diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cd39c4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+language: ruby
+rvm:
+  - 1.9.3
+  - 1.9.2
+  - 1.8.7
+script: bundle exec rake install; bundle exec rake generate
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index f9fa1a6..bd0bf6a 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ group :development do
   gem 'liquid', '~> 2.3.0'
   gem 'tzinfo', '~> 0.3.35'
   gem 'rake-minify'
+  gem 'rdiscount', '~> 1.6.8'
 end
 
 gem 'sinatra', '~> 1.3.3'
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index bc8ff12..4a80a18 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ GEM
       jsmin (~> 1.0.1)
       rake (>= 0.8.7)
     rb-fsevent (0.9.3)
+    rdiscount (1.6.8)
     redcarpet (2.2.2)
     rubypants (0.2.0)
     sass (3.2.4)
@@ -64,6 +65,7 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   rake (~> 10.0.3)
   rake-minify
   rb-fsevent (~> 0.9.3)
+  rdiscount
   redcarpet (~> 2.2.2)
   rubypants (~> 0.2.0)
   sinatra (~> 1.3.3)
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 222b027..7c618a4 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -1,53 +1,39 @@
-require 'rubygems'
-require 'bundler/setup'
-require 'stringex'
+$:.unshift File.expand_path("lib", File.dirname(__FILE__)) # For use/testing when no gem is installed
+
+require "rubygems"
+require "bundler/setup"
+require "stringex"
 require 'time'
 require 'tzinfo'
 require 'rake/minify'
 require 'time'
+require 'yaml'
+require 'octopress'
 
-## -- Rsync Deploy config -- ##
-# Be sure your public key is listed in your server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file
-ssh_user       = "user@domain.com"
-ssh_port       = "22"
-ssh_key        = ""
-document_root  = "~/website.com/"
-rsync_delete   = false
-rsync_args     = ""  # Any extra arguments to pass to rsync
-deploy_default = "rsync"
+### Configuring Octopress:
+###   Under _config/ you will find:
+###       site.yml, deploy.yml
+###   Here you can override Octopress's default configurations or add your own.
+###   This Rakefile uses those config settings to do what it does.
+###   Please do not change anything below if you want help --
+###   otherwise, you're on your own ;-)
 
-# This will be configured for you when you run config_deploy
-deploy_branch  = "gh-pages"
-
-## -- Misc Configs -- ##
-
-public_dir      = "public"    # compiled site directory
-source_dir      = "source"    # source file directory
-blog_index_dir  = "source"    # directory for your blog's index page (if you put your index in source/blog/index.html, set this to 'source/blog')
-deploy_dir      = "_deploy"   # deploy directory (for GitHub pages deployment)
-stash_dir       = "_stash"    # directory to stash posts for speedy generation
-posts_dir       = "_posts"    # directory for blog files
-themes_dir      = ".themes"   # directory for blog files
-new_post_ext    = "markdown"  # default new post file extension when using the new_post task
-new_page_ext    = "markdown"  # default new page file extension when using the new_page task
-timezone        = "local"     # default time and date used to local timezone. Timezones (under TZ column): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
-server_host     = ENV['OCTOPRESS_IP']   || '0.0.0.0'   # host ip address for preview server
-server_port     = ENV['OCTOPRESS_PORT'] || '4000'      # port for preview server eg. localhost:4000
+configuration = Octopress::Configuration.read_configuration
 
 desc "Initial setup for Octopress: copies the default theme into the path of Jekyll's generator. Rake install defaults to rake install[classic] to install a different theme run rake install[some_theme_name]"
 task :install, :theme do |t, args|
-  if File.directory?(source_dir) || File.directory?("sass")
+  if File.directory?(configuration[:source]) || File.directory?("sass")
     abort("rake aborted!") if ask("A theme is already installed, proceeding will overwrite existing files. Are you sure?", ['y', 'n']) == 'n'
   end
   # copy theme into working Jekyll directories
   theme = args.theme || 'classic'
-  puts "## Copying "+theme+" theme into ./#{source_dir} and ./sass"
-  mkdir_p source_dir
-  cp_r "#{themes_dir}/#{theme}/source/.", source_dir
+  puts "## Copying "+theme+" theme into ./#{configuration[:source]} and ./sass"
+  mkdir_p configuration[:source]
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:themes_dir]}/#{theme}/source/.", configuration[:source]
   mkdir_p "sass"
-  cp_r "#{themes_dir}/#{theme}/sass/.", "sass"
-  mkdir_p "#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}"
-  mkdir_p public_dir
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:themes_dir]}/#{theme}/sass/.", "sass"
+  mkdir_p "#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}"
+  mkdir_p configuration[:destination]
 end
 
 #######################
@@ -57,19 +43,21 @@ end
 desc "Generate jekyll site"
 task :generate, :no_future do |t, args|
   future = args.no_future
-  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(source_dir)
+  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(configuration[:source])
+  Octopress::Configuration.write_configs_for_generation
   puts "## Generating Site with Jekyll"
-  system "compass compile --css-dir #{source_dir}/stylesheets"
+  system "compass compile --css-dir #{configuration[:source]}/stylesheets"
   Rake::Task['minify_and_combine'].execute
   system "jekyll --no-server --no-auto #{'--no-future' if future.nil?}"
-  unpublished = get_unpublished(Dir.glob("#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}/*.*"), {no_future: future.nil?, message: "\nThese posts were not generated:"})
+  unpublished = get_unpublished(Dir.glob("#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}/*.*"), {no_future: future.nil?, message: "\nThese posts were not generated:"})
   puts unpublished unless unpublished.empty?
+  Octopress::Configuration.remove_configs_for_generation
 end
 
