diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index 459f8f4..bae44a9 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -416,6 +416,17 @@ category = "main"
 optional = false
 python-versions = ">=3.6"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "h5py"
+version = "3.9.0"
+description = "Read and write HDF5 files from Python"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.8"
+
+[package.dependencies]
+numpy = ">=1.17.3"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "html5lib"
 version = "1.1"
@@ -790,6 +801,14 @@ category = "dev"
 optional = false
 python-versions = ">=2.6"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "peewee"
+version = "3.16.3"
+description = "a little orm"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = "*"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pexpect"
 version = "4.8.0"
@@ -801,6 +820,14 @@ python-versions = "*"
 [package.dependencies]
 ptyprocess = ">=0.5"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "pgpasslib"
+version = "1.1.0"
+description = "Library for getting passwords from PostgreSQL password files"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = "*"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pickleshare"
 version = "0.7.5"
@@ -867,6 +894,14 @@ python-versions = ">=2.6, !=3.0.*, !=3.1.*, !=3.2.*, !=3.3.*"
 [package.extras]
 test = ["ipaddress", "mock", "unittest2", "enum34", "pywin32", "wmi"]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "psycopg2-binary"
+version = "2.9.7"
+description = "psycopg2 - Python-PostgreSQL Database Adapter"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.6"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ptyprocess"
 version = "0.7.0"
@@ -1216,6 +1251,31 @@ sdsstools = ">=0.4.5"
 dev = ["Sphinx (>=3.0.0)", "sphinx-bootstrap-theme (>=0.4.12)", "recommonmark (>=0.6)", "sphinx-argparse (>=0.2.5)", "sphinx-issues (>=1.2.0)", "importlib-metadata (>=1.6.0)", "jinja2 (<3.1)", "six (>=1.14)", "ipython (>=7.9.0)", "matplotlib (>=3.1.4)", "flake8 (>=3.7.9)", "doc8 (>=0.8.0)", "pytest (>=5.2.2)", "pytest-cov (>=2.8.1)", "pytest-mock (>=1.13.0)", "pytest-sugar (>=0.9.2)", "isort (>=4.3.21)", "codecov (>=2.0.15)", "coverage[toml] (>=5.0)", "coveralls (>=1.7)", "ipdb (>=0.12.3)", "sdsstools[dev] (>=0.4.0)", "invoke (>=1.3.0)", "twine (>=3.1.4)", "wheel (>=0.33.6)"]
 docs = ["Sphinx (>=3.0.0)", "sphinx-bootstrap-theme (>=0.4.12)", "recommonmark (>=0.6)", "sphinx-argparse (>=0.2.5)", "sphinx-issues (>=1.2.0)", "importlib-metadata (>=1.6.0)", "jinja2 (<3.1)", "six (>=1.14)"]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "sdssdb"
+version = "0.8.0"
+description = "SDSS product for database management"
+category = "main"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.6"
+
+[package.dependencies]
+h5py = ">=3.8.0"
+numpy = ">=1.18.2"
+peewee = ">=3.9.6"
+pgpasslib = ">=1.1.0"
+psycopg2-binary = ">=2.7.7"
+pygments = "*"
+pyyaml = ">=5.1"
+sdsstools = ">=0.1.11"
+six = ">=1.12.0"
+sqlalchemy = ">=1.3.6"
+
+[package.extras]
+all = ["progressbar2 (>=3.46.1)", "pydot (>=1.4.1)", "astropy (>=4.0.0)", "pandas (>=1.0.0)", "inflect (>=4.1.0)"]
+dev = ["pytest (>=5.2)", "pytest-cov (>=2.4.0)", "pytest-sugar (>=0.8.0)", "ipython (>=7.13.0)", "ipdb (>=0.13.2)", "pytest-postgresql (>=2.2.1)", "factory-boy (>=2.12.0)", "pytest-factoryboy (>=2.0.3)", "astropy (>=4.0.0)", "pydot (>=1.4.2)"]
+docs = ["Sphinx (>=3.0.0,<4.0.0)", "sphinx-bootstrap-theme (>=0.4.12)", "jinja2 (==3.0.0)"]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "sdsstools"
 version = "1.0.2"
@@ -1580,7 +1640,7 @@ docs = ["Sphinx"]
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "1.1"
 python-versions = "^3.8"
-content-hash = "a11fa078812138b3bb784a1f209acab65d12e6b597ca18749bdd2d84f17200e1"
+content-hash = "20013247d33d7e402f34f0832e0bd9ebb722aa3c1c6281dbc578b855d3ee219d"
 
