diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 98d8a5a..6c3d6ce 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1 +1,23 @@
-logs
+# Python
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*.egg-info/
+*.egg
+dist/
+build/
+
+# Virtual environments
+.venv/
+
+# IDE
+.idea/
+.vscode/
+*.swp
+*.swo
+
+# OS
+.DS_Store
+Thumbs.db
+
+# Honker
+logs/
diff --git a/config.sample.yaml b/config.sample.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ea6603
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config.sample.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Honker configuration
+# Copy this file to ~/.config/honker/config.yaml and edit to suit your setup.
+
+# The Signal account number honker will use
+account: "+15551234567"
+
+# Contacts that are allowed to interact with honker
+trusted_contacts:
+  - name: "Alice"
+    number: "+15559876543"
+  - name: "Bob"
+    number: "+15551112222"
diff --git a/src/honker/__pycache__/__init__.cpython-312.pyc b/src/honker/__pycache__/__init__.cpython-312.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 468013e..0000000
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diff --git a/src/honker/__pycache__/config.cpython-312.pyc b/src/honker/__pycache__/config.cpython-312.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 743d918..0000000
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diff --git a/src/honker/__pycache__/main.cpython-312.pyc b/src/honker/__pycache__/main.cpython-312.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 611b8da..0000000
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diff --git a/src/honker/__pycache__/processes.cpython-312.pyc b/src/honker/__pycache__/processes.cpython-312.pyc
deleted file mode 100644
index 977ee47..0000000
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diff --git a/src/honker/config.py b/src/honker/config.py
index b28c85a..4767b5a 100644
--- a/src/honker/config.py
+++ b/src/honker/config.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import os
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from pathlib import Path
 
 import yaml
@@ -7,12 +7,49 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH = Path.home() / ".config" / "honker" / "config.yaml"
 DEFAULT_SIGNAL_SOCKET_PATH = Path.home() / ".local" / "share" / "honker" / "signal-cli.sock"
 
 
-def load_config(path: Path | None = None) -> dict:
+@dataclass
+class Contact:
+    name: str
+    number: str
+
+
+@dataclass
+class Config:
+    account: str
+    trusted_contacts: list[Contact] = field(default_factory=list)
+
+    def is_trusted(self, number: str) -> bool:
+        """Check whether a phone number belongs to a trusted contact."""
+        return any(c.number == number for c in self.trusted_contacts)
+
+    def contact_by_number(self, number: str) -> Contact | None:
+        """Look up a trusted contact by phone number."""
+        return next((c for c in self.trusted_contacts if c.number == number), None)
+
+
+def load_config(path: Path | None = None) -> Config:
     """Load configuration from ~/.config/honker/config.yaml"""
     config_path = path or DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH
 
     if not config_path.exists():
-        return {}
+        raise FileNotFoundError(
+            f"Config file not found: {config_path}\n"
+            "Create it with at least:\n"
+            "  account: +1234567890\n"
+            "  trusted_contacts:\n"
+            '    - name: "Alice"\n'
+            "      number: +1234567890"
+        )
 
     with open(config_path) as f:
-        return yaml.safe_load(f) or {}
+        raw = yaml.safe_load(f) or {}
+
+    if "account" not in raw:
+        raise ValueError("Config is missing required field: account")
+
+    contacts = [
+        Contact(name=c["name"], number=c["number"])
+        for c in raw.get("trusted_contacts", [])
+    ]
+
+    return Config(account=raw["account"], trusted_contacts=contacts)
diff --git a/src/honker/main.py b/src/honker/main.py
index 34237d3..0cd8109 100644
--- a/src/honker/main.py
+++ b/src/honker/main.py
@@ -13,6 +13,13 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 def parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Honker – Signal ↔ Goose ACP bridge")
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--config",
+        metavar="FILE",
+        type=Path,
+        default=None,
+        help="Path to config file (default: ~/.config/honker/config.yaml)",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--debug",
         metavar="DIR",
@@ -31,8 +38,9 @@ def main() -> None:
         format="%(asctime)s [%(name)s] %(levelname)s: %(message)s",
     )
 
-    config = load_config()
-    log.info("Honker starting up")
+    config = load_config(path=args.config)
+    log.info("Honker starting up (account=%s, %d trusted contacts)",
+             config.account, len(config.trusted_contacts))
 
     if args.debug:
         log.debug("Debug mode enabled — process logs will be written to %s", args.debug)