diff --git a/ankisyncctl.py b/ankisyncctl.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0ac9cd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ankisyncctl.py
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python2
+
+import os
+import sys
+import signal
+import subprocess
+import binascii
+import getpass
+import hashlib
+import sqlite3
+
+SERVERCONFIG = "/etc/ankisyncd/ankisyncd.conf"
+AUTHDBPATH = "/etc/ankisyncd/auth.db"
+COLLECTIONPATH = "/etc/ankisyncd/collections/"
+PIDPATH = "/tmp/ankiserver.pid"
+
+def usage():
+    print "usage: "+sys.argv[0]+" <command> [<args>]"
+    print
+    print "Commands:"
+    print "  start [configfile] - start the server"
+    print "  stop               - stop the server"
+    print "  adduser <username> - add a new user"
+    print "  deluser <username> - delete a user"
+    print "  lsuser             - list users"
+    print "  passwd <username>  - change password of a user"
+
+def startsrv(configpath):
+    if not configpath:
+        configpath = SERVERCONFIG
+
+    devnull = open(os.devnull, "w")
+
+    pid = subprocess.Popen( "ankisyncd",
+                            stdout=devnull,
+                            stderr=devnull).pid
+
+    with open(PIDPATH, "w") as pidfile:
+        pidfile.write(str(os.getpgid(pid)))
+
+def stopsrv():
+    if os.path.isfile(PIDPATH):
+        try:
+            with open(PIDPATH) as pidfile:
+                pid = int(pidfile.read())
+
+                os.killpg(pid, signal.SIGTERM)
+                os.remove(PIDPATH)
+        except Exception, error:
+            print >>sys.stderr, sys.argv[0]+": Failed to stop server: "+error.message
+    else:
+        print >>sys.stderr, sys.argv[0]+": The server is not running"
+
+def adduser(username):
+    if username:
+        print "Enter password for "+username+": "
+
+        password = getpass.getpass()
+        salt = binascii.b2a_hex(os.urandom(8))
+        hash = hashlib.sha256(username+password+salt).hexdigest()+salt
+
+        conn = sqlite3.connect(AUTHDBPATH)
+        cursor = conn.cursor()
+
+        if not os.path.isfile(AUTHDBPATH):
+            cursor.execute( "CREATE TABLE auth "
+                            "(user VARCHAR PRIMARY KEY, hash VARCHAR)")
+
+        cursor.execute("INSERT INTO auth VALUES (?, ?)", (username, hash))
+
+        if not os.path.isdir(COLLECTIONPATH+username):
+            os.makedirs(COLLECTIONPATH+username)
+
+        conn.commit()
+        conn.close()
+    else:
+        usage()
+
+def deluser(username):
+    if username and os.path.isfile(AUTHDBPATH):
+            conn = sqlite3.connect(AUTHDBPATH)
+            cursor = conn.cursor()
+
+            cursor.execute("DELETE FROM auth WHERE user=?", (username,))
+
+            conn.commit()
+            conn.close()
+    elif not username:
+        usage()
+    else:
+        print >>sys.stderr, sys.argv[0]+": Database file does not exist"
+
+def lsuser():
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(AUTHDBPATH)
+    cursor = conn.cursor()
+
+    cursor.execute("SELECT user FROM auth")
+
+    row = cursor.fetchone()
+
+    while row is not None:
+        print row[0]
+
+        row = cursor.fetchone()
+
+    conn.close()
+
+def passwd(username):
+    if os.path.isfile(AUTHDBPATH):
+        print "Enter password for "+username+": "
+
+        password = getpass.getpass()
+        salt = binascii.b2a_hex(os.urandom(8))
+        hash = hashlib.sha256(username+password+salt).hexdigest()+salt
+
+        conn = sqlite3.connect(AUTHDBPATH)
+        cursor = conn.cursor()
+
+        cursor.execute("UPDATE auth SET hash=? WHERE user=?", (hash, username))
+
+        conn.commit()
+        conn.close()
+    else:
+        print >>sys.stderr, sys.argv[0]+": Database file does not exist"
+
+def main():
+    argc = len(sys.argv)
+    exitcode = 0
+
+    if argc < 2:
+        usage()
+        exitcode = 1
+    else:
+        if argc < 3:
+            sys.argv.append(None)
+
+        if sys.argv[1] == "start":
+            startsrv(sys.argv[2])
+        elif sys.argv[1] == "stop":
+            stopsrv()
+        elif sys.argv[1] == "adduser":
+            adduser(sys.argv[2])
+        elif sys.argv[1] == "deluser":
+            deluser(sys.argv[2])
+        elif sys.argv[1] == "lsuser":
+            lsuser()
+        elif sys.argv[1] == "passwd":
+            passwd(sys.argv[2])
+        else:
+            usage()
+            exitcode = 1
+
+    sys.exit(exitcode)
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()