diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index 4744efc..e02fa22 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -1,55 +1,55 @@
-[submodule "etc/PIPython"]
-	path = etc/PIPython
-	url = https://github.com/PI-PhysikInstrumente/PIPython
-[submodule "etc/camera-interface"]
-	path = etc/camera-interface
-	url = https://github.com/CaltechOpticalObservatories/camera-interface
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/lakeshore"]
-	path = hispec/util/lakeshore
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/lakeshore"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/lakeshore
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/lakeshore
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/inficon"]
-	path = hispec/util/inficon
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/inficon"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/inficon
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/inficon
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/gammavac"]
-	path = hispec/util/gammavac
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/gammavac"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/gammavac
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/gammavac
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/standa"]
-	path = hispec/util/standa
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/standa"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/standa
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/standa
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/thorlabs"]
-	path = hispec/util/thorlabs
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/thorlabs"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/thorlabs
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/thorlabs
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/sunpower"]
-	path = hispec/util/sunpower
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/sunpower"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/sunpower
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/sunpower
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/onewire"]
-	path = hispec/util/onewire
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/onewire"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/onewire
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/onewire
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/xeryon"]
-	path = hispec/util/xeryon
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/xeryon"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/xeryon
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/xeryon
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/pi"]
-	path = hispec/util/pi
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/pi"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/pi
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/pi
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/srs"]
-	path = hispec/util/srs
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/srs"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/srs
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/srs
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/ozoptics"]
-	path = hispec/util/ozoptics
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/ozoptics"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/ozoptics
 	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/ozoptics
-	branch = main 
-[submodule "hispec/util/newport"]
-	path = hispec/util/newport
-	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/newport.git 
-	branch = main 
+	branch = main
+[submodule "src/hispec/util/newport"]
+	path = src/hispec/util/newport
+	url = https://github.com/COO-Utilities/newport
+	branch = main
+[submodule "etc/PIPython"]
+	path = etc/PIPython
+	url = https://github.com/PI-PhysikInstrumente/PIPython
+[submodule "etc/camera-interface"]
+	path = etc/camera-interface
+	url = https://github.com/CaltechOpticalObservatories/camera-interface
+	branch = main
diff --git a/hispec/util/__init__.py b/hispec/util/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 2470d22..0000000
--- a/hispec/util/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-from .sunpower import SunpowerCryocooler
-from .pi import PIControllerBase
-from .xeryon.xeryon_controller import XeryonController
-from .xeryon.stage import Stage as XeryonStage
-from .newport import smc100pp
-from .inficon.inficonvgc502 import InficonVGC502
-from .thorlabs import fw102c
-from .lakeshore import lakeshore
-from .srs import PTC10
-
-__all__ = [
-    "SunpowerCryocooler",
-    "PIControllerBase",
-    "smc100pp",
-    "XeryonController",
-    "XeryonStage",
-    "InficonVGC502",
-    "fw102c",
-    "lakeshore",
-    "PTC10",
-]
diff --git a/hispec/util/config/pi_named_positions.json b/hispec/util/config/pi_named_positions.json
deleted file mode 100644
index e225df7..0000000
--- a/hispec/util/config/pi_named_positions.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "024551188": {
-    "test": [
-      "1",
-      0.0
-    ]
-  }
-}
diff --git a/hispec/util/config/xeryon_default_settings.txt b/hispec/util/config/xeryon_default_settings.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index b9126b1..0000000
--- a/hispec/util/config/xeryon_default_settings.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-% Default settings for Xeryon motion stages
-% Axis-specific settings use the format X:<tag>=<value>
-% Master settings use <tag>=<value>
-
-X:LLIM=10
-X:HLIM=200
-X:SSPD=5000
-X:PTO2=100
-X:PTOL=100
-X:POLI=5
-
-POLI=7
-SAVE=0
diff --git a/hispec/util/helper/__init__.py b/hispec/util/helper/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/hispec/util/helper/logger_utils.py b/hispec/util/helper/logger_utils.py
deleted file mode 100644
index a14d936..0000000
--- a/hispec/util/helper/logger_utils.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-"""Set up logging helper module."""
