diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index af0f6674..33eee2b6 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 [workspace]
+resolver = "2"
 members = [
     "./crates/*"
 ]
-resolver = "2"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
 anyhow = "1"
diff --git a/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/Context/Context.cs b/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/Context/Context.cs
index b18dd9a8..6a5eaf19 100644
--- a/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/Context/Context.cs
+++ b/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/Context/Context.cs
@@ -51,6 +51,17 @@ public class Context
         Parameters = new Parameters(message.Content?.Substring(commandParseOffset));
         Rest = provider.Resolve<DiscordApiClient>();
         Cluster = provider.Resolve<Cluster>();
+
+        try
+        {
+            Parameters = new ParametersFFI(message.Content?.Substring(commandParseOffset));
+        }
+        catch (PKError e)
+        {
+            // todo: not this
+            Reply($"{Emojis.Error} {e.Message}");
+            throw;
+        }
     }
 
     public readonly IDiscordCache Cache;
diff --git a/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/ParametersFFI.cs b/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/ParametersFFI.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dcd1097b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/PluralKit.Bot/CommandSystem/ParametersFFI.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+using uniffi.commands;
+
+namespace PluralKit.Bot;
+
+public class ParametersFFI
+{
+    private string _cb { get; init; }
+    private List<string> _args { get; init; }
+    public int _ptr = -1;
+    private Dictionary<string, string?> _flags { get; init; }
+
+    // just used for errors, temporarily
+    public string FullCommand { get; init; }
+
+    public ParametersFFI(string cmd)
+    {
+        FullCommand = cmd;
+        var result = CommandsMethods.ParseCommand(cmd);
+        if (result is CommandResult.Ok)
+        {
+            var command = ((CommandResult.Ok)result).@command;
+            _cb = command.@commandRef;
+            _args = command.@args;
+            _flags = command.@flags;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            throw new PKError(((CommandResult.Err)result).@error);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public string Pop()
+    {
+        if (_args.Count > _ptr + 1) Console.WriteLine($"pop: {_ptr + 1}, {_args[_ptr + 1]}");
+        else Console.WriteLine("pop: no more arguments");
+        if (_args.Count() == _ptr + 1) return "";
+        _ptr++;
+        return _args[_ptr];
+    }
+
+    public string Peek()
+    {
+        if (_args.Count > _ptr + 1) Console.WriteLine($"peek: {_ptr + 1}, {_args[_ptr + 1]}");
+        else Console.WriteLine("peek: no more arguments");
+        if (_args.Count() == _ptr + 1) return "";
+        return _args[_ptr + 1];
+    }
+
+    // this might not work quite right
+    public string PeekWithPtr(ref int ptr)
+    {
+        return _args[ptr];
+    }
+
+    public ISet<string> Flags()
+    {
+        return new HashSet<string>(_flags.Keys);
+    }
+
+    // parsed differently in new commands, does this work right?
