory.Tree
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Convenience types
+type FileData = (String, String)
+type DirData = FilePath
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Gets all the directorys in a DirTree
+getDirs :: [FilePath] -> DirTree a -> [FilePath]
+getDirs prefix (Dir n c) = (intercalate "/" (reverse (n:prefix))) : concatMap (getDirs (n:prefix)) c
+getDirs _ (File _ _) = []
+getDirs _ (Failed _ _) = []
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Reads a directory and returns a tuple of the list of all directories
+-- encountered and a list of filenames and content strings.
+readTree :: FilePath -> IO ([DirData], [FileData])
+readTree dir = do
+    d <- readDirectory $ dir++"/."
+    let ps = zipPaths $ "" :/ (free d)
+        fd = F.foldr (:) [] ps
+        dirs = tail $ getDirs [] $ free d
+    return $ (dirs, fd)
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Calls readTree and returns it's value in a quasiquote.
+dirQ :: FilePath -> Q Exp
+dirQ tplDir = do
+    d <- runIO $ readTree $ "project_template/"++tplDir
+    runQ [| d |]
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Creates a declaration assigning the specified name the value returned by
+-- dirQ.
+buildData :: String -> FilePath -> Q [Dec]
+buildData dirName tplDir = do
+    v <- valD (varP (mkName dirName))
+                    (normalB $ dirQ tplDir)
+                    []
+    return [v]
+