diff --git a/.appveyor.yml b/.appveyor.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac2768b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.appveyor.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,258 @@
+# This CI setup provides a largely homogeneous configuration across all
+# major platforms (Windows, MacOS, and Linux). The aim of this test setup is
+# to create a "native" platform experience, using as few cross-platform
+# helper tools as possible.
+#
+# On all platforms `hatch` is used for testing, and managing the test
+# environment. This yields a near-identical environment/behavior across
+# platforms and Python versions. The main difference between running tests
+# on Appveyor and locally should be the service setup (e.g., SSH, HTTPBIN).
+#
+# All workers support remote login. Login details are shown at the top of each
+# CI run log.
+#
+# - Linux/Mac workers (via SSH):
+#
+#   - A permitted SSH key must be defined in an APPVEYOR_SSH_KEY environment
+#     variable (via the appveyor project settings)
+#
+#   - SSH login info is given in the form of: 'appveyor@67.225.164.xx -p 22xxx'
+#
+#   - Login with:
+#
+#     ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no <LOGIN>
+#
+#   - to prevent the CI run from exiting, `touch` a file named `BLOCK` in the
+#     user HOME directory (current directory directly after login). The session
+#     will run until the file is removed (or 60 min have passed)
+#
+# - Windows workers (via RDP):
+#
+#   - An RDP password should be defined in an APPVEYOR_RDP_PASSWORD environment
+#     variable (via the appveyor project settings), or a random password is used
+#     every time
+#
+#   - RDP login info is given in the form of IP:PORT
+#
+#   - Login with:
+#
+#     xfreerdp /cert:ignore /dynamic-resolution /u:appveyor /p:<PASSWORD> /v:<LOGIN>
+#
+#   - to prevent the CI run from exiting, create a textfile named `BLOCK` on the
+#     Desktop (a required .txt extension will be added automatically). The session
+#     will run until the file is removed (or 60 min have passed)
+#
+
+# do not make repository clone cheap: interfers with VCS-based version determination
+shallow_clone: false
+
+# turn of support for MS project build support (not needed)
+build: off
+
+environment:
+  # place coverage files to a known location regardless of where a test run
+  # is happening
+  COVERAGE_ROOT: /home/appveyor/DLTMP
+  # we pin hatch's data file to make it easy to cache it
+  HATCH_DATA_DIR: /home/appveyor/hatch-data-dir
+  # same for pip
+  PIP_CACHE: /home/appveyor/.cache/pip
+  # Do not use `image` as a matrix dimension, to have fine-grained control over
+  # what tests run on which platform
+  # The ID variable had no impact, but sorts first in the CI run overview
+  # an intelligible name can help to locate a specific test run
+  matrix:
+    # List a CI run for each platform first, to have immediate access when there
+    # is a need for debugging
+
+    # Ubuntu core tests
+    - job_name: test-linux
+      APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Ubuntu2204
+      PY: 3.9
+      INSTALL_GITANNEX: git-annex -m snapshot
+
+    # same as 'test-linux', but TMPDIR is on a crippled filesystem, causing
+    # most, if not all test datasets to be created on that filesystem
+    - job_name: test-linux-crippled
+      APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Ubuntu2204
+      PY: 3.9
+      # datalad-annex git remote needs something after git-annex_8.20211x
+      INSTALL_GITANNEX: git-annex -m snapshot
+
+    # Windows core tests
+    - job_name: test-win
+      APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2022
+      # Python version specification is non-standard on windows
+      PY: 3.12
+      INSTALL_GITANNEX: git-annex -m datalad/packages
+      COVERAGE_ROOT: C:\DLTMP
+      HATCH_DATA_DIR: C:\hatch-data-dir
+      PIP_CACHE: C:\Users\appveyor\AppData\Local\pip\Cache
+
+    # MacOS core tests
+    - job_name: test-mac
+      APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: macos-sonoma
+      PY: 3.12
+      INSTALL_GITANNEX: git-annex
+      COVERAGE_ROOT: /Users/appveyor/DLTMP
+      HATCH_DATA_DIR: /Users/appveyor/hatch-data-dir
+      PIP_CACHE: /Users/appveyor/.cache/pip
+
+
+# only run the CI if there are code or tooling changes
+only_commits:
+  files:
+    - datalad_remake/
+    - tools/
+    - pyproject.toml
+    - .appveyor.yml
+
+
+## tests need specific hostnames to be available
