diff --git a/members/libpt-cli/Cargo.toml b/members/libpt-cli/Cargo.toml
index cf023a7..fbf5f6e 100644
--- a/members/libpt-cli/Cargo.toml
+++ b/members/libpt-cli/Cargo.toml
@@ -28,3 +28,4 @@ indicatif = "0.17.8"
 libpt-log = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 log = { version = "0.4.21", optional = true }
 shlex = "1.3.0"
+strum = { version = "0.26.3", features = ["derive"] }
diff --git a/members/libpt-cli/examples/repl.rs b/members/libpt-cli/examples/repl.rs
index 106813e..0289149 100644
--- a/members/libpt-cli/examples/repl.rs
+++ b/members/libpt-cli/examples/repl.rs
@@ -1,21 +1,11 @@
-use libpt_cli::repl::REPL_HELP_TEMPLATE;
-use libpt_cli::{clap, dialoguer, printing};
-use libpt_log::{debug, trace, Level, Logger};
+use libpt_cli::repl::{DefaultRepl, Repl};
+use libpt_cli::{clap, printing, strum};
+use libpt_log::{debug, Level, Logger};
 
-use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
+use clap::Subcommand;
+use strum::EnumIter;
 
-/// This is the help menu of the repl
-///
-/// More text here
-#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
-#[command(multicall = true)]
-pub struct Repl {
-    /// the command you want to execute, along with its args
-    #[command(subcommand)]
-    command: ReplCommand,
-}
-
-#[derive(Subcommand, Debug)]
+#[derive(Subcommand, Debug, EnumIter, Clone)]
 enum ReplCommand {
     /// wait for LEN seconds
     Wait {
@@ -36,72 +26,21 @@ enum ReplCommand {
     Exit,
 }
 
-// TODO: somehow autogenerate this!!!
-pub struct MyCompletion {
-    options: Vec<String>,
-}
-impl Default for MyCompletion {
-    fn default() -> Self {
-        MyCompletion {
-            options: vec![
-                "help".to_string(),
-                "?".to_string(),
-                "list".to_string(),
-                "publish".to_string(),
-                "unpublish".to_string(),
-                "delete".to_string(),
-                "read".to_string(),
-                "show".to_string(),
-                "new".to_string(),
-                "ls".to_string(),
-            ],
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-impl dialoguer::Completion for MyCompletion {
-    /// Simple completion implementation based on substring
-    fn get(&self, input: &str) -> Option<String> {
-        let matches = self
-            .options
-            .iter()
-            .filter(|option| option.starts_with(input))
-            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
-
-        if matches.len() == 1 {
-            Some(matches[0].to_string())
-        } else {
-            None
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    // You would normally make a proper cli interface with clap before entering the repl. This is
+    // omitted here for brevity
     let _logger = Logger::builder()
         .show_time(false)
         .max_level(Level::DEBUG)
         .build();
 
-    let mut buf: String = String::new();
-    let mut buf_preparsed: Vec<String>;
-    let completion = MyCompletion::default();
-    let mut history = dialoguer::BasicHistory::new();
+    // the compiler can infer that we want to use the ReplCommand enum.
+    let mut repl = DefaultRepl::<ReplCommand>::new();
 
     debug!("entering the repl");
     loop {
-        buf.clear();
-
-        buf = dialoguer::Input::with_theme(&dialoguer::theme::ColorfulTheme::default())
-            .completion_with(&completion)
-            .history_with(&mut history)
-            .interact_text()?;
-
-        buf_preparsed = Vec::new();
-        buf_preparsed.extend(shlex::split(&buf).unwrap_or_default());
-
-        trace!("read input: {buf_preparsed:?}");
-
-        let options = match Repl::try_parse_from(buf_preparsed) {
+        // repl.step() should be at the start of your loop
+        match repl.step() {
             Ok(c) => c,
             Err(e) => {
                 println!("{e}");
@@ -109,7 +48,10 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             }
         };
 
-        match options.command {
+        // now we can match our defined commands
+        //
+        // only None if the repl has not stepped yet
+        match repl.command().to_owned().unwrap() {
             ReplCommand::Exit => break,
             ReplCommand::Wait { len } => {
                 debug!("len: {len}");
@@ -122,8 +64,7 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
             ReplCommand::Echo { text, fancy } => {
                 if !fancy {
                     println!("{}", text.concat())
-                }
-                else {
+                } else {
                     printing::blockprint(text.concat(), console::Color::Cyan)
                 }
             }
diff --git a/members/libpt-cli/src/lib.rs b/members/libpt-cli/src/lib.rs
index 6abc3cd..df6a305 100644
--- a/members/libpt-cli/src/lib.rs
+++ b/members/libpt-cli/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ pub use exitcode;
 pub use human_panic;
 pub use indicatif;
 pub use shlex;
+pub use strum;
diff --git a/members/libpt-cli/src/repl/mod.rs b/members/libpt-cli/src/repl/mod.rs
index 8b13789..52dcc6d 100644
--- a/members/libpt-cli/src/repl/mod.rs
+++ b/members/libpt-cli/src/repl/mod.rs
@@ -1 +1,191 @@
+use std::fmt::Debug;
 
