diff --git a/backend/src/auth.rs b/backend/src/auth.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06de426
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/auth.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+use rocket::fairing::{Fairing, Info, Kind};
+use rocket::http::{Header, Status};
+use rocket::request::{FromRequest, Outcome};
+use rocket::{Request, Response};
+use std::env;
+
+pub struct Authenticated;
+
+#[rocket::async_trait]
+impl<'r> FromRequest<'r> for Authenticated {
+    type Error = ();
+
+    async fn from_request(req: &'r Request<'_>) -> Outcome<Self, Self::Error> {
+        let token = req.headers().get_one("Authorization");
+        if let Some(token) = token {
+            if token == env::var("API_KEY").unwrap().as_str() {
+                Outcome::Success(Authenticated)
+            } else {
+                Outcome::Error((Status::Unauthorized, ()))
+            }
+        } else {
+            Outcome::Error((Status::Unauthorized, ()))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub struct CORS;
+
+#[rocket::async_trait]
+impl Fairing for CORS {
+    fn info(&self) -> Info {
+        Info {
+            name: "Add CORS headers to responses",
+            kind: Kind::Response,
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn on_response<'r>(&self, _request: &'r Request<'_>, response: &mut Response<'r>) {
+        response.set_header(Header::new("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "*"));
+        response.set_header(Header::new(
+            "Access-Control-Allow-Methods",
+            "GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS",
+        ));
+        response.set_header(Header::new("Access-Control-Allow-Headers", "*"));
+        response.set_header(Header::new("Access-Control-Allow-Credentials", "true"));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/main.rs b/backend/src/main.rs
index a1a3669..ddb3dc7 100644
--- a/backend/src/main.rs
+++ b/backend/src/main.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,65 @@
+mod auth;
+mod models;
 mod schema;
 
-fn main() {
-    println!("Hello, world!");
+#[macro_use]
+extern crate rocket;
+extern crate fern;
+extern crate log;
+
+use auth::CORS;
+use chrono::Local;
+use diesel::{Connection, PgConnection};
+use models::AppState;
+use rocket::State;
+use std::env;
+use std::str::FromStr;
+
+fn setup_logging(log_file: Option<String>) -> Result<(), fern::InitError> {
+    let level_raw = env::var("LOG_LEVEL").unwrap_or("INFO".to_string());
+    let level = log::LevelFilter::from_str(&level_raw).expect("LOG_LEVEL invalid");
+
+    let log = fern::Dispatch::new()
+        .format(|out, message, record| {
+            out.finish(format_args!(
+                "{} {} [{}] {}",
+                Local::now().format("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"),
+                record.level(),
+                record.target(),
+                message
+            ))
+        })
+        .level(level)
+        .chain(std::io::stdout());
+
+    if let Some(log_file) = log_file {
+        log.chain(fern::log_file(log_file)?).apply()?;
+    } else {
+        log.apply()?;
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+#[get("/")]
+fn index(state: &State<AppState>) -> String {
+    "Hello world!".to_string()
+}
+
+#[launch]
+fn rocket() -> _ {
+    dotenv::dotenv().ok();
+
+    let log_file = env::var("LOG_FILE").ok();
+    setup_logging(log_file).expect("Failed to setup logging");
+
+    let database_url = env::var("DATABASE_URL").expect("DATABASE_URL must be set");
+    let db = PgConnection::establish(&database_url)
+        .expect(&format!("Error connecting to {}", database_url));
+
+    let app_data = AppState::new(db);
+    rocket::build()
+        .manage(app_data)
+        .attach(CORS {})
+        .mount("/", routes![index])
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/models/action.rs b/backend/src/models/action.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51a7904
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/models/action.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+use chrono::NaiveDateTime;
+use diesel::{Queryable, Selectable};
+use uuid::Uuid;
+
+#[derive(Queryable, Selectable)]
+#[diesel(table_name = crate::schema::actions)]
+#[diesel(check_for_backend(diesel::pg::Pg))]
+pub struct Action {
+    pub id: Uuid,
+    pub name: String,
+    pub source: String,
+    pub created_at: NaiveDateTime,
+    pub updated_at: NaiveDateTime,
+}
diff --git a/backend/src/models/mod.rs b/backend/src/models/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51bb773
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/models/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+use diesel::PgConnection;
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+
+mod action;
+
+pub struct AppState {
+    pub db: Arc<Mutex<PgConnection>>,
+}
+
+impl AppState {
+    pub fn new(db: PgConnection) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            db: Arc::new(Mutex::new(db)),
+        }
+    }
+}