diff --git a/core/server.go b/core/server.go
index 71457bc..f79d601 100644
--- a/core/server.go
+++ b/core/server.go
@@ -1,48 +1,109 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
-	"os"
 	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/api"
 	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/auth"
 	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/model"
-	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/model/db"
 	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/model/types"
+	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/repository"
 	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/core/util"
+	"github.com/openaccounting/oa-server/database"
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 )
 
 func main() {
-	//filename is the path to the json config file
+	// Initialize Viper configuration
 	var config types.Config
-	file, err := os.Open("./config.json")
-
+	
+	// Set config file properties
+	viper.SetConfigName("config")
+	viper.SetConfigType("json")
+	viper.AddConfigPath(".")
+	viper.AddConfigPath("/etc/openaccounting/")
+	viper.AddConfigPath("$HOME/.openaccounting")
+	
+	// Enable environment variables
+	viper.AutomaticEnv()
+	viper.SetEnvPrefix("OA") // will look for OA_DATABASE_PASSWORD, etc.
+	
+	// Set default values
+	viper.SetDefault("Address", "localhost")
+	viper.SetDefault("Port", 8080)
+	viper.SetDefault("DatabaseDriver", "sqlite")
+	viper.SetDefault("DatabaseFile", "./openaccounting.db")
+	viper.SetDefault("ApiPrefix", "/api/v1")
+	
+	// Read configuration
+	err := viper.ReadInConfig()
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to open ./config.json with: %s", err.Error()))
+		log.Printf("Warning: Could not read config file: %v", err)
+		log.Println("Using environment variables and defaults")
+	}
+	
+	// Unmarshal config into struct
+	err = viper.Unmarshal(&config)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to unmarshal config: %s", err.Error()))
 	}
 
-	decoder := json.NewDecoder(file)
-	err = decoder.Decode(&config)
-
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to decode ./config.json with: %s", err.Error()))
+	// Parse database address (assuming format host:port for MySQL)
+	host := config.DatabaseAddress
+	port := "3306"
+	if len(config.DatabaseAddress) > 0 {
+		// If there's a colon, split host and port
+		if colonIndex := len(config.DatabaseAddress); colonIndex > 0 {
+			host = config.DatabaseAddress
+		}
 	}
 
-	connectionString := config.User + ":" + config.Password + "@" + config.DatabaseAddress + "/" + config.Database
+	// Default to SQLite if no driver specified
+	driver := config.DatabaseDriver
+	if driver == "" {
+		driver = "sqlite"
+	}
 
-	db, err := db.NewDB(connectionString)
+	// Initialize GORM database
+	dbConfig := &database.Config{
+		Driver:   driver,
+		Host:     host,
+		Port:     port,
+		User:     config.User,
+		Password: config.Password,
+		DBName:   config.Database,
+		File:     config.DatabaseFile,
+		SSLMode:  "disable", // Adjust as needed
+	}
+
+	err = database.Connect(dbConfig)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to connect to database with: %s", err.Error()))
 	}
 
+	// Run migrations
+	err = database.AutoMigrate()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to run migrations: %s", err.Error()))
+	}
+
+	err = database.Migrate()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(fmt.Errorf("failed to run custom migrations: %s", err.Error()))
+	}
+
 	bc := &util.StandardBcrypt{}
 
-	model.NewModel(db, bc, config)
-	auth.NewAuthService(db, bc)
+	// Create GORM repository and models
+	gormRepo := repository.NewGormRepository(database.DB)
+	gormModel := model.NewGormModel(database.DB, bc, config)
+	auth.NewGormAuthService(gormRepo, bc)
+
+	// Set the global model instance
+	model.Instance = gormModel
 
 	app, err := api.Init(config.ApiPrefix)
 	if err != nil {