-import logging
-import sys
-
-
-def setup_logger(name: str, log_file: str = None, level=logging.DEBUG,
-                 quiet: bool = False) -> logging.Logger:
-    """Setup logger with given name."""
-    logger = logging.getLogger(name)
-    logger.setLevel(level)
-
-    # Prevent adding multiple handlers (important for reimporting)
-    if logger.handlers:
-        return logger
-
-    formatter = logging.Formatter(
-        "%(asctime)s--%(name)s--%(levelname)s--%(message)s"
-    )
-
-    # File handler (optional)
-    if log_file:
-        file_handler = logging.FileHandler(log_file)
-        file_handler.setFormatter(formatter)
-        logger.addHandler(file_handler)
-
-    # Console handler (unless quiet)
-    if not quiet:
-        console_formatter = logging.Formatter("%(asctime)s--%(message)s")
-        console_handler = logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
-        console_handler.setFormatter(console_formatter)
-        logger.addHandler(console_handler)
-
-    return logger
diff --git a/hispec/util/xeryon b/hispec/util/xeryon
deleted file mode 160000
index 9d7ae37..0000000
--- a/hispec/util/xeryon
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Subproject commit 9d7ae378c8ef684d8fb8e1d21829544606ddf6d0
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index d59fb06..f346556 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-[tool.setuptools]
-packages = ["hispec.util"]
+[tool.setuptools.packages.find]
+where = ["src"]
+include = ["hispec", "hispec.*"]
 
 [build-system]
 requires = ["setuptools>=61.0"]
@@ -20,5 +21,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "keyring",
     "pipython",
     "pyserial",
-    "libximc"
+    "libximc",
+    "libby@git+https://github.com/CaltechOpticalObservatories/libby.git",
+    "hardware_device_base@git+https://github.com/COO-Utilities/hardware_device_base"
 ]
diff --git a/hispec/__init__.py b/src/hispec/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/__init__.py
rename to src/hispec/__init__.py
diff --git a/src/hispec/daemon.py b/src/hispec/daemon.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4fb9296
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hispec/daemon.py
@@ -0,0 +1,223 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+import json
+from dataclasses import is_dataclass, asdict
+import collections.abc as cabc
+import signal, sys, threading, time
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional
+
+from libby import Libby
+
+Payload = Dict[str, Any]
+RPCHandler = Callable[[Payload], Dict[str, Any]]
+EvtHandler = Callable[[Payload], None]
+
+class HispecDaemon:
+    """
+    Base daemon class for Libby peers with support for multiple transports.
+
+    ZMQ Usage:
+        class MyPeer(HispecDaemon):
+            peer_id = "my-peer"
+            bind = "tcp://*:5555"
+            address_book = {"other-peer": "tcp://localhost:5556"}
+
+            services = {"echo": lambda payload: {"echo": payload}}
+            topics = {"alerts": lambda payload: print(payload)}
+
+    RabbitMQ Usage:
+        class MyPeer(HispecDaemon):
+            transport = "rabbitmq"
+            peer_id = "my-peer"
+            rabbitmq_url = "amqp://localhost"  # optional, defaults to this
+
+            services = {"echo": lambda payload: {"echo": payload}}
+            topics = {"alerts": lambda payload: print(payload)}
+
+        Note: RabbitMQ doesn't need bind or address_book since routing is
+        handled automatically by the broker.
