diff --git a/cli/CMakeLists.txt b/cli/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0507bc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cli/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.22)
+project(genogrove_cli VERSION 0.1.0)
+
+add_executable(genogrove_cli main.cpp)
+target_link_libraries(genogrove_cli genogrove::genogrove)
+
+# set the output directory for the executable
+set_target_properties(genogrove_cli PROPERTIES
+        RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/bin
+)
+
+
+