diff --git a/quartz/cli/args.js b/quartz/cli/args.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ed5b078
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quartz/cli/args.js
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+export const CommonArgv = {
+  directory: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["d"],
+    default: "content",
+    describe: "directory to look for content files",
+  },
+  verbose: {
+    boolean: true,
+    alias: ["v"],
+    default: false,
+    describe: "print out extra logging information",
+  },
+}
+
+export const CreateArgv = {
+  ...CommonArgv,
+  source: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["s"],
+    describe: "source directory to copy/create symlink from",
+  },
+  strategy: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["X"],
+    choices: ["new", "copy", "symlink"],
+    describe: "strategy for content folder setup",
+  },
+  links: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["l"],
+    choices: ["absolute", "shortest", "relative"],
+    describe: "strategy to resolve links",
+  },
+}
+
+export const SyncArgv = {
+  ...CommonArgv,
+  commit: {
+    boolean: true,
+    default: true,
+    describe: "create a git commit for your unsaved changes",
+  },
+  message: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["m"],
+    describe: "option to override the default Quartz commit message",
+  },
+  push: {
+    boolean: true,
+    default: true,
+    describe: "push updates to your Quartz fork",
+  },
+  pull: {
+    boolean: true,
+    default: true,
+    describe: "pull updates from your Quartz fork",
+  },
+}
+
+export const BuildArgv = {
+  ...CommonArgv,
+  output: {
+    string: true,
+    alias: ["o"],
+    default: "public",
+    describe: "output folder for files",
+  },
+  serve: {
+    boolean: true,
+    default: false,
+    describe: "run a local server to live-preview your Quartz",
+  },
+  baseDir: {
+    string: true,
+    default: "",
+    describe: "base path to serve your local server on",
+  },
+  port: {
+    number: true,
+    default: 8080,
+    describe: "port to serve Quartz on",
+  },
+  wsPort: {
+    number: true,
+    default: 3001,
+    describe: "port to use for WebSocket-based hot-reload notifications",
+  },
+  remoteDevHost: {
+    string: true,
+    default: "",
+    describe: "A URL override for the websocket connection if you are not developing on localhost",
+  },
+  bundleInfo: {
+    boolean: true,
+    default: false,
+    describe: "show detailed bundle information",
+  },
+  concurrency: {
+    number: true,
+    describe: "how many threads to use to parse notes",
+  },
+}
diff --git a/quartz/cli/constants.js b/quartz/cli/constants.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f4a9ce52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quartz/cli/constants.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+import path from "path"
+import { readFileSync } from "fs"
+
+/**
+ * All constants relating to helpers or handlers
+ */
+export const ORIGIN_NAME = "origin"
+export const UPSTREAM_NAME = "upstream"
+export const QUARTZ_SOURCE_BRANCH = "v4"
+export const cwd = process.cwd()
+export const cacheDir = path.join(cwd, ".quartz-cache")
+export const cacheFile = "./quartz/.quartz-cache/transpiled-build.mjs"
+export const fp = "./quartz/build.ts"
+export const { version } = JSON.parse(readFileSync("./package.json").toString())
+export const contentCacheFolder = path.join(cacheDir, "content-cache")
diff --git a/quartz/cli/handlers.js b/quartz/cli/handlers.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..12e7e8ec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quartz/cli/handlers.js
@@ -0,0 +1,544 @@
+import { promises } from "fs"
+import path from "path"
+import esbuild from "esbuild"
+import chalk from "chalk"
+import { sassPlugin } from "esbuild-sass-plugin"
+import fs from "fs"
+import { intro, outro, select, text } from "@clack/prompts"
+import { rimraf } from "rimraf"
+import chokidar from "chokidar"
+import prettyBytes from "pretty-bytes"
+import { execSync, spawnSync } from "child_process"
+import http from "http"
+import serveHandler from "serve-handler"
+import { WebSocketServer } from "ws"
+import { randomUUID } from "crypto"
+import { Mutex } from "async-mutex"
+import { CreateArgv } from "./args.js"
+import {
+  exitIfCancel,
+  escapePath,
+  gitPull,
+  popContentFolder,
+  stashContentFolder,
+} from "./helpers.js"
+import {
+  UPSTREAM_NAME,
+  QUARTZ_SOURCE_BRANCH,
