diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 69ab2bd3..34f8c464 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -73,3 +73,4 @@ test/vagrant/site.mk
 test/cicd/site.mk
 doc/html
 
+.idea/
diff --git a/lib/src/Makefile.in b/lib/src/Makefile.in
index a69f2c2b..407900b5 100644
--- a/lib/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/lib/src/Makefile.in
@@ -83,7 +83,8 @@ SRC     = clixon_sig.c clixon_uid.c clixon_log.c clixon_err.c clixon_event.c \
 	  clixon_xpath.c clixon_xpath_ctx.c clixon_xpath_eval.c clixon_xpath_function.c \
           clixon_xpath_optimize.c clixon_xpath_yang.c \
 	  clixon_datastore.c clixon_datastore_write.c clixon_datastore_read.c \
-	  clixon_netconf_lib.c clixon_stream.c clixon_nacm.c clixon_client.c clixon_netns.c
+	  clixon_netconf_lib.c clixon_stream.c clixon_nacm.c clixon_client.c clixon_netns.c \
+      clixon_dispatcher.c
 
 YACCOBJS = lex.clixon_xml_parse.o clixon_xml_parse.tab.o \
 	    lex.clixon_yang_parse.o  clixon_yang_parse.tab.o \
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.c b/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c26f5421
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.c
@@ -0,0 +1,400 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2021 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate)
+ */
+
+/*
+ * we start with a series of dispatcher_definitions, which are a
+ * path and handler.
+ *
+ * we break the path up into elements and build a tree out of them
+ * example:
+ *
+ * we start with two paths /a/b/c and /a/d with handler_c() and
+ * handler_d() as their handlers respectively.
+ *
+ * this produces a tree like this:
+ *
+ * [/] root_handler()
+ *     [a] NULL
+ *         [b] NULL
+ *             [c] handler_c()
+ *         [d] handler_d()
+ *
+ * NULL means that there is no handler defined - if the terminal
+ * element of the path has a NULL handler then you look for the
+ * closest ancestor that does.
+ *
+ * for example, if I lookup /a/b I get back a pointer to root_handler()
+ * if i lookup /a/d, I get handler_d().
+ *
+ * if a element has a key (/a/b=c) then the list element is
+ * marked with an = sign and without the key
+ * so /a/b=c creates multiple entries:
+ *
+ *  [/]
+ *      [a]
+ *          [b=]
+ *          [b]
+ *
+ * NOTE 1: there is not a mechanism to free the created structures since
+ * it is intended that this tree is created only at startup. if use case
+ * changes, this function is trivial.
+ *
+ * NOTE 2: there is no attempt to optimize list searching here, sorry. I
+ * do not think that the known use cases will get big enough to make the
+ * tree get too large. I do not recommend that you encode every possible
+ * path, just top level key handlers.
+ *
+ * there are 2 functions to the API:
+ * clixon_register_handler(): build the dispatcher table
+ * clixon_call_handlers(): query the dispatcher table
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Important for writing handlers: a handler must return a complete
+ * valid response. It must operate in isolation, it must not expect
+ * any ordering in the calls and [under review] it should not call
+ * another handler directly or indirectly. Responses must me bound
+ * to a yang model and properly sorted and indexed.
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+#include "clixon_dispatcher.h"
+
+/* ===== utility routines ==== */
+
+#define PATH_CHUNKS 32
+
+/**
+ * spilt a path into elements
+ *
+ * given an api-path, break it up into chunks separated by '/'
+ * characters. it is expected that api-paths are URI encoded, so no need
+ * to deal with unescaped special characters like ', ", and /
+ *
+ * @param path [input] path string
+ * @param plist [output] pointer to split path array
+ * @param plist_len [output] pointer to storage space for path array length
+ */
+
+static void split_path(char *path, char ***plist, size_t *plist_len)
+{
+    size_t allocated = PATH_CHUNKS;
+
+    /* don't modify the original copy */
+    char *work = strdup(path);
+
+    char **list = malloc(allocated * sizeof(char *));
+    memset(list, 0, allocated * sizeof(char *));
+
+    size_t len = 0;
+
+    char *ptr = work;
+    if (*ptr == '/') {
+        char *new_element = strdup("/");
+        list[len++] = new_element;
+        ptr++;
+    }
+
+    ptr = strtok(ptr, "/");
+
+    while (ptr != NULL) {
+        if (len > allocated) {
+            /* we've run out of space, allocate a bigger list */
+            allocated += PATH_CHUNKS;
+            list = realloc(list, allocated * sizeof(char *));