+## note, this is insufficient on MacOS, and needs to be reflected
+## in the SSH config too
+#hosts:
+#  datalad-test-sshd: 127.0.0.1
+#  # same, but for datalad-remake implementations
+#  datalad-test: 127.0.0.1
+
+
+# job-specific configurations
+for:
+  #
+  # POSIX TEST RUNS
+  #
+  - matrix:
+      only:
+        - job_name: test-linux
+        - job_name: test-linux-crippled
+        - job_name: test-mac
+
+    cache:
+      # pip cache
+      - "${PIP_CACHE} -> .appveyor.yml"
+      # hatch-managed python versions
+      - "${HATCH_DATA_DIR}/env/virtual/.pythons -> pyproject.toml"
+
+    # init cannot use any components from the repo, because it runs prior to
+    # cloning it
+    init:
+      # enable external SSH access to CI worker
+      # needs APPVEYOR_SSH_KEY defined in project settings (or environment)
+      - curl -sflL 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/appveyor/ci/master/scripts/enable-ssh.sh' | bash -e -
+      # Scratch space
+      # we place the "unix" one into the user's HOME to avoid git-annex issues on MacOSX
+      # gh-5291
+      - mkdir ~/DLTMP && export TMPDIR=~/DLTMP
+
+    install:
+      # verify that a PY variable is declared that identifies the desired Python version
+      # for this run
+      - "[ \"x$PY\" != x ]"
+      # Missing system software
+      - tools/appveyor/install-syspkgs $INSTALL_SYSPKGS
+      # activate Python env solely to get `python` to become available consistently
+      # hatch will manage the actual testing environment
+      - '. ${HOME}/venv${PY}/bin/activate'
+      - tools/appveyor/install-git-annex ${INSTALL_GITANNEX}
+      # enable the git-annex provisioned by the installer
+      - "[ -f ${HOME}/dlinstaller_env.sh ] && . ${HOME}/dlinstaller_env.sh || true"
+    test_script:
+      # store original TMPDIR setting to limit modification to test execution
+      - export PREV_TMPDIR=$TMPDIR
+      # make TMPDIR a "crippled filesystem" to test wrong assumptions of POSIX-ness
+      # on POSIX OSes. The test fixtures will create all test datasets under TMPDIR
+      - |
+        set -e
+        if [ "$APPVEYOR_JOB_NAME" = "test-linux-crippled" ]; then
+          # 100 MB VFAT FS in a box
+          sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/crippledfs.img count=100 bs=1M
+          sudo mkfs.vfat /crippledfs.img
+          sudo mkdir /crippledfs
+          sudo mount -o "uid=$(id -u),gid=$(id -g)" /crippledfs.img /crippledfs
+          echo "== mount >>"
+          mount | grep crippled
+          echo "<< mount =="
+          export TMPDIR=/crippledfs
+        fi
+      - echo TMPDIR=$TMPDIR
+      - 'hatch run tests.py${PY}:run-cov --doctest-modules --durations 10'
+
+    after_test:
+      - 'hatch run tests.py${PY}:cov-combine'
+      - 'hatch run tests.py${PY}:coverage xml'
+      - 'codecovcli --auto-load-params-from AppVeyor upload-process -n "appveyor-$APPVEYOR_JOB_NAME" --disable-search -f coverage.xml'
+
+    on_finish:
+      # conditionally block the exit of a CI run for direct debugging
+      - while [ -f ~/BLOCK ]; do sleep 5; done
+
+
+  #
+  # WINDOWS TEST RUNS
+  #
+  - matrix:
+      only:
+        - job_name: test-win
+    cache:
+      # pip cache
+      - "%PIP_CACHE% -> .appveyor.yml"
+      # hatch-managed python versions
+      - "%HATCH_DATA_DIR%\\env\\virtual\\.pythons -> pyproject.toml"
+
+    # init cannot use any components from the repo, because it runs prior to
+    # cloning it
+    init:
+      # remove windows 260-char limit on path names
+      - ps: Set-Itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" -Name LongPathsEnabled -value 1
+      # enable developer mode on windows
+      # this should enable mklink without admin privileges, but it doesn't seem to work
+      #- ps: tools\ci\appveyor_enable_windevmode.ps1
+      # enable RDP access on windows (RDP password is in appveyor project config)
+      # this is relatively expensive (1-2min), but very convenient to jump into any build at any time
+      - ps: iex ((new-object net.webclient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/appveyor/ci/master/scripts/enable-rdp.ps1'))
+      # Scratch space
+      - cmd: md C:\DLTMP
+      # and use that scratch space to get short paths in test repos
+      # (avoiding length-limits as much as possible)
+      - cmd: "set TMP=C:\\DLTMP"
+      - cmd: "set TEMP=C:\\DLTMP"
+
+    install:
+      # place a debug setup helper at a convenient location
+      - cmd: copy tools\appveyor\env_setup.bat C:\\datalad_debug.bat