 [metadata.files]
 aiofiles = [
@@ -1789,6 +1849,7 @@ h11 = [
     {file = "h11-0.12.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:36a3cb8c0a032f56e2da7084577878a035d3b61d104230d4bd49c0c6b555a9c6"},
     {file = "h11-0.12.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:47222cb6067e4a307d535814917cd98fd0a57b6788ce715755fa2b6c28b56042"},
 ]
+h5py = []
 html5lib = []
 httpcore = []
 httpx = []
@@ -2054,10 +2115,12 @@ pbr = [
     {file = "pbr-5.8.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:27108648368782d07bbf1cb468ad2e2eeef29086affd14087a6d04b7de8af4ec"},
     {file = "pbr-5.8.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:66bc5a34912f408bb3925bf21231cb6f59206267b7f63f3503ef865c1a292e25"},
 ]
+peewee = []
 pexpect = [
     {file = "pexpect-4.8.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:0b48a55dcb3c05f3329815901ea4fc1537514d6ba867a152b581d69ae3710937"},
     {file = "pexpect-4.8.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:fc65a43959d153d0114afe13997d439c22823a27cefceb5ff35c2178c6784c0c"},
 ]
+pgpasslib = []
 pickleshare = [
     {file = "pickleshare-0.7.5-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:9649af414d74d4df115d5d718f82acb59c9d418196b7b4290ed47a12ce62df56"},
     {file = "pickleshare-0.7.5.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:87683d47965c1da65cdacaf31c8441d12b8044cdec9aca500cd78fc2c683afca"},
@@ -2144,6 +2207,7 @@ psutil = [
     {file = "psutil-5.9.0-cp39-cp39-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:7d190ee2eaef7831163f254dc58f6d2e2a22e27382b936aab51c835fc080c3d3"},
     {file = "psutil-5.9.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:869842dbd66bb80c3217158e629d6fceaecc3a3166d3d1faee515b05dd26ca25"},
 ]
+psycopg2-binary = []
 ptyprocess = [
     {file = "ptyprocess-0.7.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:4b41f3967fce3af57cc7e94b888626c18bf37a083e3651ca8feeb66d492fef35"},
     {file = "ptyprocess-0.7.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:5c5d0a3b48ceee0b48485e0c26037c0acd7d29765ca3fbb5cb3831d347423220"},
@@ -2332,6 +2396,7 @@ rstcheck = [
 ]
 sdss-access = []
 sdss-tree = []
+sdssdb = []
 sdsstools = []
 secretstorage = []
 setuptools-scm = [
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 33a79a3..d0127d6 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ httpx = "^0.24.0"
 astroquery = "^0.4.6"
 pandas = "^1.5.3"
 SQLAlchemy = "^1.4.35"
+sdssdb = "^0.8.0"
 
