diff --git a/cmd/add.go b/cmd/add.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..946961f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/add.go
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	ldap "gopkg.in/ldap.v2"
+)
+
+var (
+	// add command global arguments
+	flagBindDn string
+	flagBindPw string
+
+	// user subcommand arguments
+	flagUserUsername  string
+	flagUserEmail     string
+	flagUserFirstName string
+	flagUserLastName  string
+	flagUserIdNumber  int
+)
+
+func init() {
+	// define add command flags
+	addCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&flagBindDn, "bind_dn", "D", "", "Privileged LDAP user to bind as")
+	addCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVarP(&flagBindPw, "bind_pw", "P", "", "Privileged LDAP user password")
+	// mark required flags
+	addCmd.MarkFlagRequired("bind_dn")
+	addCmd.MarkFlagRequired("bind_pw")
+
+	// define add user subcommand flags
+	addUserCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&flagUserUsername, "username", "u", "", "Username for a new user")
+	addUserCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&flagUserEmail, "email", "e", "", "Email address for a new user")
+	addUserCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&flagUserFirstName, "first_name", "f", "", "First name of a new user")
+	addUserCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&flagUserLastName, "last_name", "l", "", "Last name of a new user")
+	addUserCmd.Flags().IntVarP(&flagUserIdNumber, "id_number", "i", -1, "ID Number for a new user")
+
+	// register add command and subcommands
+	addCmd.AddCommand(addUserCmd)
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(addCmd)
+}
+
+// define add command
+var addCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "add",
+	Short: "Add an LDAP resource to the directory",
+	Long:  `Create and add an LDAP resource to your directory.`,
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		fmt.Println("This is a test")
+	},
+}
+
+// define add user subcommand
+var addUserCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "user",
+	Short: "Add an LDAP user resource to the directory",
+	Long:  `Create and add an LDAP user resource to your directory.`,
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		// create new LDAP connection
+		l, err := ldap.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", flagHost, flagPort))
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		defer l.Close()
+
+		// bind as the admin user
+		err = l.Bind(flagBindDn, flagBindPw)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+
+		// set up user attributes
+		userDn := fmt.Sprintf("uid=%s,ou=Accounts,dc=example,dc=com", flagUserUsername)
+		userDisplayName := fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", flagUserFirstName, flagUserLastName)
+		userHome := fmt.Sprintf("/home/%s", flagUserUsername)
+
+		// create a new add request object
+		addRequest := ldap.NewAddRequest(userDn)
+		// add user attributes to the request
+		addRequest.Attribute("uid", []string{flagUserUsername})
+		addRequest.Attribute("objectClass", []string{"top", "inetOrgPerson", "posixAccount", "shadowAccount"})
+		addRequest.Attribute("mail", []string{flagUserEmail})
+		addRequest.Attribute("givenName", []string{flagUserFirstName})
+		addRequest.Attribute("sn", []string{flagUserLastName})
+		addRequest.Attribute("cn", []string{flagUserFirstName})
+		addRequest.Attribute("displayName", []string{userDisplayName})
+		addRequest.Attribute("uidNumber", []string{strconv.Itoa(flagUserIdNumber)})
+		addRequest.Attribute("gidNumber", []string{strconv.Itoa(flagUserIdNumber)})
+		addRequest.Attribute("homeDirectory", []string{userHome})
+		addRequest.Attribute("loginShell", []string{"/bin/bash"})
+		addRequest.Attribute("shadowExpire", []string{"-1"})
+
+		// perform the add operation
+		err = l.Add(addRequest)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	},
+}