 Rake::Minify.new(:minify_and_combine) do
-  files = FileList.new("#{source_dir}/javascripts/group/*.*")
+  files = FileList.new("#{configuration[:source]}/javascripts/group/*.*")
 
-  output_file =  "#{source_dir}/javascripts/octopress.min.js"
+  output_file =  "#{configuration[:source]}/javascripts/octopress.min.js"
 
   puts "BEGIN Minifying #{output_file}"
   group(output_file) do
@@ -103,14 +91,16 @@ end
 desc "Watch the site and regenerate when it changes"
 task :watch, :show_future do |t, args|
   future = args.show_future
-  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(source_dir)
+  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(configuration[:source])
+  Octopress::Configuration.write_configs_for_generation
   puts "Starting to watch source with Jekyll and Compass."
-  system "compass compile --css-dir #{source_dir}/stylesheets"
+  system "compass compile --css-dir #{configuration[:source]}/stylesheets"
   Rake::Task['minify_and_combine'].execute
   jekyllPid = Process.spawn("jekyll --auto #{'--no-future' if future.nil?}")
   compassPid = Process.spawn("compass watch")
   trap("INT") {
     [jekyllPid, compassPid].each { |pid| Process.kill(9, pid) rescue Errno::ESRCH }
+    Octopress::Configuration.remove_configs_for_generation
     exit 0
   }
   [jekyllPid, compassPid].each { |pid| Process.wait(pid) }
@@ -119,15 +109,17 @@ end
 desc "preview the site in a web browser."
 task :preview, :show_future do |t, args|
   future = args.show_future
-  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(source_dir)
-  puts "Starting to watch source with Jekyll and Compass. Starting Rack, serving to http://#{server_host}:#{server_port}"
-  system "compass compile --css-dir #{source_dir}/stylesheets"
+  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(configuration[:source])
+  Octopress::Configuration.write_configs_for_generation
+  puts "Starting to watch source with Jekyll and Compass. Starting Rack, serving to http://#{configuration[:server_host]}:#{configuration[:server_port]}"
+  system "compass compile --css-dir #{configuration[:source]}/stylesheets"
   jekyllPid = Process.spawn("jekyll --auto #{'--no-future' if future.nil?}")
   compassPid = Process.spawn("compass watch")
-  rackupPid = Process.spawn("rackup --host #{server_host} --port #{server_port}")
+  rackupPid = Process.spawn("rackup --host #{configuration[:server_host]} --port #{configuration[:server_port]}")
 
   trap("INT") {
     [jekyllPid, compassPid, rackupPid].each { |pid| Process.kill(9, pid) rescue Errno::ESRCH }
+    Octopress::Configuration.remove_configs_for_generation
     exit 0
   }
 
@@ -135,17 +127,17 @@ task :preview, :show_future do |t, args|
 end
 
 # usage rake new_post[my-new-post] or rake new_post['my new post'] or rake new_post (defaults to "new-post")
-desc "Begin a new post in #{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}"
+desc "Begin a new post in #{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}"
 task :new_post, :title do |t, args|
   if args.title
     title = args.title
   else
     title = get_stdin("Enter a title for your post: ")
   end
-  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(source_dir)
+  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(configuration[:source])
   time = now_in_timezone(timezone) 
-  mkdir_p "#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}"
-  filename = "#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}/#{time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}-#{title.to_url}.#{new_post_ext}"
+  mkdir_p "#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}"
+  filename = "#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}/#{Time.now.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}-#{title.to_url}.#{configuration[:new_post_ext]}"
   if File.exist?(filename)
     abort("rake aborted!") if ask("#{filename} already exists. Do you want to overwrite?", ['y', 'n']) == 'n'
   end
@@ -163,11 +155,11 @@ task :new_post, :title do |t, args|
 end
 
 # usage rake new_page[my-new-page] or rake new_page[my-new-page.html] or rake new_page (defaults to "new-page.markdown")
-desc "Create a new page in #{source_dir}/(filename)/index.#{new_page_ext}"
+desc "Create a new page in #{configuration[:source]}/(filename)/index.#{configuration[:new_page_ext]}"
 task :new_page, :filename do |t, args|
-  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(source_dir)
+  raise "### You haven't set anything up yet. First run `rake install` to set up an Octopress theme." unless File.directory?(configuration[:source])
   args.with_defaults(:filename => 'new-page')
-  page_dir = [source_dir]
+  page_dir = [configuration[:source]]
   if args.filename.downcase =~ /(^.+\/)?(.+)/
     filename, dot, extension = $2.rpartition('.').reject(&:empty?)         # Get filename and extension
     title = filename
@@ -176,7 +168,7 @@ task :new_page, :filename do |t, args|
       page_dir << filename
       filename = "index"
     end
-    extension ||= new_page_ext
+    extension ||= configuration[:new_page_ext]
     page_dir = page_dir.map! { |d| d = d.to_url }.join('/')                # Sanitize path
     filename = filename.downcase.to_url
 
