diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yaml b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
index 030dfcc..1653aae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yaml
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ jobs:
           authToken: "${{ secrets.CACHIX_AUTH_TOKEN }}"
       - name: Build Nix
         run: nix build -j8 .#devShells.x86_64-linux.default
+      - name: Zig Cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: rose-zig/zig-cache
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-rose-zig
+          save-always: true
       - name: Typecheck
         if: success() || failure() # Means that we run all steps even if one fails.
         run: nix develop --command make typecheck
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b09574a..9fbe266 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,13 +1,22 @@
 check: typecheck test lintcheck
 
-typecheck:
+# Build the Zig library for development.
+build-zig:
+	cd rose-zig && zig build -Doptimize=Debug
+
+typecheck: build-zig
 	mypy .
 
-test:
+test-py: build-zig
 	pytest -n logical .
 	coverage html
 
-snapshot:
+test-zig:
+	cd rose-zig && zig build test --summary all
+
+test: test-zig test-py 
+
+snapshot: build-zig
 	pytest --snapshot-update .
 
 lintcheck:
@@ -23,4 +32,7 @@ lint:
 clean:
 	git clean -xdf
 
-.PHONY: check test typecheck lintcheck lint clean
+nixify-zig-deps:
+	cd rose-zig && zon2nix > deps.nix
+
+.PHONY: check build-zig test-py test-zig test typecheck lintcheck lint clean nixify-zig-deps
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 8f669e5..0c2a7a7 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
         inherit
           # Runtime deps.
           appdirs
+          cffi
           click
           jinja2
           llfuse
@@ -63,6 +64,7 @@
             echo "$path"
           }
           export ROSE_ROOT="$(find-up flake.nix)"
+          export ROSE_SO_PATH="$ROSE_ROOT/rose-zig/zig-out/lib/librose.so"
           export PYTHONPATH="$ROSE_ROOT/rose-py:''${PYTHONPATH:-}"
           export PYTHONPATH="$ROSE_ROOT/rose-watch:$PYTHONPATH"
           export PYTHONPATH="$ROSE_ROOT/rose-vfs:$PYTHONPATH"
@@ -75,19 +77,22 @@
               pkgs.ruff
               pkgs.nodePackages.pyright
               pkgs.nodePackages.prettier
+              pkgs.zig
+              pkgs.zls
               python-with-deps
             ];
           })
         ];
       };
       packages = rec {
-        rose-py = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-py { inherit version python-pin py-deps; };
+        rose-zig = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-zig { inherit version; };
+        rose-py = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-py { inherit version python-pin py-deps rose-zig; };
         rose-watch = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-watch { inherit version python-pin py-deps rose-py; };
         rose-vfs = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-vfs { inherit version python-pin py-deps rose-py; };
         rose-cli = pkgs.callPackage ./rose-cli { inherit version python-pin py-deps rose-py rose-vfs rose-watch; };
         all = pkgs.buildEnv {
           name = "rose-all";
-          paths = [ rose-py rose-watch rose-vfs rose-cli ];
+          paths = [ rose-zig rose-py rose-watch rose-vfs rose-cli ];
         };
       };
     });
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 19a1c65..12698bc 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@ ignore_missing_imports = true
 [[tool.mypy.overrides]]
 module = "snapshottest"
 ignore_missing_imports = true
+[[tool.mypy.overrides]]
+module = "cffi"
+ignore_missing_imports = true
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 addopts = [
diff --git a/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli.py b/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli.py
index 6d8b56b..8696ee8 100644
--- a/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli.py
+++ b/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli.py
@@ -119,6 +119,14 @@ def version() -> None:
     click.echo(VERSION)
 
 
+@cli.command()
+def tmp() -> None:
+    """Temporary development command for FFI testing. If you see this, it's a bug."""
+    from rose.ffi import get_release
+
+    print(get_release())
+
+
 @cli.group()
 def config() -> None:
     """Utilites for configuring Rosé."""
diff --git a/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli_test.py b/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli_test.py
index e36367d..fc50e36 100644
--- a/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli_test.py
+++ b/rose-cli/rose_cli/cli_test.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import pytest
 from click.testing import CliRunner
 from rose import AudioTags, Config
+from rose.ffi import get_release
 from rose_vfs.virtualfs_test import start_virtual_fs
 