+      - cmd: "set PATH=C:\\Python%PY%;C:\\Python%PY%\\Scripts;%PATH%"
+      # deploy the datalad installer, override version via DATALAD_INSTALLER_VERSION
+      - cmd:
+          IF DEFINED DATALAD_INSTALLER_VERSION (
+          python -m pip install "datalad-installer%DATALAD_INSTALLER_VERSION%"
+          ) ELSE (
+          python -m pip install datalad-installer
+          )
+      # Install git-annex on windows, otherwise INSTALL_SYSPKGS can be used
+      # deploy git-annex, if desired
+      - cmd: IF DEFINED INSTALL_GITANNEX datalad-installer --sudo ok %INSTALL_GITANNEX%
+
+    test_script:
+      - cmd: 'hatch run tests.py%PY%:run-cov --doctest-modules --durations 10'
+
+    after_test:
+      - cmd: 'hatch run tests.py%PY%:cov-combine'
+      - cmd: 'hatch run tests.py%PY%:coverage xml'
+      - cmd: 'codecovcli --auto-load-params-from AppVeyor upload-process -n "appveyor-%APPVEYOR_JOB_NAME%" --disable-search -f coverage.xml'
+
+    on_finish:
+      # conditionally block the exit of a CI run for direct debugging
+      - ps: while ((Test-Path "C:\Users\\appveyor\\Desktop\\BLOCK.txt")) { Start-Sleep 5 }
+
+
+#
+# ALL TEST RUNS
+#
+build_script:
+  - python -m pip install hatch codecov-cli
+
+after_build:
+  # Identity setup
+  - git config --global user.email "test@appveyor.land"
+  - git config --global user.name "Appveyor Almighty"
diff --git a/.changelog.md.j2 b/.changelog.md.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c53229
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changelog.md.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+{% for entry in tree %}
+
+# {{ entry.version }}{% if entry.date %} ({{ entry.date }}){% endif %}
+
+{% for change_key, changes in entry.changes.items() %}
+
+{% set change_key_map = {
+  'BREAKING CHANGE': '🪓 Breaking changes',
+  'doc': '📝 Documentation',
+  'feat': '💫 New features',
+  'fix': '🐛 Bug Fixes',
+  'test': '🛡 Tests',
+  'rf': '🏠 Refactorings',
+  'perf': '🚀 Performance improvements',
+} %}
+{% if change_key %}
+## {{ change_key_map.get(change_key, change_key) }}
+{% endif %}
+{% set scopemap = {
+  'changelog': 'Changelog',
+  'contributing': 'Contributing guide',
+  'helpers': 'Helpers',
+  'sphinx': 'Rendered documentation',
+  'typeannotation': 'Type annotation',
+} %}
+
+{# no-scope changes #}
+{% for change in changes | rejectattr("scope") %}
+- {{ change.message }} [[{{ change.sha1 | truncate(8, true, '') }}]](https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake/commit/{{ change.sha1 | truncate(8, true, '') }})
+{% endfor %}
+{# scoped changes #}
+{% for scope, scope_changes in changes | selectattr("scope") | groupby("scope") %}
+- {{ scopemap.get(scope, scope) }}:
+{% for change in scope_changes %}
+  - {{ change.message }} [[{{ change.sha1 | truncate(8, true, '') }}]](https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake/commit/{{ change.sha1 | truncate(8, true, '') }})
+{% endfor %}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endfor %}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/conventional-commits.yml b/.github/workflows/conventional-commits.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c86ddc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/conventional-commits.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+name: Conventional commits
+
+on: pull_request
+
+jobs:
+  check-messages:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: 3.11
+          architecture: x64
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          # we need all the history to be able to resolve revision ranges properly
+          fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: Install commitizen
+        run: python -m pip install commitizen
+      - name: Run commit message checks
+        run: |
+          cz check --rev-range ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }}..${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/mypy-pr.yml b/.github/workflows/mypy-pr.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a49660d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/mypy-pr.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+name: Type annotation (PR)
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - 'datalad_remake/**.py'
+      - '!**/tests/**.py'
+
+jobs:
+  check-types-pr:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          # run on a "fresh" python, but see mypy flag to check for the oldest supported version
