diff --git a/chainlib/settings.py b/chainlib/settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d7cf5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/chainlib/settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# local imports
+from .chain import ChainSpec
+
+
+class ChainSettings:
+
+    def __init__(self, include_sync=False, include_queue=False):
+        self.o = {}
+        self.get = self.o.get
+
+
+    def process_common(self, config):
+        self.o['CHAIN_SPEC'] = ChainSpec.from_chain_str(config.get('CHAIN_SPEC'))
+
+
+    def process(self, config):
+        self.process_common(config)
+
+
+    def __str__(self):
+        ks = list(self.o.keys())
+        ks.sort()
+        s = ''
+        for k in ks:
+            s += '{}: {}\n'.format(k, self.o.get(k))
+        return s