diff --git a/cli/commands/init.zig b/cli/commands/init.zig
index 934a3fe..7ca1fa0 100644
--- a/cli/commands/init.zig
+++ b/cli/commands/init.zig
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ pub fn run(
     try copySourceFile(
         allocator,
         install_dir,
-        "demo/src/main.zig",
+        "init/src/main.zig",
         "src/main.zig",
         null,
     );
@@ -217,7 +217,13 @@ pub fn run(
         \\
         \\    $ cd {s}
         \\
-        \\    $ zig build run or jetzig server
+        \\    then
+        \\
+        \\    $ zig build run
+        \\
+        \\    or
+        \\
+        \\    $ jetzig server
         \\
         \\And then browse to http://localhost:8080/
         \\
diff --git a/cli/compile.zig b/cli/compile.zig
index c89efb8..2a7ec0e 100644
--- a/cli/compile.zig
+++ b/cli/compile.zig
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ pub fn initDataModule(build: *std.Build) !*std.Build.Module {
     const writer = buf.writer();
 
     const paths = .{
+        "init/src/main.zig",
         "demo/build.zig",
-        "demo/src/main.zig",
         "demo/src/app/middleware/DemoMiddleware.zig",
         "demo/src/app/views/init.zig",
         "demo/src/app/views/init/index.zmpl",
diff --git a/demo/src/app/views/init/_content.zmpl b/demo/src/app/views/init/_content.zmpl
index 03da91f..a10ec8a 100644
--- a/demo/src/app/views/init/_content.zmpl
+++ b/demo/src/app/views/init/_content.zmpl
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-@args message: *ZmplValue
+@args message: []const u8
 <h3 class="message text-[#39b54a]">{{message}}</h3>
 
 <div><img class="p-3 mx-auto" src="/jetzig.png" /></div>
@@ -10,9 +10,18 @@
 
 </div>
 
-<div>Visit <a class="font-bold text-[#39b54a]" href="https://jetzig.dev/">jetzig.dev</a> to get started.
-  <div>Join our Discord server and introduce yourself:</div>
+<div>
+  <div>Visit <a class="font-bold text-[#39b54a]" href="https://jetzig.dev/">jetzig.dev</a> to get started.</div>
+  <div class="mt-5">Join our Discord server and introduce yourself:</div>
+
   <div>
     <a class="font-bold text-[#39b54a]" href="https://discord.gg/eufqssz7X6">https://discord.gg/eufqssz7X6</a>
   </div>
+  <div class="mt-5">
+    Follow the project on
+    <a class="font-bold text-[#39b54a]" href="https://github.com/jetzig-framework/jetzig" target="_blank" title="GitHub">
+        GitHub
+        <img class="inline" alt="GitHub Repo stars" src="https://img.shields.io/github/stars/jetzig-framework/jetzig" />
+    </a>
+  </div>
 </div>
diff --git a/demo/src/app/views/init/index.zmpl b/demo/src/app/views/init/index.zmpl
index 100d770..17e3935 100644
--- a/demo/src/app/views/init/index.zmpl
+++ b/demo/src/app/views/init/index.zmpl
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@
     <div class="text-center pt-10 m-auto">
       <!-- If present, renders the `message_param` response data value, add `?message=hello` to the
            URL to see the output: -->
-      <h2 class="param text-3xl text-[#f7931e]">{{.message_param}}</h2>
+      <h2 class="param text-3xl text-[#f7931e]">{{$.message_param}}</h2>
 
       <!-- Renders `src/app/views/init/_content.zmpl`, passing in the `welcome_message` field from template data. -->
       <div>
-        @partial init/content(message: .welcome_message)
+        @partial init/content(message: $.welcome_message)
       </div>
     </div>
   </body>
diff --git a/demo/src/main.zig b/demo/src/main.zig
index 99a75d3..a1f6b22 100644
--- a/demo/src/main.zig
+++ b/demo/src/main.zig
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@ pub const jetzig_options = struct {
     /// Middleware chain. Add any custom middleware here, or use middleware provided in
     /// `jetzig.middleware` (e.g. `jetzig.middleware.HtmxMiddleware`).
     pub const middleware: []const type = &.{
+        // jetzig.middleware.AntiCsrfMiddleware,
+        // jetzig.middleware.CompressionMiddleware,
+        // @import("app/middleware/DemoMiddleware.zig"),
         jetzig.middleware.AuthMiddleware,
-            // jetzig.middleware.AntiCsrfMiddleware,
-            // jetzig.middleware.HtmxMiddleware,
-            // jetzig.middleware.CompressionMiddleware,
-            // @import("app/middleware/DemoMiddleware.zig"),
+        jetzig.middleware.HtmxMiddleware,
     };
 