+        }
+
+        char *new_element = strdup(ptr);
+        list[len++] = new_element;
+
+        ptr = strtok(NULL, "/");
+    }
+
+    *plist = list;
+    *plist_len = len;
+
+    free(work);
+}
+
+/**
+ * free a split path structure
+ *
+ * @param list [input] pointer to split path array
+ * @param len [input] length of split path array
+ */
+
+static void split_path_free(char **list, size_t len)
+{
+    size_t i;
+
+    for (i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+        free(list[i]);
+    }
+    free(list);
+}
+
+/**
+ * find a peer of this node by name
+ * search through the list pointed at by peer
+ *
+ * @param node [input] pointer to a node in the peer list
+ * @param node_name [input] name of node we're looking for
+ * @return pointer to found node or NULL
+ */
+
+static dispatcher_entry_t *find_peer(dispatcher_entry_t *node, char *node_name)
+{
+    if ((node == NULL) || (node_name == NULL)) {
+        /*  protect against idiot users */
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    dispatcher_entry_t *i = node->peer_head;
+
+    while (i != NULL) {
+        if (strcmp(node_name, i->node_name) == 0) {
+            break;
+        }
+        i = i->peer;
+    }
+
+    return i;
+}
+
+/**
+ * add a node as the last node in peer list
+ *
+ * @param node [input] pointer to an element of the peer list
+ * @param name [input] name of new node
+ * @return pointer to added/existing node
+ */
+
+static dispatcher_entry_t *add_peer_node(dispatcher_entry_t *node, char *name)
+{
+    dispatcher_entry_t *new_node = malloc(sizeof(dispatcher_entry_t));
+    memset(new_node, 0, sizeof(dispatcher_entry_t));
+
+    if (node == NULL) {
+        /* this is a new node */
+
+        new_node->node_name = strdup(name);
+        new_node->peer = NULL;
+        new_node->children = NULL;
+        new_node->peer_head = new_node;
+
+        return new_node;
+    } else {
+        /* possibly adding to the list */
+
+        /* search for existing, or get tail end of list */
+        dispatcher_entry_t *eptr = node->peer_head;
+        while (eptr->peer != NULL) {
+            if (strcmp(eptr->node_name, name) == 0) {
+                return eptr;
+            }
+            eptr = eptr->peer;
+        }
+
+        // if eptr->node_name == name, we done
+        if (strcmp(eptr->node_name, name) == 0) {
+            return eptr;
+        }
+
+        new_node->node_name = strdup(name);
+        new_node->peer = NULL;
+        new_node->children = NULL;
+        new_node->peer_head = node->peer_head;
+
+        eptr->peer = new_node;
+
+        return new_node;
+    }
+}
+
+/**
+ * add a node as a child of this node
+ *
+ * this is different from add_peer_node() in that it returns a
+ * pointer to the head_peer of the children list where the node was
+ * added.
+ *
+ * @param node [input] pointer to parent node of children list
+ * @param name [input] name of child node
+ * @return pointer to head of children list
+ */
+
+static dispatcher_entry_t *add_child_node(dispatcher_entry_t *node, char *name)
+{
+    dispatcher_entry_t *child_ptr = add_peer_node(node->children, name);
+    node->children = child_ptr->peer_head;
+
+    return child_ptr;
+}
+
+/**
+ *
+ * @param root
+ * @param path
+ * @return
+ */
+
+static dispatcher_entry_t *get_entry(dispatcher_entry_t *root, char *path)
+{
+    char **split_path_list = NULL;
+    size_t split_path_len = 0;
+    dispatcher_entry_t *ptr = root;
+    dispatcher_entry_t *best = root;
+
+    /* cut the path up into individual elements */
+    split_path(path, &split_path_list, &split_path_len);
+
+    /* some elements may have keys defined, strip them off */
+    for (int i = 0; i < split_path_len; i++) {
+        char *kptr = strchr(split_path_list[i], '=');
+
+        if ((kptr != NULL) && (*kptr == '=')) {
+            *(kptr + 1) = 0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* search down the tree */
+    for (int i = 0; i < split_path_len; i++) {
+
+        char *query = split_path_list[i];
+        ptr = find_peer(ptr, query);
+
+        if (ptr == NULL) {
+            /* we ran out of matches, use last found handler */
+            return best;
+        }
+        if (ptr->handler != NULL) {
+            /* if handler is defined, save it */
+            best = ptr;
+        }
+
+        /* skip to next element */
+        ptr = ptr->children;
+    }
+
+    return best;
+}
+
+/**
+ * given a pointer to an entry, call the handler and all
+ * descendant and peer handlers.
