diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/config.py b/qutebrowser/config/config.py
index f9412b0f1..1c7227ded 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/config/config.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/config.py
@@ -21,10 +21,12 @@ import os
 import io
 import os.path
 import logging
+from collections import OrderedDict
 from configparser import (ConfigParser, ExtendedInterpolation, NoSectionError,
                           NoOptionError)
 
 from qutebrowser.utils.misc import read_file
+from qutebrowser.config.options import *
 
 config = None
 state = None
@@ -46,6 +48,47 @@ def init(confdir):
     state = Config(confdir, 'state', always_save=True)
 
 
+class ConfigStructure:
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.config = OrderedDict([
+            ('general', KeyValueSection(
+                ('show_completion', ShowCompletion()),
+                ('completion_height', CompletionHeight()),
+                ('ignorecase', IgnoreCase()),
+                ('wrapsearch', WrapSearch()),
+                ('startpage', StartPage()),
+                ('auto_search', AutoSearch()),
+                ('zoomlevels', ZoomLevels()),
+                ('defaultzoom', DefaultZoom()),
+            )),
+            ('tabbar', KeyValueSection(
+                ('movable', Movable()),
+                ('closebuttons', CloseButtons()),
+                ('scrollbuttons', ScrollButtons()),
+                ('position', Position()),
+                ('select_on_remove', SelectOnRemove()),
+                ('last_close', LastClose()),
+            )),
+            ('searchengines', ValueListSection(
+                SearchEngineKeyValue()
+            )),
+            ('keybind', ValueListSection(
+                KeybindKeyValue()
+            )),
+            ('aliases', ValueListSection(
+                AliasKeyValue()
+            )),
+            ('colors', KeyValueSection(
+                ('completion.fg', CompletionFgColor()),
+                ('completion.item.bg', CompletionItemBgColor()),
+                # FIXME ...
+            )),
+            ('fonts', KeyValueSection(
+            )),
+        ])
+
+
 class Config(ConfigParser):
 
     """Our own ConfigParser subclass.
diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/options.py b/qutebrowser/config/options.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bc33feb38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/options.py
@@ -0,0 +1,370 @@
+# Copyright 2014 Florian Bruhin (The Compiler) <mail@qutebrowser.org>
+#
+# This file is part of qutebrowser.
+#
+# qutebrowser is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# qutebrowser is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with qutebrowser.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+"""Setting options used for qutebrowser."""
+
+from qutebrowser.config.templates import *
+
+class ShowCompletion(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether to show the autocompletion window or not."""
+
+    default = "true"
+
+class CompletionHeight(SettingValue):
+
+    """The height of the completion, in px or as percentage of the window."""
+
+    default = "50%"
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        if value.endswith('%'):
+            try:
+                intval = int(value.rstrip('%'))
+            except ValueError:
+                return False
+            else:
+                return 0 <= intval <= 100
+        else:
+            try:
+                intval = int(value)
+            except ValueError:
+                return False
+            else:
+                return intval > 0
+
+
+class IgnoreCase(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether to do case-insensitive searching."""
+
+    default = "true"
+
+
+class WrapSearch(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether to wrap search to the top when arriving at the end."""
+
+    default = "true"
+
+
+class StartPage(ListSettingValue):
+
+    """The default page(s) to open at the start, separated with commas."""
+
+    default = "http://www.duckduckgo.com/"
+
+
+class AutoSearch(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether to start a search when something else than an URL is entered."""
+
+    values = [("naive", "Use simple/naive check."),
+              ("dns", "Use DNS requests (might be slow!)."),
+              ("false": "Never search automatically.")]
+    default = "naive"
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        if value.lower() in ["naive", "dns"]:
+            return True
+        else:
+            return super().validate(value)
+            return True
+        else:
+            return super().validate(value)
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        if value.lower() in ["naive", "dns"]:
+            return value.lower()
+        elif super().transform(value):
+            # boolean true is an alias for naive matching
+            return "naive"
+        else:
+            return "false"
+
+
+class ZoomLevels(IntListSettingValue):
+
+    """The available zoom levels, separated by commas."""