     // Maximum bytes to allow in request body.
diff --git a/init/src/main.zig b/init/src/main.zig
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..454a95a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/init/src/main.zig
@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const builtin = @import("builtin");
+
+const jetzig = @import("jetzig");
+const zmd = @import("zmd");
+
+pub const routes = @import("routes");
+pub const static = @import("static");
+
+// Override default settings in `jetzig.config` here:
+pub const jetzig_options = struct {
+    /// Middleware chain. Add any custom middleware here, or use middleware provided in
+    /// `jetzig.middleware` (e.g. `jetzig.middleware.HtmxMiddleware`).
+    pub const middleware: []const type = &.{
+        // jetzig.middleware.AuthMiddleware,
+        // jetzig.middleware.AntiCsrfMiddleware,
+        // jetzig.middleware.HtmxMiddleware,
+        // jetzig.middleware.CompressionMiddleware,
+        // @import("app/middleware/DemoMiddleware.zig"),
+    };
+
+    // Maximum bytes to allow in request body.
+    pub const max_bytes_request_body: usize = std.math.pow(usize, 2, 16);
+
+    // Maximum filesize for `public/` content.
+    pub const max_bytes_public_content: usize = std.math.pow(usize, 2, 20);
+
+    // Maximum filesize for `static/` content (applies only to apps using `jetzig.http.StaticRequest`).
+    pub const max_bytes_static_content: usize = std.math.pow(usize, 2, 18);
+
+    // Maximum length of a header name. There is no limit imposed by the HTTP specification but
+    // AWS load balancers reference 40 as a limit so we use that as a baseline:
+    // https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/APIReference/API_HttpHeaderConditionConfig.html
+    // This can be increased if needed.
+    pub const max_bytes_header_name: u16 = 40;
+
+    /// Maximum number of `multipart/form-data`-encoded fields to accept per request.
+    pub const max_multipart_form_fields: usize = 20;
+
+    // Log message buffer size. Log messages exceeding this size spill to heap with degraded
+    // performance. Log messages should aim to fit in the message buffer.
+    pub const log_message_buffer_len: usize = 4096;
+
+    // Maximum log pool size. When a log buffer is no longer required it is returned to a pool
+    // for recycling. When logging i/o is slow, a high volume of requests will result in this
+    // pool growing. When the pool size reaches the maximum value defined here, log events are
+    // freed instead of recycled.
+    pub const max_log_pool_len: usize = 256;
+
+    // Number of request threads. Defaults to number of detected CPUs.
+    pub const thread_count: ?u16 = null;
+
+    // Number of response worker threads.
+    pub const worker_count: u16 = 4;
+
+    // Total number of connections managed by worker threads.
+    pub const max_connections: u16 = 512;
+
+    // Per-thread stack memory to use before spilling into request arena (possibly with allocations).
+    pub const buffer_size: usize = 64 * 1024;
+
+    // The size of each item in the available memory pool used by requests for rendering.
+    // Total retained allocation: `worker_count * max_connections`.
+    pub const arena_size: usize = 1024 * 1024;
+
+    // Path relative to cwd() to serve public content from. Symlinks are not followed.
+    pub const public_content_path = "public";
+
+    /// Request path to map to public directory, e.g. if `public_routing_path` is `"/foo"` then a
+    /// request to `/foo/bar.png` will serve static content found in `public/bar.png`
+    pub const public_routing_path = "/";
+
+    // HTTP buffer. Must be large enough to store all headers. This should typically not be modified.
+    pub const http_buffer_size: usize = std.math.pow(usize, 2, 16);
+
+    // The number of worker threads to spawn on startup for processing Jobs (NOT the number of
+    // HTTP server worker threads).
+    pub const job_worker_threads: usize = 4;
+
+    // Duration before looking for more Jobs when the queue is found to be empty, in
+    // milliseconds.
+    pub const job_worker_sleep_interval_ms: usize = 10;
+
+    /// Database Schema. Set to `@import("Schema")` to load `src/app/database/Schema.zig`.
+    pub const Schema = @import("Schema");
+
+    /// HTTP cookie configuration
+    pub const cookies: jetzig.http.Cookies.CookieOptions = switch (jetzig.environment) {
+        .development, .testing => .{
+            .domain = "localhost",
+            .path = "/",
+        },
+        .production => .{
+            .same_site = .lax,
+            .secure = true,
+            .http_only = true,
+            .path = "/",
+        },
+    };
+
+    /// Key-value store options.
+    /// Available backends:
+    /// * memory: Simple, in-memory hashmap-backed store.
+    /// * file: Rudimentary file-backed store.
+    /// * valkey: Valkey-backed store with connection pool.
+    ///
+    /// When using `.file` or `.valkey` backend, you must also set `.file_options` or
