diff --git a/src/zona/cli.py b/src/zona/cli.py
index ca88713..d02b840 100644
--- a/src/zona/cli.py
+++ b/src/zona/cli.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import typer
 from pathlib import Path
 from zona import builder, server
-from zona.layout import Layout, discover_layout
+from zona.layout import Layout, discover_layout, initialize_site
 
 app = typer.Typer()
 
@@ -22,10 +22,10 @@ def serve(dir: Path = Path("public")):
 
 
 @app.command()
-def init():
+def init(root: Path | None = None):
     # init will populate the current directory with
     # the required folders and their default values
-    print("Init logic here...")
+    initialize_site(root)
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/src/zona/config.py b/src/zona/config.py
index 8b13789..5480cea 100644
--- a/src/zona/config.py
+++ b/src/zona/config.py
@@ -1 +1,28 @@
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 
+
+@dataclass
+class MarkdownConfig:
+    image_labels: bool = True
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ThemeConfig:
+    name: str = "default"
+    syntax_highlighting: bool = True
+
+
+@dataclass
+class BuildConfig:
+    clean_output_dir: bool = True
+    include_drafts: bool = False
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ZonaConfig:
+    title: str = "Zona Blog"
+    base_url: str = "https://example.com"
+    language: str = "en"
+    markdown: MarkdownConfig = field(default_factory=MarkdownConfig)
+    theme: ThemeConfig = field(default_factory=ThemeConfig)
+    build: BuildConfig = field(default_factory=BuildConfig)
diff --git a/src/zona/layout.py b/src/zona/layout.py
index 5bfa71e..2922418 100644
--- a/src/zona/layout.py
+++ b/src/zona/layout.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
-from dataclasses import dataclass
+from dataclasses import dataclass, asdict
+from zona.config import ZonaConfig
+import yaml
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -10,16 +12,21 @@ class Layout:
     output: Path
 
     @classmethod
-    def from_input(cls, root: Path, output: Path | None = None) -> "Layout":
+    def from_input(
+        cls, root: Path, output: Path | None = None, validate: bool = True
+    ) -> "Layout":
         layout = cls(
             root=root.resolve(),
             content=(root / "content").resolve(),
             templates=(root / "templates").resolve(),
             output=(root / "public").resolve() if not output else output,
         )
-        for path in [layout.content, layout.templates]:
-            if not path.is_dir():
-                raise FileNotFoundError(f"Missing required directory: {path}")
+        if validate:
+            for path in [layout.content, layout.templates]:
+                if not path.is_dir():
+                    raise FileNotFoundError(
+                        f"Missing required directory: {path}"
+                    )
         return layout
 
 
@@ -45,3 +52,28 @@ def discover_layout(
         else:
             root = Path.cwd()
     return Layout.from_input(root, cli_output)
+
+
+def initialize_site(root: Path | None = None):
+    # initialize a new project
+    if not root:
+        root = Path.cwd()
+    root = root.absolute().resolve()
+    config = find_config(root)
+    if config is not None:
+        raise FileExistsError(f"Config file already exists at {config}")
+    # create requires layout
+    layout = Layout.from_input(root=root, validate=False)
+    for dir in [layout.root, layout.content, layout.templates]:
+        if not dir.is_dir():
+            dir.mkdir()
+    config_path = layout.root / "config.yml"
+    config = ZonaConfig()
+    with open(config_path, "w") as f:
+        yaml.dump(
+            asdict(config),
+            f,
+            sort_keys=False,
+            default_flow_style=False,
+            indent=2,
+        )