diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 4c530d4c55..c3a47bb59e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
     "@budibase/server": "^0.0.32",
     "@inquirer/password": "^0.0.6-alpha.0",
     "chalk": "^2.4.2",
+    "dotenv": "^8.2.0",
     "fs-extra": "^8.1.0",
     "inquirer": "^7.0.0",
     "lodash": "^4.17.15",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/initHandler.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/initHandler.js
index 7ac01b7f23..f7b900f472 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/init/initHandler.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/init/initHandler.js
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 const inquirer = require("inquirer")
 const { exists, readFile, writeFile, ensureDir } = require("fs-extra")
 const chalk = require("chalk")
-const { serverFileName } = require("../../common")
+const { serverFileName, xPlatHomeDir } = require("../../common")
 const { join } = require("path")
 const initialiseClientDb = require("@budibase/server/db/initialiseClientDb")
 const Sqrl = require("squirrelly")
 const uuid = require("uuid")
-const { homedir } = require("os")
 const CouchDb = require("@budibase/server/db/client")
 
 module.exports = opts => {
@@ -26,9 +25,7 @@ const run = async opts => {
 }
 
 const ensureAppDir = async opts => {
-  if (opts.dir.startsWith("~")) {
-    opts.dir = join(homedir(), opts.dir.substring(1))
-  }
+  opts.dir = xPlatHomeDir(opts.dir)
   await ensureDir(opts.dir)
 
   if (opts.database === "local") {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/.gitignore b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/.gitignore
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/.gitignore
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/.gitignore
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/package.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/package.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/package.json
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/package.json
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/plugins.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/plugins.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/plugins.js
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/plugins.js
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/main/screens/placeholder b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/_shared/placeholder
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/main/screens/placeholder
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/_shared/placeholder
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/unauthenticated/screens/placeholder b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/main/placeholder
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/unauthenticated/screens/placeholder
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/main/placeholder
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/_shared/placeholder b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/unauthenticated/placeholder
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/_shared/placeholder
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/appDirectoryTemplate/public/unauthenticated/placeholder
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/access_levels.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/access_levels.json
deleted file mode 100644
index cbe1d6ef5e..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/access_levels.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "levels": [],
-  "version": 0
-}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/appDefinition.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/appDefinition.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 13e6dccb88..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/appDefinition.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "hierarchy": {
-    "name": "root",
-    "type": "root",
-    "children": [],
-    "pathMaps":[],
-    "indexes":[],
-    "nodeId": 0
-  },
-  "triggers": [],
-  "actions": [],
-  "props": {}
-}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/unauthenticated/page.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/unauthenticated/page.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 14d0301c24..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/unauthenticated/page.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-{
-	"title": "Test App",
-	"favicon": "./_shared/favicon.png",
-	"stylesheets": [],
-	"componentLibraries": ["@budibase/standard-components", "@budibase/materialdesign-components"],
-	"props" : {
-		"_component": "@budibase/standard-components/container",
-		"_children": [],
-		"_id": 1,
-		"type": "div",
-		"_styles": {
-			"layout": {},
-			"position": {}
-		},
-		"_code": ""
-	},
-	"_css": "",
-	"uiFunctions": ""
-}
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/main/placeholder b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/main/placeholder
deleted file mode 100644
index 4a61114f5d..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/main/placeholder
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-whats the craic big lawd ?
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/unauthenticated/placeholder b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/unauthenticated/placeholder
deleted file mode 100644
index 4a61114f5d..0000000000
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/public/unauthenticated/placeholder
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-whats the craic big lawd ?
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/index.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/index.js
index 15c991a585..1466cab997 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/index.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/index.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const handler = require("./newHandler")
 
