diff --git a/include/socks/console.h b/include/socks/console.h
index 945072f..7d12eaf 100644
--- a/include/socks/console.h
+++ b/include/socks/console.h
@@ -1,11 +1,27 @@
 #ifndef SOCKS_CONSOLE_H_
 #define SOCKS_CONSOLE_H_
 
+/* The console system
+
+   Consoles are like simplified TTYs. Their purpose is to serve as an output
+   sink for messages printed using printk.
+
+   a console_t could be used to represent a serial port, UART port, or even
+   a text-based framebuffer display. Anything where the job of displaying
+   or sending text can be abstracted to a simple write() call.
+
+   A secondary purpose of consoles is to allow input. For example, a console
+   representing a serial port may allow both sending AND receiving over the
+   port.
+*/
 #include <socks/queue.h>
 #include <socks/locks.h>
 #include <socks/status.h>
 
 typedef enum console_flags {
+	/* console is only used during the boot process. the console
+	   will be automatically de-registered when the first
+	   non-boot console is registered */
 	CON_BOOT = 0x01u,
 } console_flags_t;
 
diff --git a/include/socks/tty.h b/include/socks/tty.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4038e83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/socks/tty.h
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+#ifndef SOCKS_TTY_H_
+#define SOCKS_TTY_H_
+
+#include <socks/status.h>
+#include <socks/queue.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+/* The TTY system.
+
+   TTYs are an enhanced version of the console object. Rather than a simple output
+   device for log messages, TTYs are intended to support fully-featured interactive
+   user sessions, including advanced display manipulation (if applicable) and
+   buffered user input.
+
+   A TTY object is split into 2 parts:
+     - tty_t: This represents the terminal session, and tracks things like the cursor
+       position, input buffer, flags, etc.
+     - tty_driver_t: This is a set of function callbacks that the TTY can use to
+       manipulate the output device. This could represent a char-based framebuffer
+       device, a serial port, etc.
+*/
+
+/* opaque context pointer for use by the tty driver */
+typedef void *tty_driver_ctx_t;
+
+typedef enum tty_driver_type {
+	/* For TTYs operating on simple IO devices like serial ports.
+	   Allows writing characters, receiving characters, and not much else. */
+	TTY_DRIVER_SIMPLE,
+	/* For TTYs operating on more capable display interfaces.
+	   Allows putting characters at arbitrary locations, scrolling, etc */
+	TTY_DRIVER_FULL,
+} tty_driver_type_t;
+
+/* TTY cursor status. The extra cursor styles are just for completeness,
+   the important one to support (if possible), is TTY_CURSOR_NONE.
+   The others can be interpreted as "just turn on a cursor of any style". */
+typedef enum tty_cursor {
+	TTY_CURSOR_ULINE,
+	TTY_CURSOR_BLOCK,
+	TTY_CURSOR_NONE,
+} tty_cursor_t;
+
+/* direction to use for scrolling. The important one to support is
+   TTY_SCROLL_DOWN for when output overflows the display */
+typedef enum tty_scroll_dir {
+	TTY_SCROLL_DOWN,
+	TTY_SCROLL_UP,
+} tty_scroll_dir_t;
+
+/* character attribute. this could be as simple as VGA's 16-colour palette
+   plus an extra bit for bright, or a full 24-bit RGB value with bold and underline
+   support, depending on what the driver supports. */
+typedef uint64_t tty_attrib_t;
+
+typedef struct tty_driver {
+	char tty_name[16];
+	tty_driver_type_t tty_type;
+	queue_entry_t tty_list;
+
+	void (*tty_init)(tty_driver_ctx_t *ctx);
+	void (*tty_deinit)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx);
+	void (*tty_clear)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx, int x, int y, int width, int height);
+	void (*tty_putc)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx, int c, int xpos, int ypos, tty_attrib_t attrib);
+	void (*tty_set_cursor)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx, tty_cursor_t cur);
+	void (*tty_move_cursor)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx, int x, int y);
+	void (*tty_scroll)(tty_driver_ctx_t ctx, tty_scroll_dir_t dir, int lines);
+} tty_driver_t;
+
+typedef struct tty {
+	int tty_xcur, tty_ycur;
+	unsigned int tty_iflag, tty_oflag, tty_lflag;
+
+	tty_driver_ctx_t tty_dctx;
+	const tty_driver_t *tty_driver;
+} tty_t;
+
+extern kern_status_t tty_driver_register(tty_driver_t *drv);
+extern kern_status_t tty_driver_unregister(tty_driver_t *drv);
+
+extern tty_t *tty_create(void);
+extern void tty_destroy(tty_t *tty);
+
+extern int tty_read(tty_t *tty, char *s, unsigned long len);
+extern int tty_write(tty_t *tty, const char *s, unsigned long len);
+
+#endif
diff --git a/kernel/tty.c b/kernel/tty.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..761c5bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kernel/tty.c
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#include <socks/tty.h>
+#include <socks/locks.h>
+#include <socks/queue.h>
+
+int tty_read(tty_t *tty, char *s, unsigned long len)
+{
+	return 0;
+}
+
+int tty_write(tty_t *tty, const char *s, unsigned long len)
+{
+	return 0;
+}