+  ORIGIN_NAME,
+  version,
+  fp,
+  cacheFile,
+  cwd,
+} from "./constants.js"
+
+/**
+ * Handles `npx quartz create`
+ * @param {*} argv arguments for `create`
+ */
+export async function handleCreate(argv) {
+  console.log()
+  intro(chalk.bgGreen.black(` Quartz v${version} `))
+  const contentFolder = path.join(cwd, argv.directory)
+  let setupStrategy = argv.strategy?.toLowerCase()
+  let linkResolutionStrategy = argv.links?.toLowerCase()
+  const sourceDirectory = argv.source
+
+  // If all cmd arguments were provided, check if theyre valid
+  if (setupStrategy && linkResolutionStrategy) {
+    // If setup isn't, "new", source argument is required
+    if (setupStrategy !== "new") {
+      // Error handling
+      if (!sourceDirectory) {
+        outro(
+          chalk.red(
+            `Setup strategies (arg '${chalk.yellow(
+              `-${CreateArgv.strategy.alias[0]}`,
+            )}') other than '${chalk.yellow(
+              "new",
+            )}' require content folder argument ('${chalk.yellow(
+              `-${CreateArgv.source.alias[0]}`,
+            )}') to be set`,
+          ),
+        )
+        process.exit(1)
+      } else {
+        if (!fs.existsSync(sourceDirectory)) {
+          outro(
+            chalk.red(
+              `Input directory to copy/symlink 'content' from not found ('${chalk.yellow(
+                sourceDirectory,
+              )}', invalid argument "${chalk.yellow(`-${CreateArgv.source.alias[0]}`)})`,
+            ),
+          )
+          process.exit(1)
+        } else if (!fs.lstatSync(sourceDirectory).isDirectory()) {
+          outro(
+            chalk.red(
+              `Source directory to copy/symlink 'content' from is not a directory (found file at '${chalk.yellow(
+                sourceDirectory,
+              )}', invalid argument ${chalk.yellow(`-${CreateArgv.source.alias[0]}`)}")`,
+            ),
+          )
+          process.exit(1)
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Use cli process if cmd args werent provided
+  if (!setupStrategy) {
+    setupStrategy = exitIfCancel(
+      await select({
+        message: `Choose how to initialize the content in \`${contentFolder}\``,
+        options: [
+          { value: "new", label: "Empty Quartz" },
+          { value: "copy", label: "Copy an existing folder", hint: "overwrites `content`" },
+          {
+            value: "symlink",
+            label: "Symlink an existing folder",
+            hint: "don't select this unless you know what you are doing!",
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    )
+  }
+
+  async function rmContentFolder() {
+    const contentStat = await fs.promises.lstat(contentFolder)
+    if (contentStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      await fs.promises.unlink(contentFolder)
+    } else {
+      await rimraf(contentFolder)
+    }
+  }
+
+  const gitkeepPath = path.join(contentFolder, ".gitkeep")
+  if (fs.existsSync(gitkeepPath)) {
+    await fs.promises.unlink(gitkeepPath)
+  }
+  if (setupStrategy === "copy" || setupStrategy === "symlink") {
+    let originalFolder = sourceDirectory
+
+    // If input directory was not passed, use cli
+    if (!sourceDirectory) {
+      originalFolder = escapePath(
+        exitIfCancel(
+          await text({
+            message: "Enter the full path to existing content folder",
+            placeholder:
+              "On most terminal emulators, you can drag and drop a folder into the window and it will paste the full path",
+            validate(fp) {
+              const fullPath = escapePath(fp)
+              if (!fs.existsSync(fullPath)) {
+                return "The given path doesn't exist"
+              } else if (!fs.lstatSync(fullPath).isDirectory()) {
+                return "The given path is not a folder"
+              }
+            },
+          }),
+        ),
+      )
+    }
+
+    await rmContentFolder()
+    if (setupStrategy === "copy") {
+      await fs.promises.cp(originalFolder, contentFolder, {
+        recursive: true,
+        preserveTimestamps: true,
+      })
+    } else if (setupStrategy === "symlink") {
+      await fs.promises.symlink(originalFolder, contentFolder, "dir")
+    }
+  } else if (setupStrategy === "new") {
+    await fs.promises.writeFile(
+      path.join(contentFolder, "index.md"),
+      `---
+title: Welcome to Quartz
+---
+
+This is a blank Quartz installation.
+See the [documentation](https://quartz.jzhao.xyz) for how to get started.
