diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 1d05f13..8655be7 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -388,6 +388,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "axum",
  "clap",
  "dotenv",
+ "futures",
  "minijinja",
  "serde",
  "serde_yaml",
@@ -533,6 +534,21 @@ dependencies = [
  "percent-encoding",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "futures"
+version = "0.3.30"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "645c6916888f6cb6350d2550b80fb63e734897a8498abe35cfb732b6487804b0"
+dependencies = [
+ "futures-channel",
+ "futures-core",
+ "futures-executor",
+ "futures-io",
+ "futures-sink",
+ "futures-task",
+ "futures-util",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "futures-channel"
 version = "0.3.30"
@@ -577,6 +593,17 @@ version = "0.3.30"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "a44623e20b9681a318efdd71c299b6b222ed6f231972bfe2f224ebad6311f0c1"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "futures-macro"
+version = "0.3.30"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "87750cf4b7a4c0625b1529e4c543c2182106e4dedc60a2a6455e00d212c489ac"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.65",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "futures-sink"
 version = "0.3.30"
@@ -595,8 +622,10 @@ version = "0.3.30"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "3d6401deb83407ab3da39eba7e33987a73c3df0c82b4bb5813ee871c19c41d48"
 dependencies = [
+ "futures-channel",
  "futures-core",
  "futures-io",
+ "futures-macro",
  "futures-sink",
  "futures-task",
  "memchr",
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/Cargo.toml b/crates/cuddle-clusters/Cargo.toml
index cfb6bc2..a87623c 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-clusters/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/Cargo.toml
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ serde_yaml = "0.9.34"
 tokio-stream = "0.1.15"
 walkdir = "2.5.0"
 minijinja = "2.0.1"
+futures = "0.3.30"
 
