diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 767d82fa088984e677270fe352e28b6970ab3674..bf8bf129af2bd67d6ca91184af376b57668dcbc8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,2 @@
 /zig-cache
-/deps.zig
 /.zigmod
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 35782560d3b2c32617cf25b477701957dd2e0322..293b77498262df5e8efb3941f390fe8a2e215c5f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ A package manager for the Zig programming language.
 Initially,
 ```
 $ git clone https://github.com/nektro/zigmod --recursive
+$ zig build -Dbootstrap
+$ ./zig-cache/bin/zigmod fetch
 ```
 
 To build,
diff --git a/build.zig b/build.zig
index 0f6bc5ef0196f2a45b047e64b3f3768b4df1892f..25359c6a01b05be2694104e389397023b92ff891 100644
--- a/build.zig
+++ b/build.zig
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 const std = @import("std");
 const Builder = std.build.Builder;
 const builtin = std.builtin;
+const deps = @import("./deps.zig");
 
 pub fn build(b: *Builder) void {
     const target = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
@@ -16,30 +17,34 @@ pub fn build(b: *Builder) void {
     exe.setTarget(target);
     exe.setBuildMode(mode);
     exe.addBuildOption([]const u8, "version", b.option([]const u8, "tag", "") orelse "dev");
+    const bootstrap = b.option(bool, "bootstrap", "bootstrapping with just the zig compiler");
+    exe.addBuildOption(bool, "bootstrap", bootstrap != null);
 
-    exe.linkLibC();
+    if (bootstrap != null) {
+        exe.linkLibC();
 
-    exe.addIncludeDir("./libs/yaml/include");
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/api.c", &[_][]const u8{
-        // taken from https://github.com/yaml/libyaml/blob/0.2.5/CMakeLists.txt#L5-L8
-        "-DYAML_VERSION_MAJOR=0",
-        "-DYAML_VERSION_MINOR=2",
-        "-DYAML_VERSION_PATCH=5",
-        "-DYAML_VERSION_STRING=\"0.2.5\"",
-        "-DYAML_DECLARE_STATIC=1",
-    });
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/dumper.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/emitter.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/loader.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/parser.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/reader.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/scanner.c", &[_][]const u8{});
-    exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/writer.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addIncludeDir("./libs/yaml/include");
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/api.c", &[_][]const u8{
+            // taken from https://github.com/yaml/libyaml/blob/0.2.5/CMakeLists.txt#L5-L8
+            "-DYAML_VERSION_MAJOR=0",
+            "-DYAML_VERSION_MINOR=2",
+            "-DYAML_VERSION_PATCH=5",
+            "-DYAML_VERSION_STRING=\"0.2.5\"",
+            "-DYAML_DECLARE_STATIC=1",
+        });
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/dumper.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/emitter.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/loader.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/parser.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/reader.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/scanner.c", &[_][]const u8{});
+        exe.addCSourceFile("./libs/yaml/src/writer.c", &[_][]const u8{});
 
-    exe.addPackagePath("known-folders", "./libs/zig-known-folders/known-folders.zig");
-    exe.addPackagePath("ansi", "./libs/zig-ansi/src/lib.zig");
-    exe.addPackagePath("zuri", "./libs/zuri/src/zuri.zig");
-    exe.addPackagePath("iguanatls", "./libs/iguanatls/src/main.zig");
+        exe.addPackagePath("ansi", "./libs/zig-ansi/src/lib.zig");
+    }
+    else {
+        deps.addAllTo(exe);
+    }
 
     exe.install();
 