+`,
+    )
+  }
+
+  // Use cli process if cmd args werent provided
+  if (!linkResolutionStrategy) {
+    // get a preferred link resolution strategy
+    linkResolutionStrategy = exitIfCancel(
+      await select({
+        message: `Choose how Quartz should resolve links in your content. This should match Obsidian's link format. You can change this later in \`quartz.config.ts\`.`,
+        options: [
+          {
+            value: "shortest",
+            label: "Treat links as shortest path",
+            hint: "(default)",
+          },
+          {
+            value: "absolute",
+            label: "Treat links as absolute path",
+          },
+          {
+            value: "relative",
+            label: "Treat links as relative paths",
+          },
+        ],
+      }),
+    )
+  }
+
+  // now, do config changes
+  const configFilePath = path.join(cwd, "quartz.config.ts")
+  let configContent = await fs.promises.readFile(configFilePath, { encoding: "utf-8" })
+  configContent = configContent.replace(
+    /markdownLinkResolution: '(.+)'/,
+    `markdownLinkResolution: '${linkResolutionStrategy}'`,
+  )
+  await fs.promises.writeFile(configFilePath, configContent)
+
+  // setup remote
+  execSync(
+    `git remote show upstream || git remote add upstream https://github.com/jackyzha0/quartz.git`,
+    { stdio: "ignore" },
+  )
+
+  outro(`You're all set! Not sure what to do next? Try:
+  • Customizing Quartz a bit more by editing \`quartz.config.ts\`
+  • Running \`npx quartz build --serve\` to preview your Quartz locally
+  • Hosting your Quartz online (see: https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/hosting)
+`)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handles `npx quartz build`
+ * @param {*} argv arguments for `build`
+ */
+export async function handleBuild(argv) {
+  console.log(chalk.bgGreen.black(`\n Quartz v${version} \n`))
+  const ctx = await esbuild.context({
+    entryPoints: [fp],
+    outfile: cacheFile,
+    bundle: true,
+    keepNames: true,
+    minifyWhitespace: true,
+    minifySyntax: true,
+    platform: "node",
+    format: "esm",
+    jsx: "automatic",
+    jsxImportSource: "preact",
+    packages: "external",
+    metafile: true,
+    sourcemap: true,
+    sourcesContent: false,
+    plugins: [
+      sassPlugin({
+        type: "css-text",
+        cssImports: true,
+      }),
+      {
+        name: "inline-script-loader",
+        setup(build) {
+          build.onLoad({ filter: /\.inline\.(ts|js)$/ }, async (args) => {
+            let text = await promises.readFile(args.path, "utf8")
+
+            // remove default exports that we manually inserted
+            text = text.replace("export default", "")
+            text = text.replace("export", "")
+
+            const sourcefile = path.relative(path.resolve("."), args.path)
+            const resolveDir = path.dirname(sourcefile)
+            const transpiled = await esbuild.build({
+              stdin: {
+                contents: text,
+                loader: "ts",
+                resolveDir,
+                sourcefile,
+              },
+              write: false,
+              bundle: true,
+              minify: true,
+              platform: "browser",
+              format: "esm",
+            })
+            const rawMod = transpiled.outputFiles[0].text
+            return {
+              contents: rawMod,
+              loader: "text",
+            }
+          })
+        },
+      },
+    ],
+  })
+
+  const buildMutex = new Mutex()
+  let lastBuildMs = 0
+  let cleanupBuild = null
+  const build = async (clientRefresh) => {
+    const buildStart = new Date().getTime()
+    lastBuildMs = buildStart
+    const release = await buildMutex.acquire()
+    if (lastBuildMs > buildStart) {
+      release()
+      return
+    }
+
+    if (cleanupBuild) {
+      await cleanupBuild()
+      console.log(chalk.yellow("Detected a source code change, doing a hard rebuild..."))
