diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 927e72a8b..58f557c38 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,4 +2,3 @@
 **/*.rs.bk
 Cargo.lock
 *.db
-deltachat.h
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 19e7560ff..a0f211d0f 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,18 +1,12 @@
 [package]
-name = "deltachat-core-rust"
+name = "deltachat"
 version = "0.1.0"
 authors = ["dignifiedquire <dignifiedquire@gmail.com>"]
 edition = "2018"
 
-[lib]
-name = "deltachat"
-crate-type = ["cdylib", "staticlib"]
-
 [build-dependencies]
 cc = "1.0.35"
 pkg-config = "0.3"
-cbindgen = "0.8.3"
-
 
 [dependencies]
 c2rust-bitfields = "0.1.0"
@@ -25,3 +19,8 @@ rand = "0.6.5"
 smallvec = "0.6.9"
 libsqlite3-sys = "0.14.0"
 reqwest = "0.9.15"
+
+[workspace]
+members = [
+  "deltachat-ffi"
+]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b9da68c01..1f8c809a4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,3 +1,15 @@
 # Delta Chat Rust
 
 Current commit on deltachat/deltachate-core: `12ef73c8e76185f9b78e844ea673025f56a959ab`.
+
+## Development
+
+```sh
+# run example
+$ cargo run --example simple
+# build header file
+$ cargo build -p deltachat_ffi --release
+$ cat deltachat-ffi/deltachat.h
+# run tests
+$ cargo test --all
+```
diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
index f865838da..dd24e9efd 100644
--- a/build.rs
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 extern crate cc;
 
-use std::env;
-
-const VERSION: &'static str = env!("CARGO_PKG_VERSION");
-
 fn link_dylib(lib: &str) {
     println!("cargo:rustc-link-lib=dylib={}", lib);
 }
@@ -31,29 +27,6 @@ fn build_tools() {
     println!("rerun-if-changed=misc.c");
 }
 
-fn generate_bindings() {
-    let crate_dir = env::var("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR").unwrap();
-    let cfg = cbindgen::Config::from_root_or_default(std::path::Path::new(&crate_dir));
-    let c = cbindgen::Builder::new()
-        .with_config(cfg)
-        .with_crate(crate_dir)
-        .with_header(format!("/* deltachat Header Version {} */", VERSION))
-        // .with_language(cbindgen::Language::C)
-        .generate();
-
-    // This is needed to ensure we don't panic if there are errors in the crates code
-    // but rather just tell the rest of the system we can't proceed.
-    match c {
-        Ok(res) => {
-            res.write_to_file("deltachat.h");
-        }
-        Err(err) => {
-            eprintln!("unable to generate bindings: {:#?}", err);
-            std::process::exit(1);
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 fn main() {
     build_tools();
 