 module.exports = {
-  command: "new <name> [config]",
+  command: "new <name> [dir]",
   desc: "Create a new Budibase app",
   builder: yargs => {
     yargs.positional("name", {
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ module.exports = {
       describe: "the name of your app",
       alias: "n",
     })
-    yargs.positional("config", {
+    yargs.positional("dir", {
       type: "string",
-      describe: "config file to use - optional, defaults to config.js",
-      alias: "c",
-      default: "config.js",
+      describe: "budibase apps directory",
+      alias: "d",
+      default: "~/budibase",
     })
   },
   handler,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/newHandler.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/newHandler.js
index a654d1a8ce..5af1779336 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/newHandler.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/newHandler.js
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
-const { getAppContext } = require("../../common")
-const {
-  getMasterApisWithFullAccess,
-} = require("@budibase/server/utilities/budibaseApi")
+const { xPlatHomeDir } = require("../../common")
+const dotenv = require("dotenv")
+const createInstance = require("@budibase/server/middleware/controllers/instance").create
+const createApplication = require("@budibase/server/middleware/controllers/application").create
 const { copy, readJSON, writeJSON, remove, exists } = require("fs-extra")
 const { resolve, join } = require("path")
-const thisPackageJson = require("../../../package.json")
 const chalk = require("chalk")
 const { exec } = require("child_process")
 
@@ -13,49 +12,54 @@ module.exports = opts => {
   console.log(chalk.green(`Budibase app ${opts.name} created!`))
 }
 
-const run2 = async opts => {
-  // create a brand new app in couch
-  // create an empty app package locally
-  exec(`cd ${join(opts.config.latestPackagesFolder, opts.name)} && npm install`)
+const run = async opts => {
+  opts.dir = xPlatHomeDir(opts.dir)
+  process.chdir(opts.dir)
+  dotenv.config()
+  await createRecords(opts)
+  await createEmptyAppPackage(opts)
+  exec(`cd ${join(opts.dir, opts.name)} && npm install`)
 }
 
-const run = async opts => {
-  const context = await getAppContext({
-    configName: opts.config,
-    masterIsCreated: true,
+const createRecords = async opts => {
+  const createAppCtx = {
+    params: { clientId: process.env.CLIENT_ID },
+    request: {
+      body: { name: opts.name },
+    },
+    body: {},
+  }
+
+  await createApplication(createAppCtx)
+  opts.applicationId = createAppCtx.body.id
+  await createInstance({
+    params: {
+      clientId: process.env.CLIENT_ID,
+      applicationId: opts.applicationId,
+    },
+    request: {
+      body: { name: `dev-${process.env.CLIENT_ID}` },
+    },
   })
-  opts.config = context.config
-  const bb = await getMasterApisWithFullAccess(context)
-
-  const app = bb.recordApi.getNew("/applications", "application")
-  app.name = opts.name
-
-  await bb.recordApi.save(app)
-  await createEmptyAppPackage(opts)
-
-  exec(`cd ${join(opts.config.latestPackagesFolder, opts.name)} && npm install`)
 }
 
 const createEmptyAppPackage = async opts => {
-  const templateFolder = resolve(__dirname, "appPackageTemplate")
+  const templateFolder = resolve(__dirname, "appDirectoryTemplate")
 
-  const appsFolder = opts.config.latestPackagesFolder || "."
-  const destinationFolder = resolve(appsFolder, opts.name)
+  const appsFolder = opts.dir
+  const destinationFolder = resolve(appsFolder, opts.applicationId)
 
-  if (await exists(destinationFolder)) { 
+  if (await exists(destinationFolder)) {
     console.log(chalk.red(`App ${opts.name} already exists.`))
-    return 
+    return
   }
 
   await copy(templateFolder, destinationFolder)
 
-  const packageJsonPath = join(appsFolder, opts.name, "package.json")
+  const packageJsonPath = join(appsFolder, opts.applicationId, "package.json")
   const packageJson = await readJSON(packageJsonPath)
 
   packageJson.name = opts.name
-  packageJson.dependencies[
-    "@budibase/standard-components"
-  ] = `^${thisPackageJson.version}`
 
   await writeJSON(packageJsonPath, packageJson)
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/main/page.json b/packages/cli/src/commands/new/page.template.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/cli/src/commands/new/appPackageTemplate/pages/main/page.json
rename to packages/cli/src/commands/new/page.template.json
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/run/index.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/run/index.js
index 0eadc58bb2..7114d2c147 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/run/index.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/run/index.js
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
 const handler = require("./runHandler")
 