diff --git a/deps.zig b/deps.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f573bbe5016842f6ce7df340225ef6cd2b77a45c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deps.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const build = std.build;
+
+pub const cache = ".zigmod/deps";
+
+pub fn addAllTo(exe: *build.LibExeObjStep) void {
+    @setEvalBranchQuota(1_000_000);
+    for (packages) |pkg| {
+        exe.addPackage(pkg);
+    }
+    if (c_include_dirs.len > 0 or c_source_files.len > 0) {
+        exe.linkLibC();
+    }
+    for (c_include_dirs) |dir| {
+        exe.addIncludeDir(dir);
+    }
+    inline for (c_source_files) |fpath| {
+        exe.addCSourceFile(fpath[1], @field(c_source_flags, fpath[0]));
+    }
+    for (system_libs) |lib| {
+        exe.linkSystemLibrary(lib);
+    }
+}
+
+fn get_flags(comptime index: usize) []const u8 {
+    return @field(c_source_flags, _paths[index]);
+}
+
+pub const _ids = .{
+    "89ujp8gq842x6mzok8feypwze138n2d96zpugw44hcq7406r",
+    "8mdbh0zuneb0i3hs5jby5je0heem1i6yxusl7c8y8qx68hqc",
+    "s84v9o48ucb0xq0cmzq0cn433hgw0iaqztugja16h8bzxu3h",
+    "2ta738wrqbaqzl3iwzoo8nj35k9ynwz5p5iyz80ryrpp4ttf",
+    "2b7mq571jmq31ktmpigopu29480iw245heueajgxzxn7ab8o",
+    "csbnipaad8n77buaszsnjvlmn6j173fl7pkprsctelswjywe",
+};
+
+pub const _paths = .{
+    "",
+    "/v/git/github.com/yaml/libyaml/tag-0.2.5/",
+    "/v/git/github.com/nektro/zig-ansi/commit-25039ca/",
+    "/v/git/github.com/ziglibs/known-folders/commit-f0f4188/",
+    "/v/git/github.com/Vexu/zuri/commit-0f9cec8/",
+    "/v/git/github.com/alexnask/iguanaTLS/commit-58f72f6/",
+};
+
+pub const package_data = struct {
+    pub const _s84v9o48ucb0xq0cmzq0cn433hgw0iaqztugja16h8bzxu3h = build.Pkg{ .name = "ansi", .path = cache ++ "/v/git/github.com/nektro/zig-ansi/commit-25039ca/src/lib.zig", .dependencies = &[_]build.Pkg{ } };
+    pub const _2ta738wrqbaqzl3iwzoo8nj35k9ynwz5p5iyz80ryrpp4ttf = build.Pkg{ .name = "known-folders", .path = cache ++ "/v/git/github.com/ziglibs/known-folders/commit-f0f4188/known-folders.zig", .dependencies = &[_]build.Pkg{ } };
+    pub const _2b7mq571jmq31ktmpigopu29480iw245heueajgxzxn7ab8o = build.Pkg{ .name = "zuri", .path = cache ++ "/v/git/github.com/Vexu/zuri/commit-0f9cec8/src/zuri.zig", .dependencies = &[_]build.Pkg{ } };
+    pub const _csbnipaad8n77buaszsnjvlmn6j173fl7pkprsctelswjywe = build.Pkg{ .name = "iguanatls", .path = cache ++ "/v/git/github.com/alexnask/iguanaTLS/commit-58f72f6/src/main.zig", .dependencies = &[_]build.Pkg{ } };
+};
+
+pub const packages = &[_]build.Pkg{
+    package_data._s84v9o48ucb0xq0cmzq0cn433hgw0iaqztugja16h8bzxu3h,
+    package_data._2ta738wrqbaqzl3iwzoo8nj35k9ynwz5p5iyz80ryrpp4ttf,
+    package_data._2b7mq571jmq31ktmpigopu29480iw245heueajgxzxn7ab8o,
+    package_data._csbnipaad8n77buaszsnjvlmn6j173fl7pkprsctelswjywe,
+};
+
+pub const pkgs = struct {
+    pub const ansi = packages[1];
+    pub const known_folders = packages[2];
+    pub const zuri = packages[3];
+    pub const iguanatls = packages[4];
+};
+
+pub const c_include_dirs = &[_][]const u8{
+    cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "include",
+};
+
+pub const c_source_flags = struct {
+    pub const @"89ujp8gq842x6mzok8feypwze138n2d96zpugw44hcq7406r" = &[_][]const u8{};
+    pub const @"8mdbh0zuneb0i3hs5jby5je0heem1i6yxusl7c8y8qx68hqc" = &[_][]const u8{"-DYAML_VERSION_MAJOR=0","-DYAML_VERSION_MINOR=2","-DYAML_VERSION_PATCH=5","-DYAML_VERSION_STRING=\"0.2.5\"","-DYAML_DECLARE_STATIC=1",};
+    pub const @"s84v9o48ucb0xq0cmzq0cn433hgw0iaqztugja16h8bzxu3h" = &[_][]const u8{};
+    pub const @"2ta738wrqbaqzl3iwzoo8nj35k9ynwz5p5iyz80ryrpp4ttf" = &[_][]const u8{};
+    pub const @"2b7mq571jmq31ktmpigopu29480iw245heueajgxzxn7ab8o" = &[_][]const u8{};
+    pub const @"csbnipaad8n77buaszsnjvlmn6j173fl7pkprsctelswjywe" = &[_][]const u8{};
+};
+
+pub const c_source_files = &[_][2][]const u8{
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/api.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/dumper.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/emitter.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/loader.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/parser.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/reader.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/scanner.c"},
+    [_][]const u8{_ids[1], cache ++ _paths[1] ++ "src/writer.c"},
+};
+
+pub const system_libs = &[_][]const u8{
+};
+
diff --git a/src/main.zig b/src/main.zig
index ad03ec169bb9c7786ce9ab569dbb6402583eb56d..e15ff035a329ed96136c384cdd35e4aa6acb4ede 100644
--- a/src/main.zig
+++ b/src/main.zig
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 const std = @import("std");
 const builtin = @import("builtin");
+const build_options = @import("build_options");
 