 [[test]]
 name = "integration"
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e6ccdfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+pub mod cuddle_vars;
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog/cuddle_vars.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog/cuddle_vars.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9cf3206
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/catalog/cuddle_vars.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+use std::{collections::HashMap, ops::Deref, path::Path};
+
+use anyhow::Context;
+use futures::{future::BoxFuture, FutureExt};
+
+use crate::Component;
+
+#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Debug, Clone)]
+pub enum CuddleVariable {
+    Object(Box<CuddleVariables>),
+    Array(Vec<CuddleVariable>),
+    String(String),
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<serde_yaml::Value> for CuddleVariable {
+    type Error = anyhow::Error;
+
+    fn try_from(value: serde_yaml::Value) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        match value {
+            serde_yaml::Value::Sequence(sequence) => {
+                let mut items = Vec::new();
+
+                for item in sequence {
+                    items.push(item.try_into()?)
+                }
+
+                Ok(Self::Array(items))
+            }
+            serde_yaml::Value::Mapping(mapping) => {
+                let obj: CuddleVariables = mapping.try_into()?;
+
+                Ok(Self::Object(Box::new(obj)))
+            }
+            serde_yaml::Value::String(s) => Ok(Self::String(s)),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Number(num) => Ok(Self::String(num.to_string())),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Bool(bool) => Ok(Self::String(bool.to_string())),
+            _ => Err(anyhow::anyhow!("cannot handle type of serde value")),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct CuddleVariables(pub HashMap<String, CuddleVariable>);
+
+impl TryFrom<serde_yaml::Mapping> for CuddleVariables {
+    type Error = anyhow::Error;
+
+    fn try_from(value: serde_yaml::Mapping) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        let mut variables = CuddleVariables(HashMap::default());
+
+        for (k, v) in value {
+            let var: CuddleVariable = v.try_into()?;
+
+            variables.0.insert(
+                k.as_str()
+                    .ok_or(anyhow::anyhow!("key cannot be anything else than a string"))?
+                    .to_string(),
+                var,
+            );
+        }
+
+        Ok(variables)
+    }
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<serde_yaml::Value> for CuddleVariables {
+    type Error = anyhow::Error;
+
+    fn try_from(value: serde_yaml::Value) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        match value {
+            serde_yaml::Value::Null => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle null"),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Bool(_) => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle bool"),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Number(_) => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle number"),
+            serde_yaml::Value::String(_) => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle string"),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Sequence(_) => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle sequence"),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Mapping(mapping) => mapping.try_into(),
+            serde_yaml::Value::Tagged(_) => anyhow::bail!("cannot handle tagged"),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct CuddleVars {
+    pub variables: CuddleVariables,
+}
+
+const PARENT_PLAN_PREFIX: &str = ".cuddle/plan";
+const CUDDLE_FILE: &str = "cuddle.yaml";
+
+impl CuddleVars {
+    pub async fn new(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<CuddleVars> {
+        let variables = load_cuddle_file(path).await?;
+
+        Ok(Self { variables })
+    }
+}
+
+fn load_cuddle_file(path: &Path) -> BoxFuture<'static, anyhow::Result<CuddleVariables>> {
+    let path = path.to_path_buf();
+
+    async move {
+        let cuddle_file = path.join(CUDDLE_FILE);
+        let cuddle_file_content = tokio::fs::read(cuddle_file)
+            .await
+            .context(format!("failed to read cuddle file: {}", path.display()))?;
+        let cuddle_serde: serde_yaml::Value = serde_yaml::from_slice(&cuddle_file_content)?;
+        match cuddle_serde.get("vars") {
+            Some(vars) => {
+                let parent_file = path.join(PARENT_PLAN_PREFIX);
+                if parent_file.exists() {
+                    // FIXME: Merge parent map
+                    //let parent_plan = load_cuddle_file(&parent_file).await?;
+                    //Err(anyhow::anyhow!("not implemented yet"))
+
+                    Ok(CuddleVariables::try_from(vars.clone())?)
+                } else {
+                    Ok(CuddleVariables::try_from(vars.clone())?)
+                }
+            }
+            None => Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "failed to find variables section in cuddle.yaml"
+            )),
+        }
+    }
+    .boxed()
+}
+
+impl Component for CuddleVars {
+    fn name(&self) -> String {
+        "cuddle/vars".into()
+    }
+
+    fn validate(&self, _value: &serde_yaml::Value) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn render_value(&self, _value: &serde_yaml::Value) -> Option<anyhow::Result<minijinja::Value>> {
+        Some(Ok(minijinja::Value::from_object(self.variables.clone())))
+    }
+}
+
+impl minijinja::value::Object for CuddleVariables {
+    fn get_value(self: &std::sync::Arc<Self>, key: &minijinja::Value) -> Option<minijinja::Value> {
+        if let Some(key) = key.as_str() {
+            tracing::trace!("looking up key: {}", key);
+
+            if let Some(val) = self.0.get(key) {
+                match val {
+                    CuddleVariable::Object(_) => todo!(),
+                    CuddleVariable::Array(_) => todo!(),
+                    CuddleVariable::String(str) => {
+                        return Some(minijinja::Value::from_safe_string(str.to_owned()))
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        None
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/components.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/components.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac30479
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/components.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+use std::rc::Rc;
+
+pub trait Component {
+    fn name(&self) -> String;
+
+    fn validate(&self, _value: &serde_yaml::Value) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    fn render_value(&self, _value: &serde_yaml::Value) -> Option<anyhow::Result<minijinja::Value>> {
+        None
+    }
+
+    /// First return is name, second is contents
+    fn render(&self, _value: &serde_yaml::Value) -> Option<anyhow::Result<(String, String)>> {
+        None
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct ConcreteComponent {
+    inner: Rc<dyn Component + 'static>,
+}
+
+impl std::ops::Deref for ConcreteComponent {
+    type Target = Rc<dyn Component + 'static>;
+
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        &self.inner
+    }
+}
+
+impl ConcreteComponent {
+    pub fn new<T: Component + 'static>(t: T) -> Self {
+        Self { inner: Rc::new(t) }
+    }
+}
+
+pub trait IntoComponent {
+    fn into_component(self) -> ConcreteComponent;
+}
+
+impl IntoComponent for ConcreteComponent {
+    fn into_component(self) -> ConcreteComponent {
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+impl<T: Component + 'static> IntoComponent for T {
+    fn into_component(self) -> ConcreteComponent {
+        ConcreteComponent::new(self)
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test {
+    use similar_asserts::assert_eq;
+
+    use super::*;
+
+    pub struct Database {}
+
+    impl Component for Database {
+        fn name(&self) -> String {
+            "cuddle/database".into()
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn can_transform_into_concrete() {
+        let database = Database {};
+
+        assert_eq!("cuddle/database", database.into_component().name());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/lib.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/lib.rs
index 9a818c6..8c6b2a6 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
-pub mod process;
+pub mod components;
+pub use components::*;
 