+          python-version: 3.12
+          architecture: x64
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Install hatch (which pull mypy)
+        run: python -m pip install hatch
+      - name: Get Python changed files
+        id: changed-py-files
+        uses: tj-actions/changed-files@v44
+        with:
+          files: |
+            *.py
+            **/*.py
+      - name: Type check changed files
+        if: steps.changed-py-files.outputs.any_changed == 'true'
+        run: |
+          # get any type stubs that mypy thinks it needs
+          hatch run types:mypy --install-types --non-interactive --follow-imports skip ${{ steps.changed-py-files.outputs.all_changed_files }}
+          # run mypy on the modified files only, and do not even follow imports.
+          # this results is a fairly superficial test, but given the overall
+          # state of annotations, we strive to become more correct incrementally
+          # with focused error reports, rather than barfing a huge complaint
+          # that is unrelated to the changeset someone has been working on.
+          # run on the oldest supported Python version
+          hatch run types:mypy --python-version 3.9 --follow-imports skip --pretty --show-error-context ${{ steps.changed-py-files.outputs.all_changed_files }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/mypy-project.yml b/.github/workflows/mypy-project.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a1bb1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/mypy-project.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+name: Type annotation (project)
+
+on:
+  push:
+    paths:
+      - 'datalad_remake/**.py'
+      - '!**/tests/**.py'
+
+jobs:
+  check-types-project:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          # run on a "fresh" python, but see mypy flag to check for the oldest supported version
+          python-version: 3.12
+          architecture: x64
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Install hatch (which pull mypy)
+        run: python -m pip install hatch
+      - name: Type check project
+        run: |
+          # get any type stubs that mypy thinks it needs
+          hatch run types:mypy --install-types --non-interactive --follow-imports skip datalad_core
+          # run mypy on the full project.
+          # run on the oldest supported Python version
+          hatch run types:mypy --python-version 3.9 --pretty --show-error-context datalad_core
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ruff.yml b/.github/workflows/ruff.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6112f5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ruff.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+name: Static code check
+on: [push, pull_request]
+jobs:
+  ruff:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Setup Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          # run on a "fresh" python
+          python-version: 3.12
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Install hatch
+        run: python -m pip install hatch
+      - name: Check code
+        run: hatch fmt --check
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ff447c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+datalad_remake/_version.py
+dist/
+.coverage
+docs/generated
+docs/_build
+*.swp
diff --git a/.noannex b/.noannex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/.readthedocs.yaml b/.readthedocs.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9dbc5a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.readthedocs.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# .readthedocs.yaml
+# Read the Docs configuration file
+# See https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/config-file/v2.html for details
+
+# Required
+version: 2
+
+# Set the OS, Python version and other tools you might need
+build:
+  os: ubuntu-22.04
+  tools:
+    python: "3.12"
+    # You can also specify other tool versions:
+    # nodejs: "19"
+    # rust: "1.64"
+    # golang: "1.19"
+
+# Build documentation in the "docs/" directory with Sphinx
+sphinx:
+  configuration: docs/conf.py
+
+# Optionally build your docs in additional formats such as PDF and ePub
+# formats:
+#    - pdf
+#    - epub
+
+# Optional but recommended, declare the Python requirements required
+# to build your documentation
+# See https://docs.readthedocs.io/en/stable/guides/reproducible-builds.html
+python:
+   install:
+   - method: pip
+     path: .