 pub const u = @import("./util/index.zig");
 pub const common = @import("./common.zig");
@@ -7,6 +8,10 @@ pub const common = @import("./common.zig");
 //
 //
 
+pub const commands_to_bootstrap = struct {
+    const fetch = @import("./cmd_fetch.zig");
+};
+
 pub const commands = struct {
     const init = @import("./cmd_init.zig");
     const fetch = @import("./cmd_fetch.zig");
@@ -31,9 +36,11 @@ pub fn main() !void {
         return;
     }
 
-    inline for (std.meta.declarations(commands)) |decl| {
+    const available = if (build_options.bootstrap) commands_to_bootstrap else commands;
+
+    inline for (std.meta.declarations(available)) |decl| {
         if (std.mem.eql(u8, args[0], decl.name)) {
-            const cmd = @field(commands, decl.name);
+            const cmd = @field(available, decl.name);
             try cmd.execute(args[1..]);
             return;
         }
diff --git a/zig.bootstrap.mod b/zig.bootstrap.mod
deleted file mode 100644
index 22e4ede37d0c0caf28710a1d3a17e46369c6ba95..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/zig.bootstrap.mod
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-id: 89ujp8gq842x6mzok8feypwze138n2d96zpugw44hcq7406r
-name: zigmod
-main: src/main.zig
-dependencies:
-  - src: git https://github.com/yaml/libyaml
-    version: tag-0.2.5
-    c_include_dirs:
-      - include
-    c_source_flags:
-      - -DYAML_VERSION_MAJOR=0
-      - -DYAML_VERSION_MINOR=2
-      - -DYAML_VERSION_PATCH=5
-      - -DYAML_VERSION_STRING="0.2.5"
-      - -DYAML_DECLARE_STATIC=1
-    c_source_files:
-      - libs/yaml/src/dumper.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/emitter.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/loader.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/parser.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/reader.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/scanner.c
-      - libs/yaml/src/writer.c
-
-  - src: git https://github.com/ziglibs/known-folders
-    version: commit-e1193f9ef5b3aad7a6071e9f5721934fe04a020e
-
-  - src: git https://github.com/nektro/zig-ansi
-    version: commit-876c32c42044a5e1554f4662b4b9bdfad7ee5086
diff --git a/zig.mod b/zig.mod
index 6aa31c4745c504cbe3ca5d5f2d6690b41a15b12b..38e947851c5754321c7143a5bc4c29924b9f071a 100644
--- a/zig.mod
+++ b/zig.mod
@@ -1,3 +1,40 @@
 id: 89ujp8gq842x6mzok8feypwze138n2d96zpugw44hcq7406r
 name: zigmod
 main: src/main.zig
+dependencies:
+  - src: git https://github.com/yaml/libyaml
+    version: tag-0.2.5
+    c_include_dirs:
+      - include
+    c_source_flags:
+      - -DYAML_VERSION_MAJOR=0
+      - -DYAML_VERSION_MINOR=2
+      - -DYAML_VERSION_PATCH=5
+      - -DYAML_VERSION_STRING="0.2.5"
+      - -DYAML_DECLARE_STATIC=1
+    c_source_files:
+      - src/api.c
+      - src/dumper.c
+      - src/emitter.c
+      - src/loader.c
+      - src/parser.c
+      - src/reader.c
+      - src/scanner.c
+      - src/writer.c
+
+  - src: git https://github.com/nektro/zig-ansi
+    version: commit-25039ca
+
+  #
+
+  - src: git https://github.com/ziglibs/known-folders
+    version: commit-f0f4188
+
+  - src: git https://github.com/Vexu/zuri
+    version: commit-0f9cec8
+
+  - src: git https://github.com/alexnask/iguanaTLS
+    version: commit-58f72f6
+  
+  # - src: git https://github.com/nektro/zig-licenses
+  #   version: commit-a15ef9b