+
+    default = "25,33,50,67,75,90,100,110,125,150,175,200,250,300,400,500"
+
+
+class DefaultZoom(IntSettingValue):
+
+    """The default zoom level."""
+
+    # FIXME we might want to validate if defaultzoom is in zoomlevels...
+
+    default = "100"
+
+
+class Movable(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether tabs should be movable."""
+
+    default = "true"
+
+
+class CloseButtons(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether tabs should have close-buttons."""
+
+    default = "false"
+
+
+class ScrollButtons(BoolSettingValue):
+
+    """Whether there should be scroll buttons if there are too many tabs."""
+
+    default = "true"
+
+
+class Position(SettingValue):
+
+    """The position of the tab bar."""
+
+    values = ["north", "south", "east", "west"]
+    default = "north"
+
+
+class SelectOnRemove(SettingValue):
+
+    """Which tab to select when the focused tab is removed."""
+
+    values = [("left", "Select the tab on the left."),
+              ("right", "Select the tab on the right."),
+              ("previous", "Select the previously selected tab.")]
+    default = "previous"
+
+
+class LastClose(SettingValue):
+
+    """Behaviour when the last tab is closed."""
+
+    values = [("ignore", "Don't do anything."),
+              ("blank", "Load about:blank."),
+              ("quit", "Quit qutebrowser.")]
+    default = "ignore"
+
+### FIXME what to do with list-style sections?
+
+class SearchEngine(SettingValue):
+
+    """A search engine setting."""
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        return "{}" in value
+
+
+class CompletionFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Text color of the completion widget."""
+
+    default = "#333333"
+
+
+class CompletionItemBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of completion widget items."""
+
+    default = "white"
+
+
+class CompletionCategoryBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the completion widget category headers."""
+
+    default = ("completion.category.bg = qlineargradient("
+               "x1:0, y1:0, x2:0, y2:1, stop:0 #e4e4e4, stop:1 #dbdbdb")
+
+
+class CompletionCategoryTopBorderColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Top border color of the completion widget category headers."""
+
+    default = "#808080"
+
+
+class CompletionCategoryBottomBorderColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Bottom border color of the completion widget category headers."""
+
+    default = "#bbbbbb"
+
+
+class CompletionItemSelectedFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the selected completion item."""
+
+    default = "#333333"
+
+
+class CompletionItemSelectedBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the selected completion item."""
+
+    default = "#ffec8b"
+
+
+class CompletionItemSelectedTopBorderColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Top border color of the selected completion item."""
+
+    default = "#f2f2c0"
+
+
+class CompletionItemSelectedBottomBorderColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Bottom border color of the selected completion item."""
+
+    default = "#ffec8b"
+
+
+class CompletionMatchFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the matched text in the completion."""
+
+    default = "red"
+
+
+class StatusbarBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the statusbar."""
+
+    default = "black"
+
+
+class StatusbarFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the statusbar."""
+
+    default = "white"
+
+
+class StatusbarFgErrorColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the statusbar if there was an error."""
+
+    default = "${statusbar.fg}"
+
+
+class StatusbarBgErrorColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the statusbar if there was an error."""
+
+    default = "red"
+
+
+class StatusbarProgressBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the progress bar."""
+
+    default = "white"
+
+
+class StatusbarUrlFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Default foreground color of the URL in the statusbar."""
+
+    default = "${statusbar.fg}"
+
+
+class StatusbarUrlSuccessFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the URL in the statusbar on successful load."""
+
+    default = "lime"
+
+
+class StatusbarUrlErrorFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the URL in the statusbar on error."""
+
+    default = "orange"
+
+
+class StatusbarUrlWarnFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the URL in the statusbar when there's a warning."""
+
+    default = "yellow"
+
+
+class StatusbarUrlHoverFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the URL in the statusbar for hovered links."""
+
+    default = "aqua"
+
+
+class TabFgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Foreground color of the tabbar."""