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ae20bcd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# v0.0.0
+
+- Initial package setup without any functionality.
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2f797c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+# Contributing to `datalad-remake`
+
+- [Developer cheat sheet](#developer-cheat-sheet)
+- [Code organization](#code-organization)
+- [Style guide](#contribution-style-guide)
+
+
+## Developer cheat sheet
+
+[Hatch](https://hatch.pypa.io) is used as a convenience solution for packaging and development tasks.
+Hatch takes care of managing dependencies and environments, including the Python interpreter itself.
+If not installed yet, installing via [pipx](https://github.com/pypa/pipx) is recommended (`pipx install hatch`).
+
+Below is a list of some provided convenience commands.
+An accurate overview of provided convenience scripts can be obtained by running: `hatch env show`.
+All command setup can be found in `pyproject.toml`, and given alternatively managed dependencies, all commands can also be used without `hatch`.
+
+### Run the tests (with coverage reporting)
+
+```
+hatch test [--cover]
+```
+
+There is also a setup for matrix test runs, covering all current Python versions:
+
+```
+hatch run tests:run [<select tests>]
+```
+
+This can also be used to run tests for a specific Python version only:
+
+```
+hatch run tests.py3.10:run [<select tests>]
+```
+
+### Build the HTML documentation (under `docs/_build/html`)
+
+```
+hatch run docs:build
+# clean with
+hatch run docs:clean
+```
+
+### Check type annotations
+
+```
+hatch run types:check
+```
+
+### Check commit messages for compliance with [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org)
+
+```
+hatch run cz:check-commits
+```
+
+### Show would-be auto-generated changelog for the next release
+
+```
+hatch run cz:show-changelog
+```
+
+### Create a new release
+
+```
+hatch run cz:bump-version
+```
+
+The new version is determined automatically from the nature of the (conventional) commits made since the last release.
+A changelog is generated and committed.
+
+In cases where the generated changelog needs to be edited afterwards (typos, unnecessary complexity, etc.), the created version tag needs to be advanced.
+
+
+### Build a new source package and wheel
+
+```
+hatch build
+```
+
+### Publish a new release to PyPi
+
+```
+hatch publish
+```
+
+## Contribution style guide
+
+A contribution must be complete with code, tests, and documentation.
+
+A high test-coverage is desirable. Contributors should aim for near-complete coverage (or better).
+Tests must be dedicated for the code of a particular contribution.
+It is not sufficient, if other code happens to also exercise a new feature.
+
+### Documentation
+
+Docstrings should be complete with information on parameters, return values, and exception behavior.
+Documentation should be added to and rendered with the sphinx-based documentation.
+
+### Commits
+
+Commits and commit messages must be [Conventional Commits](https://www.conventionalcommits.org).
+Their compliance is checked for each pull request. The following commit types are recognized:
+
+- `feat`: introduces a new feature
+- `fix`: address a problem, fix a bug
+- `doc`: update the documentation
+- `rf`: refactor code with no change of functionality
+- `perf`: enhance performance of existing functionality
+- `test`: add/update/modify test implementations
+- `ci`: change CI setup
+- `style`: beautification
+- `chore`: results of routine tasks, such as changelog updates
+- `revert`: revert a previous change
+- `bump`: version update
+
+Any breaking change must have at least one line of the format
+
+    BREAKING CHANGE: <summary of the breakage>
+
+in the body of the commit message that introduces the breakage.
+Breaking changes can be introduced in any type of commit.
+Any number of breaking changes can be described in a commit message (one per line).
+Breaking changes trigger a major version update, and form a dedicated section in the changelog.
+
+It is recommended to use the `hatch run cz:show-changelog` command to see how a change series will be represented in the changelog -- and tune as necessary to achieve a self-explanatory outcome.
+
+### Pull requests
+
+Contributions submitted via a pull-request (PR), are expected to be a clear, self-describing series of commits.
+The PR description is largely irrelevant, and could be used for a TODO list, or conversational content.
+All essential information concerning the code and changes **must** be contained in the commit messages.