 
 [tool.poetry.dev-dependencies]
diff --git a/python/valis/db/__init__.py b/python/valis/db/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/python/valis/db/db.py b/python/valis/db/db.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..356a743
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/valis/db/db.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+# !/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+
+from contextvars import ContextVar
+
+import peewee
+from fastapi import Depends, HTTPException
+from sdssdb.peewee.sdss5db import database as pdb
+from sdssdb.sqlalchemy.sdss5db import database as sdb
+
+# To make Peewee async-compatible, we need to hack the peewee connection state
+# See FastAPI/Peewee docs at https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/how-to/sql-databases-peewee/
+
+# create global context variables for the peewee connection state
+db_state_default = {"closed": None, "conn": None, "ctx": None, "transactions": None}
+db_state = ContextVar("db_state", default=db_state_default.copy())
+
+
+async def reset_db_state():
+    """ Sub-depdency for get_db that resets the context connection state """
+    pdb._state._state.set(db_state_default.copy())
+    pdb._state.reset()
+
+
+class PeeweeConnectionState(peewee._ConnectionState):
+    """ Custom Connection State for Peewee """
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        super().__setattr__("_state", db_state)
+        super().__init__(**kwargs)
+
+    def __setattr__(self, name, value):
+        self._state.get()[name] = value
+
+    def __getattr__(self, name):
+        return self._state.get()[name]
+
+
+# override the database connection state, after db connection
+pdb._state = PeeweeConnectionState()
+
+
+def connect_db(db, orm: str = 'peewee'):
+    """ Connect to the peewee sdss5db database """
+
+    from valis.main import settings
+    profset = db.set_profile(settings.db_server)
+    if settings.db_remote and not profset:
+        port = settings.db_port
+        user = settings.db_user
+        host = settings.db_host
+        passwd = settings.db_pass
+        db.connect_from_parameters(dbname='sdss5db', host=host, port=port,
+                                   user=user, password=passwd)
+
+    # raise error if we cannot connect
+    if not db.connected:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail=f'Could not connect to database via sdssdb {orm}.')
+
+    return db
+
+
+def get_pw_db(db_state=Depends(reset_db_state)):
+    """ Dependency to connect a database with peewee """
+
+    # connect to the db, yield None since we don't need the db in peewee
+    db = connect_db(pdb, orm='peewee')
+    try:
+        yield None
+    finally:
+        if db:
+            db.close()
+
+
+def get_sqla_db():
+    """ Dependency to connect to a database with sqlalchemy """
+
+    # connect to the db, yield the db Session object for sql queries
+    db = connect_db(sdb, orm='sqla')
+    db = db.Session()
+    try:
+        yield db
+    finally:
+        if db:
+            db.close()
+
+
diff --git a/python/valis/db/models.py b/python/valis/db/models.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7c07b4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/valis/db/models.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+# !/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+
+# all resuable Pydantic models of the ORMs go here
+
+import peewee
+from typing import Any, Optional
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+from pydantic.utils import GetterDict
+
+
+class PeeweeGetterDict(GetterDict):
+    """ Class to convert peewee.ModelSelect into a list """
+    def get(self, key: Any, default: Any = None):
+        res = getattr(self._obj, key, default)
+        if isinstance(res, peewee.ModelSelect):
+            return list(res)
+        return res
+
+
+class OrmBase(BaseModel):
+    """ Base pydantic model for sqlalchemy ORMs """
+
+    class Config:
+        orm_mode = True
+
+
+class PeeweeBase(OrmBase):
+    """ Base pydantic model for peewee ORMs """
+
+    class Config:
+        orm_mode = True
+        getter_dict = PeeweeGetterDict
+
+
+# class SDSSidStackedBaseA(OrmBase):
+#     """ Pydantic model for the SQLA vizdb.SDSSidStacked ORM """
+
+#     sdss_id: int = Field(..., description='the SDSS identifier')
+#     ra_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Right Ascension of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+#     dec_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Declination of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+#     catalogid21: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 21 catalog id')
+#     catalogid25: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 25 catalog id')
+#     catalogid31: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 31 catalog id')
+
+
+class SDSSidStackedBase(PeeweeBase):
+    """ Pydantic model for the Peewee vizdb.SDSSidStacked ORM """