 module.exports = {
-  command: "run [config]",
+  command: "run [dir]",
   aliases: ["$0"],
   desc:
     "Start budibase Server. You can access your apps and the builder from here if you have dev=true in your config",
   builder: yargs => {
-    yargs.positional("config", {
+    yargs.positional("dir", {
       type: "string",
-      describe:
-        "config file to use. optional, defaults to config.js. Use 'dev' as shorthand for 'config.dev.js' ",
-      alias: "c",
-      default: "config.js",
+      describe: "your budibase apps directory",
+      alias: "d",
+      default: "~/budibase",
     })
   },
   handler,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/run/runHandler.js b/packages/cli/src/commands/run/runHandler.js
index b0f7ba3887..30ca1ddb9b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/run/runHandler.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/run/runHandler.js
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-const { getAppContext } = require("../../common")
 const app = require("@budibase/server/app")
+const { xPlatHomeDir } = require("../../common")
 
-module.exports = ({ config }) => {
-  getAppContext({ configName: config, masterIsCreated: true }).then(context => {
-    app(context)
-    console.log(`Budibase Builder running on port ${context.config.port}..`)
-  })
+module.exports = ({ dir }) => {
+  dir = xPlatHomeDir(dir)
+  process.chdir(dir)
+  app()
+  console.log(`Budibase Builder running on port ${process.env.PORT}..`)
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/common.js b/packages/cli/src/common.js
index 924f446909..dd9dc976da 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/common.js
+++ b/packages/cli/src/common.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-const { resolve } = require("path")
+const { resolve, join } = require("path")
 const { cwd } = require("process")
 const buildAppContext = require("@budibase/server/initialise/buildAppContext")
-
+const { homedir } = require("os")
 module.exports.serverFileName = relativePath =>
   resolve(__dirname, "..", "node_modules", "@budibase", "server", relativePath)
 
@@ -17,3 +17,10 @@ module.exports.getAppContext = async ({ configName, masterIsCreated }) => {
   const config = require(resolve(cwd(), configName))()
   return await buildAppContext(config, masterIsCreated)
 }
+
+module.exports.xPlatHomeDir = dir => {
+  if (dir.startsWith("~")) {
+    dir = join(homedir(), dir.substring(1))
+  }
+  return dir
+}
diff --git a/packages/cli/yarn.lock b/packages/cli/yarn.lock
index 2b30e81e9d..d719badd42 100644
--- a/packages/cli/yarn.lock
+++ b/packages/cli/yarn.lock
@@ -1509,6 +1509,11 @@ destroy@^1.0.4:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/destroy/-/destroy-1.0.4.tgz#978857442c44749e4206613e37946205826abd80"
   integrity sha1-l4hXRCxEdJ5CBmE+N5RiBYJqvYA=
 
+dotenv@^8.2.0:
+  version "8.2.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/dotenv/-/dotenv-8.2.0.tgz#97e619259ada750eea3e4ea3e26bceea5424b16a"
+  integrity sha512-8sJ78ElpbDJBHNeBzUbUVLsqKdccaa/BXF1uPTw3GrvQTBgrQrtObr2mUrE38vzYd8cEv+m/JBfDLioYcfXoaw==
+
 ee-first@1.1.1:
   version "1.1.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/ee-first/-/ee-first-1.1.1.tgz#590c61156b0ae2f4f0255732a158b266bc56b21d"
diff --git a/packages/server/db/client.js b/packages/server/db/client.js
index d27823d543..c7c296e45b 100644
--- a/packages/server/db/client.js
+++ b/packages/server/db/client.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ module.exports = () => {
     process.env.COUCH_DB_URL || "http://admin:password@localhost:5984"
   const DATABASE_TYPE = process.env.DATABASE_TYPE || "couch"
 
-  const pouch =  PouchDB.defaults({
+  const pouch = PouchDB.defaults({
     prefix: COUCH_DB_URL,
   })
   allDbs(pouch)