diff --git a/bot-settings.json b/bot-settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..885447b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bot-settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{"username":"Maria Wissler"}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/apierror.rb b/lib/apierror.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e65f8de8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/apierror.rb
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+class SlackApiError < StandardError; end
diff --git a/lib/channel.rb b/lib/channel.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..47e001a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/channel.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+require "pry"
+require "httparty"
+
+class Channel < Recipient
+  attr_reader :topic, :member_count
+
+  def initialize(name:, slack_id:, topic:, member_count:)
+    super(name: name, slack_id: slack_id)
+    @topic = topic
+    @member_count = member_count
+  end
+
+  def self.list
+    response = self.get("channels.list")
+    channel_list = []
+    response["channels"].each do |channel|
+      name = channel["name"]
+      slack_id = channel["id"]
+      topic = channel["topic"]
+      member_count = channel["members"].count
+      channel_list << self.new(name: name, slack_id: slack_id, topic: topic, member_count: member_count)
+    end
+    return channel_list
+  end
+
+  def details
+    puts "Name: #{self.name}"
+    puts "ID: #{self.slack_id}"
+    puts "Topic: #{self.topic["value"]}"
+    puts "Number of members: #{self.member_count}"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/recipient.rb b/lib/recipient.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a55d847f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/recipient.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+require "pry"
+require "httparty"
+
+class Recipient
+  BASE_URL = "https://slack.com/api/"
+
+  attr_reader :slack_id, :name
+
+  def initialize(slack_id:, name:)
+    @slack_id = slack_id
+    raise ArgumentError if !name.is_a? String
+    @name = name
+  end
+
+  def send_message(params)
+    endpoint = "chat.postMessage"
+    url = BASE_URL + endpoint
+    params[:token] = ENV["SLACK_API_TOKEN"]
+    response = HTTParty.post(url, body: params)
+    unless response.code == 200 && response.parsed_response["ok"]
+      raise SlackApiError, response["error"]
+    end
+    return response
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def self.get(endpoint, params = {})
+    url = BASE_URL + endpoint
+    params[:token] = ENV["SLACK_API_TOKEN"]
+    response = HTTParty.get(url, query: params)
+    unless response.code == 200 && response.parsed_response["ok"]
+      raise SlackApiError, response["error"]
+    end
+    return response
+  end
+
+  def self.list
+    raise NotImplementedError, "Implement me in a child class!"
+  end
+
+  def self.details
+    raise NotImplementedError, "Implement me in a child class!"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/slack.rb b/lib/slack.rb
index 960cf2f7..9906d9c1 100755
--- a/lib/slack.rb
+++ b/lib/slack.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,108 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
+require "pry"
+require "httparty"
+require "dotenv"
+require_relative "../lib/workspace"
+Dotenv.load
+
+def display_options
+  puts "\nChoose from one of the following:"
+  puts "------------------------------"
+  puts "\nSelect user"
+  puts "\nSelect channel"
+  puts "\nDetails"
+  puts "\nMessage"
+  puts "\nChange Settings"
+  puts "\nQuit"
+  option = gets.chomp.downcase
+  return verify_options(option)
+end
+
+def verify_options(option)
+  options = ["select user", "select channel", "details", "message", "change settings", "quit"]
+  until options.include?(option)
+    puts "Please input a valid option."
+    option = display_options
+  end
+  return option
+end
 
 def main
   puts "Welcome to the Ada Slack CLI!"
+  puts "\nWhat would you like to do?"
 