+ *
+ * @param entry
+ * @param path
+ * @return
+ */
+
+static int call_handler_helper(dispatcher_entry_t *entry, char *path, void *user_args)
+{
+    if (entry->children != NULL) {
+        call_handler_helper(entry->children, path, user_args);
+    }
+    if (entry->peer != NULL) {
+        call_handler_helper(entry->peer, path, user_args);
+    }
+    if (entry->handler != NULL) {
+        (entry->handler) (path, user_args);
+    }
+
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/*
+ * ===== PUBLIC API FUNCTIONS =====
+ */
+
+/**
+ * register a dispatcher handler
+ *
+ * called from initialization code to build a dispatcher tree
+ *
+ * @param root pointer to pointer to dispatch tree
+ * @param x handler to registration data
+ * @return
+ */
+
+dispatcher_entry_t *clixon_register_handler(dispatcher_entry_t **root, dispatcher_definition *x)
+{
+    char **split_path_list = NULL;
+    size_t split_path_len = 0;
+
+    if (*x->path != '/') {
+        printf("%s: part '%s' must start at root\n", __func__, x->path);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * get the path from the dispatcher_definition, break it
+     * up to create the elements of the dispatcher table
+     */
+    split_path(x->path, &split_path_list, &split_path_len);
+
+    /*
+     * the first element is always a peer to the top level
+     */
+    dispatcher_entry_t *ptr = *root;
+
+    ptr = add_peer_node(ptr, split_path_list[0]);
+    if (*root == NULL) {
+        *root = ptr;
+    }
+
+    for (size_t i = 1; i < split_path_len; i++) {
+        ptr = add_child_node(ptr, split_path_list[i]);
+    }
+
+    /* when we get here, ptr points at last entry added */
+    if (x->handler != NULL) {
+        /*
+         * we're adding/changing a handler
+         * you could make this an error optionally
+         */
+        if (ptr->handler != NULL) {
+            printf("%s: warning: replacing existing handler: (%s) %p -> %p\n", __func__,
+                   ptr->node_name, ptr->handler, x->handler);
+        }
+        ptr->handler = x->handler;
+    }
+
+    /* clean up */
+    split_path_free(split_path_list, split_path_len);
+
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/**
+ * call the handler and all its descendant handlers
+ *
+ * NOTE: There is no guarantee of the order in which handlers
+ * are called! Any handler must assume that it is called in
+ * isolation, even if this duplicates work. The right to
+ * reorder calls by this code is reserved.
+ *
+ * @param root
+ * @param path
+ * @return
+ */
+
+int clixon_call_handlers(dispatcher_entry_t *root, char *path, void *user_args)
+{
+    int ret = 0;
+    dispatcher_entry_t *best = get_entry(root, path);
+
+    if (best->children != NULL) {
+        call_handler_helper(best->children, path, user_args);
+    }
+    if (best->handler != NULL) {
+        ret = (*best->handler) (path, user_args);
+    }
+
+    return ret;
+}
diff --git a/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.h b/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e3be32f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/src/clixon_dispatcher.h
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2021 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate)
+ */
+
+#ifndef DISPATCH_DISPATCHER_H
+#define DISPATCH_DISPATCHER_H
+
+/*
+ * prototype for a function to handle the path
+ * minimally needs the path it's working on, but probably
+ * we want to hand down cached data somehow
+ */
+
+typedef int (*handler_function)(char *path, void *args);
+
+/*
+ * this structure is used to map a handler to a path
+ */
+typedef struct {
+    char *path;
+    handler_function handler;
+} dispatcher_definition;
+
+/*
+ * the dispatcher_entry_t is the structure created from
+ * the registered dispatcher_definitions
+ */
+
+struct _dispatcher_entry;
+typedef struct _dispatcher_entry dispatcher_entry_t;
+
+struct _dispatcher_entry {
+    /*
+     * the name of this node, NOT the complete path
+     */
+    char *node_name;
+
+    /*
+     * peer points at peer to the right of this one
+     * if NULL then this is the rightmost and last on list
+     */
+    dispatcher_entry_t *peer;
+
+    /*
+     * peer_head points at leftmost peer at this level
+     * if NULL, then this is the leftmost and first on the list
+     */
+    dispatcher_entry_t *peer_head;
+
+    /*
+     * points at peer_head of children list
+     * if NULL, then no children
+     */
+    dispatcher_entry_t *children;
+
+    /*
+     * pointer to handler function for this node
+     */
+    handler_function handler;
+};
+
+dispatcher_entry_t *clixon_register_handler (dispatcher_entry_t **root, dispatcher_definition *x);
+int clixon_call_handlers(dispatcher_entry_t *root, char *path, void *user_args);
+
+#endif /* DISPATCH_DISPATCHER_H */