diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 08b0f01..95d7e07 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -4,3 +4,5 @@
 
 pbr>=1.6
 Babel>=1.3
+cliff>=1.14.0
+oslo.utils>=2.0.0
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index a52b3c6..dc343c2 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -20,6 +20,14 @@ classifier =
 packages =
     vitrageclient
 
+[global]
+setup-hooks =
+    pbr.hooks.setup_hook
+
+[entry_points]
+console_scripts =
+    vitrage = vitrageclient.shell:main
+
 [build_sphinx]
 source-dir = doc/source
 build-dir = doc/build
diff --git a/vitrageclient/client.py b/vitrageclient/client.py
index d5bcf39..a233d60 100644
--- a/vitrageclient/client.py
+++ b/vitrageclient/client.py
@@ -11,5 +11,10 @@
 # under the License.
 
 
-class Client(object):
-    pass
+from vitrageclient.common import utils
+
+
+def get_client_class(version, *args, **kwargs):
+    module = utils.import_versioned_module(version, 'client')
+    client_class = getattr(module, 'Client')
+    return client_class(*args, **kwargs)
diff --git a/vitrageclient/common/__init__.py b/vitrageclient/common/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/vitrageclient/common/utils.py b/vitrageclient/common/utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..964a79c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vitrageclient/common/utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+# a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+# WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+# License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+from oslo_utils import importutils
+
+
+def import_versioned_module(version, submodule=None):
+    module = 'vitrageclient.v%s' % version
+    if submodule:
+        module = '.'.join((module, submodule))
+    return importutils.import_module(module)
diff --git a/vitrageclient/exc.py b/vitrageclient/exc.py
index 7125090..ccc6f16 100644
--- a/vitrageclient/exc.py
+++ b/vitrageclient/exc.py
@@ -19,3 +19,7 @@ class VitrageBaseException(Exception):
 
     def __str__(self):
         return self.message or self.__class__.__doc__
+
+
+class VitrageClientException(VitrageBaseException):
+    pass
diff --git a/vitrageclient/shell.py b/vitrageclient/shell.py
index 12055bf..ede4a52 100644
--- a/vitrageclient/shell.py
+++ b/vitrageclient/shell.py
@@ -11,5 +11,55 @@
 # under the License.
 
 
-class VitrageShell(object):
-    pass
+"""
+Vitrage command line interface
+"""
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+from cliff import app
+from cliff import commandmanager
+
+import sys
+from v1 import topology
+from vitrageclient import __version__
+
+
+class VitrageCommandManager(commandmanager.CommandManager):
+    COMMANDS = {
+        "topology list": topology.TopologyList,
+        "topology show": topology.TopologyShow,
+    }
+
+    def load_commands(self, namespace):
+        for k, v in self.COMMANDS.items():
+            self.add_command(k, v)
+
+
+class VitrageShell(app.App):
+    def __init__(self):
+        super(VitrageShell, self).__init__(
+            description=__doc__,
+            version=__version__,
+            command_manager=VitrageCommandManager(None),
+            deferred_help=True,
+        )
+
+    def run(self, args):
+        pass
+
+
+def main(args=None):
+    try:
+        if args is None:
+            args = sys.argv[1:]
+        return VitrageShell().run(args)
+    except KeyboardInterrupt:
+        print("... terminating vitrage client", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(e)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/vitrageclient/v1/topology.py b/vitrageclient/v1/topology.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c7ae7aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vitrageclient/v1/topology.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+# not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+# a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+# WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+# License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+
+from cliff import lister
+from cliff import show
+
+
+class TopologyList(lister.Lister):
+    def take_action(self, parsed_args):
+        pass
+
+
+class TopologyShow(show.ShowOne):
+    def take_action(self, parsed_args):
+        pass