+    """
+    # simple attributes users set
+    peer_id: Optional[str] = None
+    bind: Optional[str] = None
+    address_book: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = None
+    discovery_enabled: bool = True
+    discovery_interval_s: float = 5.0
+
+    # transport selection: "zmq" or "rabbitmq (default)"
+    transport: str = "rabbitmq"
+    rabbitmq_url: Optional[str] = None
+    group_id: Optional[str] = None
+    # internal config
+    _config: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+    # payload-only handlers
+    services: Dict[str, RPCHandler] = {}
+    topics: Dict[str, EvtHandler] = {}
+
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        # Ensure per-instance handler tables
+        if type(self).services is self.services:
+            self.services = {}
+        if type(self).topics is self.topics:
+            self.topics = {}
+
+    # Config ingestion
+    @classmethod
+    def from_config_file(cls, path: str, *, env_prefix: str = "LIBBY_") -> "HispecDaemon":
+        """
+        Build a daemon from a JSON or YAML file and then apply environment
+        overrides whose keys start with env_prefix (default: LIBBY_).
+        """
+        pass
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_config(cls, cfg: Dict[str, Any]) -> "HispecDaemon":
+        """
+        Build a daemon from a pre-loaded dict. Only the known public attributes
+        are mapped; anything else stays in _config for user code to read.
+        """
+        pass
+
+    # optional hooks
+    def on_start(self, libby: Libby) -> None: ...
+    def on_stop(self, libby: Optional[Libby] = None) -> None: ...
+    def on_hello(self, libby: Libby) -> None: ...
+    def on_event(self, topic: str, msg) -> None:
+        print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] {topic}: {msg.env.payload}")
+
+    # config getters
+    def config_peer_id(self) -> str: return self.peer_id or self._must("peer_id")
+    def config_bind(self) -> str: return self.bind or self._must("bind")
+    def config_rabbitmq_url(self) -> str: return self.rabbitmq_url or "amqp://localhost"
+    def config_group_id(self) -> Optional[str]: return self.group_id
+    def config_address_book(self) -> Dict[str, str]: return self.address_book if self.address_book is not None else {}
+    def config_discovery_enabled(self) -> bool: return bool(self.discovery_enabled)
+    def config_discovery_interval_s(self) -> float: return float(self.discovery_interval_s)
+    def config_rpc_keys(self) -> List[str]: return list(self.services.keys())
+    def config_subscriptions(self) -> List[str]: return list(self.topics.keys())
+
+    # user-facing helpers
+    def add_service(self, key: str, fn: RPCHandler) -> None:
+        self.services[key] = fn
+        if hasattr(self, "libby"): self._register_services({key: fn})
+
+    def add_services(self, mapping: Dict[str, RPCHandler]) -> None:
+        self.services.update(mapping)
+        if hasattr(self, "libby"): self._register_services(mapping)
+
+    def add_topic(self, topic: str, fn: EvtHandler) -> None:
+        self.topics[topic] = fn
+        if hasattr(self, "libby"):
+            self.libby.listen(topic, lambda msg, _h=fn: _h(msg.env.payload))
+            self.libby.subscribe(topic)
+
+    def add_topics(self, mapping: Dict[str, EvtHandler]) -> None:
+        self.topics.update(mapping)
+        if hasattr(self, "libby"):
+            for topic, fn in mapping.items():
+                self.libby.listen(topic, lambda msg, _h=fn: _h(msg.env.payload))
+            self.libby.subscribe(*mapping.keys())
+
+    # internals
+    def _must(self, name: str):
+        raise NotImplementedError(f"Set `{name}` or override config_{name}()")
+
+    def _service_adapter(self, fn):
+        def adapter(user_payload: dict, _ctx: dict) -> dict:
+            try:
+                result = fn(user_payload)      # user returns ANYTHING
+                return self.payload(result)    # we "shove it into payload" for them
+            except Exception as ex:
+                return {"ok": False, "error": str(ex)}
+        return adapter
+
+    def _register_services(self, mapping: Dict[str, RPCHandler]) -> None:
+        for key, fn in mapping.items():
+            self.libby.serve_keys([key], self._service_adapter(fn))
+
+    def build_libby(self) -> Libby:
+        """Build Libby instance with selected transport."""
