diff --git a/src/Model/connectionModel.ts b/src/Model/connectionModel.ts
index 68a7c6b1..10be32c3 100644
--- a/src/Model/connectionModel.ts
+++ b/src/Model/connectionModel.ts
@@ -1 +1,46 @@
-// this file is responsible for managing UDN connections.
\ No newline at end of file
+// this file is responsible for managing UDN connections.
+
+import UDNFrontend, { Message } from "udn-frontend";
+
+import { ChatMessage } from "./chatTypes";
+import { stringify } from "../utility";
+
+export default class ConnectionModel {
+  // basic
+  udn: UDNFrontend;
+
+  // data
+  get isConnected(): boolean {
+    return this.udn.ws != undefined && this.udn.ws.readyState == 1;
+  }
+
+  get url(): string | undefined {
+    return this.udn.ws?.url;
+  }
+
+  // connection
+  connect(address: string): void {
+    this.udn.connect(address);
+  }
+
+  disconnect(): void {
+    this.udn.disconnect();
+  }
+
+  handleDisconnect() {}
+
+  // messaging
+  sendChatMessage(chatMessage: ChatMessage): boolean {
+    const stringifiedBody = stringify(chatMessage);
+    return this.udn.sendMessage(chatMessage.channel, stringifiedBody);
+  }
+
+  handleMessage(data: Message) {}
+
+  // setup
+  constructor() {
+    this.udn = new UDNFrontend();
+    this.udn.onmessage = this.handleMessage;
+    this.udn.ondisconnect = this.handleDisconnect;
+  }
+}