diff --git a/server/src/main.rs b/server/src/main.rs
index 8dddd2f..6a33e85 100644
--- a/server/src/main.rs
+++ b/server/src/main.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use crate::managers::repos::RepoManager;
 use crate::objs::library::Library;
 use crate::util::{setup_logger, JsonErrorResponse, ResponseError};
 use routes::api;
+use crate::models::user::UserModel;
 use crate::routes::ui;
 
 mod routes;
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ const MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE: ByteUnit = ByteUnit::Mebibyte(100_000);
 
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize)]
 struct SessionData {
-    user_name: String
+    user: UserModel,
 }
 
 #[launch]
@@ -106,6 +107,9 @@ async fn rocket() -> _ {
         .mount("/api/library", routes![
             api::library::move_file, api::library::upload_file, api::library::download_file, api::library::list_files, api::library::get_file, api::library::delete_file,
         ])
+        .mount("/auth", routes![
+            ui::auth::login
+        ])
         .mount("/", routes![
             ui::help::about,
             ui::user::index, ui::user::redirect_list_library_files, ui::user::list_library_files, ui::user::get_library_file,
diff --git a/server/src/models/user.rs b/server/src/models/user.rs
index 09493fe..0ba0969 100644
--- a/server/src/models/user.rs
+++ b/server/src/models/user.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 use chrono::NaiveDateTime;
+use rocket::serde::Serialize;
 use rocket::serde::uuid::Uuid;
 use sqlx::query_as;
 use crate::DB;
 use crate::models::repo::RepoModel;
 
+#[derive(Serialize, Clone, Debug)]
 pub struct UserModel {
     pub id: Uuid,
     pub created_at: NaiveDateTime,
diff --git a/server/src/routes/ui.rs b/server/src/routes/ui.rs
index 3abdb02..cf27f27 100644
--- a/server/src/routes/ui.rs
+++ b/server/src/routes/ui.rs
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 pub mod user;
-pub mod help;
\ No newline at end of file
+pub mod help;
+pub(crate) mod auth;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/src/routes/ui/auth.rs b/server/src/routes/ui/auth.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be532b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/src/routes/ui/auth.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+use rocket::{get, post, Route};
+use rocket_dyn_templates::{context, Template};
+
+#[get("/login")]
+pub async fn login(route: &Route) -> Template {
+    Template::render("auth/login", context! { route: route.uri.path() })
+
+}
+#[post("/login")]
+pub async fn login_handler(route: &Route) -> Template {
+    Template::render("auth/login", context! { route: route.uri.path() })
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/src/routes/ui/help.rs b/server/src/routes/ui/help.rs
index ce89ce0..6b7fb63 100644
--- a/server/src/routes/ui/help.rs
+++ b/server/src/routes/ui/help.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ use rocket::serde::json::Json;
 use rocket_dyn_templates::{context, Template};
 use rocket_session_store::{Session, SessionResult};
 use serde::Serialize;
+use crate::models::user::UserModel;
 use crate::SessionData;
 
 #[get("/help/about")]
@@ -10,10 +11,15 @@ pub fn about(route: &Route) -> Template {
     Template::render("about", context! { route: route.uri.path() })
 }
 
+// TODO: temp remove when not needed
 #[get("/test/set")]
 pub async fn test_set(session: Session<'_, SessionData>) -> &str {
     session.set(SessionData {
-        user_name: "test".to_string()
+        user: UserModel {
+            id: Default::default(),
+            created_at: Default::default(),
+            name: "Jackie".to_string(),
+        },
     }).await;
     "set."
 }
diff --git a/server/src/routes/ui/user.rs b/server/src/routes/ui/user.rs
index a3b2dfa..8278f3e 100644
--- a/server/src/routes/ui/user.rs
+++ b/server/src/routes/ui/user.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ use crate::util::{JsonErrorResponse, ResponseError};
 
 #[get("/")]
 pub async fn index(route: &Route) -> Template {
-    Template::render("index", context! { route: route.uri.path(), test: "value" })
+    Template::render("index", context! { user: true, route: route.uri.path(), test: "value" })
 }
 
 #[get("/library/<library_id>")]
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ pub async fn list_library_files(route: &Route, libraries: &State<Arc<Mutex<Libra
     debug!("segments={:?}", segments);
 
     Ok(Template::render("libraries", context! {
+        user: true,
         route: route.uri.path(),
         library: library.model(),
         files: files,
diff --git a/server/static/css/main.css b/server/static/css/main.css
index bc98f30..be4e606 100644
--- a/server/static/css/main.css
+++ b/server/static/css/main.css
@@ -71,4 +71,7 @@ tr.file-list td.filecell-icon .fa-folder {
 }
 tr.file-list td.filecell-label a {
     color: var(--accent-color);
+}
+.login-bg {
+    background-image: linear-gradient(to top, #fbc2eb 0%, #a6c1ee 100%);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/templates/layouts/main.html.hbs b/server/templates/layouts/main.html.hbs
index 145c2e6..c66b3f3 100644
--- a/server/templates/layouts/main.html.hbs
+++ b/server/templates/layouts/main.html.hbs
@@ -1,28 +1,11 @@
-<!doctype html>
-<html lang="en">
-	<head>
-		<meta charset="utf-8" />
-		<link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon.png" />
-
-		<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
-        <title>storage-app</title>
-        <!-- TODO: use static -->
-        <link href="/static/css/main.css" rel="stylesheet" />
-        <link rel="stylesheet" href="/static/css/bulma.min.css">
-        <link href="/static/icons/css/fontawesome.css" rel="stylesheet" />
-        <link href="/static/icons/css/solid.css" rel="stylesheet" />
-        <link href="/static/icons/css/regular.css" rel="stylesheet" />
-        <link href="/static/icons/css/brands.css" rel="stylesheet" />
-    </head>
-	<body>
-        {{> partials/nav }}
-        <div class="mx-3 columns" style="height: 100%">
-            <div class="column pl-0 sidebar-column">
-                {{> partials/sidebar }}
-            </div>
-            <div class="column is-10">
-                {{> @partial-block }}
-            </div>
+{{#> layouts/default }}
+    {{> partials/nav }}
+    <div class="mx-3 columns" style="height: 100%">
+        <div class="column pl-0 sidebar-column">
+            {{> partials/sidebar }}
         </div>
-	</body>
-</html>
+        <div class="column is-10">
+            {{> @partial-block }}
+        </div>
+    </div>
+{{/layouts/default}}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/server/templates/partials/nav.html.hbs b/server/templates/partials/nav.html.hbs
index 63079a1..039b7a2 100644
--- a/server/templates/partials/nav.html.hbs
+++ b/server/templates/partials/nav.html.hbs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
     </div>
     <div class="navbar-end">
+        {{#if user}} <!-- TODO: only show w/ route is library/files --> 
         <div class="navbar-item" style="width:300px">
             <div class="field" style="width:100%" >
                 <p class="control has-icons-left">
@@ -24,6 +25,8 @@
                 </p>
             </div>
         </div>
+        {{/if}}
+        {{#if user}}
         <div class="navbar-item">
             <a class="icon  has-text-black">
                 <i class="far fa-bell"></i>
@@ -57,5 +60,6 @@
      
             </div>
         </div>
+        {{/if}}
     </div>
 </nav>
\ No newline at end of file