@@ -210,22 +202,22 @@ task :isolate, :filename do |t, args|
   else
     filename = get_stdin("Enter a post file name: ")
   end
-  full_stash_dir = "#{source_dir}/#{stash_dir}"
-  FileUtils.mkdir(full_stash_dir) unless File.exist?(full_stash_dir)
-  Dir.glob("#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}/*.*") do |post|
-    FileUtils.mv post, full_stash_dir unless post.include?(filename)
+  full_configuration[:stash_dir] = "#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:stash_dir]}"
+  FileUtils.mkdir(full_configuration[:stash_dir]) unless File.exist?(full_configuration[:stash_dir])
+  Dir.glob("#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}/*.*") do |post|
+    FileUtils.mv post, full_configuration[:stash_dir] unless post.include?(filename)
   end
 end
 
 desc "Move all stashed posts back into the posts directory, ready for site generation."
 task :integrate do
-  FileUtils.mv Dir.glob("#{source_dir}/#{stash_dir}/*.*"), "#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}/"
+  FileUtils.mv Dir.glob("#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:stash_dir]}/*.*"), "#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}/"
 end
 
 desc "Clean out caches: .pygments-cache, .gist-cache, .sass-cache"
 task :clean do
   [".pygments-cache/**", ".gist-cache/**"].each { |dir| rm_rf Dir.glob(dir) }
-  rm "#{source_dir}/stylesheets/screen.css" if File.exists?("#{source_dir}/stylesheets/screen.css")
+  rm "#{configuration[:source]}/stylesheets/screen.css" if File.exists?("#{configuration[:source]}/stylesheets/screen.css")
   system "compass clean"
   puts "## Cleaned Sass, Pygments and Gist caches, removed generated stylesheets ##"
 end
@@ -246,7 +238,7 @@ task :update_style, :theme do |t, args|
   end
   mv "sass", "sass.old"
   puts "## Moved styles into sass.old/"
-  cp_r "#{themes_dir}/"+theme+"/sass/", "sass"
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:themes_dir]}/"+theme+"/sass/", "sass"
   cp_r "sass.old/custom/.", "sass/custom"
   puts "## Updated Sass ##"
   rm_r ".sass-cache", :secure=>true if File.directory?(".sass-cache")
@@ -255,29 +247,29 @@ end
 desc "Move source to source.old, install source theme updates, replace source/_includes/navigation.html with source.old's navigation"
 task :update_source, :theme do |t, args|
   theme = args.theme || 'classic'
-  if File.directory?("#{source_dir}.old")
-    puts "## Removed existing #{source_dir}.old directory"
-    rm_r "#{source_dir}.old", :secure=>true
+  if File.directory?("#{configuration[:source]}.old")
+    puts "## Removed existing #{configuration[:source]}.old directory"
+    rm_r "#{configuration[:source]}.old", :secure=>true
   end
-  mkdir "#{source_dir}.old"
-  cp_r "#{source_dir}/.", "#{source_dir}.old"
-  puts "## Copied #{source_dir} into #{source_dir}.old/"
-  cp_r "#{themes_dir}/"+theme+"/source/.", source_dir, :remove_destination=>true
-  cp_r "#{source_dir}.old/_includes/custom/.", "#{source_dir}/_includes/custom/", :remove_destination=>true
-  mv "#{source_dir}/index.html", "#{blog_index_dir}", :force=>true if blog_index_dir != source_dir
-  cp "#{source_dir}.old/index.html", source_dir if blog_index_dir != source_dir && File.exists?("#{source_dir}.old/index.html")
-  if File.exists?("#{source_dir}/blog/archives/index.html")
+  mkdir "#{configuration[:source]}.old"
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:source]}/.", "#{configuration[:source]}.old"
+  puts "## Copied #{configuration[:source]} into #{configuration[:source]}.old/"
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:themes_dir]}/"+theme+"/source/.", configuration[:source], :remove_destination=>true
+  cp_r "#{configuration[:source]}.old/_includes/custom/.", "#{configuration[:source]}/_includes/custom/", :remove_destination=>true
+  mv "#{configuration[:source]}/index.html", "#{configuration[:blog_index_dir]}", :force=>true if configuration[:blog_index_dir] != configuration[:source]
+  cp "#{configuration[:source]}.old/index.html", configuration[:source] if configuration[:blog_index_dir] != configuration[:source] && File.exists?("#{configuration[:source]}.old/index.html")
+  if File.exists?("#{configuration[:source]}/blog/archives/index.html")
     puts "## Moving blog/archives to /archives (standard location as of 2.1) ##"
-    file = "#{source_dir}/_includes/custom/navigation.html"
+    file = "#{configuration[:source]}/_includes/custom/navigation.html"
     navigation = IO.read(file)
     navigation = navigation.gsub(/(.*)\/blog(\/archives)(.*$)/m, '\1\2\3')
     File.open(file, 'w') do |f|
       f.write navigation
     end
-    rm_r "#{source_dir}/blog/archives"
-    rm_r "#{source_dir}/blog" if Dir.entries("#{source_dir}/blog").join == "..."
+    rm_r "#{configuration[:source]}/blog/archives"
+    rm_r "#{configuration[:source]}/blog" if Dir.entries("#{configuration[:source]}/blog").join == "..."
   end
-  puts "## Updated #{source_dir} ##"
+  puts "## Updated #{configuration[:source]} ##"
 end
 
