diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index fc8a4fb..0db7192 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,6 @@
 .direnv
 /result
 .sass-cache
+zig-out
+.zig-cache
+freebsd.txt
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 6da23bd..a05d5c9 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -35,8 +35,6 @@
       url = "https://download.freebsd.org/releases/amd64/14.1-RELEASE/base.txz";
       flake = false;
     };
-    # command for later:
-    # echo '000007: 09' | xxd -r - target/x86_64-unknown-freebsd/debug/sparse-beacon
   };
 
   outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils, crane, rust-overlay, advisory-db
@@ -54,7 +52,7 @@
             freebsd-libs-packed;
         };
         inherit (system-libs)
-          bsd-toolchain winpcap-drivers freebsd-libs libnl libpcap-linux-gnu
+          freebsd-toolchain winpcap-drivers freebsd-libs libnl libpcap-linux-gnu
           libpcap-linux-musl libpcap-freebsd;
 
         buildTools = with pkgs; [
@@ -77,10 +75,13 @@
         ];
 
         devShellTools = with pkgs; [
+          # Language servers
           rust-analyzer
+          zls
+
+          # Cargo lint tools
           taplo
           cargo-deny
-          cargo-generate
         ];
 
         craneLib = (crane.mkLib pkgs).overrideToolchain (p:
@@ -111,6 +112,10 @@
           inherit pkgs buildTools buildEnvironment craneLib advisory-db
             winpcap-libs;
         } // system-libs);
+
+        setup-zig-freebsd = pkgs.writeScriptBin "setup-zig-freebsd" ''
+          cp ${outputs.packages.freebsd-zig-libc} $(${pkgs.git}/bin/git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/unix-loader/freebsd.txt
+        '';
       in {
         packages = outputs.packages;
         checks = outputs.checks;
@@ -119,7 +124,7 @@
           default = craneLib.devShell (buildEnvironment // {
             name = "sparse-default";
 
-            packages = buildTools ++ devShellTools;
+            packages = buildTools ++ devShellTools ++ [ setup-zig-freebsd ];
           });
         };
       });
diff --git a/packages.nix b/packages.nix
index 53a23f6..0b824dd 100644
--- a/packages.nix
+++ b/packages.nix
@@ -19,6 +19,15 @@ let
     };
   patch-freebsd-elf = patch-elf 9;
 
+  freebsd-zig-libc = pkgs.writeText "freebsd-libc.txt" ''
+    include_dir=${freebsd-libs}/usr/include
+    sys_include_dir=${freebsd-libs}/usr/include
+    sys_include_dir=${freebsd-libs}/usr/lib
+    msvc_lib_dir=
+    kernel32_lib_dir=
+    gcc_dir=
+  '';
+
   src = craneLib.cleanCargoSource ./.;
 
   commonArgs = buildEnvironment // {
@@ -45,6 +54,22 @@ let
     ];
   };
 
+  fileSetForInstallerCrate = pkgs.lib.fileset.toSource {
+    root = ./.;
+    fileset = pkgs.lib.fileset.unions [
+      ./.cargo/config.toml
+      ./Cargo.toml
+      ./Cargo.lock
+      ./build_common.rs
+      (craneLib.fileset.commonCargoSources ./sparse-actions)
+      (craneLib.fileset.commonCargoSources ./pcap-sys)
+      (craneLib.fileset.commonCargoSources ./nl-sys)
+      ./nl-sys/src/bridge.c
+      (craneLib.fileset.commonCargoSources ./packets)
+      (craneLib.fileset.commonCargoSources ./sparse-installer)
+    ];
+  };
+
   fileSetForWebCrate = pkgs.lib.fileset.toSource {
     root = ./.;
     fileset = pkgs.lib.fileset.unions [
@@ -97,7 +122,7 @@ let
   sparse-beacon-linux = craneLib.buildPackage (commonArgs // {
     cargoArtifacts = linuxCargoArtifacts;
     name = "sparse-beacon-linux";
-    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-beacon";
+    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-unix-beacon";
     src = fileSetForBeaconCrate;
 
     CARGO_BUILD_TARGET = "x86_64-unknown-linux-musl";
@@ -107,7 +132,7 @@ let
   sparse-beacon-freebsd-sysv = craneLib.buildPackage (freebsdArgs // {
     cargoArtifacts = freebsdCargoArtifacts;
     name = "sparse-beacon-freebsd";
-    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-beacon";
+    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-unix-beacon";
 
     nativeBuildInputs = buildTools;
 
@@ -121,12 +146,81 @@ let
   sparse-beacon-windows = craneLib.buildPackage (windowsArgs // {
     cargoArtifacts = windowsCargoArtifacts;
     name = "sparse-beacon-windows";
-    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-beacon";
+    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-windows-beacon";
 