@@ -74,6 +47,4 @@ fn main() {
     } else if std::env::var("TARGET").unwrap().contains("linux") {
         link_dylib("etpan");
     }
-
-    // generate_bindings();
 }
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/.gitignore b/deltachat-ffi/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5bf0f62f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+/target/
+**/*.rs.bk
+Cargo.lock
+.profile
+*.h
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/Cargo.toml b/deltachat-ffi/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f080a1bb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+[package]
+name = "deltachat_ffi"
+version = "0.1.0"
+description = "Deltachat FFI"
+authors = ["dignifiedquire <dignifiedquire@gmail.com>"]
+edition = "2018"
+readme = "README.md"
+license = "MIT OR Apache-2.0"
+
+keywords = ["deltachat", "chat", "openpgp", "email", "encryption"]
+categories = ["cryptography", "std", "email"]
+
+[lib]
+crate-type = ["cdylib", "staticlib"]
+
+[dependencies]
+deltachat = { path = "../" }
+libc = "0.2"
+
+[build-dependencies]
+cbindgen = "0.8"
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/README.md b/deltachat-ffi/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d924fb795
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+# Delta Chat C Interface
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/build.rs b/deltachat-ffi/build.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..acdfeee57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/build.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+fn main() {
+    let crate_dir = std::env::var("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR").unwrap();
+
+    let cfg = cbindgen::Config::from_root_or_default(std::path::Path::new(&crate_dir));
+
+    let c = cbindgen::Builder::new()
+        .with_config(cfg)
+        .with_crate(crate_dir)
+        .with_language(cbindgen::Language::C)
+        .generate();
+
+    // This is needed to ensure we don't panic if there are errors in the crates code
+    // but rather just tell the rest of the system we can't proceed.
+    match c {
+        Ok(res) => {
+            res.write_to_file("deltachat.h");
+        }
+        Err(err) => {
+            eprintln!("unable to generate bindings: {:#?}", err);
+            std::process::exit(1);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/cbindgen.toml b/deltachat-ffi/cbindgen.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fd9be063d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/cbindgen.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[parse]
+parse_deps = true
+include = ["deltachat"]
diff --git a/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d346d8f80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deltachat-ffi/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+#![allow(
+    non_camel_case_types,
+    non_snake_case,
+    non_upper_case_globals,
+    non_upper_case_globals,
+    non_camel_case_types,
+    non_snake_case
+)]
+use deltachat::*;
+use libc;
+
+pub const DC_VERSION_STR: &'static str = "0.43.0\x00";
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub type dc_array_t = dc_array::dc_array_t;
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_unref(a: *mut dc_array::dc_array_t) {
+    dc_array::dc_array_unref(a)
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_add_uint(array: *mut dc_array_t, item: libc::c_ulong) {
+    dc_array::dc_array_add_uint(array, item)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_add_id(array: *mut dc_array_t, item: libc::c_uint) {
+    dc_array::dc_array_add_id(array, item)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_add_ptr(array: *mut dc_array_t, item: *mut libc::c_void) {
+    dc_array::dc_array_add_ptr(array, item)
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_cnt(array: *const dc_array_t) -> libc::c_ulong {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_cnt(array)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_uint(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_ulong {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_uint(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_id(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_uint {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_id(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_ptr(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> *mut libc::c_void {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_ptr(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_latitude(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_double {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_latitude(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_longitude(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_double {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_longitude(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_accuracy(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_double {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_accuracy(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_timestamp(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_long {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_timestamp(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_chat_id(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_uint {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_chat_id(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_contact_id(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_uint {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_contact_id(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_msg_id(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_uint {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_msg_id(array, index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_marker(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    index: libc::c_ulong,
+) -> *mut libc::c_char {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_marker(array, index)
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_search_id(