+        if self.transport == "rabbitmq":
+            return Libby.rabbitmq(
+                self_id=self.config_peer_id(),
+                rabbitmq_url=self.config_rabbitmq_url(),
+                keys=[],
+                callback=None,
+                group_id=self.config_group_id(),
+            )
+        else:
+            # Default to ZMQ
+            return Libby.zmq(
+                self_id=self.config_peer_id(),
+                bind=self.config_bind(),
+                address_book=self.config_address_book(),
+                keys=[], callback=None,                     # register per-key
+                discover=self.config_discovery_enabled(),
+                discover_interval_s=self.config_discovery_interval_s(),
+                hello_on_start=True,
+                group_id=self.config_group_id(),
+            )
+
+    def serve(self) -> None:
+        stop_evt = threading.Event()
+        def _sig(_s, _f): stop_evt.set()
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, _sig)
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, _sig)
+
+        try:
+            self.libby = self.build_libby()
+        except Exception as ex:
+            print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] failed to start: {ex}", file=sys.stderr)
+            raise
+
+        if self.services:
+            self._register_services(self.services)
+        if self.topics:
+            for topic, fn in self.topics.items():
+                self.libby.listen(topic, lambda msg, _h=fn: _h(msg.env.payload))
+            self.libby.subscribe(*self.topics.keys())
+
+        # discovery hello + hooks
+        try:
+            if self.config_discovery_enabled():
+                self.libby.hello()
+                self.on_hello(self.libby)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+        try:
+            self.on_start(self.libby)
+        except Exception as ex:
+            print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] on_start error: {ex}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+        if self.transport == "rabbitmq":
+            print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] up: id={self.config_peer_id()} transport=rabbitmq url={self.rabbitmq_url}")
+        else:
+            print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] up: id={self.config_peer_id()} bind={self.config_bind()}")
+        try:
+            while not stop_evt.is_set(): time.sleep(0.5)
+        finally:
+            try: self.on_stop()
+            except Exception: pass
+            self.libby.stop()
+            print(f"[{self.__class__.__name__}] stopped")
+
+    def payload(self, value=None, /, **extra) -> dict:
+        if value is None:
+            out = {}
+        elif is_dataclass(value):
+            out = asdict(value)
+        elif isinstance(value, cabc.Mapping):
+            out = dict(value)
+        else:
+            out = {"data": value}
+
+        if extra:
+            out.update(extra)
+
+        try:
+            json.dumps(out)
+        except TypeError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Payload not JSON-serializable: {e}") from e
+
+        return out
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hispec/util/gammavac b/src/hispec/util/gammavac
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/gammavac
rename to src/hispec/util/gammavac
diff --git a/hispec/util/inficon b/src/hispec/util/inficon
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/inficon
rename to src/hispec/util/inficon
diff --git a/hispec/util/lakeshore b/src/hispec/util/lakeshore
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/lakeshore
rename to src/hispec/util/lakeshore
diff --git a/hispec/util/newport b/src/hispec/util/newport
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/newport
rename to src/hispec/util/newport
diff --git a/hispec/util/onewire b/src/hispec/util/onewire
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/onewire
rename to src/hispec/util/onewire
diff --git a/hispec/util/ozoptics b/src/hispec/util/ozoptics
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/ozoptics
rename to src/hispec/util/ozoptics
diff --git a/hispec/util/pi b/src/hispec/util/pi
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/pi
rename to src/hispec/util/pi
diff --git a/hispec/util/srs b/src/hispec/util/srs
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/srs
rename to src/hispec/util/srs
diff --git a/hispec/util/standa b/src/hispec/util/standa
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/standa
rename to src/hispec/util/standa
diff --git a/hispec/util/sunpower b/src/hispec/util/sunpower
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/sunpower
rename to src/hispec/util/sunpower
diff --git a/hispec/util/thorlabs b/src/hispec/util/thorlabs
similarity index 100%
rename from hispec/util/thorlabs
rename to src/hispec/util/thorlabs
diff --git a/src/hispec/util/xeryon b/src/hispec/util/xeryon
new file mode 160000
index 0000000..33b6823
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hispec/util/xeryon
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Subproject commit 33b68232fd08450f2f312ed629ef4a6664dbf738