+    // note: skipFlags here does nothing
+    public string Remainder(bool skipFlags = false)
+    {
+        return Pop();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/PluralKit.Bot/PluralKit.Bot.csproj b/PluralKit.Bot/PluralKit.Bot.csproj
index f15e7051..59dc907b 100644
--- a/PluralKit.Bot/PluralKit.Bot.csproj
+++ b/PluralKit.Bot/PluralKit.Bot.csproj
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
         <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
         <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
         <Nullable>annotations</Nullable>
+        <AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>
         <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
     </PropertyGroup>
 
diff --git a/lib/commands/Cargo.toml b/lib/commands/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..efff1dea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+[package]
+name = "commands"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+
+[lib]
+crate-type = ["cdylib"]
+
+[dependencies]
+lazy_static = { workspace = true }
+
+uniffi = { version = "0.25" }
+
+[build-dependencies]
+uniffi = { version = "0.25", features = [ "build" ] }
diff --git a/lib/commands/build.rs b/lib/commands/build.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3f31f453
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/build.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+fn main() {
+    uniffi::generate_scaffolding("src/commands.udl").unwrap();
+}
diff --git a/lib/commands/src/commands.udl b/lib/commands/src/commands.udl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cc7af428
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/src/commands.udl
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+namespace commands {
+    CommandResult parse_command(string input);
+};
+[Enum]
+interface CommandResult {
+	Ok(ParsedCommand command);
+	Err(string error);
+};
+dictionary ParsedCommand {
+	string command_ref;
+	sequence<string> args;
+	record<string, string?> flags;
+};
diff --git a/lib/commands/src/lib.rs b/lib/commands/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6b787403
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,288 @@
+#![feature(let_chains)]
+
+use core::panic;
+use std::{cmp::Ordering, collections::HashMap};
+
+uniffi::include_scaffolding!("commands");
+
+mod string;
+mod token;
+use token::*;
+
+// todo!: move all this stuff into a different file
+// lib.rs should just have exported symbols and command definitions
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+struct TreeBranch {
+    current_command_key: Option<String>,
+    /// branches.keys(), but sorted by specificity
+    possible_tokens: Vec<Token>,
+    branches: HashMap<Token, TreeBranch>,
+}
+
+impl TreeBranch {
+    fn register_command(&mut self, command: Command) {
+        let mut current_branch = self;
+        // iterate over tokens in command
+        for token in command.tokens {
+            // recursively get or create a sub-branch for each token
+            current_branch = current_branch.branches.entry(token).or_insert(TreeBranch {
+                current_command_key: None,
+                possible_tokens: vec![],
+                branches: HashMap::new(),
+            })
+        }
+        // when we're out of tokens, add an Empty branch with the callback and no sub-branches
+        current_branch.branches.insert(
+            Token::Empty,
+            TreeBranch {
+                current_command_key: Some(command.cb),
+                possible_tokens: vec![],
+                branches: HashMap::new(),
+            },
+        );
+    }
+
+    fn sort_tokens(&mut self) {
+        for branch in self.branches.values_mut() {
+            branch.sort_tokens();
+        }
+
+        // put Value tokens at the end
+        // i forget exactly how this works
+        // todo!: document this before PR mergs
+        self.possible_tokens = self
+            .branches
+            .keys()
+            .into_iter()
+            .map(|v| v.clone())
+            .collect();
+        self.possible_tokens.sort_by(|v, _| {
+            if matches!(v, Token::Value(_)) {
+                Ordering::Greater
+            } else {
+                Ordering::Less
+            }
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+struct Command {
+    tokens: Vec<Token>,
+    help: String,
+    cb: String,
+}
+
+fn command(tokens: &[&Token], help: &str, cb: &str) -> Command {
+    Command {
+        tokens: tokens.iter().map(|&x| x.clone()).collect(),
+        help: help.to_string(),
+        cb: cb.to_string(),
+    }
+}
+
+mod commands {
+    use super::Token;
+
+    use super::command;
+    use super::Token::*;
+
+    fn cmd(value: &str) -> Token {
