diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index c05ebcfde..ea0100dcf 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -10134,6 +10134,18 @@ dependencies = [
  "ts-rs",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "tari_watcher"
+version = "0.7.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
+ "clap 3.2.25",
+ "log",
+ "serde",
+ "tokio",
+ "toml 0.8.15",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tariswap_bench"
 version = "0.7.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 214249591..cf7ae9c84 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ members = [
     "utilities/tariswap_test_bench",
     "utilities/transaction_submitter",
     "utilities/transaction_submitter",
-    "utilities/generate_ristretto_value_lookup",
+    "utilities/generate_ristretto_value_lookup", "applications/tari_watcher",
 ]
 resolver = "2"
 
diff --git a/applications/tari_watcher/Cargo.toml b/applications/tari_watcher/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0367c410d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/applications/tari_watcher/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+[package]
+name = "tari_watcher"
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+authors.workspace = true
+repository.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+
+# See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
+
+[dependencies]
+#tari_common = { workspace = true }
+
+clap = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
+serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
+anyhow = { workspace = true }
+tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros", "signal", "process", "time", "fs", "io-util"] }
+log = { workspace = true }
+
+toml = "0.8.12"
diff --git a/applications/tari_watcher/src/cli.rs b/applications/tari_watcher/src/cli.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ae1c1954d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/applications/tari_watcher/src/cli.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+// Copyright 2024 The Tari Project
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use clap::Parser;
+
+use crate::config::Config;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Parser)]
+pub struct Cli {
+    #[clap(flatten)]
+    pub common: CommonCli,
+    #[clap(subcommand)]
+    pub command: Commands,
+}
+
+impl Cli {
+    pub fn init() -> Self {
+        Self::parse()
+    }
+
+    pub fn get_config_path(&self) -> PathBuf {
+        let Some(ref base_dir) = self.common.base_dir else {
+            return self.common.config_path.clone();
+        };
+        if self.common.config_path.is_relative() {
+            base_dir.join(&self.common.config_path)
+        } else {
+            self.common.config_path.clone()
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, clap::Args)]
+pub struct CommonCli {
+    #[clap(short = 'b', long, parse(from_os_str))]
+    pub base_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+    #[clap(short = 'c', long, parse(from_os_str), default_value = "./data/watcher/config.toml")]
+    pub config_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
+pub enum Commands {
+    Init(InitArgs),
+    Start,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, clap::Args)]
+pub struct InitArgs {
+    #[clap(long)]
+    /// Disable initial and auto registration of the validator node
+    pub no_auto_register: bool,
+}
+
+impl InitArgs {
+    pub fn apply(&self, config: &mut Config) {
+        config.auto_register = !self.no_auto_register;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/applications/tari_watcher/src/config.rs b/applications/tari_watcher/src/config.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ee6c3250b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/applications/tari_watcher/src/config.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+// Copyright 2024 The Tari Project
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+use std::{
+    collections::HashMap,
+    fmt::{self, Display},
+    path::PathBuf,
+};
+
+use tokio::io::{self, AsyncWriteExt};
+
+use crate::Cli;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct Config {
+    /// Allow watcher to submit a new validator node registration transaction initially and before
+    /// the current registration expires
+    pub auto_register: bool,
+
+    /// The Minotari node gRPC address
+    pub base_node_grpc_address: String,
+
+    /// The Minotari console wallet gRPC address
+    pub base_wallet_grpc_address: String,
+
+    /// The path of the validator node registration file, containing signed information required to
+    /// submit a registration transaction on behalf of the node
+    pub vn_registration_file: PathBuf,
+
+    /// The sidechain ID to use. If not provided, the default Tari sidechain ID will be used.