+
+    sdss_id: int = Field(..., description='the SDSS identifier')
+    ra_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Right Ascension of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+    dec_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Declination of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+    catalogid21: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 21 catalog id')
+    catalogid25: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 25 catalog id')
+    catalogid31: Optional[int] = Field(description='the version 31 catalog id')
+
+
+class SDSSidFlatBase(PeeweeBase):
+    """ Pydantic model for the Peewee vizdb.SDSSidFlat ORM """
+
+    sdss_id: int = Field(..., description='the SDSS identifier')
+    ra_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Right Ascension of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+    dec_sdss_id: float = Field(..., description='Declination of the most recent cross-match catalogid')
+    catalogid: int = Field(..., descrption='the catalogid associated with the given sdss_id')
+    version_id: int = Field(..., descrption='the version of the catalog for a given catalogid')
+    n_associated: int = Field(..., description='The total number of sdss_ids associated with that catalogid.')
+    ra_cat: float = Field(..., descrption='Right Ascension, in degrees, specific to the catalogid')
+    dec_cat: float = Field(..., descrption='Declination, in degrees, specific to the catalogid')
+
+
+class SDSSidPipesBase(PeeweeBase):
+    """ Pydantic model for the Peewee vizdb.SDSSidToPipes ORM """
+
+    sdss_id: int = Field(..., description='the SDSS identifier')
+    in_boss: bool = Field(..., description='Flag if the sdss_id is in the BHM reductions')
+    in_apogee: bool = Field(..., description='Flag if the sdss_id is in the Apogee/MWM reductions')
+    in_astra: bool = Field(..., description='Flag if the sdss_id is in the Astra reductions')
+
diff --git a/python/valis/db/queries.py b/python/valis/db/queries.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..857fb6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/valis/db/queries.py
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+# !/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+
+# all resuable queries go here
+
+from typing import Union
+import peewee
+import astropy.units as u
+from astropy.coordinates import SkyCoord
+from sdssdb.peewee.sdss5db import vizdb
+
+
+def convert_coords(ra: Union[str, float], dec: Union[str, float]) -> tuple:
+    """ Convert sky coordinates to decimal degrees
+
+    Convert the input RA, Dec sky coordinates into decimal
+    degrees. Input format can either be decimal or hmsdms.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    ra : str
+        The Right Ascension
+    dec : str
+        The Declination
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    tuple
+        the converted (RA, Dec)
+    """
+    is_hms = set('hms: ') & set(str(ra))
+    if is_hms:
+        ra = str(ra).replace(' ', ':')
+        dec = str(dec).replace(' ', ':')
+        unit = ('hourangle', 'degree') if is_hms else ('degree', 'degree')
+        coord = SkyCoord(f'{ra} {dec}', unit=unit)
+        ra = round(coord.ra.value, 5)
+        dec = round(coord.dec.value, 5)
+    return float(ra), float(dec)
+
+
+def cone_search(ra: Union[str, float], dec: Union[str, float],
+                radius: float, units: str = 'degree') -> peewee.ModelSelect:
+    """ Perform a cone search against the vizdb sdss_id_stacked table
+
+    Perform a cone search using the peewee ORM for SDSS targets in the
+    vizdb sdss_id_stacked table.  We return the peewee ModelSelect
+    directly here so it can be easily combined with other queries.
+
+    In the route endpoint itself, remember to return wrap this in a list.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    ra : Union[str, float]
+        the Right Ascension coord
+    dec : Union[str, float]
+        the Declination coord
+    radius : float
+        the cone search radius
+    units : str, optional
+        the units of the search radius, by default 'degree'
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    peewee.ModelSelect
+        the ORM query
+    """
+
+    # convert ra, dec to decimal if in hms-dms
+    ra, dec = convert_coords(ra, dec)
+
+    # convert radial units to degrees
+    radius *= u.Unit(units)
+    radius = radius.to(u.degree).value
+
+    return vizdb.SDSSidStacked.select().\
+        where(vizdb.SDSSidStacked.cone_search(ra, dec, radius,
+                                              ra_col='ra_sdss_id',
+                                              dec_col='dec_sdss_id'))
diff --git a/python/valis/main.py b/python/valis/main.py
index d212327..924cc5d 100644
--- a/python/valis/main.py
+++ b/python/valis/main.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 import os
 import pathlib
 from typing import Dict
+from functools import lru_cache
 