 from rose_cli.cli import (
@@ -125,3 +126,7 @@ def mock_exit(x: int) -> None:
     # Assert that we can't kill a non-existent watchdog.
     res = runner.invoke(unwatch, obj=ctx)
     assert res.exit_code == 1
+
+
+def test_ffi() -> None:
+    assert get_release() == "hello"
diff --git a/rose-py/default.nix b/rose-py/default.nix
index 09c1082..9a36267 100644
--- a/rose-py/default.nix
+++ b/rose-py/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 { python-pin
 , version
 , py-deps
+, rose-zig
 }:
 
 python-pin.pkgs.buildPythonPackage {
@@ -8,7 +9,9 @@ python-pin.pkgs.buildPythonPackage {
   version = version;
   src = ./.;
   propagatedBuildInputs = [
+    rose-zig
     py-deps.appdirs
+    py-deps.cffi
     py-deps.click
     py-deps.jinja2
     py-deps.mutagen
@@ -17,4 +20,5 @@ python-pin.pkgs.buildPythonPackage {
     py-deps.uuid6
   ];
   doCheck = false;
+  ROSE_SO_PATH = "${rose-zig}/lib/librose.so";
 }
diff --git a/rose-py/rose/ffi.py b/rose-py/rose/ffi.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..25dc15c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-py/rose/ffi.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import os
+
+from cffi import FFI
+
+from rose.common import RoseError
+
+try:
+    so_path = os.environ["ROSE_SO_PATH"]
+except KeyError as e:
+    raise RoseError("ROSE_SO_PATH unset: cannot load underlying Zig library") from e
+
+ffi = FFI()
+lib = ffi.dlopen(so_path)
+ffi.cdef("""
+    void free_str(void *str);
+
+    char *getRelease();
+""")
+
+
+def get_release() -> str:
+    return ffi.string(ffi.gc(lib.getRelease(), lib.free_str)).decode("utf-8")  # type: ignore
diff --git a/rose-zig/build.zig b/rose-zig/build.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8f487a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/build.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn build(b: *std.Build) void {
+    const target = b.standardTargetOptions(.{});
+    const optimize = b.standardOptimizeOption(.{});
+
+    // Dependencies.
+    const sqlite = b.dependency("sqlite", .{
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+    });
+    // TODO: This is really expensive, so uncomment it only when we start using it.
+    // const ffmpeg = b.dependency("ffmpeg", .{
+    //     .target = target,
+    //     .optimize = optimize,
+    // });
+
+    // Specify the core library module.
+    const rose = b.addModule("rose", .{
+        .root_source_file = b.path("rose/root.zig"),
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+        .imports = &[_]std.Build.Module.Import{
+            // .{ .name = "av", .module = ffmpeg.module("av") },
+            .{ .name = "sqlite", .module = sqlite.module("sqlite") },
+        },
+    });
+
+    // Tests for the core library module.
+    const test_step = b.step("test", "Run unit tests");
+    const unit_tests = b.addTest(.{
+        .root_source_file = .{ .path = "rose/root.zig" },
+        .target = target,
+    });
+    const run_unit_tests = b.addRunArtifact(unit_tests);
+    test_step.dependOn(&run_unit_tests.step);
+
+    // Shared library for compatibility with other languages.
+    const librose = b.addSharedLibrary(.{
+        .name = "rose",
+        .root_source_file = .{ .path = "ffi/root.zig" },
+        .target = target,
+        .optimize = optimize,
+    });
+    librose.root_module.addImport("rose", rose);
+    b.installArtifact(librose);
+}
diff --git a/rose-zig/build.zig.zon b/rose-zig/build.zig.zon
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..862a1af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/build.zig.zon
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+.{
+    .name = "rose",
+    .version = "0.5.0",
+    .dependencies = .{
+        .sqlite = .{
+            .url = "https://github.com/vrischmann/zig-sqlite/archive/dc339b7cf3bca82a12c2169231dd247587766781.tar.gz",
+            .hash = "1220e0961c135c5aa3af77a043dbc5890a18235a157238df0e2882fe84a8c8439c7a",
+        },
+        .ffmpeg = .{
+            .url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/ffmpeg/archive/1704e8898ea6217df91e6afc2a2de3f2b82a98d9.tar.gz",
+            .hash = "122032707cdf94da394e309978146ee33c61a285300eeb916928af376ec1638a95f1",
+        },
+    },
+    .paths = .{""},
+}
diff --git a/rose-zig/default.nix b/rose-zig/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..235af1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{ callPackage
+, stdenv
+, zig
+, version
+}:
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  pname = "rose-zig";
+  version = version;
+  src = ./.;
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ zig.hook ];