-  # TODO project
+  option = display_options
+  until option == "quit"
+    case option
+    when "select user"
+      puts "You chose to select a user. Please provide a username or Slack ID"
+      selected = gets.chomp()
+      workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+      recipient = workspace.select_user
+      until !recipient.nil?
+        puts "Please provide a valid username or Slack ID"
+        selected = gets.chomp
+        workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+        recipient = workspace.select_user
+      end
+      puts "You have selected #{recipient.real_name}"
+      puts "\nWhat would you like to do next?"
+      option = display_options
+    when "select channel"
+      puts "You chose to select a channel. Please provide a channel name or Slack ID"
+      selected = gets.chomp()
+      workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+      recipient = workspace.select_channel
+      until !recipient.nil?
+        puts "Please provide a valid Channel name or Slack ID"
+        selected = gets.chomp
+        workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+        recipient = workspace.select_channel
+      end
+      puts "You have selected #{recipient.name}"
+      option = display_options
+    when "details"
+      begin
+        workspace.show_details(recipient)
+        puts "\nWhat would you like to do next?"
+        option = display_options
+      rescue
+        puts "You must select a user or channel first."
+        puts "\nWhat would you like to do next?"
+        option = display_options
+      end
+    when "message"
+      begin
+        recipient.slack_id #checking if recipient exists; if it doesn't will throw name error => rescue clause
+        puts "What message would you like to send?"
+        message = gets.chomp
+        workspace.send_message(message, recipient)
+        puts "\nYou're message has been sent."
+        puts "\nWhat would you like to do next?"
+        option = display_options
+      rescue
+        puts "You must select a user or channel first."
+        puts "\nWhat would you like to do next?"
+        option = display_options
+      end
+    when "change settings"
+      puts "You can change the username displayed"
+      # puts "Please type either 'username' or 'icon emoji' or both to change either"
+      puts "What username would you like to use?"
+      setting_username_change = gets.chomp
+      params = {}
+      params[:username] = setting_username_change
+      Workspace.save_settings(params)
+      puts "Thanks, username is now #{setting_username_change}."
+      puts "Quit and restart the program for this change to be implemented"
+      option = display_options
+    end
+  end
 
   puts "Thank you for using the Ada Slack CLI"
 end
 
-main if __FILE__ == $PROGRAM_NAME
\ No newline at end of file
+main if __FILE__ == $PROGRAM_NAME
+
+def verify_icon_emojis
+end
diff --git a/lib/user.rb b/lib/user.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c9ae3521
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/user.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+require "pry"
+require "httparty"
+require_relative "recipient.rb"
+
+class User < Recipient
+  attr_reader :real_name, :status_text, :status_emoji
+
+  def initialize(name:, slack_id:, real_name:, status_text: nil, status_emoji: nil)
+    super(name: name, slack_id: slack_id)
+    @real_name = real_name
+    @status_text = status_text
+    @status_emoji = status_emoji
+  end
+
+  def self.list #factory method
+    response = self.get("users.list")
+    user_list = []
+    response["members"].each do |member|
+      name = member["name"]
+      slack_id = member["id"]
+      real_name = member["real_name"]
+      status_text = member["profile"]["status_text"]
+      status_emoji = member["profile"]["status_emoji"]
+      user_list << self.new(name: name, slack_id: slack_id, real_name: real_name, status_text: status_text, status_emoji: status_emoji)
+    end
+    return user_list
+  end
+
+  def details #business logic
+    puts "Username: #{self.name}"
+    puts "ID: #{self.slack_id}"
+    puts "Name: #{self.real_name}"
+    puts "Status: #{self.status_text}"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/workspace.rb b/lib/workspace.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5b8b4ce8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/workspace.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+require "httparty"
+require_relative "../lib/user"
+require_relative "../lib/channel"
+require_relative "../lib/recipient"
+require "json"
+
+class Workspace
+  attr_reader :users, :channels, :selected
+
+  def initialize(selected:)
+    @users = User.list
+    @channels = Channel.list
+    @selected = selected # either user or channel info
+  end
+
+  def select_user
+    user_selected = users.detect do |user|
+      user.slack_id == selected || user.name == selected
+    end
+    return user_selected
+  end
+
+  def select_channel
+    channel_selected = channels.detect do |channel|
+      channel.slack_id == selected || channel.name == selected
+    end
+    return channel_selected
+  end
+
+  def self.save_settings(params)
+    settings_file = File.open("bot-settings.json", "w") do |f|
+      f.write(params.to_json)
+    end
+  end
+
+  def bot_settings_file_exist
+    begin
