diff --git a/bin/debugRun.sh b/bin/debugRun.sh
index 01197a6b8..b963744d8 100755
--- a/bin/debugRun.sh
+++ b/bin/debugRun.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ node-inspector &
 echo "If you are new to node-inspector, take a look at this video: http://youtu.be/AOnK3NVnxL8"
 
 cd "node"
-node --debug server.js
+node --debug serve.js
 
 #kill node-inspector before ending 
 kill $!
diff --git a/bin/run.sh b/bin/run.sh
index a5245ff77..878e0a55c 100755
--- a/bin/run.sh
+++ b/bin/run.sh
@@ -26,4 +26,4 @@ bin/installDeps.sh || exit 1
 #Move to the node folder and start
 echo "start..."
 cd "node"
-node server.js
+node serve.js
diff --git a/node/serve.js b/node/serve.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e0e75c317
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node/serve.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+require("./server").init(function(){});
diff --git a/node/server.js b/node/server.js
index a6a57497a..8b9b3fcc3 100644
--- a/node/server.js
+++ b/node/server.js
@@ -67,7 +67,15 @@ exports.maxAge = 1000*60*60*6;
 //set loglevel
 log4js.setGlobalLogLevel(settings.loglevel);
 
-async.waterfall([
+function init(additionalSetup){
+  //additionalSetup is an optional argument that must be a function
+  //the purpose of additionalSetup is
+    //to allow whoever initializes the server to add functionality
+    //before the server begins listening
+  if("function" != typeof additionalSetup)
+    //the default value for initialSetup is a no-op
+    additionalSetup = function additionalSetup(app, db, managers, handlers){};
+ async.waterfall([
   //initalize the database
   function (callback)
   {
@@ -401,6 +409,23 @@ async.waterfall([
         }
       });
     });
+
+    //additionalSetup is a hook for modifying the app before it begins listening
+    //some things such a hook might need are the app itself, the database, and any managers and handlers it might want to use
+    //rather than passing the managers and handlers one by one, each of those collections is passed as a dictionary
+    additionalSetup(
+      app, db,
+      {
+        "ro": readOnlyManager,
+        pad: padManager,
+        security: securityManager
+      },
+      {
+        "export": exportHandler,
+        "import": importHandler,
+        api: apiHandler
+      }
+    );
     
     //let the server listen
     app.listen(settings.port, settings.ip);
@@ -492,3 +517,5 @@ async.waterfall([
     callback(null);  
   }
 ]);
+}
+this.init = init;
diff --git a/start.bat b/start.bat
index cf6a60f18..0fe44b3f9 100644
--- a/start.bat
+++ b/start.bat
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 cd node
-..\bin\node server.js
+..\bin\node serve.js