+
+Commit series should be "linear", with individual commits being self-contained, well-described changes.
+
+If possible, only loosely related changes should be submitted in separate PRs to simplify reviewing and shorten time-to-merge.
+
+Long-standing, inactive PRs (draft mode or not) are frowned upon, as they drain attention.i
+It is often better to close a PR and open a new one, once work resumes.
+Maintainers may close inactive PRs for this reason at any time.
diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b19e6e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+datalad-remake, including all examples, code snippets and attached
+documentation is covered by the MIT license.
+
+  The MIT License
+
+  Copyright (c) 2024-     DataLad Team
+
+  Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+  of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+  in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+  to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+  copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+  furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+  The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+  all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+  THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+  IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+  AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+  LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+  OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+  THE SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..18ba105
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# datalad-remake
+
+[![Documentation Status](https://readthedocs.org/projects/datalad-remake/badge/?version=latest)](https://datalad-remake.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest)
+[![Build status](https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/25vbds4nncadopf8/branch/main?svg=true)](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/mih/datalad-remake/branch/main)
diff --git a/conftest.py b/conftest.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d86d75c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/conftest.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# we are not using datalad's directly, because we are practically
+# requiring whatever setup datalad_next prefers, because we employ
+# its tooling
+from datalad_next.conftest import setup_package
+
+pytest_plugins = 'datalad_next.tests.fixtures'
+
+__all__ = ['setup_package']
diff --git a/datalad_remake/__init__.py b/datalad_remake/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ac1200
--- /dev/null
+++ b/datalad_remake/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from datalad_remake._version import __version__
+
+__all__ = [
+    '__version__',
+]
+
+# command_suite = (
+#     # description of the command suite, displayed in cmdline help
+#     "Demo DataLad command suite",
+#     [
+#         # specification of a command, any number of commands can be defined
+#         (
+#             # importable module that contains the command implementation
+#             'datalad_remake.commands.compute_cmd',
+#             # name of the command class implementation in above module
+#             'Compute',
+#             # optional name of the command in the cmdline API
+#             'compute',
+#             # optional name of the command in the Python API
+#             'compute'
+#         ),
+#     ]
+# )
diff --git a/datalad_remake/tests/__init__.py b/datalad_remake/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/datalad_remake/tests/test_dummy.py b/datalad_remake/tests/test_dummy.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ebdfde4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/datalad_remake/tests/test_dummy.py
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+import datalad_remake  # noqa: F401
+
+
+def test_dummy():
+    # nothing but a placeholder
+    pass
diff --git a/docs/.gitignore b/docs/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9719ae4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+_build
+generated
diff --git a/docs/Makefile b/docs/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4bb2cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# Minimal makefile for Sphinx documentation
+#
+
+# You can set these variables from the command line, and also
+# from the environment for the first two.
+SPHINXOPTS    ?=
+SPHINXBUILD   ?= sphinx-build
+SOURCEDIR     = .
+BUILDDIR      = _build
+
+# Put it first so that "make" without argument is like "make help".
+help:
+	@$(SPHINXBUILD) -M help "$(SOURCEDIR)" "$(BUILDDIR)" $(SPHINXOPTS) $(O)
+
+.PHONY: help Makefile
+
+# Catch-all target: route all unknown targets to Sphinx using the new
+# "make mode" option.  $(O) is meant as a shortcut for $(SPHINXOPTS).
+%: Makefile
+	@$(SPHINXBUILD) -M $@ "$(SOURCEDIR)" "$(BUILDDIR)" $(SPHINXOPTS) $(O)
diff --git a/docs/_static/.gitkeep b/docs/_static/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bba215a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Configuration file for the Sphinx documentation builder.
+#
+# For the full list of built-in configuration values, see the documentation:
+# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html
+
+# -- Project information -----------------------------------------------------
+# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#project-information
+
+project = 'datalad-remake'
+copyright = '2024, DataLad team'
+author = 'DataLad team'
+release = 'v0.0.1-rc'
+
+# -- General configuration ---------------------------------------------------
+# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#general-configuration
+
+extensions = [
+    'sphinx.ext.autosummary',
+]
+
+templates_path = ['_templates']
+exclude_patterns = ['_build', 'Thumbs.db', '.DS_Store']
+
+
+
+# -- Options for HTML output -------------------------------------------------
+# https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#options-for-html-output
+
+html_theme = 'alabaster'
+html_static_path = ['_static']
diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5501bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/index.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+The `datalad-remake` documentation
+==================================
+
+Package overview
+----------------
+
+Also see the :ref:`modindex`.