     CARGO_BUILD_TARGET = "x86_64-pc-windows-gnu";
     CARGO_BUILD_RUSTFLAGS = "-Ctarget-feature=+crt-static";
   });
 
+  linux-loader = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+    name = "sparse-linux-loader";
+
+    buildInputs = with pkgs; [ zig ];
+
+    src = ./unix-loader;
+
+    buildPhase = ''
+      zig build \
+          -Dtarget=x86_64-linux-musl
+    '';
+
+    installPhase = ''
+      mkdir -p $out/lib
+      cp zig-out/lib/libunix-loader.so $out/lib/unix-loader.so
+    '';
+
+    SPARSE_BEACON = "${sparse-beacon-linux}/bin/sparse-beacon";
+  };
+
+  freebsd-loader = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+    name = "sparse-freebsd-loader";
+
+    buildInputs = with pkgs; [ zig ];
+
+    src = ./unix-loader;
+
+    buildPhase = ''
+      zig build \
+          -Dtarget=x86_64-freebsd \
+          --sysroot ${freebsd-libs} \
+          --libc ${freebsd-zig-libc}
+    '';
+
+    installPhase = ''
+      mkdir -p $out/lib
+      cp zig-out/lib/libunix-loader.so $out/lib/unix-loader.so
+    '';
+
+    SPARSE_BEACON = "${sparse-beacon-freebsd}/bin/sparse-beacon";
+  };
+
+  sparse-installer-linux = craneLib.buildPackage (commonArgs // {
+    cargoArtifacts = linuxCargoArtifacts;
+    name = "sparse-installer-linux";
+    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-installer";
+    src = fileSetForInstallerCrate;
+
+    CARGO_BUILD_TARGET = "x86_64-unknown-linux-musl";
+    CARGO_BUILD_RUSTFLAGS = "-Ctarget-feature=+crt-static";
+
+    SPARSE_INSTALLER_LINUX = "${linux-loader}/lib/unix-loader.so";
+  });
+
+  sparse-installer-freebsd-sysv = craneLib.buildPackage (commonArgs // {
+    cargoArtifacts = linuxCargoArtifacts;
+    name = "sparse-installer-linux";
+    cargoExtraArgs = "-p sparse-installer";
+    src = fileSetForInstallerCrate;
+
+    CARGO_BUILD_TARGET = "x86_64-unknown-linux-musl";
+    CARGO_BUILD_RUSTFLAGS = "-Ctarget-feature=+crt-static";
+
+    SPARSE_INSTALLER_FREEBSD = "${freebsd-loader}/lib/unix-loader.so";
+  });
+
+  sparse-installer-freebsd =
+    patch-freebsd-elf sparse-installer-freebsd-sysv "bin/sparse-installer";
+
   sparse-server = craneLib.buildPackage (commonArgs // {
     src = fileSetForWebCrate;
 
@@ -145,15 +239,20 @@ let
       cp target/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/sparse-server $out/bin
     '';
 
-    SPARSE_BEACON_LINUX = "${sparse-beacon-linux}/bin/sparse-beacon";
+    SPARSE_INSTALLER_LINUX = "${sparse-installer-linux}/bin/sparse-installer";
+    SPARSE_INSTALLER_FREEBSD =
+      "${sparse-installer-freebsd}/bin/sparse-installer";
     SPARSE_BEACON_WINDOWS = "${sparse-beacon-windows}/bin/sparse-beacon.exe";
-    SPARSE_BEACON_FREEBSD = "${sparse-beacon-freebsd}/bin/sparse-beacon";
   });
 