+pub mod catalog;
+
+pub mod process;
 pub use process::{process, process_opts};
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/process.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/process.rs
index 12f0dd7..f8001ec 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/process.rs
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/src/process.rs
@@ -9,8 +9,10 @@ use minijinja::context;
 use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
 use tokio_stream::{wrappers::ReadDirStream, StreamExt};
 
+use crate::components::{Component, ConcreteComponent, IntoComponent};
+
 pub async fn process() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    process_opts(ProcessOpts::default()).await
+    process_opts(Vec::<ConcreteComponent>::new(), ProcessOpts::default()).await
 }
 
 pub struct ProcessOpts {
@@ -30,7 +32,15 @@ impl Default for ProcessOpts {
     }
 }
 
-pub async fn process_opts(opts: ProcessOpts) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+pub async fn process_opts(
+    components: impl IntoIterator<Item = impl IntoComponent>,
+    opts: ProcessOpts,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let components = components
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|c| c.into_component())
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+
     let path = opts.path.canonicalize().context("failed to find folder")?;
 
     let cuddle_path = path.join("cuddle.yaml");
@@ -51,7 +61,7 @@ pub async fn process_opts(opts: ProcessOpts) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     tokio::fs::remove_dir_all(&opts.output).await?;
     tokio::fs::create_dir_all(&opts.output).await?;
 
-    process_templates(&clusters, &template_files, &opts.output).await?;
+    process_templates(&components, &clusters, &template_files, &opts.output).await?;
 
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -122,35 +132,47 @@ async fn read_dir(path: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<Vec<PathBuf>> {
 }
 
 async fn process_templates(
+    components: &Vec<ConcreteComponent>,
     clusters: &CuddleClusters,
     template_files: &TemplateFiles,
     dest: &Path,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    for (cluster_name, _value) in clusters.iter() {
-        process_cluster(cluster_name, template_files, &dest.join(cluster_name)).await?;
+    for (environment, value) in clusters.iter() {
+        process_cluster(
+            &components,
+            value,
+            environment,
+            template_files,
+            &dest.join(environment),
+        )
+        .await?;
     }
 
     Ok(())
 }
 
 async fn process_cluster(
-    cluster_name: &str,
+    components: &Vec<ConcreteComponent>,
+    value: &serde_yaml::Value,
+    environment: &str,
     template_files: &TemplateFiles,
     dest: &Path,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     for template_file in &template_files.templates {
-        process_template_file(cluster_name, template_file, dest).await?;
+        process_template_file(components, value, environment, template_file, dest).await?;
     }
 
     for raw_file in &template_files.raw {
-        process_raw_file(cluster_name, raw_file, dest).await?;
+        process_raw_file(environment, raw_file, dest).await?;
     }
 
     Ok(())
 }
 
 async fn process_template_file(
-    _cluster_name: &str,
+    components: &Vec<ConcreteComponent>,
+    value: &serde_yaml::Value,
+    environment: &str,
     template_file: &PathBuf,
     dest: &Path,
 ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
@@ -175,8 +197,23 @@ async fn process_template_file(
             "failed to load template at: {}",
             template_file.display()
         ))?;
+    env.add_global("environment", environment);
+
+    let mut variables = HashMap::new();
+    for component in components {
+        let name = component.name();
+
+        if let Some(value) = component.render_value(value) {
+            let value = value?;
+
+            variables.insert(name.replace("/", "_"), value);
+        }
+    }
+
     let tmpl = env.get_template(file_name.to_str().unwrap_or_default())?;
-    let rendered = tmpl.render(context! {})?;
+    let rendered = tmpl.render(context! {
+        vars => variables
+    })?;
 
     dest_file.write_all(rendered.as_bytes()).await?;
 
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/common.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/common.rs
index 462a1ff..946a8c6 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/common.rs
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/common.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 use std::{cmp::Ordering, path::Path};
 
-use cuddle_clusters::process::ProcessOpts;
+use cuddle_clusters::{process::ProcessOpts, ConcreteComponent, IntoComponent};
 use walkdir::DirEntry;
 
-pub(crate) async fn run_test(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+pub(crate) async fn run_test_with_components(
+    name: &str,
+    components: Vec<impl IntoComponent>,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let _ = tracing_subscriber::fmt::try_init();
 
     println!("running for: {name}");
@@ -17,17 +20,25 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_test(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let expected = test_folder.join("expected");
     tokio::fs::create_dir_all(&expected).await?;
 