+    }
+
+    const result = await ctx.rebuild().catch((err) => {
+      console.error(`${chalk.red("Couldn't parse Quartz configuration:")} ${fp}`)
+      console.log(`Reason: ${chalk.grey(err)}`)
+      process.exit(1)
+    })
+    release()
+
+    if (argv.bundleInfo) {
+      const outputFileName = "quartz/.quartz-cache/transpiled-build.mjs"
+      const meta = result.metafile.outputs[outputFileName]
+      console.log(
+        `Successfully transpiled ${Object.keys(meta.inputs).length} files (${prettyBytes(
+          meta.bytes,
+        )})`,
+      )
+      console.log(await esbuild.analyzeMetafile(result.metafile, { color: true }))
+    }
+
+    // bypass module cache
+    // https://github.com/nodejs/modules/issues/307
+    const { default: buildQuartz } = await import(`../../${cacheFile}?update=${randomUUID()}`)
+    // ^ this import is relative, so base "cacheFile" path can't be used
+
+    cleanupBuild = await buildQuartz(argv, buildMutex, clientRefresh)
+    clientRefresh()
+  }
+
+  if (argv.serve) {
+    const connections = []
+    const clientRefresh = () => connections.forEach((conn) => conn.send("rebuild"))
+
+    if (argv.baseDir !== "" && !argv.baseDir.startsWith("/")) {
+      argv.baseDir = "/" + argv.baseDir
+    }
+
+    await build(clientRefresh)
+    const server = http.createServer(async (req, res) => {
+      if (argv.baseDir && !req.url?.startsWith(argv.baseDir)) {
+        console.log(
+          chalk.red(
+            `[404] ${req.url} (warning: link outside of site, this is likely a Quartz bug)`,
+          ),
+        )
+        res.writeHead(404)
+        res.end()
+        return
+      }
+
+      // strip baseDir prefix
+      req.url = req.url?.slice(argv.baseDir.length)
+
+      const serve = async () => {
+        const release = await buildMutex.acquire()
+        await serveHandler(req, res, {
+          public: argv.output,
+          directoryListing: false,
+          headers: [
+            {
+              source: "**/*.*",
+              headers: [{ key: "Content-Disposition", value: "inline" }],
+            },
+          ],
+        })
+        const status = res.statusCode
+        const statusString =
+          status >= 200 && status < 300 ? chalk.green(`[${status}]`) : chalk.red(`[${status}]`)
+        console.log(statusString + chalk.grey(` ${argv.baseDir}${req.url}`))
+        release()
+      }
+
+      const redirect = (newFp) => {
+        newFp = argv.baseDir + newFp
+        res.writeHead(302, {
+          Location: newFp,
+        })
+        console.log(chalk.yellow("[302]") + chalk.grey(` ${argv.baseDir}${req.url} -> ${newFp}`))
+        res.end()
+      }
+
+      let fp = req.url?.split("?")[0] ?? "/"
+
+      // handle redirects
+      if (fp.endsWith("/")) {
+        // /trailing/
+        // does /trailing/index.html exist? if so, serve it
+        const indexFp = path.posix.join(fp, "index.html")
+        if (fs.existsSync(path.posix.join(argv.output, indexFp))) {
+          req.url = fp
+          return serve()
+        }
+
+        // does /trailing.html exist? if so, redirect to /trailing
+        let base = fp.slice(0, -1)
+        if (path.extname(base) === "") {
+          base += ".html"
+        }
+        if (fs.existsSync(path.posix.join(argv.output, base))) {
+          return redirect(fp.slice(0, -1))
+        }
+      } else {
+        // /regular
+        // does /regular.html exist? if so, serve it
+        let base = fp
+        if (path.extname(base) === "") {
+          base += ".html"
+        }
+        if (fs.existsSync(path.posix.join(argv.output, base))) {
+          req.url = fp
+          return serve()
+        }
+
+        // does /regular/index.html exist? if so, redirect to /regular/
+        let indexFp = path.posix.join(fp, "index.html")
+        if (fs.existsSync(path.posix.join(argv.output, indexFp))) {
+          return redirect(fp + "/")
+        }
+      }
+
+      return serve()
+    })
+    server.listen(argv.port)
+    const wss = new WebSocketServer({ port: argv.wsPort })
+    wss.on("connection", (ws) => connections.push(ws))
+    console.log(
+      chalk.cyan(
+        `Started a Quartz server listening at http://localhost:${argv.port}${argv.baseDir}`,
+      ),
+    )
+    console.log("hint: exit with ctrl+c")
+    chokidar
+      .watch(["**/*.ts", "**/*.tsx", "**/*.scss", "package.json"], {
+        ignoreInitial: true,
+      })
+      .on("all", async () => {
+        build(clientRefresh)
+      })
+  } else {
+    await build(() => {})
+    ctx.dispose()
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handles `npx quartz update`
+ * @param {*} argv arguments for `update`
+ */
+export async function handleUpdate(argv) {
+  const contentFolder = path.join(cwd, argv.directory)
+  console.log(chalk.bgGreen.black(`\n Quartz v${version} \n`))
+  console.log("Backing up your content")
+  execSync(
+    `git remote show upstream || git remote add upstream https://github.com/jackyzha0/quartz.git`,
+  )
+  await stashContentFolder(contentFolder)
+  console.log(
+    "Pulling updates... you may need to resolve some `git` conflicts if you've made changes to components or plugins.",
+  )
+
+  try {
+    gitPull(UPSTREAM_NAME, QUARTZ_SOURCE_BRANCH)
+  } catch {
+    console.log(chalk.red("An error occurred above while pulling updates."))
+    await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+    return
+  }
+
+  await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+  console.log("Ensuring dependencies are up to date")
+  const res = spawnSync("npm", ["i"], { stdio: "inherit" })
+  if (res.status === 0) {
+    console.log(chalk.green("Done!"))
+  } else {
+    console.log(chalk.red("An error occurred above while installing dependencies."))