 ##############
@@ -286,7 +278,7 @@ end
 
 desc "Default deploy task"
 task :deploy do
-  Rake::Task["#{deploy_default}"].execute
+  Rake::Task["#{configuration[:deploy_default]}"].execute
 end
 
 desc "Generate website and deploy"
@@ -300,29 +292,29 @@ task :rsync do
     exclude = "--exclude-from '#{File.expand_path('./rsync-exclude')}'"
   end
   puts "## Deploying website via Rsync"
-  ok_failed system("rsync -avze 'ssh -p #{ssh_port} #{'-i' + ssh_key unless ssh_key.empty?}' #{exclude} #{rsync_args} #{"--delete" unless rsync_delete == false} #{public_dir}/ #{ssh_user}:#{document_root}")
+  ok_failed system("rsync -avze 'ssh -p #{configuration[:ssh_port]} #{'-i' + configuration[:ssh_key] unless configuration[:ssh_key].empty?}' #{exclude} #{configuration[:rsync_args]} #{"--delete" unless configuration[:rsync_delete] == false} #{configuration[:destination]}/ #{configuration[:ssh_user]}:#{configuration[:document_root]}")
 end
 
 desc "deploy public directory to github pages"
 multitask :push do
-  if File.directory?(deploy_dir)
+  if File.directory?(configuration[:deploy_dir])
     puts "## Deploying branch to GitHub Pages "
-    (Dir["#{deploy_dir}/*"]).each { |f| rm_rf(f) }
+    (Dir["#{configuration[:deploy_dir]}/*"]).each { |f| rm_rf(f) }
     puts "Attempting pull, to sync local deployment repository"
-    cd "#{deploy_dir}" do
-      system "git pull origin #{deploy_branch}"
+    cd "#{configuration[:deploy_dir]}" do
+      system "git pull origin #{configuration[:deploy_branch]}"
     end
-    puts "\n## copying #{public_dir} to #{deploy_dir}"
-    cp_r "#{public_dir}/.", deploy_dir
-    cd "#{deploy_dir}" do
+    puts "\n## copying #{configuration[:destination]} to #{configuration[:deploy_dir]}"
+    cp_r "#{configuration[:destination]}/.", configuration[:deploy_dir]
+    cd "#{configuration[:deploy_dir]}" do
       File.new(".nojekyll", "w").close
       system "git add ."
       system "git add -u"
       message = "Site updated at #{Time.now.utc}"
       puts "\n## Commiting: #{message}"
       system "git commit -m \"#{message}\""
-      puts "\n## Pushing generated #{deploy_dir} website"
-      if system "git push origin #{deploy_branch}"
+      puts "\n## Pushing generated #{configuration[:deploy_dir]} website"
+      if system "git push origin #{configuration[:deploy_branch]}"
         puts "\n## GitHub Pages deploy complete"
       else
         remote = `git remote -v`
@@ -355,28 +347,15 @@ task :set_root_dir, :dir do |t, args|
     else
       dir = "/" + args.dir.sub(/(\/*)(.+)/, "\\2").sub(/\/$/, '');
     end
-    rakefile = IO.read(__FILE__)
-    rakefile.sub!(/public_dir(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w\-\/]*["']/, "public_dir\\1=\\2\\3public#{dir}\\3")
-    File.open(__FILE__, 'w') do |f|
-      f.write rakefile
-    end
-    compass_config = IO.read('config.rb')
-    compass_config.sub!(/http_path(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w\-\/]*["']/, "http_path\\1=\\2\\3#{dir}/\\3")
-    compass_config.sub!(/http_images_path(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w\-\/]*["']/, "http_images_path\\1=\\2\\3#{dir}/images\\3")
-    compass_config.sub!(/http_fonts_path(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w\-\/]*["']/, "http_fonts_path\\1=\\2\\3#{dir}/fonts\\3")
-    compass_config.sub!(/css_dir(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w\-\/]*["']/, "css_dir\\1=\\2\\3public#{dir}/stylesheets\\3")
-    File.open('config.rb', 'w') do |f|
-      f.write compass_config
-    end
-    jekyll_config = IO.read('_config.yml')
-    jekyll_config.sub!(/^destination:.+$/, "destination: public#{dir}")
-    jekyll_config.sub!(/^subscribe_rss:\s*\/.+$/, "subscribe_rss: #{dir}/atom.xml")
-    jekyll_config.sub!(/^root:.*$/, "root: /#{dir.sub(/^\//, '')}")
-    File.open('_config.yml', 'w') do |f|
-      f.write jekyll_config
-    end
-    rm_rf public_dir
-    mkdir_p "#{public_dir}#{dir}"
+    # update personal configuration
+    site_configs = Octopress::Configuration.read_config('site.yml')
+    site_configs[:destination] = "public#{dir}"
+    site_configs[:subscribe_rss] = "#{dir}/atom.xml"
+    site_configs[:root] = "/#{dir.sub(/^\//, '')}"
+    Octopress::Configuration.write_config('site.yml', site_configs)
+    
+    rm_rf configuration[:destination]
+    mkdir_p site_configs[:destination]
     puts "\n========================================================"
     puts "Site's root directory is now '/#{dir.sub(/^\//, '')}'"
     puts "Don't forget to update your url in _config.yml"
@@ -414,16 +393,16 @@ task :setup_github_pages, :repo do |t, args|
       system "git branch -m master source"
       puts "Master branch renamed to 'source' for committing your blog source files"
     else
-      unless !public_dir.match("#{project}").nil?
+      unless !configuration[:destination].match("#{project}").nil?
         Rake::Task[:set_root_dir].invoke(project)
       end
     end
   end
 