+    array: *const dc_array_t,
+    needle: libc::c_uint,
+    ret_index: *mut libc::c_ulong,
+) -> libc::c_int {
+    dc_array::dc_array_search_id(array, needle, ret_index)
+}
+#[no_mangle]
+pub unsafe extern "C" fn dc_array_get_raw(array: *const dc_array_t) -> *const libc::c_ulong {
+    dc_array::dc_array_get_raw(array)
+}
diff --git a/examples/simple.rs b/examples/simple.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..93af71221
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/simple.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+extern crate deltachat;
+
+use std::ffi::{CStr, CString};
+use std::ptr::NonNull;
+
+use deltachat::constants::Event;
+use deltachat::dc_chat::*;
+use deltachat::dc_chatlist::*;
+use deltachat::dc_configure::*;
+use deltachat::dc_contact::*;
+use deltachat::dc_context::*;
+use deltachat::dc_job::{
+    dc_perform_imap_fetch, dc_perform_imap_idle, dc_perform_imap_jobs, dc_perform_smtp_idle,
+    dc_perform_smtp_jobs,
+};
+use deltachat::dc_lot::*;
+
+fn cb(_ctx: *mut dc_context_t, event: Event, data1: u64, data2: u64) -> u64 {
+    println!("[{:?}]", event);
+
+    match event {
+        Event::HTTP_GET => {
+            let url = unsafe { CStr::from_ptr(data1 as *const _).to_str().unwrap() };
+
+            match reqwest::get(url) {
+                Ok(ref mut res) => {
+                    let c_res = CString::new(res.text().unwrap()).unwrap();
+                    // need to use strdup to allocate the result with malloc
+                    // so it can be `free`d later.
+                    unsafe { libc::strdup(c_res.as_ptr()) as u64 }
+                }
+                Err(err) => {
+                    println!("failed to download: {}: {:?}", url, err);
+                    0
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        Event::INFO | Event::WARNING | Event::ERROR => {
+            println!(
+                "  {}",
+                unsafe { CStr::from_ptr(data2 as *const _) }
+                    .to_str()
+                    .unwrap()
+            );
+            0
+        }
+        _ => 0,
+    }
+}
+
+struct Wrapper(NonNull<dc_context_t>);
+
+unsafe impl std::marker::Send for Wrapper {}
+unsafe impl std::marker::Sync for Wrapper {}
+
+fn main() {
+    unsafe {
+        let ctx = dc_context_new(Some(cb), std::ptr::null_mut(), std::ptr::null_mut());
+        let info = dc_get_info(ctx);
+        let info_s = CStr::from_ptr(info);
+        println!("info: {}", info_s.to_str().unwrap());
+
+        let sendable_ctx = Wrapper(NonNull::new(ctx).unwrap());
+        let t1 = std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
+            dc_perform_imap_jobs(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
+            dc_perform_imap_fetch(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
+            dc_perform_imap_idle(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
+        });
+
+        let sendable_ctx = Wrapper(NonNull::new(ctx).unwrap());
+        let t2 = std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
+            dc_perform_smtp_jobs(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
+            dc_perform_smtp_idle(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
+        });
+
+        let dbfile = CString::new("../deltachat-core/build/hello2.db").unwrap();
+        println!("opening dir");
+        dc_open(ctx, dbfile.as_ptr(), std::ptr::null());
+
+        if dc_is_configured(ctx) == 0 {
+            println!("configuring");
+            dc_set_config(
+                ctx,
+                CString::new("addr").unwrap().as_ptr(),
+                CString::new("d@testrun.org").unwrap().as_ptr(),
+            );
+            dc_set_config(
+                ctx,
+                CString::new("mail_pw").unwrap().as_ptr(),
+                CString::new("***").unwrap().as_ptr(),
+            );
+            dc_configure(ctx);
+        }
+
+        std::thread::sleep_ms(4000);
+
+        let email = CString::new("dignifiedquire@gmail.com").unwrap();
+        println!("sending a message");
+        let contact_id = dc_create_contact(ctx, std::ptr::null(), email.as_ptr());
+        let chat_id = dc_create_chat_by_contact_id(ctx, contact_id);
+        let msg_text = CString::new("Hi, here is my first message!").unwrap();
+        dc_send_text_msg(ctx, chat_id, msg_text.as_ptr());
+
+        println!("fetching chats..");
+        let chats = dc_get_chatlist(ctx, 0, std::ptr::null(), 0);
+
+        for i in 0..dc_chatlist_get_cnt(chats) {
+            let summary = dc_chatlist_get_summary(chats, 0, std::ptr::null_mut());
+            let text1 = dc_lot_get_text1(summary);
+            let text2 = dc_lot_get_text2(summary);
+
+            let text1_s = if !text1.is_null() {
+                Some(CStr::from_ptr(text1))
+            } else {
+                None
+            };
+            let text2_s = if !text2.is_null() {
+                Some(CStr::from_ptr(text2))
+            } else {
+                None
+            };
+            println!("chat: {} - {:?} - {:?}", i, text1_s, text2_s,);
+            dc_lot_unref(summary);
+        }
+        dc_chatlist_unref(chats);
+
+        // let msglist = dc_get_chat_msgs(ctx, chat_id, 0, 0);
+        // for i in 0..dc_array_get_cnt(msglist) {
+        //     let msg_id = dc_array_get_id(msglist, i);
+        //     let msg = dc_get_msg(context, msg_id);
+        //     let text = CStr::from_ptr(dc_msg_get_text(msg)).unwrap();
+        //     println!("Message {}: {}\n", i + 1, text.to_str().unwrap());
+        //     dc_msg_unref(msg);
+        // }
+        // dc_array_unref(msglist);
+
+        t1.join().unwrap();
+        t2.join().unwrap();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/rustfmt.toml b/rustfmt.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c51666e8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rustfmt.toml
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+edition = "2018"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 0f025c1e0..d99ef180e 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -69,146 +69,3 @@ pub mod types;
 