+
+    default = "white"
+
+
+class TabBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the tabbar."""
+
+    default = "grey"
+
+
+class TabSelectedBgColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Background color of the tabbar for the selected tab."""
+
+    default = "black"
+
+
+class TabSeperatorColor(ColorSettingValue):
+
+    """Color for the tab seperator."""
+
+    default = "white"
+
+
+class MonospaceFonts(FontSettingValue):
+
+    """Default monospace fonts."""
+
+    default = ('Monospace, "DejaVu Sans Mono", Consolas, Monaco, '
+               '"Bitstream Vera Sans Mono", "Andale Mono", "Liberation Mono", '
+               '"Courier New", Courier, monospace, Fixed, Terminal')
+
+
+class CompletionFont(FontSettingValue):
+
+    """Font used in the completion widget."""
+
+    default = "8pt ${_monospace}"
+
+
+class TabbarFont(FontSettingValue):
+
+    """Font used in the tabbar."""
+
+    default = "8pt ${_monospace}"
+
+
+class StatusbarFont(FontSettingValue):
+
+    """Font used in the statusbar."""
+
+    default = "8pt ${_monospace}"
diff --git a/qutebrowser/config/templates.py b/qutebrowser/config/templates.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4dd57d1f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qutebrowser/config/templates.py
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+# Copyright 2014 Florian Bruhin (The Compiler) <mail@qutebrowser.org>
+#
+# This file is part of qutebrowser.
+#
+# qutebrowser is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# qutebrowser is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with qutebrowser.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+"""Templates for setting options."""
+
+import qutebrowser.commands.utils as cmdutils
+
+class SettingValue:
+
+    """Base class for settings. The docstring is used as a description."""
+
+    # Possible values, if they are fixed.
+    # Either a list of strings, or a list of (value, desc) tuples.
+    values = None
+
+    # Default value if user has not overriden it, as a string.
+    default = None
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        """Transform the setting value.
+
+        This method can assume the value is indeed a valid value.
+
+        The default implementation returns the original value.
+
+        Args:
+            value: The value to transform.
+
+        Return:
+            The transformed value.
+
+        """
+        return value
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        """Validate value against possible values.
+
+        The default implementation checks the value against self.values if it
+        was defined.
+
+        Args:
+            value: The value to validate.
+
+        Return:
+            Ture if validation succeeded, False otherwise.
+
+        Raise:
+            NotImplementedError if self.values is not defined and this method
+            should be overridden.
+
+        """
+        if self.values is not None:
+            return value in self.values
+        else:
+            raise NotImplementedError
+
+class BoolSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for a boolean setting."""
+    values = ['true', 'false']
+
+    # Taken from configparser
+    _BOOLEAN_STATES = {'1': True, 'yes': True, 'true': True, 'on': True,
+                       '0': False, 'no': False, 'false': False, 'off': False}
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        return self._BOOLEAN_STATES[value.lower()]
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        return value.lower() in self._BOOLEAN_STATES
+
+
+class IntSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for an integer setting."""
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        return int(value)
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        try:
+            int(value)
+        except ValueError:
+            return False
+        else:
+            return True
+
+
+class ListSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for a (string-)list setting."""
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        return value.split(',')
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        return True
+
+
+class IntListSettingValue(ListSettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for an int-list setting."""
+
+    def transform(self, value):
+        vals = super().transform(value)
+        return map(int, vals)
+
+    def validate(self, value)
+        try:
+            self.transform(value)
+        except ValueError:
+            return False
+        else:
+            return True
+
+
+class CommandSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for a command value with arguments."""
+
+    values = cmdutils.cmd_dict.values()
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        cp = cmdutils.CommandParser()
+        try:
+            cp.parse(value)
+        except cmdutils.NoSuchCommandError:
+            return False
+        else:
+            return True
+
+
+class ColorSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for a color value."""
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        # FIXME validate colors
+        return True
+
+
+class FontSettingValue(SettingValue):
+
+    """Base class for a font value."""
+
+    def validate(self, value):
+        # FIXME validate fonts
+        return True