 from fastapi import Depends, FastAPI
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@
 from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
 
 import valis
-from valis.routes import access, auth, envs, files, info, maskbits, mocs, target
+from valis.routes import access, auth, envs, files, info, maskbits, mocs, target, query
 from valis.routes.auth import set_auth
 from valis.routes.base import release
 from valis.settings import Settings, read_valis_config
@@ -74,15 +75,20 @@
         "name": "mocs",
         "description": "Access SDSS surveys MOCs",
     },
+    {
+        "name": "query",
+        "description": "Query the SDSS databases",
+    },
 ]
 
-from functools import lru_cache
+
 @lru_cache
 def get_settings():
     """ Get the valis settings """
     cfg = read_valis_config()
     return Settings(**cfg)
 
+
 settings = get_settings()
 
 # create the application
@@ -93,7 +99,7 @@ def get_settings():
 
 # add CORS for cross-domain, for any sdss.org or sdss.utah.edu domain
 app.add_middleware(CORSMiddleware, allow_origin_regex="^https://.*\.sdss5?\.(org|utah\.edu)$",
-                   allow_origins=settings.valis_allow_origin,
+                   allow_origins=settings.allow_origin,
                    allow_credentials=True, allow_methods=['*'], allow_headers=['*'])
 
 # mount the MOCs to a static path
@@ -102,10 +108,12 @@ def get_settings():
     hips_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 app.mount("/static/mocs", StaticFiles(directory=hips_dir, html=True, follow_symlink=True), name="static")
 
+
 @app.get("/", summary='Hello World route', response_model=Dict[str, str])
 def hello(release=Depends(release)):
     return {"Hello SDSS": "This is the FastAPI World", 'release': release}
 
+
 app.include_router(access.router, prefix='/paths', tags=['paths'], dependencies=[Depends(set_auth)])
 app.include_router(envs.router, prefix='/envs', tags=['envs'], dependencies=[Depends(set_auth)])
 app.include_router(files.router, prefix='/file', tags=['file'], dependencies=[Depends(set_auth)])
@@ -114,6 +122,7 @@ def hello(release=Depends(release)):
 app.include_router(target.router, prefix='/target', tags=['target'])
 app.include_router(maskbits.router, prefix='/maskbits', tags=['maskbits'])
 app.include_router(mocs.router, prefix='/mocs', tags=['mocs'])
+app.include_router(query.router, prefix='/query', tags=['query'])
 
 
 def hack_auth(dd):
@@ -142,6 +151,7 @@ def hack_auth(dd):
             dd[k] = v.replace(f'Body_{b2}', 'CredForm')
     return dd
 
+
 def custom_openapi():
     """ Custom OpenAPI spec to remove "release" POST body param from GET requests in the docs """
     # cache the openapi schema
diff --git a/python/valis/routes/maskbits.py b/python/valis/routes/maskbits.py
index a3189c4..6f23374 100644
--- a/python/valis/routes/maskbits.py
+++ b/python/valis/routes/maskbits.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def get_file() -> pathlib.Path:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail='Could not find a valid sdssMaskbits.par file. Check proper file paths.')
 
 
-def read_maskbits(path: pathlib.Path =  Depends(get_file)) -> np.recarray:
+def read_maskbits(path: pathlib.Path = Depends(get_file)) -> np.recarray:
     """ Read the maskbits yanny file
 
     Read the sdssMasbits.par file with the yanny reader.
@@ -76,7 +76,8 @@ def read_maskbits(path: pathlib.Path =  Depends(get_file)) -> np.recarray:
         return data['MASKBITS']
 
 
-def make_table(schema: str = Query(..., description='The name of the SDSS flag', example='MANGA_DRP2QUAL'), masks: np.recarray = Depends(read_maskbits)):
+def make_table(schema: str = Query(..., description='The name of the SDSS flag',
+                                   example='MANGA_DRP2QUAL'), masks: np.recarray = Depends(read_maskbits)):
     """ Dependency to return an Astropy Table from the maskbits data
 
     _extended_summary_
@@ -94,9 +95,7 @@ def make_table(schema: str = Query(..., description='The name of the SDSS flag',
         _description_
     """
     tt = Table(masks)
-    if schema:
-        return tt[tt["flag"] == schema]
-    return tt
+    return tt[tt["flag"] == schema] if schema else tt
 
 
 class MaskBitResponse(BaseModel):
@@ -106,6 +105,7 @@ class MaskBitResponse(BaseModel):
     labels: List[str] = Field(None, description='A list of mask labels')
     bits: List[int] = Field(None, description='A list of integer mask bits')
 
+
 class MaskSchema(BaseModel):
     """ SDSS maskbit schema response model """
     bit: List[int] = Field(None, description='A list of integer mask bits')
@@ -117,25 +117,29 @@ class MaskSchema(BaseModel):
 class Maskbits(Base):
     """ API routes for interacting with SDSS maskbits, defined in sdssMaskbits.par """
 
-    @router.get("/list", summary='List the available maskbits schema / flags', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
-    async def get_schema(self, masks = Depends(read_maskbits)) -> dict:
+    @router.get("/list", summary='List the available maskbits schema / flags',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    async def get_schema(self, masks=Depends(read_maskbits)) -> dict:
         """ Get a list of available SDSS maskbits schema or flag names """
 
         return {"schema": sorted({i[0].decode('utf-8') for i in masks})}
 
-    @router.get("/schema", summary='Get the maskbits for a given schema / flag', response_model=Dict[str, MaskSchema])
+    @router.get("/schema", summary='Get the maskbits for a given schema / flag',
+                response_model=Dict[str, MaskSchema])
     async def get_bits(self, schema: str, tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Get the SDSS maskbit schema for a given flag name """
 