+        Token::Value(vec![value.to_string()])
+    }
+
+    pub fn cmd_with_alias(value: &[&str]) -> Token {
+        Token::Value(value.iter().map(|x| x.to_string()).collect())
+    }
+
+    // todo: this needs to have less ampersands -alyssa
+    pub fn happy() -> Vec<super::Command> {
+        let system = &cmd_with_alias(&["system", "s"]);
+        let member = &cmd_with_alias(&["member", "m"]);
+        let description = &cmd_with_alias(&["description", "desc"]);
+        let privacy = &cmd_with_alias(&["privacy", "priv"]);
+        vec![
+            command(&[&cmd("help")], "help", "Shows the help command"),
+            command(
+                &[system],
+                "system_show",
+                "Shows information about your system",
+            ),
+            command(&[system, &cmd("new")], "system_new", "Creates a new system"),
+            command(
+                &[member, &cmd_with_alias(&["new", "n"])],
+                "member_new",
+                "Creates a new system member",
+            ),
+            command(
+                &[member, &MemberRef],
+                "member_show",
+                "Shows information about a member",
+            ),
+            command(
+                &[member, &MemberRef, description],
+                "member_desc_show",
+                "Shows a member's description",
+            ),
+            command(
+                &[member, &MemberRef, description, &FullString],
+                "member_desc_update",
+                "Changes a member's description",
+            ),
+            command(
+                &[member, &MemberRef, privacy],
+                "member_privacy_show",
+                "Displays a member's current privacy settings",
+            ),
+            command(
+                &[
+                    member,
+                    &MemberRef,
+                    privacy,
+                    &MemberPrivacyTarget,
+                    &PrivacyLevel,
+                ],
+                "member_privacy_update",
+                "Changes a member's privacy settings",
+            ),
+        ]
+    }
+}
+
+lazy_static::lazy_static! {
+    static ref COMMAND_TREE: TreeBranch = {
+        let mut tree = TreeBranch {
+            current_command_key: None,
+            possible_tokens: vec![],
+            branches: HashMap::new(),
+        };
+
+        commands::happy().iter().for_each(|x| tree.register_command(x.clone()));
+
+        tree.sort_tokens();
+
+        // println!("{{tree:#?}}");
+
+        tree
+    };
+}
+
+pub enum CommandResult {
+    Ok { command: ParsedCommand },
+    Err { error: String },
+}
+
+pub struct ParsedCommand {
+    pub command_ref: String,
+    pub args: Vec<String>,
+    pub flags: HashMap<String, Option<String>>,
+}
+
+/// Find the next token from an either raw or partially parsed command string
+///
+/// Returns:
+/// - matched token, to move deeper into the tree
+/// - matched value (if this command matched an user-provided value such as a member name)
+/// - end position of matched token
+/// - optionally a short-circuit error
+fn next_token(
+    possible_tokens: Vec<Token>,
+    input: String,
+    current_pos: usize,
+) -> Result<(Token, Option<String>, usize), Option<String>> {
+    // get next parameter, matching quotes
+    let param = crate::string::next_param(input.clone(), current_pos);
+    println!("matched: {param:?}\n---");
+
+    // try checking if this is a flag
+    // todo!: this breaks full text matching if the full text starts with a flag
+    // (but that's kinda already broken anyway)
+    if let Some((value, new_pos)) = param.clone()
+        && value.starts_with('-')
+    {
+        return Ok((
+            Token::Flag,
+            Some(value.trim_start_matches('-').to_string()),
+            new_pos,
+        ));
+    }
+
+    // iterate over tokens and run try_match
+    for token in possible_tokens {
+        if let TokenMatchResult::Match(value) =
+            // for FullString just send the whole string
+            token.try_match(if matches!(token, Token::FullString) {
+                    if input.is_empty() {
+                        None
+                    } else {
+                        Some(input.clone())
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    param.clone().map(|v| v.0)
+                })
+        {
+            return Ok((token, value, param.map(|v| v.1).unwrap_or(current_pos)));
+        }
+    }
+
+    Err(None)
+}
+
+fn parse_command(input: String) -> CommandResult {
+    let mut local_tree: TreeBranch = COMMAND_TREE.clone();
+
+    // end position of all currently matched tokens
+    let mut current_pos = 0;
+
+    let mut args: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    let mut flags: HashMap<String, Option<String>> = HashMap::new();