+    pub sidechain_id: Option<String>,
+
+    /// The configuration for managing one or multiple processes
+    pub instance_config: Vec<InstanceConfig>,
+
+    /// The process specific configuration for the executables
+    pub executable_config: Vec<ExecutableConfig>,
+
+    /// The channel configuration for alerting and monitoring
+    pub channel_config: Vec<ChannelConfig>,
+}
+
+impl Config {
+    pub(crate) async fn write<W: io::AsyncWrite + Unpin>(&self, mut writer: W) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let toml = toml::to_string_pretty(self)?;
+        writer.write_all(toml.as_bytes()).await?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Eq, PartialEq, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub enum InstanceType {
+    TariValidatorNode,
+    MinoTariConsoleWallet,
+}
+
+impl Display for InstanceType {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        fmt::Debug::fmt(self, f)
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct ChannelConfig {
+    pub name: String,
+    pub enabled: bool,
+    pub credentials: String,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct ExecutableConfig {
+    pub instance_type: InstanceType,
+    pub executable_path: Option<PathBuf>,
+    pub compile: Option<CompileConfig>,
+    pub env: Vec<(String, String)>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct CompileConfig {
+    pub working_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+    pub package_name: String,
+    pub target_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, serde::Serialize, serde::Deserialize)]
+pub struct InstanceConfig {
+    pub name: String,
+    pub instance_type: InstanceType,
+    pub num_instances: u32,
+    #[serde(alias = "extra_args")]
+    pub settings: HashMap<String, String>,
+}
+
+impl InstanceConfig {
+    pub fn new(instance_type: InstanceType) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            name: instance_type.to_string(),
+            instance_type,
+            num_instances: 1,
+            settings: HashMap::new(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_name<S: Into<String>>(mut self, name: S) -> Self {
+        self.name = name.into();
+        self
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_num_instances(mut self, num_instances: u32) -> Self {
+        self.num_instances = num_instances;
+        self
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn get_base_config(cli: &Cli) -> anyhow::Result<Config> {
+    let executables = vec![
+        ExecutableConfig {
+            instance_type: InstanceType::TariValidatorNode,
+            executable_path: Some("target/release/minotari_node".into()),
+            compile: Some(CompileConfig {
+                working_dir: Some("../tari".into()),
+                package_name: "minotari_node".to_string(),
+                target_dir: None,
+            }),
+            env: vec![],
+        },
+        ExecutableConfig {
+            instance_type: InstanceType::MinoTariConsoleWallet,
+            executable_path: Some("target/release/minotari_wallet".into()),
+            compile: Some(CompileConfig {
+                working_dir: Some("../tari".into()),
+                package_name: "minotari_wallet".to_string(),
+                target_dir: None,
+            }),
+            env: vec![],
+        },
+    ];
+    let instances = [
+        InstanceConfig::new(InstanceType::TariValidatorNode)
+            .with_name("tari_validator_node")
+            .with_num_instances(1),
+        InstanceConfig::new(InstanceType::MinoTariConsoleWallet)
+            .with_name("minotari_wallet")
+            .with_num_instances(1),
+    ];
+
+    let base_dir = cli
+        .common
+        .base_dir
+        .clone()
+        .or_else(|| {
+            cli.get_config_path()
+                .canonicalize()
+                .ok()
+                .and_then(|p| p.parent().map(|p| p.to_path_buf()))
+        })
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| std::env::current_dir().unwrap());
+
+    Ok(Config {
+        auto_register: true,
+        base_node_grpc_address: "localhost:18142".to_string(),
+        base_wallet_grpc_address: "localhost:18143".to_string(),
+        sidechain_id: None,
+        vn_registration_file: base_dir.join("vn_registration.toml"),
+        instance_config: instances.to_vec(),
+        executable_config: executables,
+        channel_config: vec![
+            ChannelConfig {
+                name: "mattermost".to_string(),
+                enabled: true,
+                credentials: "".to_string(),
+            },
+            ChannelConfig {
+                name: "telegram".to_string(),
+                enabled: true,
+                credentials: "".to_string(),
+            },
+        ],
+    })
+}
diff --git a/applications/tari_watcher/src/main.rs b/applications/tari_watcher/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cb7c923b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/applications/tari_watcher/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+// Copyright 2024 The Tari Project
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Context};
+use tokio::fs;
+
+use crate::{
+    cli::{Cli, Commands},
+    config::get_base_config,
+};
+
+mod cli;
+mod config;
+
+#[tokio::main]
+async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let cli = Cli::init();
+    let config_path = cli.get_config_path();
+
+    match cli.command {
+        Commands::Init(ref args) => {
+            // set by default in CommonCli
+            let parent = config_path.parent().unwrap();
+            fs::create_dir_all(parent).await?;
+
+            let mut config = get_base_config(&cli)?;
+            // optionally disables auto register
+            args.apply(&mut config);
+
+            let file = fs::File::create(&config_path)
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| anyhow!("Failed to open config path {}", config_path.display()))?;
+            config.write(file).await.context("Writing config failed")?;
+
+            let config_path = config_path
+                .canonicalize()
+                .context("Failed to canonicalize config path")?;
+
+            // TODO: use standardised logging
+            // if let Err(e) = initialize_logging(..)
+            log::info!("Config file created at {}", config_path.display());
+        },
+        Commands::Start => {
+            unimplemented!("Start command not implemented");
+        },
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}