+      readfile = File.read("bot-settings.json")
+      return readfile
+    rescue
+      readfile = nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  def send_message(message, recipient)
+    params = {}
+    params[:text] = message
+    params[:channel] = recipient.slack_id
+    readfile = bot_settings_file_exist #check if settings have been changed
+    params.merge!(eval(readfile)) if !readfile.nil?
+    recipient.send_message(params)
+  end
+
+  def show_details(recipient)
+    recipient.details
+  end
+end
diff --git a/settings_slackapi.csv b/settings_slackapi.csv
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6e5ef4b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/settings_slackapi.csv
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"{:username=>""cyndi""}"
diff --git a/specs/channel_spec.rb b/specs/channel_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aa142641
--- /dev/null
+++ b/specs/channel_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+require_relative "test_helper"
+require "pry"
+describe "channel class" do
+  describe "initialize" do
+    it "creates and instance of channel" do
+      topic = "random"
+      member_count = 3
+      name = "cyndilopez6"
+      slack_id = 1
+      expect(Channel.new(name: name, slack_id: slack_id, topic: topic, member_count: member_count)).must_be_kind_of Channel
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "can connect to API" do
+    it "accesses api" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("connect to endpoints channels_list") do
+        endpoint = "channels.list"
+        @response = Channel.get(endpoint)
+      end
+      expect(@response.code == 200 && @response.parsed_response["ok"]).must_equal true
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "raises errors for incorrect endpoint" do
+    it "raises an error for incorrect endpoint" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("check_method_error_raised") do
+        endpoint = "ret424252E#1231+=.y"
+        exception = expect { Channel.get(endpoint) }.must_raise SlackApiError
+        expect(exception.message).must_equal "unknown_method"
+      end
+    end
+
+    # it "raises an error for incorrect token" do
+    #   VCR.use_cassette("check_auth_error_raised") do
+    #     endpoint = "channels.list"
+    #     params = {:token => "0123456789abcdef"}
+    #     p params
+    #     expect(Channel.get(endpoint, params)).must_equal "invalid_auth"
+    #   end
+    # end
+  end
+
+  describe "creates list of channels" do
+    it "returns a type of array" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("returns array") do
+        expect(Channel.list.is_a? Array).must_equal true
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "returns an array of Channel objects" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("returns object Channel") do
+        expect(Channel.list[0]).must_be_kind_of Channel
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "returns an accurate list of channels in slack workspace" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("correct channels") do
+        expect(Channel.list.map { |channel| channel.name }.length).must_be :>, 0
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/specs/recipient_spec.rb b/specs/recipient_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b077118b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/specs/recipient_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+require_relative "test_helper"
+require "pry"
+describe "recipient class" do
+  describe "initialize" do
+    it "creates an instance of Recipient" do
+      #check slack_if format
+      slack_id = 1
+      name = "Maria"
+      expect(Recipient.new(slack_id: slack_id, name: name)).must_be_kind_of Recipient
+    end
+
+    it "raises an argument error if name is not a string" do
+      expect { Recipient.new(slack_id: 1, name: 21) }.must_raise ArgumentError
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "can connect to API" do
+    it "can connect" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("find channels") do
+        response = Recipient.get("channels.list")
+        expect(response["channels"]).wont_be_nil
+        expect(response["channels"].map { |channel| channel["name"] }.length).must_be :>, 0
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "gives a list with more than one user name" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("find channels") do
+        endpoint = "users.list"
+        response = Recipient.get(endpoint)
+        # Binding.pry
+        expect(response).wont_be_nil
+        expect(response["members"].map { |member| member["name"] }.length).must_be :>, 0
+      end
+    end
+    it "can find the status of a member" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("user status") do
+        endpoint = "users.list"
+        response = Recipient.get(endpoint)
+        expect(response["members"][0]["profile"]["status_text"].length).wont_be_nil
+        expect(response["members"].select { |member| member["real_name"] == "Maria Wissler" }[0]["profile"]["status_text"]).must_be_kind_of String
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/specs/test_helper.rb b/specs/test_helper.rb
index 81ccd06b..2b796040 100644
--- a/specs/test_helper.rb
+++ b/specs/test_helper.rb
@@ -1,15 +1,35 @@
-require 'simplecov'
+require "simplecov"
 SimpleCov.start
 