+use clap::{Parser, Subcommand};
+use dialoguer::{BasicHistory, Completion};
+use libpt_log::trace;
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+#[command(multicall = true)]
+pub struct DefaultRepl<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    /// the command you want to execute, along with its arguments
+    #[command(subcommand)]
+    command: Option<C>,
+
+    // the following fields are not to be parsed from a command, but used for the internal workings
+    // of the repl
+    #[clap(skip)]
+    buf: String,
+    #[clap(skip)]
+    buf_preparsed: Vec<String>,
+    #[clap(skip)]
+    completion: DefaultReplCompletion<C>,
+    #[clap(skip)]
+    history: BasicHistory,
+}
+
+impl<C> Debug for DefaultRepl<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        f.debug_struct("DefaultRepl")
+            .field("command", &self.command)
+            .field("buf", &self.buf)
+            .field("buf_preparsed", &self.buf_preparsed)
+            .field("completion", &self.completion)
+            .field("history", &"(no debug)")
+            .finish()
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct DefaultReplCompletion<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    commands: std::marker::PhantomData<C>,
+}
+
+impl<C> DefaultReplCompletion<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            commands: std::marker::PhantomData::<C>,
+        }
+    }
+    fn commands(&self) -> Vec<String> {
+        let mut buf = Vec::new();
+        // every crate has the help command, but it is not part of the enum
+        buf.push("help".to_string());
+        for c in C::iter() {
+            // HACK: this is a horrible way to do this
+            // I just need the names of the commands
+            buf.push(
+                format!("{c:?}")
+                    .split_whitespace()
+                    .map(|e| e.to_lowercase())
+                    .next()
+                    .unwrap()
+                    .to_string(),
+            )
+        }
+        trace!("commands: {buf:?}");
+        buf
+    }
+}
+
+impl<C> Default for DefaultReplCompletion<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self::new()
+    }
+}
+
+pub trait Repl<C>: Parser + Debug
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    /// create a new repl
+    fn new() -> Self;
+    /// get the command that was parsed from user input
+    ///
+    /// Will only be [None] if the repl has not had [step] executed yet.
+    fn command(&self) -> &Option<C>;
+    /// return all possible commands in this repl
+    fn completion() -> impl Completion;
+    /// advance the repl to the next iteration of the main loop
+    ///
+    /// This should be used at the start of your loop
+    fn step(&mut self) -> anyhow::Result<()>;
+}
+
+impl<C> Completion for DefaultReplCompletion<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    /// Simple completion implementation based on substring
+    fn get(&self, input: &str) -> Option<String> {
+        let matches = self
+            .commands()
+            .into_iter()
+            .filter(|option| option.starts_with(input))
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+
+        trace!("\nmatches: {matches:#?}");
+        if matches.len() == 1 {
+            Some(matches[0].to_string())
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<C> Repl<C> for DefaultRepl<C>
+where
+    C: Debug,
+    C: Subcommand,
+    C: strum::IntoEnumIterator,
+{
+    fn new() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            command: None,
+            buf_preparsed: Vec::new(),
+            buf: String::new(),
+            history: BasicHistory::new(),
+            completion: DefaultReplCompletion::new(),
+        }
+    }
+    fn command(&self) -> &Option<C> {
+        &self.command
+    }
+    #[allow(refining_impl_trait)]
+    fn completion() -> DefaultReplCompletion<C> {
+        DefaultReplCompletion {
+            commands: std::marker::PhantomData::<C>,
+        }
+    }
+    fn step(&mut self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        self.buf.clear();
+
+        // NOTE: display::Input requires some kind of lifetime that would be a bother to store in
+        // our struct. It's documentation also uses it in place, so it should be fine to do it like
+        // this.
+        self.buf = dialoguer::Input::with_theme(&dialoguer::theme::ColorfulTheme::default())
+            .completion_with(&self.completion)
+            .history_with(&mut self.history)
+            .interact_text()?;
+
+        self.buf_preparsed = Vec::new();
+        self.buf_preparsed
+            .extend(shlex::split(&self.buf).unwrap_or_default());
+
+        trace!("read input: {:?}", self.buf_preparsed);
+        trace!("repl after step: {:#?}", self);
+
+        // HACK: find a way to not allocate a new struct for this
+        let cmds = Self::try_parse_from(&self.buf_preparsed)?;
+        self.command = cmds.command;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}