         return {schema: {c: tab[c].tolist() for c in tab.columns if c != 'flag'}}
 
-    @router.get("/bits/value", summary='Convert a list of bits into a maskbit value', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/bits/value", summary='Convert a list of bits into a maskbit value',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def bits_to_value(self, bits: Union[List[int], None] = Query([], description='A list of integer bits', example=[2, 8])) -> dict:
         """ Convert a list of integer bits into a maskbit value"""
         print('bits', bits, type(bits))
         return {'value': sum(1 << int(i) for i in bits)}
 
-    @router.get("/bits/labels", summary='Convert a list of bits into their labels', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/bits/labels", summary='Convert a list of bits into their labels',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def bits_to_labels(self, bits: Union[List[int], None] = Query([], description='A list of integer bits', example=[2, 8]),
                              tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Convert a list of integer bits into their labels for a given schema """
@@ -148,7 +152,8 @@ async def bits_to_labels(self, bits: Union[List[int], None] = Query([], descript
         else:
             return {'labels': labels.tolist()}
 
-    @router.get("/labels/value", summary='Convert a list of labels into a maskbit value', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/labels/value", summary='Convert a list of labels into a maskbit value',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def labels_to_value(self, labels: Union[List[str], None] = Query([], description='A list of mask labels', example=['BADIFU', 'SCATFAIL']),
                               tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Convert a list of mask labels into a maskbit value for a given schema """
@@ -162,7 +167,8 @@ async def labels_to_value(self, labels: Union[List[str], None] = Query([], descr
         else:
             return {'value': sum(1 << int(i) for i in bits)}
 
-    @router.get("/labels/bits", summary='Convert a list of labels into their bits', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/labels/bits", summary='Convert a list of labels into their bits',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def labels_to_bits(self, labels: Union[List[str], None] = Query([], description='A list of mask labels', example=['BADIFU', 'SCATFAIL']),
                              tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Convert a list of mask labels into their respective bits for a given schema """
@@ -176,14 +182,16 @@ async def labels_to_bits(self, labels: Union[List[str], None] = Query([], descri
         else:
             return {'bits': bits.tolist()}
 
-    @router.get("/value/bits", summary='Decompose a maskbit value into a list of bits', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/value/bits", summary='Decompose a maskbit value into a list of bits',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def value_to_bits(self, value: int = Query(..., description='A maskbit value', example=260), tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Decompose a maskbit value into its list of bits for a given schema """
 
         bits = tab['bit']
         return {'bits': [int(i) for i in bits if value & 1 << int(i)]}
 
-    @router.get("/value/labels", summary='Decompose a maskbit value into a list of labels', response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
+    @router.get("/value/labels", summary='Decompose a maskbit value into a list of labels',
+                response_model=MaskBitResponse, response_model_exclude_unset=True)
     async def value_to_labels(self, value: int = Query(..., description='A maskbit value', example=260), tab: Table = Depends(make_table)) -> dict:
         """ Decompose a maskbit value into its list of labels for a given schema """
 