+
+    loop {
+        match next_token(
+            local_tree.possible_tokens.clone(),
+            input.clone(),
+            current_pos,
+        ) {
+            Ok((found_token, arg, new_pos)) => {
+                current_pos = new_pos;
+                if let Token::Flag = found_token {
+                    flags.insert(arg.unwrap(), None);
+                    // don't try matching flags as tree elements
+                    continue;
+                }
+
+                if let Some(arg) = arg {
+                    args.push(arg);
+                }
+
+                if let Some(next_tree) = local_tree.branches.get(&found_token) {
+                    local_tree = next_tree.clone();
+                } else {
+                    panic!("found token could not match tree, at {input}");
+                }
+            }
+            Err(None) => {
+                if let Some(command_ref) = local_tree.current_command_key {
+                    return CommandResult::Ok {
+                        command: ParsedCommand {
+                            command_ref,
+                            args,
+                            flags,
+                        },
+                    };
+                }
+                // todo: check if last token is a common incorrect unquote (multi-member names etc)
+                // todo: check if this is a system name in pk;s command
+                return CommandResult::Err {
+                    error: "Command not found.".to_string(),
+                };
+            }
+            Err(Some(short_circuit)) => {
+                return CommandResult::Err {
+                    error: short_circuit,
+                };
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/lib/commands/src/string.rs b/lib/commands/src/string.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0ea7659a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/src/string.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+lazy_static::lazy_static! {
+    // Dictionary of (left, right) quote pairs
+    // Each char in the string is an individual quote, multi-char strings imply "one of the following chars"
+    // Certain languages can have quote patterns that have a different character for open and close
+    pub static ref QUOTE_PAIRS: HashMap<String, String> = {
+        let mut pairs = HashMap::new();
+
+        macro_rules! insert_pair {
+            ($a:literal, $b:literal) => {
+                pairs.insert($a.to_string(), $b.to_string());
+                // make it easier to look up right quotes
+                for char in $a.chars() {
+                    pairs.insert(char.to_string(), $b.to_string());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Basic
+        insert_pair!( "'", "'" ); // ASCII single quotes
+        insert_pair!( "\"", "\"" ); // ASCII double quotes
+
+        // "Smart quotes"
+        // Specifically ignore the left/right status of the quotes and match any combination of them
+        // Left string also includes "low" quotes to allow for the low-high style used in some locales
+        insert_pair!( "\u{201C}\u{201D}\u{201F}\u{201E}", "\u{201C}\u{201D}\u{201F}" ); // double quotes
+        insert_pair!( "\u{2018}\u{2019}\u{201B}\u{201A}", "\u{2018}\u{2019}\u{201B}" ); // single quotes
+
+        // Chevrons (normal and "fullwidth" variants)
+        insert_pair!( "\u{00AB}\u{300A}", "\u{00BB}\u{300B}" ); // double chevrons, pointing away (<<text>>)
+        insert_pair!( "\u{00BB}\u{300B}", "\u{00AB}\u{300A}" ); // double chevrons, pointing together (>>text<<)
+        insert_pair!( "\u{2039}\u{3008}", "\u{203A}\u{3009}" ); // single chevrons, pointing away (<text>)
+        insert_pair!( "\u{203A}\u{3009}", "\u{2039}\u{3008}" ); // single chevrons, pointing together (>text<)
+
+        // Other
+        insert_pair!( "\u{300C}\u{300E}", "\u{300D}\u{300F}" ); // corner brackets (Japanese/Chinese)
+
+        pairs
+    };
+}
+
+// very very simple quote matching
+// quotes need to be at start/end of words, and are ignored if a closing quote is not present
+// WTB POSIX quoting: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9799919799/utilities/V3_chap02.html
+pub fn next_param(input: String, current_pos: usize) -> Option<(String, usize)> {
+    if input.len() == current_pos {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let leading_whitespace_count =
+        input[..current_pos].len() - input[..current_pos].trim_start().len();
+    let substr_to_match = input[current_pos + leading_whitespace_count..].to_string();
+    println!("stuff: {input} {current_pos} {leading_whitespace_count}");
+    println!("to match: {substr_to_match}");
+
+    // try matching end quote
