diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/justfile
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+
+# execute default build
+default: build
+
+# builds the python module using poetry
+build:
+	echo "building..."
+	poetry build
+
+# print a message displaying whether nix is being used
+checknix:
+	#!/usr/bin/env bash
+	set -euxo pipefail
+	if [[ "${DO_NIX_CUSTOM:=0}" -eq 1 ]]; then
+		echo "In an interactive nix env."
+	else
+		echo "Using poetry as runner, no nix detected."
+	fi
+
+test:
+	#!/usr/bin/env bash
+	set -euxo pipefail
+	
+	if [[ "${DO_NIX_CUSTOM:=0}" -eq 1 ]]; then
+		echo "testing, using nix..."
+		flake8 deepdog tests
+		mypy deepdog
+		pytest
+	else
+		echo "testing..."
+		poetry run flake8 deepdog tests
+		poetry run mypy deepdog
+		poetry run pytest
+	fi
+
+fmt:
+	#!/usr/bin/env bash
+	set -euxo pipefail
+	if [[ "${DO_NIX_CUSTOM:=0}" -eq 1 ]]; then
+	      black .
+	else
+		poetry run black .
+	fi
+	find . -type f -name "*.py" -exec sed -i -e 's/    /\t/g' {} \;
+
+release:
+	./scripts/release.sh
+
+htmlcov:
+	poetry run pytest --cov-report=html