diff --git a/.eslintrc b/.eslintrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3ef87d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.eslintrc
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+  "extends": ["eslint:recommended"],
+
+  "parserOptions": {
+    "ecmaVersion": 8
+  },
+
+  "env": {
+    "es6": true,
+    "node": true
+  },
+
+  "rules": {
+    "quotes": ["warn", "single"],
+    "semi": ["warn", "never"],
+    "indent": ["warn", 2],
+    "no-unused-vars": ["warn"],
+    "no-console": 0
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.prettierrc b/.prettierrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef58ff9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.prettierrc
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "trailingComma": "es5",
+  "tabWidth": 4,
+  "semi": false,
+  "singleQuote": true
+}
diff --git a/db/db.js b/db/db.js
index 0513989..0d4671c 100755
--- a/db/db.js
+++ b/db/db.js
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
-const Sequelize = require('sequelize');
-const pkg = require('../package.json');
+const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
+const pkg = require('../package.json')
 
-const databaseName =
-  pkg.name + (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test' ? '-test' : '');
+const databaseName = pkg.name + (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test' ? '-test' : '')
 
 const createDB = () => {
   const db = new Sequelize(
@@ -11,16 +10,16 @@ const createDB = () => {
       logging: false,
       operatorsAliases: false
     }
-  );
-  return db;
-};
+  )
+  return db
+}
 
-const db = createDB();
+const db = createDB()
 
-module.exports = db;
+module.exports = db
 
 // This is a global Mocha hook used for resource cleanup.
 // Otherwise, Mocha v4+ does not exit after tests.
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test') {
-  after('close database connection', () => db.close());
+  after('close database connection', () => db.close())
 }
diff --git a/db/index.js b/db/index.js
index eabce22..36b5ca0 100755
--- a/db/index.js
+++ b/db/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-const db = require('./db');
+const db = require('./db')
 
 // register models
-require('./models');
+require('./models')
 
-module.exports = db;
+module.exports = db
diff --git a/db/models/article.js b/db/models/article.js
index bcffdbf..613c3e7 100644
--- a/db/models/article.js
+++ b/db/models/article.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-const Sequelize = require('sequelize');
-const db = require('../db');
+const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
+const db = require('../db')
 
 const Article = db.define('articles', {
   title: {
@@ -9,6 +9,6 @@ const Article = db.define('articles', {
   link: {
     type: Sequelize.STRING
   }
-});
+})
 
-module.exports = Article;
+module.exports = Article
diff --git a/db/models/comment.js b/db/models/comment.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c93e91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/models/comment.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
+const db = require('../db')
+
+const Comment = db.define('comment', {
+  title: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING
+  },
+
+  content: {
+    type: Sequelize.TEXT,
+    allowNull: false
+  }
+})
+
+module.exports = Comment
diff --git a/db/models/index.js b/db/models/index.js
index a39f030..08e6eeb 100755
--- a/db/models/index.js
+++ b/db/models/index.js
@@ -1,4 +1,19 @@
-const Item = require('./item');
-const Article = require('./article');
+const Item = require('./item')
+const Article = require('./article')
+const Comment = require('./comment')
+//const User = require('./user')
 
-module.exports = { Item, Article };
+Article.hasMany(Comment) //puts postId on Comment
+Comment.belongsTo(Article)
+
+//User.hasMany(Article) //puts userId on Post, creates instance method 'user.getPosts()'
+//Article.belongsTo(User) // creates instance method 'post.getUser()''
+
+//User.hasMany(Comment) //puts userId on Comment
+//Comment.belongsTo(User) //puts userId on Comment
+
+// TODO
+//Comment.belongsTo(Comment, { as: 'parent' })
+//Comment.hasMany(Comment, { as: { singular: 'reply', plural: 'replies' } })
+
+module.exports = { Item, Article, Comment }
diff --git a/db/models/item.js b/db/models/item.js
index 694f380..7003eb8 100755
--- a/db/models/item.js
+++ b/db/models/item.js
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-const Sequelize = require('sequelize');
-const db = require('../db');
+const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
+const db = require('../db')
 
 const Item = db.define('items', {
   name: {
     type: Sequelize.STRING,
     allowNull: false
   }
-});
+})
 
-module.exports = Item;
+module.exports = Item
diff --git a/db/models/user.js b/db/models/user.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ce8164
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/models/user.js
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+/* 
+note: this currently isn't exported because I will 
+have to investigate the salting etc. 
+*/
+
+const crypto = require('crypto')
+const Sequelize = require('sequelize')
+const db = require('../db')
+
+const User = db.define('user', {
+  email: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING,
+    unique: true,
+    allowNull: false
+  },
+  firstName: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING
+  },
+  lastName: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING
+  },
+  username: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING,
+    unique: true,
+    allowNull: false
+  },
+  imageUrl: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING,
+    defaultValue: 'novatore.jpg'
+  },
+
+  password: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING,
+    // Making `.password` act like a func hides it when serializing to JSON.
+    // This is a hack to get around Sequelize's lack of a "private" option.
+    get() {
+      return () => this.getDataValue('password')
+    }
+  },
+  salt: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING,
+    // Making `.salt` act like a function hides it when serializing to JSON.
+    // This is a hack to get around Sequelize's lack of a "private" option.
+    get() {
+      return () => this.getDataValue('salt')
+    }
+  },
+  googleId: {
+    type: Sequelize.STRING
+  }
+})
+
+module.exports = User
+
+/**
+ * instanceMethods
+ */
+User.prototype.correctPassword = function(candidatePwd) {
+  return User.encryptPassword(candidatePwd, this.salt()) === this.password()
+}
+
+/**
+ * classMethods
+ */
+User.generateSalt = function() {
+  return crypto.randomBytes(16).toString('base64')
+}
+
+User.encryptPassword = function(plainText, salt) {
+  return crypto
+    .createHash('RSA-SHA256')
+    .update(plainText)
+    .update(salt)
+    .digest('hex')
+}
+
+/**
+ * hooks
+ */
+const setSaltAndPassword = user => {
+  if (user.changed('password')) {
+    user.salt = User.generateSalt()
+    user.password = User.encryptPassword(user.password(), user.salt())
+  }
+}
+
+User.beforeCreate(setSaltAndPassword)
+User.beforeUpdate(setSaltAndPassword)
diff --git a/db/seed.js b/db/seed.js
index 452e0ce..f8f367a 100755
--- a/db/seed.js
+++ b/db/seed.js
@@ -1,27 +1,27 @@
-const db = require('../db');
-const { Article } = require('./models');
+const db = require('../db')
+const { Article } = require('./models')
 
 const testArticle = {
   title: 'read desert',
   link: 'https://readdesert.org'
-};
+}
 
-console.log(Article);
+console.log(Article)
 async function runSeed() {
-  await db.sync({ force: true });
-  console.log('db synced!');
-  console.log('seeding...');
+  await db.sync({ force: true })
+  console.log('db synced!')
+  console.log('seeding...')
   try {
-    await Article.create(testArticle);
-    console.log('seeded successfully');
+    await Article.create(testArticle)
+    console.log('seeded successfully')
   } catch (err) {
-    console.error(err);
-    process.exitCode = 1;
+    console.error(err)
+    process.exitCode = 1
   } finally {
-    console.log('closing db connection');
-    await db.close();
-    console.log('db connection closed');
+    console.log('closing db connection')
+    await db.close()
+    console.log('db connection closed')
   }
 }
 
-runSeed();
+runSeed()