   # Configure deployment repository
-  rm_rf deploy_dir
-  mkdir deploy_dir
-  cd "#{deploy_dir}" do
+  rm_rf configuration[:deploy_dir]
+  mkdir configuration[:deploy_dir]
+  cd "#{configuration[:deploy_dir]}" do
     system "git init"
     system "git remote add origin #{repo_url}"
     puts   "Attempting to pull from repository"
@@ -436,29 +415,23 @@ task :setup_github_pages, :repo do |t, args|
     end
   end
 
-  # Configure deployment setup in Rakefile
-  rakefile = IO.read(__FILE__)
-  rakefile.sub!(/deploy_branch(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w-]*["']/, "deploy_branch\\1=\\2\\3#{branch}\\3")
-  rakefile.sub!(/deploy_default(\s*)=(\s*)(["'])[\w-]*["']/, "deploy_default\\1=\\2\\3push\\3")
-  File.open(__FILE__, 'w') do |f|
-    f.write rakefile
-  end
+  # Configure deployment setup in deploy.yml
+  deploy_configuration = Octopress::Configuration.read_config('deploy.yml')
+  deploy_configuration[:deploy_default] = "push"
+  deploy_configuration[:deploy_branch]  = branch
+  deploy_configuration = Octopress::Configuration.read_config('defaults/deploy/gh_pages.yml').deep_merge(deploy_configuration)
+  puts deploy_configuration
+  Octopress::Configuration.write_config('deploy.yml', deploy_configuration)
 
   # Configure published url
-  jekyll_config = IO.read('_config.yml')
-  current_url = /^url:\s?(.*$)/.match(jekyll_config)[1]
-  has_cname = File.exists?("#{source_dir}/CNAME")
-  if current_url == 'http://yoursite.com'
-    jekyll_config.sub!(/^url:.*$/, "url: #{url}")
-    File.open('_config.yml', 'w') do |f|
-      f.write jekyll_config
-    end
-    current_url = url
-  end
+  site_configuration = Octopress::Configuration.read_config('site.yml')
+  site_configuration[:url] = url if site_configuration.has_key?(:url) && site_configuration[:url] == 'http://yoursite.com'
+  site_configuration = Octopress::Configuration.read_config('defaults/jekyll.yml').deep_merge(site_configuration)
 