+  postPatch = ''
+    ln -s ${callPackage ./deps.nix { }} $ZIG_GLOBAL_CACHE_DIR/p
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/rose-zig/deps.nix b/rose-zig/deps.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4d915b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/deps.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# generated by zon2nix (https://github.com/nix-community/zon2nix)
+
+{ linkFarm, fetchzip }:
+
+linkFarm "zig-packages" [
+  {
+    name = "122004fa7e2ff0b3d472049743358f8fdf065cdf63bc0e5e3d54c6bb8d81d93e40da";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/nasm/archive/b5f62392d56baf6aa02567f28e0da70664609262.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-tPBQixxG+phvEfRHeOLHMjY1Ynp7r9zNSgRy4R/ILQM=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "1220138f4aba0c01e66b68ed9e1e1e74614c06e4743d88bc58af4f1c3dd0aae5fea7";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/allyourcodebase/zlib/archive/refs/tags/1.3.1-3.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-R1tB+ORO3qeV/cNxsp5GqsiOyKUXjaj4Pd1v5AfWYz4=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "122032707cdf94da394e309978146ee33c61a285300eeb916928af376ec1638a95f1";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/ffmpeg/archive/1704e8898ea6217df91e6afc2a2de3f2b82a98d9.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-6EYu1QT76cJQMW9F41DvXsVLulH1YwGrkhwSV6IsBes=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "122074e0bf09c3622780e697c11c6744e763dd63777e480baf2b583ee3ab6a02ff14";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/libvorbis/archive/refs/tags/1.3.8-3.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-KHKYT3tmab9qYu8N2iJwm1rS+mU7Cwnn8Jp0cfOdnIg=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "12207d353609d95cee9da7891919e6d9582e97b7aa2831bd50f33bf523a582a08547";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/madler/zlib/archive/refs/tags/v1.3.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-eUuXV5zfy+fmiMNdWw5QCqDloBkaxy1tgi7by9nYHNA=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "1220b3e1fb33317c92f9ead09630f6b4be59e80d0a8780754f8aa4ee7da61cb7b47a";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/libogg/archive/refs/tags/1.3.6-2.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-3dFDBo4Af58bW8Gf+sHLigwo8CO2siwzWWtAoYe5opI=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "1220bee0fcf98bf6ad75b7bb09ff1f873ca38547a15b1e7a4532d20d94107d8d330a";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/andrewrk/libmp3lame/archive/refs/tags/3.100.1-3.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-kMI7JACnIVAdUHp5DUKx2XfKgIb1ftr6x/oYJdsTKyI=";
+    };
+  }
+  {
+    name = "1220e0961c135c5aa3af77a043dbc5890a18235a157238df0e2882fe84a8c8439c7a";
+    path = fetchzip {
+      url = "https://github.com/vrischmann/zig-sqlite/archive/dc339b7cf3bca82a12c2169231dd247587766781.tar.gz";
+      hash = "sha256-YouCVidJqhI5+joTSe1aSbnjVC+qVG2aIz6MyibRmQk=";
+    };
+  }
+]
diff --git a/rose-zig/ffi/root.zig b/rose-zig/ffi/root.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..999221b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/ffi/root.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const rose = @import("rose");
+
+var gpa = std.heap.GeneralPurposeAllocator(.{}){};
+const allocator = gpa.allocator();
+
+export fn getRelease() [*:0]const u8 {
+    const message = rose.getRelease(allocator) catch |err| switch (err) {
+        error.OutOfMemory => @panic("Out of memory"),
+    };
+    return message.ptr;
+}
+
+export fn free_str(str: [*:0]const u8) void {
+    const len = std.mem.len(str);
+    allocator.free(str[0 .. len + 1]);
+}
diff --git a/rose-zig/rose/root.zig b/rose-zig/rose/root.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46ed947
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rose-zig/rose/root.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const sqlite = @import("sqlite");
+const testing = std.testing;
+
+pub fn getRelease(allocator: std.mem.Allocator) ![:0]const u8 {
+    return try allocator.dupeZ(u8, "hello");
+}
+
+pub fn getTrack(allocator: std.mem.Allocator) void {
+    const db = try sqlite.Db.init(.{
+        .mode = sqlite.Db.Mode{ .File = "/home/blissful/.cache/rose/cache.sqlite3" },
+        .open_flags = .{
+            .write = true,
+            .create = true,
+        },
+        .threading_mode = .MultiThread,
+    });
+    _ = db;
+    _ = allocator;
+}
+
+test "basic add functionality" {
+    const message = try getRelease(testing.allocator);
+    try testing.expect(std.mem.eql(u8, message, "hello"));
+    testing.allocator.free(message);
+}