-require 'minitest'
-require 'minitest/autorun'
-require 'minitest/reporters'
-require 'minitest/skip_dsl'
-require 'vcr'
+require "minitest"
+require "minitest/autorun"
+require "minitest/reporters"
+require "minitest/skip_dsl"
+require "vcr"
+require "webmock/minitest"
+require "dotenv"
+Dotenv.load
+
+require_relative "../lib/slack"
+require_relative "../lib/recipient"
+require_relative "../lib/user"
+require_relative "../lib/channel"
+require_relative "../lib/apierror"
+require_relative "../lib/workspace"
 
 Minitest::Reporters.use! Minitest::Reporters::SpecReporter.new
 
 VCR.configure do |config|
-  config.cassette_library_dir = "specs/cassettes"
-  config.hook_into :webmock
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+  config.cassette_library_dir = "specs/cassettes" # folder where casettes will be located
+  config.hook_into :webmock # tie into this other tool called webmock
+  config.default_cassette_options = {
+    :record => :new_episodes,    # record new data when we don't have it yet
+    :match_requests_on => [:method, :uri, :body], # The http method, URI and body of a request all need to match
+  }
+
+  # Don't leave our Slack token lying around in a cassette file.
+
+  config.filter_sensitive_data("<SLACK_API_TOKEN>") do
+    ENV["SLACK_API_TOKEN"]
+  end
+end
diff --git a/specs/user_spec.rb b/specs/user_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3cd9f865
--- /dev/null
+++ b/specs/user_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+require_relative "test_helper"
+require "pry"
+describe "user class" do
+  describe "initialize" do
+    it "creates and instance of user" do
+      name = "mcarmelina"
+      slack_id = 123
+      real_name = "Maria Wissler"
+      status_text = ""
+      status_emoji = ""
+      expect(User.new(name: name, slack_id: slack_id, real_name: real_name, status_text: status_text, status_emoji: status_emoji)).must_be_kind_of User
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "can connect to API" do
+    before do
+      VCR.use_cassette("connect to endpoints users_list") do
+        endpoint = "users.list"
+        @response = User.get(endpoint)
+        expect(@response.code == 200 && @response.parsed_response["ok"]).must_equal true
+      end
+    end
+    it "gives a list of names" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("find members not empty") do
+        expect(@response).wont_be_nil
+        expect(@response["members"].map { |member| member["name"] }.length).must_be :>, 0
+      end
+    end
+    it "finds the status of a member" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("user status") do
+        expect(@response["members"][0]["profile"]["status_text"].length).wont_be_nil
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "raises errors for incorrect endpoint" do
+    it "raises an error for incorrect endpoint" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("check_method_error_raised") do
+        endpoint = "ret424252E#1231+=.y"
+        exception = expect { User.get(endpoint) }.must_raise SlackApiError
+        expect(exception.message).must_equal "unknown_method"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "create list of users" do
+    before do
+      VCR.use_cassette("self_list") do
+        @user_list = User.list
+      end
+    end
+    it "returns an array of users" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("list of users array") do
+        expect(@user_list).must_be_kind_of Array
+      end
+    end
+    it "contains instances of user within the array" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("instance of User within array") do
+        expect(@user_list[0]).must_be_kind_of User
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "returns a list that is not empty" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("length user list") do
+        expect(@user_list.length).must_be :>, 0
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "returns name of first user correctly" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("bot user name") do
+        expect(@user_list.first.real_name).must_equal "Slackbot"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/specs/workspace_spec.rb b/specs/workspace_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..024f796f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/specs/workspace_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+require_relative "test_helper"
+
+describe "workspace class" do
+  before do
+    VCR.use_cassette("create workspace object") do
+      selected = "USLACKBOT" #id of slackbot
+      @workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "initialize" do
+    it "creates an instance of workspace" do
+      expect(@workspace).must_be_kind_of Workspace
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#select_user" do
+    it "returns an instance of User" do
+      expect(@workspace.select_user).must_be_kind_of User
+    end
+
+    it "returned the correct user" do
+      user = @workspace.select_user
+      expect(user.name).must_equal "slackbot"
+    end
+
+    it "returns nil if username or slack id is not found" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("check nil returned") do
+        selected = "chewy" #id of nonexistent slackbot
+        @workspace2 = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+      end
+      expect(@workspace2.select_user).must_be_nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#selected_channel" do
+    before do
+      VCR.use_cassette("create workspace object") do
+        selected = "CH0ED08E4" #id for general channel
+        @workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+      end
+    end
+    it "returns an instance of Channel" do
+      expect(@workspace.select_channel).must_be_kind_of Channel
+    end
+
+    it "returned the correct user" do
+      channel = @workspace.select_channel
+      expect(channel.name).must_be_kind_of String
+    end
+
+    it "returns nil if username or slack id is not found" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("check nil returned") do
+        selected = "name your channel"
+        @workspace_channel = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+      end
+      expect(@workspace_channel.select_channel).must_be_nil
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe "#send_message" do
+    it "connects to the api ok" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("") do
+        selected = "CH0ED08E4" #id for general channel
+        @workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+        channel_selected = @workspace.select_channel
+        message = "hello"
+        response = @workspace.send_message(message, channel_selected)
+        expect(response.code).must_equal 200
+        expect(response.parsed_response["ok"]).must_equal true
+      end
+    end
+
+    it "returns an error if the message is empty" do
+      VCR.use_cassette("") do
+        selected = "CH0ED08E4" #id for general channel
+        @workspace = Workspace.new(selected: selected)
+        channel_selected = @workspace.select_channel
+        message = ""
+        exception = expect { @workspace.send_message(message, channel_selected) }.must_raise SlackApiError
+        expect(exception.message).must_equal "no_text"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end