   puts "\n========================================================"
+  has_cname = File.exists?("#{configuration[:source]}/CNAME")
   if has_cname
-    cname = IO.read("#{source_dir}/CNAME").chomp
+    cname = IO.read("#{configuration[:source]}/CNAME").chomp
     current_short_url = /\/{2}(.*$)/.match(current_url)[1]
     if cname != current_short_url
       puts "!! WARNING: Your CNAME points to #{cname} but your _config.yml url is set to #{current_short_url} !!"
@@ -468,7 +441,7 @@ task :setup_github_pages, :repo do |t, args|
     end
   else
     puts "GitHub Pages will host your site at #{url}."
-    puts "To host at \"your-site.com\", configure a CNAME: `echo \"your-domain.com\" > #{source_dir}/CNAME`"
+    puts "To host at \"your-site.com\", configure a CNAME: `echo \"your-domain.com\" > #{configuration[:source]}/CNAME`"
     puts "Then change the url in _config.yml from #{current_url} to http://your-domain.com"
     puts "Finally, follow the guide at http://help.github.com/pages/#custom_domains for help pointing your domain to GitHub Pages"
   end
@@ -481,7 +454,7 @@ end
 # usage rake list_posts or rake list_posts[pub|unpub]
 desc "List all unpublished/draft posts"
 task :list_drafts do
-  posts = Dir.glob("#{source_dir}/#{posts_dir}/*.*") 
+  posts = Dir.glob("#{configuration[:source]}/#{configuration[:posts_dir]}/*.*") 
   unpublished = get_unpublished(posts)
   puts unpublished.empty? ? "There are no posts currently in draft" : unpublished
 end
diff --git a/_config.yml b/_config.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index b7fcb5b..0000000
--- a/_config.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,122 +0,0 @@
-# ----------------------- #
-#      Main Configs       #
-# ----------------------- #
-
-url: http://yoursite.com
-title: My Octopress Blog
-subtitle: A blogging framework for hackers.
-author: Your Name
-simple_search: http://google.com/search
-description:
-
-# Default date format is "ordinal" (resulting in "July 22nd 2007")
-# You can customize the format as defined in
-# http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.2/Time.html#method-i-strftime
-# Additionally, %o will give you the ordinal representation of the day
-date_format: "ordinal"
-
-# RSS / Email (optional) subscription links (change if using something like Feedburner)
-subscribe_rss: /atom.xml
-subscribe_email:
-category_feeds: false
-# RSS feeds can list your email address if you like
-email:
-
-# ----------------------- #
-#    Jekyll & Plugins     #
-# ----------------------- #
-
-# If publishing to a subdirectory as in http://site.com/project set 'root: /project'
-root: /
-permalink: /:year/:month/:day/:title/
-source: source
-destination: public
-plugins: plugins
-code_dir: downloads/code
-category_dir: blog/categories
-include:
-  - .htaccess
-markdown: redcarpet
-redcarpet:
-  extensions: 
-    - no_intra_emphasis
-    - strikethrough
-    - autolink
-    - superscript
-    - smart
-
-pygments: false # Jekyll's default Python Pygments have been replaced by pygments.rb. Set to true to use Albino + Pythong Pygments
-
-paginate: 10          # Posts per page on the blog index
-pagination_dir: blog  # Directory base for pagination URLs eg. /blog/page/2/
-recent_posts: 5       # Posts in the sidebar Recent Posts section
-excerpt_link: "Read on &rarr;"  # "Continue reading" link text at the bottom of excerpted articles
-excerpt_in_feed: false # Truncate excerpted articles in the atom feed
-permalink_label: "Permalink"
-permalink_label_feed: "&#9875; Permalink"
-linklog_marker: "&rarr;"
-linklog_marker_position: after
-linklog_marker_position_feed: after
-standard_post_marker:
-
-titlecase: true       # Converts page and post titles to titlecase
-
-# To change the layout's default sidebar Add a new sidebar source/_includes/sidebars/your_sidebar.html
-# then make changes below, eg. post_sidebar: your_sidebar.html
-blog_index_sidebar: blog_index_default.html
-page_sidebar: page_default.html
-post_sidebar: post_default.html
-
-# ----------------------- #
-#   3rd Party Settings    #
-# ----------------------- #
-
-# Javascript social buttons often generate lots of http requests and may track your viewer's browsing history
-# Show respect for privacy and bandwidth with simple links for Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
-respectfully_social: true
-
-# Github repositories
-github_user:
-github_repo_count: 0
-github_show_profile_link: true
-github_skip_forks: true
-
-# Twitter
-twitter_user:
-twitter_tweet_count: 4
-twitter_show_replies: false
-twitter_follow_button: true
-twitter_show_follower_count: false
-twitter_tweet_button: true
-
-# Google +1
-google_plus_one: false
-google_plus_one_size: medium
-
-# Google Plus Profile
-# Hidden: No visible button, just add author information to search results
-google_plus_user:
-google_plus_hidden: false
-google_plus_image_size: 32
-
-# Pinboard
-pinboard_user:
-pinboard_count: 3
-
-# Delicious
-delicious_user:
-delicious_count: 3
-
-# Disqus Comments
-disqus_short_name:
-disqus_show_comment_count: false
-disqus_developer: 0
-
-# Google Analytics
-google_analytics_tracking_id:
-
-# Gaug.es Analytics
-gauges_analytics_tracking_id:
-
-# Facebook Like
-facebook_like: false
diff --git a/_config/defaults/classic.yml b/_config/defaults/classic.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b41de4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/classic.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+---
+# ------------------------------- #
+#   Classic Theme Configuration   #
+# ------------------------------- #
+
+url: http://yoursite.com
+title: My Octopress Blog
+subtitle: A blogging framework for hackers.
+author: Your Name
+simple_search: http://google.com/search
+description:
+
+# Default date format is "ordinal" (resulting in "July 22nd 2007")
+# You can customize the format as defined in
+# http://www.ruby-doc.org/core-1.9.2/Time.html#method-i-strftime
+# Additionally, %o will give you the ordinal representation of the day
+date_format: "ordinal"
+
+# RSS / Email (optional) subscription links (change if using something like Feedburner)
+subscribe_rss: /atom.xml
+subscribe_email:
+category_feeds: false
+# RSS feeds can list your email address if you like
+email:
+
+excerpt_link: "Read on &rarr;"  # "Continue reading" link text at the bottom of excerpted articles
+titlecase: true       # Converts page and post titles to titlecase
+
+paginate: 10          # Posts per page on the blog index
+pagination_dir: blog  # Directory base for pagination URLs eg. /blog/page/2/
+recent_posts: 5       # Posts in the sidebar Recent Posts section
+excerpt_link: "Read on &rarr;"  # "Continue reading" link text at the bottom of excerpted articles
+excerpt_in_feed: false # Truncate excerpted articles in the atom feed
+permalink_label: "Permalink"
+permalink_label_feed: "&#9875; Permalink"
+linklog_marker: "&rarr;"
+linklog_marker_position: after
+linklog_marker_position_feed: after
+standard_post_marker:
diff --git a/_config/defaults/delicious_stream.yml b/_config/defaults/delicious_stream.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94f99ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/delicious_stream.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Delicious link stream
+delicious_user:
+delicious_count: 3
diff --git a/_config/defaults/deploy/gh_pages.yml b/_config/defaults/deploy/gh_pages.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1e804ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/deploy/gh_pages.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+# ----------------------- #
