diff --git a/actions/api.php b/actions/api.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21404e331b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/actions/api.php
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+<?php
+/*
+ * Laconica - a distributed open-source microblogging tool
+ * Copyright (C) 2008, Controlez-Vous, Inc.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
+
+// XXX: Not sure of terminology yet... maybe call things "api_methods" insteads of "commands"
+
+class ApiAction extends Action {
+
+	function handle($args) {
+		parent::handle($args);
+
+		$command = $this->arg('command');
+		
+		# XXX Maybe check to see if the command actually exists first
+		
+		if($this->requires_auth($command)) {
+			if (!isset($_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_USER'])) {
+				
+				# This header makes basic auth go
+				header('WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="Laconica API');
+				
+				# if the user hits cancel -- bam!
+				common_show_basic_auth_error();		
+			} else {
+				$nickname = $_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_USER'];
+				$password = $_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_PW'];
+				$user = common_check_user($nickname, $password);
+				
+				if ($user) {
+					$this->process_command($command, $nickname, $password);
+				} else {
+					# basic authentication failed
+					common_show_basic_auth_error();		
+				}			
+			}
+		
+		} else {
+			$this->process_command($command);
+		}
+	}
+	
+	# this is where we can dispatch off to api Class files
+	function process_command($command, $nickname=NULL, $password=NULL) {
+	
+		$parts = explode('.', $command);
+		$api_action = "api_$parts[0]";
+		$extension = $parts[1]; # requested content type
+				
+		$api_actionfile = INSTALLDIR."/actions/$api_action.php";
+		
+		if (file_exists($api_actionfile)) {
+			require_once($api_actionfile);
+			$action_class = ucfirst($api_action)."Action";
+			$action_obj = new $action_class();
+
+			# need to pass off nick and password and stuff ... put in $args? constructor? 
+			# pull from $_REQUEST later?
+			call_user_func(array($action_obj, 'handle'), $_REQUEST);
+		} else {
+			
+			# need appropriate API error functs
+			print "\nerror!\n";
+		}
+	}
+
+	# Whitelist of API methods that don't need authentication
+	function requires_auth($command) {
+		
+		# The only command that doesn't in Twitter's API is public_timeline
+		if (ereg('^public_timeline.*$', $command)) {
+			return false;
+		}
+		return true;
+	}
+		
+}
diff --git a/actions/api_public_timeline.php b/actions/api_public_timeline.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..677ddf422d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/actions/api_public_timeline.php
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<?php
+/*
+ * Laconica - a distributed open-source microblogging tool
+ * Copyright (C) 2008, Controlez-Vous, Inc.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
+
+# This naming convention looks real sick
+class Api_public_timelineAction extends Action {
+
+	function handle($args) {
+		parent::handle($args);
+	
+		print "Public Timeline!\n";
+		exit();
+	}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/htaccess.sample b/htaccess.sample
index cbd485cd14..15decf2656 100644
--- a/htaccess.sample
+++ b/htaccess.sample
@@ -55,3 +55,6 @@ RewriteRule ^(\w+)/replies/rss$ index.php?action=repliesrss&nickname=$1 [L,QSA]
 RewriteRule ^(\w+)/avatar/(original|96|48|24)$ index.php?action=avatarbynickname&nickname=$1&size=$2 [L,QSA]
 
 RewriteRule ^(\w+)$ index.php?action=showstream&nickname=$1 [L,QSA]
+
+RewriteRule ^api/(\w+.\w+)$ index.php?action=api&command=$1 [L,QSA]
+
diff --git a/lib/util.php b/lib/util.php
index b7226bd581..d461a0a030 100644
--- a/lib/util.php
+++ b/lib/util.php
@@ -223,6 +223,14 @@ function common_show_header($pagetitle, $callable=NULL, $data=NULL, $headercall=
 	common_element_start('div', array('id' => 'content'));
 }
 
+# XXX: Refactor w/common_user_error() ?
+function common_show_basic_auth_error() {
+  	header('HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized');
+	header('Content-type: text/plain');
+   	print("Could not authenticate you.\n"); # exactly what Twitter says
+	exit();
+}
+
 function common_show_footer() {
 	global $xw, $config;
 	common_element_end('div'); # content div