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handles `npx quartz restore`
+ * @param {*} argv arguments for `restore`
+ */
+export async function handleRestore(argv) {
+  const contentFolder = path.join(cwd, argv.directory)
+  await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Handles `npx quartz sync`
+ * @param {*} argv arguments for `sync`
+ */
+export async function handleSync(argv) {
+  const contentFolder = path.join(cwd, argv.directory)
+  console.log(chalk.bgGreen.black(`\n Quartz v${version} \n`))
+  console.log("Backing up your content")
+
+  if (argv.commit) {
+    const contentStat = await fs.promises.lstat(contentFolder)
+    if (contentStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      const linkTarg = await fs.promises.readlink(contentFolder)
+      console.log(chalk.yellow("Detected symlink, trying to dereference before committing"))
+
+      // stash symlink file
+      await stashContentFolder(contentFolder)
+
+      // follow symlink and copy content
+      await fs.promises.cp(linkTarg, contentFolder, {
+        recursive: true,
+        preserveTimestamps: true,
+      })
+    }
+
+    const currentTimestamp = new Date().toLocaleString("en-US", {
+      dateStyle: "medium",
+      timeStyle: "short",
+    })
+    const commitMessage = argv.message ?? `Quartz sync: ${currentTimestamp}`
+    spawnSync("git", ["add", "."], { stdio: "inherit" })
+    spawnSync("git", ["commit", "-m", commitMessage], { stdio: "inherit" })
+
+    if (contentStat.isSymbolicLink()) {
+      // put symlink back
+      await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+    }
+  }
+
+  await stashContentFolder(contentFolder)
+
+  if (argv.pull) {
+    console.log(
+      "Pulling updates from your repository. You may need to resolve some `git` conflicts if you've made changes to components or plugins.",
+    )
+    try {
+      gitPull(ORIGIN_NAME, QUARTZ_SOURCE_BRANCH)
+    } catch {
+      console.log(chalk.red("An error occurred above while pulling updates."))
+      await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+      return
+    }
+  }
+
+  await popContentFolder(contentFolder)
+  if (argv.push) {
+    console.log("Pushing your changes")
+    const res = spawnSync("git", ["push", "-uf", ORIGIN_NAME, QUARTZ_SOURCE_BRANCH], {
+      stdio: "inherit",
+    })
+    if (res.status !== 0) {
+      console.log(chalk.red(`An error occurred above while pushing to remote ${ORIGIN_NAME}.`))
+      return
+    }
+  }
+
+  console.log(chalk.green("Done!"))
+}
diff --git a/quartz/cli/helpers.js b/quartz/cli/helpers.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..702a1b71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/quartz/cli/helpers.js
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+import { isCancel, outro } from "@clack/prompts"
+import chalk from "chalk"
+import { contentCacheFolder } from "./constants.js"
+import { spawnSync } from "child_process"
+import fs from "fs"
+
+export function escapePath(fp) {
+  return fp
+    .replace(/\\ /g, " ") // unescape spaces
+    .replace(/^".*"$/, "$1")
+    .replace(/^'.*"$/, "$1")
+    .trim()
+}
+
+export function exitIfCancel(val) {
+  if (isCancel(val)) {
+    outro(chalk.red("Exiting"))
+    process.exit(0)
+  } else {
+    return val
+  }
+}
+
+export async function stashContentFolder(contentFolder) {
+  await fs.promises.rm(contentCacheFolder, { force: true, recursive: true })
+  await fs.promises.cp(contentFolder, contentCacheFolder, {
+    force: true,
+    recursive: true,
+    verbatimSymlinks: true,
+    preserveTimestamps: true,
+  })
+  await fs.promises.rm(contentFolder, { force: true, recursive: true })
+}
+
+export function gitPull(origin, branch) {
+  const flags = ["--no-rebase", "--autostash", "-s", "recursive", "-X", "ours", "--no-edit"]
+  const out = spawnSync("git", ["pull", ...flags, origin, branch], { stdio: "inherit" })
+  if (out.stderr) {
+    throw new Error(chalk.red(`Error while pulling updates: ${out.stderr}`))
+  } else if (out.status !== 0) {
+    throw new Error(chalk.red("Error while pulling updates"))
+  }
+}
+
+export async function popContentFolder(contentFolder) {
+  await fs.promises.rm(contentFolder, { force: true, recursive: true })
+  await fs.promises.cp(contentCacheFolder, contentFolder, {
+    force: true,
+    recursive: true,
+    verbatimSymlinks: true,
+    preserveTimestamps: true,
+  })
+  await fs.promises.rm(contentCacheFolder, { force: true, recursive: true })
+}