diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1785d01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2016 Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/bmipy/cmd.py b/bmipy/cmd.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71cedf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bmipy/cmd.py
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import inspect
+import keyword
+import re
+
+import black as blk
+import click
+import jinja2
+
+from bmipy import Bmi
+
+BMI_TEMPLATE = """# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+{% if with_hints -%}
+from typing import Tuple
+{%- endif %}
+
+from bmipy import Bmi
+import numpy
+
+
+class {{ name }}(Bmi):
+{% for func in funcs %}
+    def {{ func }}{{ funcs[func].sig }}:
+        \"\"\"{{ funcs[func].doc }}\"\"\"
+        raise NotImplementedError("{{ func }}")
+{% endfor %}
+"""
+
+
+def _remove_hints_from_signature(signature):
+    """Remove hint annotation from a signature."""
+    params = []
+    for name, param in signature.parameters.items():
+        params.append(param.replace(annotation=inspect.Parameter.empty))
+    return signature.replace(
+        parameters=params, return_annotation=inspect.Signature.empty
+    )
+
+
+def _is_valid_class_name(name):
+    p = re.compile(r"^[^\d\W]\w*\Z", re.UNICODE)
+    return p.match(name) and not keyword.iskeyword(name)
+
+
+def render_bmi(name, black=True, hints=True):
+    """Render a template BMI implementation in Python
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    name : str
+        Name of the new BMI class to implement.
+    black : bool, optional
+        If True, reformat the source using black styling.
+    hints : bool, optiona
+        If True, include type hint annotation.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    str
+        The contents of a new Python module that contains a template for
+        a BMI implementation.
+    """
+    if _is_valid_class_name(name):
+        env = jinja2.Environment()
+        template = env.from_string(BMI_TEMPLATE)
+
+        funcs = {}
+        for func_name, func in inspect.getmembers(Bmi, inspect.isfunction):
+            signature = inspect.signature(func)
+            if not hints:
+                signature = _remove_hints_from_signature(signature)
+            funcs[func_name] = {"sig": signature, "doc": func.__doc__}
+
+        contents = template.render(name=name, funcs=funcs, with_hints=hints)
+
+        if black:
+            contents = blk.format_file_contents(
+                contents, fast=True, mode=blk.FileMode()
+            )
+
+        return contents
+    else:
+        raise ValueError("invalid class name ({0})".format(name))
+
+
+@click.command()
+@click.version_option()
+@click.option("--black / --no-black", default=True, help="format output with black")
+@click.option("--hints / --no-hints", default=True, help="include type hint annotation")
+@click.argument("name")
+@click.pass_context
+def main(ctx, name, black, hints):
+    """Render a template BMI implementation in Python for class NAME."""
+    if _is_valid_class_name(name):
+        print(render_bmi(name, black=black, hints=hints))
+    else:
+        click.secho(
+            "💥 💔 💥 '{0}' is not a valid class name in Python".format(name),
+            err=True,
+            fg="red",
+        )
+        ctx.exit(code=1)
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 15c8e10..0513763 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
     name="bmipy",
     version=versioneer.get_version(),
     description="Basic Model Interface for Python",
+    long_description=open("README.rst").read(),
     author="Eric Hutton",
     author_email="huttone@colorado.edu",
     url="http://csdms.colorado.edu",
@@ -21,7 +22,8 @@
         "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Physics",
     ],
     setup_requires=["setuptools"],
-    install_requires=["numpy"],
+    install_requires=["black", "click", "jinja2", "numpy"],
     packages=find_packages(),
     cmdclass=versioneer.get_cmdclass(),
+    entry_points={"console_scripts": ["bmipy-render=bmipy.cmd:main"]},
 )
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b7c47ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+from click.testing import CliRunner
+import pytest
+
+from bmipy.cmd import main
+
+
+def test_cli_version():
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    result = runner.invoke(main, ["--version"])
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert "version" in result.output
+
+
+def test_cli_help():
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    result = runner.invoke(main, ["--help"])
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert "help" in result.output
+
+
+def test_cli_default(tmpdir):
+    import importlib
+    import sys
+
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["MyBmi"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        with open("mybmi.py", "w") as fp:
+            fp.write(result.output)
+        sys.path.append(".")
+        mod = importlib.import_module("mybmi")
+        assert "MyBmi" in mod.__dict__
+
+
+def test_cli_with_hints(tmpdir):
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["MyBmiWithHints", "--hints"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "->" in result.output
+
+
+def test_cli_without_hints(tmpdir):
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["MyBmiWithoutHints", "--no-hints"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "->" not in result.output
+
+
+def test_cli_with_black(tmpdir):
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["MyBmiWithHints", "--black"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert max([len(line) for line in result.output.splitlines()]) <= 88
+
+
+def test_cli_without_black(tmpdir):
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
+        result = runner.invoke(main, ["MyBmiWithoutHints", "--no-black"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert max([len(line) for line in result.output.splitlines()]) > 88
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("bad_name", ["True", "0Bmi"])
+def test_cli_with_bad_class_name(tmpdir, bad_name):
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    result = runner.invoke(main, [bad_name])
+    assert result.exit_code == 1