+    if let Some(right) = QUOTE_PAIRS.get(&substr_to_match[0..1]) {
+        for possible_quote in right.chars() {
+            for (pos, _) in substr_to_match.match_indices(possible_quote) {
+                if substr_to_match.len() == pos + 1
+                    || substr_to_match
+                        .chars()
+                        .nth(pos + 1)
+                        .unwrap()
+                        .is_whitespace()
+                {
+                    // return quoted string, without quotes
+                    return Some((
+                        substr_to_match[1..pos - 1].to_string(),
+                        current_pos + pos + 1,
+                    ));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // find next whitespace character
+    for (pos, char) in substr_to_match.clone().char_indices() {
+        if char.is_whitespace() {
+            return Some((substr_to_match[..pos].to_string(), current_pos + pos + 1));
+        }
+    }
+
+    // if we're here, we went to EOF and didn't match any whitespace
+    // so we return the whole string
+    Some((substr_to_match.clone(), current_pos + substr_to_match.len()))
+}
diff --git a/lib/commands/src/token.rs b/lib/commands/src/token.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9d952a24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/src/token.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Eq, Hash, PartialEq)]
+pub enum Token {
+    /// Token used to represent a finished command (i.e. no more parameters required)
+    // todo: this is likely not the right way to represent this
+    Empty,
+
+    /// A bot-defined value ("member" in `pk;member MyName`)
+    Value(Vec<String>),
+    /// A command defined by multiple values
+    // todo!
+    MultiValue(Vec<Vec<String>>),
+
+    FullString,
+
+    /// Member reference (hid or member name)
+    MemberRef,
+    MemberPrivacyTarget,
+
+    PrivacyLevel,
+
+    // currently not included in command definitions
+    // todo: flags with values
+    Flag,
+}
+
+pub enum TokenMatchResult {
+    NoMatch,
+    /// Token matched, optionally with a value.
+    Match(Option<String>),
+}
+
+// move this somewhere else
+lazy_static::lazy_static!(
+    static ref MEMBER_PRIVACY_TARGETS: Vec<String> = vec![
+        "visibility".to_string(),
+        "name".to_string(),
+        "todo".to_string()
+    ];
+);
+
+impl Token {
+    pub fn try_match(&self, input: Option<String>) -> TokenMatchResult {
+        // short circuit on empty things
+        if matches!(self, Self::Empty) && input.is_none() {
+            return TokenMatchResult::Match(None);
+        } else if input.is_none() {
+            return TokenMatchResult::NoMatch;
+        }
+
+        let input = input.unwrap();
+
+        // try actually matching stuff
+        match self {
+            Self::Empty => return TokenMatchResult::NoMatch,
+            Self::Flag => unreachable!(), // matched upstream
+            Self::Value(values) => {
+                for v in values {
+                    if input.trim() == v {
+                        // c# bot currently needs subcommands provided as arguments
+                        // todo!: remove this
+                        return TokenMatchResult::Match(Some(v.clone()));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            Self::MultiValue(_) => todo!(),
+            Self::FullString => return TokenMatchResult::Match(Some(input)),
+            Self::MemberRef => return TokenMatchResult::Match(Some(input)),
+            Self::MemberPrivacyTarget
+                if MEMBER_PRIVACY_TARGETS.contains(&input.trim().to_string()) =>
+            {
+                return TokenMatchResult::Match(Some(input))
+            }
+            Self::MemberPrivacyTarget => {}
+            Self::PrivacyLevel if input == "public" || input == "private" => {
+                return TokenMatchResult::Match(Some(input))
+            }
+            Self::PrivacyLevel => {}
+        }
+        // note: must not add a _ case to the above match
+        // instead, for conditional matches, also add generic cases with no return
+
+        return TokenMatchResult::NoMatch;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/lib/commands/uniffi.toml b/lib/commands/uniffi.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..86d3d6f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/commands/uniffi.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[bindings.csharp]
+cdylib_name = "commands"
diff --git a/rust-toolchain.toml b/rust-toolchain.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2792be0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rust-toolchain.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[toolchain]
+channel = "nightly-2024-08-20"
+