+#   GitHub Pages Config   #
+#   deploy_default: push  #
+# ----------------------- #
+
+# This will be configured for you when you run config_deploy
+deploy_branch: "gh-pages"
+deploy_dir:    "_deploy"
+
+# Hidden "dot" files that should be included with the deployed site (see task copydot)
+copy_dot_files: []
diff --git a/_config/defaults/deploy/rsync.yml b/_config/defaults/deploy/rsync.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d06f044
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/deploy/rsync.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+# ------------------------ #
+#       RSync Config       #
+#   deploy_default: rsync  #
+# ------------------------ #
+
+# Be sure your public key is listed in your server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file
+ssh_user:      "user@domain.com"
+ssh_port:      "22"
+document_root: "~/website.com/"
+rsync_delete:  false
+rsync_args:    ""  # Any extra arguments to pass to rsync
+deploy_dir:    "_deploy"
+
+# Hidden "dot" files that should be included with the deployed site (see task copydot)
+copy_dot_files: []
diff --git a/_config/defaults/disqus.yml b/_config/defaults/disqus.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3924e0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/disqus.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+# --------------------------------- #
+#   Disqus Comments Configuration   #
+# --------------------------------- #
+
+disqus_short_name:
+disqus_show_comment_count: false
diff --git a/_config/defaults/gauges_analytics.yml b/_config/defaults/gauges_analytics.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fce9f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/gauges_analytics.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+# ----------------------------------- #
+#   Gaug.es Analytics Configuration   #
+# ----------------------------------- #
+
+gauges_analytics_tracking_id:
diff --git a/_config/defaults/github_repos_sidebar.yml b/_config/defaults/github_repos_sidebar.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b495fa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/github_repos_sidebar.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+# --------------------------------------- #
+#   Github Sidebar Repos Listing Plugin   #
+# --------------------------------------- #
+
+# Github repositories
+github_user:
+github_repo_count: 0
+github_show_profile_link: true
+github_skip_forks: true
diff --git a/_config/defaults/google_analytics.yml b/_config/defaults/google_analytics.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f85362
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/google_analytics.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+# ---------------------------------- #
+#   Google Analytics Configuration   #
+# ---------------------------------- #
+
+google_analytics_tracking_id: 
diff --git a/_config/defaults/google_plus.yml b/_config/defaults/google_plus.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..609e464
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/google_plus.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+---
+# --------------------------------- #
+#   Google+ Profile Configuration   #
+# --------------------------------- #
+
+# Hidden: No visible button, just add author information to search results
+googleplus_user:
+googleplus_hidden: false
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/_config/defaults/jekyll.yml b/_config/defaults/jekyll.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1076139
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/jekyll.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+# ------------------------ #
+#   Jekyll Configuration   #
+# ------------------------ #
+
+# If publishing to a subdirectory as in http://site.com/project set 'root: /project'
+root:         /
+permalink:    /:year/:month/:day/:title/
+source:       source          # source file directory
+destination:  public          # compiled site directory
+plugins:      plugins
+code_dir:     downloads/code
+category_dir: blog/categories
+markdown:     rdiscount
+pygments:     false           # Jekyll's default Python Pygments have been replaced by pygments.rb.
+                              # Set to true to use Albino + Python Pygments
+
+blog_index_dir: source        # directory for your blog's index page (if you put your index in source/blog/index.html, set this to 'source/blog')
+stash_dir:      _stash        # directory to stash posts for speedy generation
+posts_dir:      _posts        # directory for blog files
+themes_dir:     .themes       # directory for blog files
+new_post_ext:   markdown      # default new post file extension when using the new_post task
+new_page_ext:   markdown      # default new page file extension when using the new_page task
+server_host:    0.0.0.0       # host ip address for preview server
+server_port:    4000          # port for preview server eg. localhost:4000
diff --git a/_config/defaults/pinboard_stream.yml b/_config/defaults/pinboard_stream.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1586062
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/pinboard_stream.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Pinboard link stream
+pinboard_user:
+pinboard_count: 3
diff --git a/_config/defaults/sharing_buttons.yml b/_config/defaults/sharing_buttons.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f9b63d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/sharing_buttons.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+# --------------------------------- #
+#   Post/Page Share Configuration   #
+# --------------------------------- #
+
+# Facebook Like
+facebook_like: false
+
+# Google+
+google_plus_one: false
+google_plus_one_size: medium
+
+# Twitter
+twitter_tweet_button: true
diff --git a/_config/defaults/twitter_stream.yml b/_config/defaults/twitter_stream.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a63aec0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/defaults/twitter_stream.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+# -------------------------------- #
+#   Tweet Sidebar Plugin Configs   #
+# -------------------------------- #
+
+twitter_user:
+twitter_tweet_count: 4
+twitter_show_replies: false
+twitter_follow_button: true
+twitter_show_follower_count: false
diff --git a/_config/deploy.yml b/_config/deploy.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..190f637
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/deploy.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+# -------------------------- #
+#   User Deployment Config   #
+# -------------------------- #
+
+deploy_default: rsync
diff --git a/_config/site.yml b/_config/site.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05e54ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_config/site.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+# --------------------------- #
+#   User Site Configuration   #
+# --------------------------- #
+
diff --git a/config.rb b/config.rb
index f0d44d1..cffddb4 100644
--- a/config.rb
+++ b/config.rb
@@ -1,18 +1,21 @@
-# Require any additional compass plugins here.
+$:.unshift File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__), %w{ lib }) # For use/testing when no gem is installed
+require "octopress"
+
+config = Octopress::Configuration.read_configuration
+
 project_type = :stand_alone
 