+
+.. currentmodule:: datalad_remake
+..
+   .. autosummary::
+   :toctree: generated
+
+   ...
+
+
+Indices and tables
+==================
+
+* :ref:`genindex`
+* :ref:`search`
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..caa7f0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = [
+  "hatchling",
+  "hatch-vcs",
+]
+build-backend = "hatchling.build"
+
+[project]
+name = "datalad-remake"
+dynamic = ["version"]
+description = ''
+readme = "README.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.9"
+license = "MIT"
+keywords = [
+  "datalad",
+  "git",
+  "git-annex",
+]
+authors = [
+#  { name = "Michael Hanke", email = "michael.hanke@gmail.com" },
+]
+maintainers = [
+#  { name = "Michael Hanke", email = "michael.hanke@gmail.com" },
+]
+classifiers = [
+  "License :: OSI Approved :: MIT License",
+  "Development Status :: 3 - Alpha",
+  "Intended Audience :: Developers",
+  "Intended Audience :: End Users/Desktop",
+  "Natural Language :: English",
+  "Operating System :: OS Independent",
+  "Topic :: Software Development",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Version Control",
+  "Topic :: Software Development :: Version Control :: Git",
+  "Programming Language :: Python",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython",
+  "Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPy",
+]
+dependencies = [
+  "datalad_next",
+]
+
+[project.urls]
+Homepage = "https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake"
+Documentation = "https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake#readme"
+Issues = "https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake/issues"
+Source = "https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake"
+Changelog = "https://github.com/datalad/datalad-remake/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md"
+
+[tool.hatch.version]
+source = "vcs"
+
+[tool.hatch.build.hooks.vcs]
+version-file = "datalad_remake/_version.py"
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.hatch-test]
+default-args = ["datalad_remake"]
+extra-dependencies = [
+  "pytest",
+  # if you come here, because coverage combination crashed for you
+  # run `hatch test --cover` and/or see
+  # https://github.com/pypa/hatch/issues/1565#issuecomment-2163773123
+  "pytest-cov",
+]
+
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.tests]
+description = "run tests across Python versions"
+template = "hatch-test"
+
+[[tool.hatch.envs.tests.matrix]]
+python = ["3.9", "3.10", "3.11", "3.12"]
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.tests.scripts]
+run = 'python -m pytest {args}'
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.types]
+description = "type checking with MyPy"
+extra-dependencies = [
+  "mypy>=1.0.0",
+  "pytest",
+]
+[tool.hatch.envs.types.scripts]
+check = [
+  "mypy --install-types --non-interactive --python-version 3.9 --pretty --show-error-context datalad_remake",
+]
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.docs]
+description = "build Sphinx-based docs"
+extra-dependencies = [
+  "sphinx",
+]
+[tool.hatch.envs.docs.scripts]
+build = [
+  "make -C docs html",
+]
+clean = [
+  "rm -rf docs/generated",
+  "make -C docs clean",
+]
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.cz]
+description = "commit compliance, changelog, and release generation"
+detached = true
+extra-dependencies = [
+  "commitizen",
+]
+[tool.hatch.envs.cz.scripts]
+check-commits = [
+  # check all commit messages since the (before) beginning
+  "cz check --rev-range 4b825dc642cb6eb9a060e54bf8d69288fbee4904..HEAD",
+]
+show-changelog = [
+  # show the would-be changelog on stdout
+  "cz changelog --dry-run",
+]
+bump-version = [
+  # bump version (also tags) and update changelog
+  "cz bump --changelog",
+]
+
+[tool.hatch.envs.codespell]
+description = "spell checking"
+detached = true
+extra-dependencies = [
+  "codespell",
+]
+[tool.hatch.envs.codespell.scripts]
+check = "codespell"
+fix = "codespell --write-changes"
+
+[tool.codespell]
+skip = ".git,build,.*cache,dist"
+
+[tool.coverage.run]
+source_pkgs = ["datalad_remake", "tests"]
+branch = true
+parallel = true
+omit = [
+#  "src/datalad_remake/__about__.py",
+]
+data_file = "${COVERAGE_ROOT-.}/.coverage"
+
+[tool.coverage.paths]
+datalad_remake = ["src/datalad_remake", "*/datalad_remake/src/datalad_remake"]
+tests = ["tests", "*/datalad_remake/tests"]
+
+[tool.coverage.report]
+show_missing = true
+exclude_lines = [
+  "no cov",
+  "if __name__ == .__main__.:",
+  "if TYPE_CHECKING:",
+  "raise NotImplementedError",
+]
+
+[tool.ruff]
+exclude = [
+  # sphinx
+  "docs",
+]
+line-length = 88
+indent-width = 4
+target-version = "py39"
+[tool.ruff.format]
+# Prefer single quotes over double quotes.