-    cuddle_clusters::process_opts(ProcessOpts {
-        path: test_folder.clone(),
-        output: actual.clone(),
-    })
+    let components: Vec<_> = components.into_iter().map(|p| p.into_component()).collect();
+
+    cuddle_clusters::process_opts(
+        components.clone(),
+        ProcessOpts {
+            path: test_folder.clone(),
+            output: actual.clone(),
+        },
+    )
     .await?;
 
     if std::env::var("TEST_OVERRIDE") == Ok("true".to_string()) {
-        cuddle_clusters::process_opts(ProcessOpts {
-            path: test_folder,
-            output: expected.clone(),
-        })
+        cuddle_clusters::process_opts(
+            components,
+            ProcessOpts {
+                path: test_folder,
+                output: expected.clone(),
+            },
+        )
         .await?;
     }
 
@@ -36,6 +47,10 @@ pub(crate) async fn run_test(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+pub(crate) async fn run_test(name: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    run_test_with_components(name, Vec::<ConcreteComponent>::new()).await
+}
+
 async fn compare(expected: &Path, actual: &Path) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let mut exp = walk_dir(expected)?;
     let mut act = walk_dir(actual)?;
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..100c8e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+use cuddle_clusters::catalog::cuddle_vars::{CuddleVariable, CuddleVariables, CuddleVars};
+use similar_asserts::assert_eq;
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn can_load_cuddle_file() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let current_dir = std::env::current_dir()?.join("tests");
+
+    let vars = CuddleVars::new(&current_dir.join("cuddle_vars/basic/")).await?;
+
+    assert_eq!(
+        CuddleVars {
+            variables: CuddleVariables(HashMap::from([
+                ("service".into(), CuddleVariable::String("basic".into())),
+                (
+                    "some".into(),
+                    CuddleVariable::Object(Box::new(CuddleVariables(HashMap::from([
+                        ("other".into(), CuddleVariable::String("item".into())),
+                        (
+                            "nested".into(),
+                            CuddleVariable::Object(Box::new(CuddleVariables(HashMap::from([(
+                                "item".into(),
+                                CuddleVariable::String("item".into())
+                            )]))))
+                        ),
+                        (
+                            "array".into(),
+                            CuddleVariable::Array(vec![CuddleVariable::Object(Box::new(
+                                CuddleVariables(HashMap::from([(
+                                    "item".into(),
+                                    CuddleVariable::Object(Box::new(CuddleVariables(
+                                        HashMap::from([(
+                                            "item".into(),
+                                            CuddleVariable::String("item".into()),
+                                        )])
+                                    )))
+                                )]))
+                            ))])
+                        )
+                    ]))))
+                )
+            ]))
+        },
+        vars
+    );
+
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars/basic/cuddle.yaml b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars/basic/cuddle.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4bbf721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/cuddle_vars/basic/cuddle.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+vars:
+  service: basic
+  some:
+    other: item
+    nested:
+      item: item
+    array:
+      - item:
+          item: item
+        
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/tests.rs b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/tests.rs
index 12bf9db..d7abbaa 100644
--- a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/tests.rs
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/tests.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 pub mod common;
 
 mod can_run_for_env;
+mod cuddle_vars;
 
-use crate::common::run_test;
+use cuddle_clusters::catalog::cuddle_vars::CuddleVars;
+
+use crate::common::{run_test, run_test_with_components};
 
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn raw_files() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
@@ -37,3 +40,16 @@ async fn environment() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     Ok(())
 }
+
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn with_cuddle_vars() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let current_dir = std::env::current_dir()?.join("tests/with_cuddle_vars");
+
+    run_test_with_components(
+        "with_cuddle_vars",
+        vec![CuddleVars::new(&current_dir).await?],
+    )
+    .await?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/cuddle.yaml b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/cuddle.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7a13f5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/cuddle.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+vars:
+  service: service
+
+cuddle/clusters:
+  dev:
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/expected/dev/some.yaml b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/expected/dev/some.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9a1947
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/expected/dev/some.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+service: service
+
diff --git a/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/templates/clusters/some.yaml.jinja2 b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/templates/clusters/some.yaml.jinja2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0f33df2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/cuddle-clusters/tests/with_cuddle_vars/templates/clusters/some.yaml.jinja2
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+service: {{ vars.cuddle_vars.service }}
+
+