+    /// `.valkey_options` respectively.
+    ///
+    /// ## File backend:
+    // .backend = .file,
+    // .file_options = .{
+    //     .path = "/path/to/jetkv-store.db",
+    //     .truncate = false, // Set to `true` to clear the store on each server launch.
+    //     .address_space_size = jetzig.jetkv.JetKV.FileBackend.addressSpace(4096),
+    // },
+    //
+    // ## Valkey backend
+    // .backend = .valkey,
+    // .valkey_options = .{
+    //     .host = "localhost",
+    //     .port = 6379,
+    //     .timeout = 1000, // in milliseconds, i.e. 1 second.
+    //     .connect = .lazy, // Connect on first use, or `auto` to connect on server startup.
+    //     .buffer_size = 8192,
+    //     .pool_size = 8,
+    // },
+    /// Available configuration options for `store`, `job_queue`, and `cache` are identical.
+    ///
+    /// For production deployment, the `valkey` backend is recommended for all use cases.
+    ///
+    /// The general-purpose key-value store is exposed as `request.store` in views and is also
+    /// available in as `env.store` in all jobs/mailers.
+    pub const store: jetzig.kv.Store.Options = .{
+        .backend = .memory,
+    };
+
+    /// Job queue options. Identical to `store` options, but allows using different
+    /// backends (e.g. `.memory` for key-value store, `.file` for jobs queue.
+    /// The job queue is managed internally by Jetzig.
+    pub const job_queue: jetzig.kv.Store.Options = .{
+        .backend = .memory,
+    };
+
+    /// Cache options. Identical to `store` options, but allows using different
+    /// backends (e.g. `.memory` for key-value store, `.file` for cache.
+    pub const cache: jetzig.kv.Store.Options = .{
+        .backend = .memory,
+    };
+
+    /// SMTP configuration for Jetzig Mail. It is recommended to use a local SMTP relay,
+    /// e.g.: https://github.com/juanluisbaptiste/docker-postfix
+    ///
+    /// Each configuration option can be overridden with environment variables:
+    /// `JETZIG_SMTP_PORT`
+    /// `JETZIG_SMTP_ENCRYPTION`
+    /// `JETZIG_SMTP_HOST`
+    /// `JETZIG_SMTP_USERNAME`
+    /// `JETZIG_SMTP_PASSWORD`
+    // pub const smtp: jetzig.mail.SMTPConfig = .{
+    //     .port = 25,
+    //     .encryption = .none, // .insecure, .none, .tls, .start_tls
+    //     .host = "localhost",
+    //     .username = null,
+    //     .password = null,
+    // };
+
+    /// Force email delivery in development mode (instead of printing email body to logger).
+    pub const force_development_email_delivery = false;
+
+    // Set custom fragments for rendering markdown templates. Any values will fall back to
+    // defaults provided by Zmd (https://github.com/jetzig-framework/zmd/blob/main/src/zmd/html.zig).
+    pub const markdown_fragments = struct {
+        pub const root = .{
+            "<div class='p-5'>",
+            "</div>",
+        };
+        pub const h1 = .{
+            "<h1 class='text-2xl mb-3 text-green font-bold'>",
+            "</h1>",
+        };
+        pub const h2 = .{
+            "<h2 class='text-xl mb-3 font-bold'>",
+            "</h2>",
+        };
+        pub const h3 = .{
+            "<h3 class='text-lg mb-3 font-bold'>",
+            "</h3>",
+        };
+        pub const paragraph = .{
+            "<p class='p-3'>",
+            "</p>",
+        };
+        pub const code = .{
+            "<span class='font-mono bg-gray-900 p-2 text-white'>",
+            "</span>",
+        };
+
+        pub const unordered_list = .{
+            "<ul class='list-disc ms-8 leading-8'>",
+            "</ul>",
+        };
+
+        pub const ordered_list = .{
+            "<ul class='list-decimal ms-8 leading-8'>",
+            "</ul>",
+        };
+
+        pub fn block(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, node: zmd.Node) ![]const u8 {
+            return try std.fmt.allocPrint(allocator,
+                \\<pre class="w-1/2 font-mono mt-4 ms-3 bg-gray-900 p-2 text-white"><code class="language-{?s}">{s}</code></pre>
+            , .{ node.meta, node.content });
+        }
+
+        pub fn link(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, node: zmd.Node) ![]const u8 {
+            return try std.fmt.allocPrint(allocator,
+                \\<a class="underline decoration-sky-500" href="{0s}" title={1s}>{1s}</a>
+            , .{ node.href.?, node.title.? });
+        }
+    };
+};
+
+pub fn init(app: *jetzig.App) !void {
+    _ = app;
+    // Example custom route:
+    // app.route(.GET, "/custom/:id/foo/bar", @import("app/views/custom/foo.zig"), .bar);
+}
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var gpa = std.heap.GeneralPurposeAllocator(.{}){};
+    const allocator = if (builtin.mode == .Debug) gpa.allocator() else std.heap.c_allocator;
+    defer if (builtin.mode == .Debug) std.debug.assert(gpa.deinit() == .ok);
+
+    var app = try jetzig.init(allocator);
+    defer app.deinit();
+
+    try app.start(routes, .{});
+}