 pub mod constants;
 pub use self::constants::*;
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-mod tests {
-    use std::ffi::{CStr, CString};
-    use std::ptr::NonNull;
-
-    use crate::constants::Event;
-    use crate::dc_chat::*;
-    use crate::dc_chatlist::*;
-    use crate::dc_configure::*;
-    use crate::dc_contact::*;
-    use crate::dc_context::*;
-    use crate::dc_job::{
-        dc_perform_imap_fetch, dc_perform_imap_idle, dc_perform_imap_jobs, dc_perform_smtp_idle,
-        dc_perform_smtp_jobs,
-    };
-    use crate::dc_lot::*;
-
-    fn cb(_ctx: *mut dc_context_t, event: Event, data1: u64, data2: u64) -> u64 {
-        println!("[{:?}]", event);
-
-        match event {
-            Event::HTTP_GET => {
-                let url = unsafe { CStr::from_ptr(data1 as *const _).to_str().unwrap() };
-
-                match reqwest::get(url) {
-                    Ok(ref mut res) => {
-                        let c_res = CString::new(res.text().unwrap()).unwrap();
-                        // need to use strdup to allocate the result with malloc
-                        // so it can be `free`d later.
-                        unsafe { libc::strdup(c_res.as_ptr()) as u64 }
-                    }
-                    Err(err) => {
-                        println!("failed to download: {}: {:?}", url, err);
-                        0
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            Event::INFO | Event::WARNING | Event::ERROR => {
-                println!(
-                    "  {}",
-                    unsafe { CStr::from_ptr(data2 as *const _) }
-                        .to_str()
-                        .unwrap()
-                );
-                0
-            }
-            _ => 0,
-        }
-    }
-
-    struct Wrapper(NonNull<dc_context_t>);
-
-    unsafe impl std::marker::Send for Wrapper {}
-    unsafe impl std::marker::Sync for Wrapper {}
-
-    #[test]
-    fn test_basics() {
-        unsafe {
-            let mut ctx = dc_context_new(Some(cb), std::ptr::null_mut(), std::ptr::null_mut());
-            let info = dc_get_info(ctx);
-            let info_s = CStr::from_ptr(info);
-            println!("info: {}", info_s.to_str().unwrap());
-
-            let sendable_ctx = Wrapper(NonNull::new(ctx).unwrap());
-            let t1 = std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
-                dc_perform_imap_jobs(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
-                dc_perform_imap_fetch(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
-                dc_perform_imap_idle(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
-            });
-
-            let sendable_ctx = Wrapper(NonNull::new(ctx).unwrap());
-            let t2 = std::thread::spawn(move || loop {
-                dc_perform_smtp_jobs(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
-                dc_perform_smtp_idle(sendable_ctx.0.as_ptr());
-            });
-
-            let dbfile = CString::new("../deltachat-core/build/hello2.db").unwrap();
-            println!("opening dir");
-            dc_open(ctx, dbfile.as_ptr(), std::ptr::null());
-
-            if dc_is_configured(ctx) == 0 {
-                println!("configuring");
-                dc_set_config(
-                    ctx,
-                    CString::new("addr").unwrap().as_ptr(),
-                    CString::new("d@testrun.org").unwrap().as_ptr(),
-                );
-                dc_set_config(
-                    ctx,
-                    CString::new("mail_pw").unwrap().as_ptr(),
-                    CString::new("***").unwrap().as_ptr(),
-                );
-                dc_configure(ctx);
-            }
-
-            std::thread::sleep_ms(4000);
-
-            let email = CString::new("dignifiedquire@gmail.com").unwrap();
-            println!("sending a message");
-            let contact_id = dc_create_contact(ctx, std::ptr::null(), email.as_ptr());
-            let chat_id = dc_create_chat_by_contact_id(ctx, contact_id);
-            let msg_text = CString::new("Hi, here is my first message!").unwrap();
-            dc_send_text_msg(ctx, chat_id, msg_text.as_ptr());
-
-            println!("fetching chats..");
-            let chats = dc_get_chatlist(ctx, 0, std::ptr::null(), 0);
-
-            for i in 0..dc_chatlist_get_cnt(chats) {
-                let summary = dc_chatlist_get_summary(chats, 0, std::ptr::null_mut());
-                let text1 = dc_lot_get_text1(summary);
-                let text2 = dc_lot_get_text2(summary);
-
-                let text1_s = if !text1.is_null() {
-                    Some(CStr::from_ptr(text1))
-                } else {
-                    None
-                };
-                let text2_s = if !text2.is_null() {
-                    Some(CStr::from_ptr(text2))
-                } else {
-                    None
-                };
-                println!("chat: {} - {:?} - {:?}", i, text1_s, text2_s,);
-                dc_lot_unref(summary);
-            }
-            dc_chatlist_unref(chats);
-
-            // let msglist = dc_get_chat_msgs(ctx, chat_id, 0, 0);
-            // for i in 0..dc_array_get_cnt(msglist) {
-            //     let msg_id = dc_array_get_id(msglist, i);
-            //     let msg = dc_get_msg(context, msg_id);
-            //     let text = CStr::from_ptr(dc_msg_get_text(msg)).unwrap();
-            //     println!("Message {}: {}\n", i + 1, text.to_str().unwrap());
-            //     dc_msg_unref(msg);
-            // }
-            // dc_array_unref(msglist);
-
-            t1.join().unwrap();
-            t2.join().unwrap();
-        }
-    }
-}