diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..73afc4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+.idea
+src/data/*.db
diff --git a/src/data/.gitkeep b/src/data/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/src/lib/Data.php b/src/lib/Data.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d134744
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/Data.php
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * A centralized place for data access for the application
+ */
+class Data {
+
+    /**
+     * Obtain a new connection to the database
+     * @return SQLite3 A new connection to the database
+     */
+    private static function getConnection(): SQLite3 {
+        $db = new SQLite3("../data/{${DATABASE_NAME}}");
+        $db->exec('PRAGMA foreign_keys = ON;');
+        return $db;
+    }
+
+    public static function ensureDb(): void {
+        $db = self::getConnection();
+        $tables = $db->query("SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type = 'table'")->fetchArray(SQLITE3_NUM);
+        if (!array_search('frc_user', $tables)) {
+            $query = <<<SQL
+                CREATE TABLE frc_user (
+                    id       INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
+                    email    TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    password TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    salt     TEXT    NOT NULL)
+                SQL;
+            $db->exec($query);
+            $db->exec('CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON frc_user (email)');
+        }
+        if (!array_search('feed', $tables)) {
+            $query = <<<SQL
+                CREATE TABLE feed (
+                    id         INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
+                    user_id    INTEGER NOT NULL,
+                    url        TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    checked_on TEXT,
+                    FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES frc_user (id))
+                SQL;
+            $db->exec($query);
+        }
+        if (!array_search('item', $tables)) {
+            $query = <<<SQL
+                CREATE TABLE item (
+                    id            INTEGER NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
+                    feed_id       INTEGER NOT NULL,
+                    title         TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    published_on  TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    updated_on    TEXT,
+                    content       TEXT    NOT NULL,
+                    is_encoded    INTEGER NOT NULL,
+                    is_read       INTEGER NOT NULL,
+                    is_bookmarked INTEGER NOT NULL,
+                    FOREIGN KEY (feed_id) REFERENCES feed (id))
+                SQL;
+            $db->exec($query);
+        }
+        $db->close();
+    }
+}
+
+Data::ensureDb();
diff --git a/src/start.php b/src/start.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..50517c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/start.php
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+<?php
+// USER CONFIGURATION ITEMS
+
+/**
+ * Which security model should the application use?
+ * - 0 = single-user, no password
+ * - 1 = single-user with password
+ * - 2 = multi-user (all users require passwords)
+ *
+ * (NOTE THAT 1 AND 2 HAVE NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED)
+ */
+const SECURITY_MODEL = 0;
+
+/** The name of the database file where users and feeds should be kept */
+const DATABASE_NAME = 'frc.db';
+
+// END USER CONFIGURATION ITEMS
+//   (editing below this line is not advised)
+
+include 'lib/Data.php';