   outputs = rec {
     packages = {
-      inherit sparse-beacon-linux sparse-beacon-windows sparse-beacon-freebsd
-        sparse-server;
+      inherit sparse-server sparse-beacon-linux sparse-beacon-windows
+        linux-loader freebsd-loader sparse-beacon-freebsd;
+
+      inherit freebsd-zig-libc;
+
+      default = sparse-server;
     };
     checks = outputs.packages // {
       rs-fmt = craneLib.cargoFmt { inherit src; };
@@ -166,6 +265,16 @@ let
         cargoArtifacts = linuxCargoArtifacts;
         cargoClippyExtraArgs = "--all-targets -- --deny warnings";
       });
+
+      zig-fmt = pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+        name = "zig-fmt-check";
+
+        src = ./.;
+
+        checkPhase = ''
+          zig fmt --check
+        '';
+      };
     };
   };
 in outputs
diff --git a/sparse-beacon/src/lib.rs b/sparse-beacon/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df5dac5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sparse-beacon/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+pub fn run_beacon_step() {}
diff --git a/sparse-beacon/src/main.rs b/sparse-beacon/src/main.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 61f0af4..0000000
--- a/sparse-beacon/src/main.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-fn main() {
-    let interfaces = pcap_sys::PcapDevIterator::new().unwrap();
-    for interface in interfaces {
-        println!("Found interface: {interface}");
-    }
-}
diff --git a/sparse-unix-beacon/Cargo.toml b/sparse-unix-beacon/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd306ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sparse-unix-beacon/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[package]
+name = "sparse-unix-beacon"
+edition = "2024"
+version.workspace = true
+
+[dependencies]
diff --git a/sparse-unix-beacon/src/main.rs b/sparse-unix-beacon/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7a11a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sparse-unix-beacon/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+fn main() {
+    println!("Hello, world!");
+}
diff --git a/sparse-windows-beacon/Cargo.toml b/sparse-windows-beacon/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06e48d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sparse-windows-beacon/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+[package]
+name = "sparse-windows-beacon"
+edition = "2024"
+version.workspace = true
+
+[dependencies]
diff --git a/sparse-windows-beacon/src/main.rs b/sparse-windows-beacon/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7a11a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sparse-windows-beacon/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+fn main() {
+    println!("Hello, world!");
+}
diff --git a/system-libs.nix b/system-libs.nix
index f2b573a..2dcb86c 100644
--- a/system-libs.nix
+++ b/system-libs.nix
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ let
     '';
   };
 
-  bsd-toolchain = with pkgs.pkgsCross.x86_64-freebsd.buildPackages;
-    pkgs.writeText "bsd-toolchain.cmake" ''
+  freebsd-toolchain = with pkgs.pkgsCross.x86_64-freebsd.buildPackages;
+    pkgs.writeText "freebsd-toolchain.cmake" ''
       set(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME FreeBSD)
 
       set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER   ${clang}/bin/x86_64-unknown-freebsd-clang)
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ in {
       export CC=x86_64-unknown-freebsd-clang
       export CXX=x86_64-unknown-freebsd-clang++
       cmake \
-          -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=${bsd-toolchain} \
+          -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=${freebsd-toolchain} \
           -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=MinSizeRel \
           -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
           -DDISABLE_BLUETOOTH=ON \
diff --git a/unix-loader/build.zig b/unix-loader/build.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..615c072
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-loader/build.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
+    const target = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
+    const optimize = b.standardOptimizeOption(.{});
+
+    const lib = b.addSharedLibrary(.{
+        .name = "unix-loader",
+        .root_source_file = b.path("src/loader.zig"),
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+    });
+
+    const exe = b.addExecutable(.{
+        .name = "unix-loader",
+        .root_source_file = b.path("src/test_run.zig"),
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+    });
+
+    lib.linkLibC();
+    b.installArtifact(lib);
+
+    exe.linkLibC();
+    b.installArtifact(exe);
+}
diff --git a/unix-loader/build.zig.zon b/unix-loader/build.zig.zon
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aee5d38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-loader/build.zig.zon
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+.{
+    .name = "linux-loader",
+
+    .version = "2.0.0",
+
+    .dependencies = .{},
+
+    .paths = .{
+        "build.zig",
+        "build.zig.zon",
+        "src",
+    },
+}
diff --git a/unix-loader/src/libloader.zig b/unix-loader/src/libloader.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/unix-loader/src/loader.zig b/unix-loader/src/loader.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecfeade
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-loader/src/loader.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const testing = std.testing;
+
+export fn add(a: i32, b: i32) i32 {
+    return a + b;
+}
+
+test "basic add functionality" {
+    try testing.expect(add(3, 7) == 10);
+}
diff --git a/unix-loader/src/test_run.zig b/unix-loader/src/test_run.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42837a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/unix-loader/src/test_run.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    // Prints to stderr (it's a shortcut based on `std.io.getStdErr()`)
+    std.debug.print("All your {s} are belong to us.\n", .{"codebase"});
+
+    // stdout is for the actual output of your application, for example if you
+    // are implementing gzip, then only the compressed bytes should be sent to
+    // stdout, not any debugging messages.
+    const stdout_file = std.io.getStdOut().writer();
+    var bw = std.io.bufferedWriter(stdout_file);
+    const stdout = bw.writer();
+
+    try stdout.print("Run `zig build test` to run the tests.\n", .{});
+
+    try bw.flush(); // don't forget to flush!
+}
+
+test "simple test" {
+    var list = std.ArrayList(i32).init(std.testing.allocator);
+    defer list.deinit(); // try commenting this out and see if zig detects the memory leak!
+
+    try list.append(42);
+    try std.testing.expectEqual(@as(i32, 42), list.pop());
+}