+quote-style = "single"
+[tool.ruff.lint.per-file-ignores]
+"**/test_*" = [
+  # permit assert statements in tests
+  "S101",
+  # permit relative import in tests
+  "TID252",
+  # permit versatile function names in tests
+  "N802",
+]
+# permit relative import in subpackage root
+"datalad_remake/*/__init__.py" = ["TID252"]
+
+[tool.commitizen]
+name = "cz_customize"
+tag_format = "v$version"
+version_scheme = "pep440"
+version_provider = "scm"
+changelog_incremental = true
+template = ".changelog.md.j2"
+gpg_sign = true
+
+[tool.commitizen.customize]
+commit_parser = "^((?P<change_type>feat|fix|rf|perf|test|doc|BREAKING CHANGE)(?:\\((?P<scope>[^()\r\n]*)\\)|\\()?(?P<breaking>!)?|\\w+!):\\s(?P<message>.*)?(?P<body>.*)?"
+change_type_order = ["BREAKING CHANGE", "feat", "fix", "rf", "perf", "doc", "test"]
+changelog_pattern = "^((BREAKING[\\-\\ ]CHANGE|\\w+)(\\(.+\\))?!?):"
+bump_pattern = "^((BREAKING[\\-\\ ]CHANGE|\\w+)(\\(.+\\))?!?):"
+schema_pattern = "(?s)(ci|doc|feat|fix|perf|rf|style|test|chore|revert|bump)(\\(\\S+\\))?!?:( [^\\n\\r]+)((\\n\\n.*)|(\\s*))?$"
+
+[tool.commitizen.customize.bump_map]
+"^\\w+!" = "MAJOR"
+"^BREAKING" = "MAJOR"
+"^feat" = "MINOR"
+"^fix" = "PATCH"
diff --git a/tools/appveyor/env_setup.bat b/tools/appveyor/env_setup.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d464901
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/appveyor/env_setup.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+set PY=%1-x64
+set TMP=C:\DLTMP
+set TEMP=C:\DLTMP
+set PATH=C:\Python%PY%;C:\Python%PY%\Scripts;%PATH%
diff --git a/tools/appveyor/install-git-annex b/tools/appveyor/install-git-annex
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6840c39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/appveyor/install-git-annex
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Install git-annex. Any environment setup to source would be
+# written to ${HOME}/dlinstaller_env.sh
+#
+set -e -u
+
+# no install requested -> exit
+[ -z "$1" ] && exit 0 || true
+
+# assumes a virtualenv or equivalent python env
+# get the installer for this
+python -m pip install datalad-installer${DATALAD_INSTALLER_VERSION:-}
+datalad-installer -E ${HOME}/dlinstaller_env.sh --sudo ok $*
diff --git a/tools/appveyor/install-syspkgs b/tools/appveyor/install-syspkgs
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..bfb84a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/appveyor/install-syspkgs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# no install requested -> exit
+[ -z "$1" ] && exit 0 || true
+
+if (which apt-get > /dev/null ); then
+	sudo apt-get update -qq -y --allow-releaseinfo-change
+	sudo apt-get install -q --no-install-recommends -y eatmydata
+	sudo eatmydata apt-get install -q --no-install-recommends -y $*
+else
+	brew install -q $*
+fi