diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 2ccfae0..4ec8924 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@ edition = "2021"
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
 [dependencies]
-nix = {version = "0.27.1", features = ["process", "signal"]}
+nix = {version = "0.27.1", features = ["process", "signal", "fs"]}
 tokio = { version = "1.34.0", features = ["full"] }
 tokio-util = "0.7.10"
diff --git a/src/bin/init.rs b/src/bin/init.rs
index 8500fa4..1fd7ce2 100644
--- a/src/bin/init.rs
+++ b/src/bin/init.rs
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ use wingmate_rs::init;
 
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn error::Error>> {
-    init::daemon::start().await
+    init::start().await
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/init.rs b/src/init.rs
index 7b1b652..e87b3ae 100644
--- a/src/init.rs
+++ b/src/init.rs
@@ -1 +1,10 @@
-pub mod daemon;
\ No newline at end of file
+mod daemon;
+mod config;
+pub(crate) mod error;
+
+use std::error as std_err;
+
+pub async fn start() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std_err::Error>> {
+    let _config = config::Config::find(vec![String::from("/etc/wingmate")])?;
+    daemon::start().await
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/init/config.rs b/src/init/config.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31dff45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/init/config.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+use std::fs;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::error as std_error;
+use crate::init::error as wingmate_error;
+use nix::unistd::{access, AccessFlags};
+
+pub enum Command {
+    ShellPrefixed(String),
+    Direct(String)
+}
+
+pub struct Config {
+    pub services: Vec<Command>,
+}
+
+impl Config {
+    pub fn find(search_path: Vec<String>) -> Result<Config, Box<dyn std_error::Error>> {
+        if search_path.is_empty() {
+            return Err(wingmate_error::InvalidConfigSearchPathError.into());
+        }
+
+        let mut svc_commands: Vec<Command> = Vec::new();
+        for p in search_path {
+            let mut buf = PathBuf::new();
+            buf.push(p);
+            if let Ok(m) = fs::metadata(buf.as_path()) {
+                if m.is_dir() {
+                    let svc = buf.join("services");
+                    if let Ok(svc_iter) = fs::read_dir(svc.as_path()) {
+                        for entry in svc_iter {
+                            if let Ok(dirent) = entry {
+                                let ep = dirent.path();
+                                if let Ok(_) = access(ep.as_path(), AccessFlags::X_OK) {
+                                    // execute directly
+                                    svc_commands.push(Command::Direct(String::from(ep.as_path().to_string_lossy())));
+                                } else {
+                                    // call with shell
+                                    svc_commands.push(Command::ShellPrefixed(String::from(ep.as_path().to_string_lossy())));
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    let cron = buf.join("cron");
+                    if let Ok(cron_iter) = fs::read_dir(cron.as_path()) {
+                        for entry in cron_iter {
+                            if let Ok(_dirent) = entry {
+                                // read the cron file
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    // reserve for future use; when we have a centralized config file
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if svc_commands.is_empty() {
+            return Err(wingmate_error::NoServiceOrCronFoundError.into());
+        }
+
+        let config = Config { services: svc_commands };
+        Ok(config)
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/init/daemon/starter.rs b/src/init/daemon/starter.rs
index cc2778c..6494b63 100644
--- a/src/init/daemon/starter.rs
+++ b/src/init/daemon/starter.rs
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ pub fn start_process(ts: &mut JoinSet<Result<(), Box<dyn error::Error + Send + S
                                     }
                                 }
                             }
+                        } else {
+                            break 'autorestart;
                         }
                     },
                     result = child.wait() => {
diff --git a/src/init/error.rs b/src/init/error.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff3f14a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/init/error.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+use std::fmt;
+use std::error;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct InvalidConfigSearchPathError;
+
+impl fmt::Display for InvalidConfigSearchPathError {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        write!(f, "invalid config search path")
+    }
+}
+
+impl error::Error for InvalidConfigSearchPathError {}
+
+
+#[derive(Debug,Clone)]
+pub struct NoServiceOrCronFoundError;
+
+impl fmt::Display for NoServiceOrCronFoundError {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        write!(f, "no service or cron found")
+    }
+}
+
+impl error::Error for NoServiceOrCronFoundError {}
\ No newline at end of file