-# Publishing paths
-http_path = "/"
-http_images_path = "/images"
-http_generated_images_path = "/images"
-http_fonts_path = "/fonts"
-css_dir = "public/stylesheets"
+compass_http_path = config[:destination].gsub('public', '')
+http_path = compass_http_path
+http_images_path = "#{compass_http_path}/images"
+http_generated_images_path = "#{compass_http_path}/images"
+http_fonts_path = "#{compass_http_path}/fonts"
+css_dir = "#{config[:destination]}/stylesheets"
 
-# Local development paths
 sass_dir = "sass"
-images_dir = "source/images"
-fonts_dir = "source/fonts"
-generated_images_dir = "source/images"
+images_dir = "#{config[:source]}/images"
+fonts_dir = "#{config[:source]}/fonts"
+generated_images_dir = "#{config[:source]}/images"
 
 line_comments = false
 output_style = :compressed
diff --git a/lib/octopress.rb b/lib/octopress.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..99e607d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/octopress.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+$:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) # For use/testing when no gem is installed
+
+module Octopress
+end
+
+require "octopress/core_ext"
+require "octopress/configuration"
diff --git a/lib/octopress/configuration.rb b/lib/octopress/configuration.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68986c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/octopress/configuration.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+require 'yaml'
+
+class Octopress::Configuration
+  def self.config_dir(*subdirs)
+    File.absolute_path(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '../', '../' '_config', *subdirs))
+  end
+    
+  # Static: Reads the configuration of the specified file
+  #
+  # path - the String path to the configuration file, relative to ./_config
+  #
+  # Returns a Hash of the items in the configuration file (symbol keys)
+  def self.read_config(path)
+    full_path = self.config_dir(path)
+    if File.exists? full_path
+      begin
+        configs = YAML.load(File.open(full_path))
+        if configs.nil?
+          configs
+        else
+          configs.to_symbol_keys
+        end
+      rescue => e
+        puts "Error reading configuration file '#{full_path}':"
+        puts e.message, e.backtrace
+        exit(-1)
+      end
+    else
+      raise ArgumentError, "File at '#{full_path}' does not exist."
+    end
+  end
+    
+  # Static: Writes the contents of a set of configurations to a path in the config directory
+  #
+  # path - the String path to the configuration file, relative to ./_config
+  # obj  - the object to be dumped into the specified file in YAML form
+  #
+  # Returns 
+  def self.write_config(path, obj)
+    YAML.dump(obj.to_string_keys, File.open(self.config_dir(path), 'w'))
+  end
+    
+  # Static: Reads all the configuration files into one hash
+  #
+  # Returns a Hash of all the configuration files, with each key being a symbol
+  def self.read_configuration
+    configs = {}
+    Dir.glob(self.config_dir('defaults', '**', '*.yml')) do |filename|
+      file_yaml = YAML.load(File.read(filename))
+      unless file_yaml.nil?
+        configs = file_yaml.deep_merge(configs)
+      end
+    end
+    Dir.glob(self.config_dir('*.yml')) do |filename|
+      file_yaml = YAML.load(File.read(filename))
+      unless file_yaml.nil?
+        configs = file_yaml.deep_merge(configs)
+      end
+    end
+      
+    configs.to_symbol_keys
+  end
+    
+  # Static: Writes configuration files necessary for generation of the Jekyll site
+  #
+  # Returns a Hash of the items which were written to the Jekyll configuration file
+  def self.write_configs_for_generation
+    config = self.read_configuration
+    jekyll_configs = {}
+    File.open("_config.yml", "w") do |f|
+      jekyll_configs = config.to_string_keys.to_yaml :canonical => false
+      f.write(jekyll_configs)
+    end
+      
+    jekyll_configs
+  end
+
+  # Static: Removes configuration files required for site generation
+  #
+  # Returns the number of files deleted
+  def self.remove_configs_for_generation
+    File.unlink("_config.yml")
+  end
+    
+end
+  
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/octopress/core_ext.rb b/lib/octopress/core_ext.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf7bd5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/octopress/core_ext.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+class Hash
+  # Merges self with another hash, recursively.
+  #
+  # This code was lovingly stolen from some random gem:
+  # http://gemjack.com/gems/tartan-0.1.1/classes/Hash.html
+  #
+  # Thanks to whoever made it.
+  def deep_merge(hash)
+    target = dup
+    hash.keys.each do |key|
+      if hash[key].is_a? Hash and self[key].is_a? Hash
+        target[key] = target[key].deep_merge(hash[key])
+        next
+      end
+      target[key] = hash[key]
+    end
+
+    target
+  end
+  def to_symbol_keys
+    inject({}) { |memo,(k,v)| memo[k.to_sym] = v; memo } 
+  end
+  def to_string_keys
+    inject({}) { |memo,(k,v)| memo[k.to_s] = v; memo } 
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file