diff --git a/kifu/core/Cargo.lock b/kifu/core/Cargo.lock
index 75c0dcb..91de0a2 100644
--- a/kifu/core/Cargo.lock
+++ b/kifu/core/Cargo.lock
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "grid",
  "serde",
+ "serde_json",
  "thiserror",
  "typeshare",
 ]
diff --git a/kifu/core/Cargo.toml b/kifu/core/Cargo.toml
index 12b2b0d..e78c7bc 100644
--- a/kifu/core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/kifu/core/Cargo.toml
@@ -8,5 +8,6 @@ edition = "2021"
 [dependencies]
 grid        = { version = "0.9" }
 serde       = { version = "1", features = [ "derive" ] }
+serde_json  = { version = "1" }
 thiserror   = { version = "1" }
 typeshare   = { version = "1" }
diff --git a/kifu/core/src/api.rs b/kifu/core/src/api.rs
index 810d3bd..6777816 100644
--- a/kifu/core/src/api.rs
+++ b/kifu/core/src/api.rs
@@ -70,14 +70,8 @@ pub struct CoreApp {
 }
 
 impl CoreApp {
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
-        /* Candidate for dependency injection from the UI */
-        let user_home = std::env::var("HOME").expect("the user's home directory isn't set");
-        let mut config_path = std::path::PathBuf::from(user_home);
-        config_path.push(".config");
-        config_path.push("kifu");
-
-        let config = Config::new(config_path);
+    pub fn new(config_path: std::path::PathBuf) -> Self {
+        let config = Config::from_path(config_path).expect("configuration to open");
         let state = Arc::new(RwLock::new(AppState::new()));
 
         Self { config, state }
diff --git a/kifu/core/src/config.rs b/kifu/core/src/config.rs
index 401b7ed..5a7b26b 100644
--- a/kifu/core/src/config.rs
+++ b/kifu/core/src/config.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 use crate::types::Player;
-use std::{collections::HashMap, path::PathBuf};
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use std::{
+    collections::HashMap,
+    fs::File,
+    io::{ErrorKind, Read},
+    path::PathBuf,
+};
+use thiserror::Error;
 
 /*
 pub trait ConfigOption {
@@ -22,18 +29,28 @@ pub trait Config {
 }
 */
 
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 enum OptionNames {
     DatabasePath,
     Me,
 }
 
-#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub enum ConfigOption {
     DatabasePath(DatabasePath),
     Me(Me),
 }
 
+#[derive(Debug, Error)]
+pub enum ConfigReadError {
+    #[error("Cannot read the configuration file: {0}")]
+    CannotRead(std::io::Error),
+    #[error("Cannot open the configuration file for reading: {0}")]
+    CannotOpen(std::io::Error),
+    #[error("Invalid json data found in the configurationfile: {0}")]
+    InvalidJSON(serde_json::Error),
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug)]
 pub struct Config {
     config_path: PathBuf,
@@ -48,6 +65,37 @@ impl Config {
         }
     }
 
+    pub fn from_path(config_path: PathBuf) -> Result<Self, ConfigReadError> {
+        let mut settings = config_path.clone();
+        settings.push("config");
+
+        match File::open(settings) {
+            Ok(mut file) => {
+                let mut buf = String::new();
+                file.read_to_string(&mut buf)
+                    .map_err(|err| ConfigReadError::CannotRead(err))?;
+                let values = serde_json::from_str(buf.as_ref())
+                    .map_err(|err| ConfigReadError::InvalidJSON(err))?;
+                Ok(Self {
+                    config_path,
+                    values,
+                })
+            }
+            Err(io_err) => {
+                match io_err.kind() {
+                    ErrorKind::NotFound => {
+                        /* create the path and an empty file */
+                        Ok(Self {
+                            config_path,
+                            values: HashMap::new(),
+                        })
+                    }
+                    _ => Err(ConfigReadError::CannotOpen(io_err)),
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     fn set(&mut self, val: ConfigOption) {
         let _ = match val {
             ConfigOption::DatabasePath(_) => self.values.insert(OptionNames::DatabasePath, val),
@@ -63,7 +111,7 @@ impl Config {
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct DatabasePath(PathBuf);
 
 impl From<&Config> for DatabasePath {
@@ -75,7 +123,7 @@ impl From<&Config> for DatabasePath {
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Me(Player);
 
 impl From<&Config> for Option<Me> {
diff --git a/kifu/core/src/types.rs b/kifu/core/src/types.rs
index a819c4c..1b3ce32 100644
--- a/kifu/core/src/types.rs
+++ b/kifu/core/src/types.rs
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ impl From<Rank> for String {
     }
 }
 
-#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Player {
     pub name: String,
     pub rank: Option<Rank>,
diff --git a/kifu/gtk/Cargo.lock b/kifu/gtk/Cargo.lock
index 41fd545..660eee1 100644
--- a/kifu/gtk/Cargo.lock
+++ b/kifu/gtk/Cargo.lock
@@ -787,6 +787,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "grid",
  "serde",
+ "serde_json",
  "thiserror",
  "typeshare",
 ]
diff --git a/kifu/gtk/src/main.rs b/kifu/gtk/src/main.rs
index 3e34e3e..3570cf7 100644
--- a/kifu/gtk/src/main.rs
+++ b/kifu/gtk/src/main.rs
@@ -44,7 +44,12 @@ fn main() {
             .unwrap(),
     );
 
-    let core = CoreApp::new();
+    let user_home = std::env::var("HOME").expect("the user's home directory isn't set");
+    let mut config_path = std::path::PathBuf::from(user_home);
+    config_path.push(".config");
+    config_path.push("kifu");
+
+    let core = CoreApp::new(config_path);
 
     let core_handle = runtime.spawn({
         let core = core.clone();