diff --git a/python/valis/routes/query.py b/python/valis/routes/query.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8388f37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/valis/routes/query.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# !/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import List, Union
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, Query
+from fastapi_utils.cbv import cbv
+
+from valis.routes.base import Base
+from valis.db.db import get_pw_db
+from valis.db.models import SDSSidStackedBase
+from valis.db.queries import cone_search
+
+
+class SearchCoordUnits(str, Enum):
+    """ Units of coordinate search radius """
+    degree: str = "degree"
+    arcmin: str = "arcmin"
+    arcsec: str = "arcsec"
+
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+
+@cbv(router)
+class QueryRoutes(Base):
+    """ API routes for performing queries against sdss5db """
+
+    # @router.get('/test_sqla', summary='Perform a cone search for SDSS targets with sdss_ids',
+    #             response_model=List[SDSSidStackedBaseA])
+    # async def test_search(self,
+    #                       ra=Query(..., description='right ascension in degrees', example=315.01417),
+    #                       dec=Query(..., description='declination in degrees', example=35.299),
+    #                       radius=Query(..., description='the search radius in degrees', example=0.01),
+    #                       db=Depends(get_sqla_db)):
+    #     """ Example for writing a route with a sqlalchemy ORM """
+    #     from sdssdb.sqlalchemy.sdss5db import vizdb
+
+    #     return db.query(vizdb.SDSSidStacked).\
+    #         filter(vizdb.SDSSidStacked.cone_search(ra, dec, radius, ra_col='ra_sdss_id', dec_col='dec_sdss_id')).all()
+
+    @router.get('/main', summary='Main query for Search UI')
+    async def main_search(self):
+        pass
+
+
+    @router.get('/cone', summary='Perform a cone search for SDSS targets with sdss_ids',
+                response_model=List[SDSSidStackedBase], dependencies=[Depends(get_pw_db)])
+    async def cone_search(self,
+                          ra: Union[float, str] = Query(..., description='Right Ascension in degrees or hmsdms', example=315.01417),
+                          dec: Union[float, str] = Query(..., description='Declination in degrees or hmsdms', example=35.299),
+                          radius: float = Query(..., description='Search radius in specified units', example=0.01),
+                          units: SearchCoordUnits = Query('degree', description='Units of search radius', example='degree')):
+        """ Perform a cone search """
+        return list(cone_search(ra, dec, radius, units=units))
+
diff --git a/python/valis/settings.py b/python/valis/settings.py
index 3ddb4e9..9e92dcd 100644
--- a/python/valis/settings.py
+++ b/python/valis/settings.py
@@ -32,9 +32,18 @@ class EnvEnum(str, Enum):
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
     valis_env: EnvEnum = EnvEnum.dev
-    valis_allow_origin: Union[str, List[AnyHttpUrl]] = Field([], env="VALIS_ALLOW_ORIGIN")
-
-    @validator('valis_allow_origin')
+    allow_origin: Union[str, List[AnyHttpUrl]] = Field([], env="VALIS_ALLOW_ORIGIN")
+    db_server: str = 'pipelines'
+    db_remote: bool = False
+    db_port: int = 5432
+    db_user: str = None
+    db_host: str = 'localhost'
+    db_pass: str = None
+
+    class Config:
+        env_prefix = "valis_"
+
+    @validator('allow_origin')
     def must_be_list(cls, v):
         if not isinstance(v, list):
             return v.split(',') if ',' in v else [v]
diff --git a/tests/test_queries.py b/tests/test_queries.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..316cc84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_queries.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+# encoding: utf-8
+#
+
+import pytest
+from valis.db.queries import convert_coords
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('ra, dec, exp',
+                         [('315.01417', '35.299', (315.01417, 35.299)),
+                          ('315.01417', '-35.299', (315.01417, -35.299)),
+                          (315.01417, -35.299, (315.01417, -35.299)),
+                          ('21h00m03.4008s', '+35d17m56.4s', (315.01417, 35.299)),
+                          ('21:00:03.4008', '+35:17:56.4', (315.01417, 35.299)),
+                          ('21 00 03.4008', '+35 17 56.4', (315.01417, 35.299)),
+                          ],
+                         ids=['dec1', 'dec2', 'dec3', 'hms1', 'hms2', 'hms3'])
+def test_convert_coords(ra, dec, exp):
+    """ test we can convert coordinates correctly """
+    coord = convert_coords(ra, dec)
+    assert coord == exp
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/tests/test_targets.py b/tests/test_targets.py
index 51def4e..742360c 100644
--- a/tests/test_targets.py
+++ b/tests/test_targets.py
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@ def test_resolve_target_name(client):
     data = get_data(response)
     assert data['coordinate']['value'] == [230.50745896, 43.53232817]
     assert data['coordinate']['unit'] == 'deg'
-    assert data['name'] == "2MASX J15220182+4331560"
+    assert data['name'] in ("LEDA 2223006", "2MASX J15220182+433156")
 
 
 def test_resolve_target_coord(client):
     response = client.get("/target/resolve/coord?coord=230.50745896&coord=43.53232817")
     data = get_data(response)
     assert len(data) == 1
-    assert data[0]['main_id'] == "2MASX J15220182+4331560"
+    assert data[0]['main_id'] in ("LEDA 2223006", "2MASX J15220182+433156")
     assert data[0]['ra'] == "15 22 01.7901"
     assert data[0]['dec'] == "+43 31 56.381"
     assert data[0]['distance_result']['value'] == 0