diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8a1b113..b965990 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -25,3 +25,5 @@
 
 # Ignore master key for decrypting credentials and more.
 /config/master.key
+/config/credentials/development.key
+/config/credentials/production.key
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 4bd47a3..3fc83b9 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -15,12 +15,13 @@ gem 'puma', '~> 4.1'
 
 gem 'grape'
 gem 'grape_on_rails_routes'
+gem 'grape-route-helpers'
 gem 'grape-swagger'
 
 # Use Redis adapter to run Action Cable in production
 # gem 'redis', '~> 4.0'
 # Use Active Model has_secure_password
-# gem 'bcrypt', '~> 3.1.7'
+gem 'bcrypt', '~> 3.1.7'
 
 # Use Active Storage variant
 # gem 'image_processing', '~> 1.2'
@@ -43,5 +44,9 @@ group :development do
   gem 'spring-watcher-listen', '~> 2.0.0'
 end
 
+group :test do
+  gem 'factory_bot_rails'
+end
+
 # Windows does not include zoneinfo files, so bundle the tzinfo-data gem
 gem 'tzinfo-data', platforms: %i[mingw mswin x64_mingw jruby]
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index bfac3d9..3fb3228 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ GEM
       tzinfo (~> 1.1)
       zeitwerk (~> 2.2, >= 2.2.2)
     ast (2.4.1)
+    bcrypt (3.1.15)
     bootsnap (1.4.8)
       msgpack (~> 1.0)
     builder (3.2.4)
@@ -86,6 +87,11 @@ GEM
       dry-inflector (~> 0.1, >= 0.1.2)
       dry-logic (~> 1.0, >= 1.0.2)
     erubi (1.9.0)
+    factory_bot (6.1.0)
+      activesupport (>= 5.0.0)
+    factory_bot_rails (6.1.0)
+      factory_bot (~> 6.1.0)
+      railties (>= 5.0.0)
     ffi (1.13.1)
     globalid (0.4.2)
       activesupport (>= 4.2.0)
@@ -96,6 +102,10 @@ GEM
       mustermann-grape (~> 1.0.0)
       rack (>= 1.3.0)
       rack-accept
+    grape-route-helpers (2.1.0)
+      activesupport
+      grape (>= 0.16.0)
+      rake
     grape-swagger (1.2.1)
       grape (~> 1.3)
     grape_on_rails_routes (0.3.2)
@@ -213,9 +223,12 @@ PLATFORMS
   ruby
 
 DEPENDENCIES
+  bcrypt (~> 3.1.7)
   bootsnap (>= 1.4.2)
   byebug
+  factory_bot_rails
   grape
+  grape-route-helpers
   grape-swagger
   grape_on_rails_routes
   listen (~> 3.2)
diff --git a/app/api/api/auth.rb b/app/api/api/auth.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..781fdbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/api/api/auth.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+module API
+  class Auth < Grape::API
+    namespace :session do
+      desc 'Acquires a session cookie from a username and password'
+      params do
+        requires :username, type: String
+        requires :password, type: String
+      end
+      post auth: false do
+        session.destroy
+
+        user = User.find_by(email: params[:username])
+
+        error! :not_found, 404 unless user.try(:authenticate, params[:password])
+
+        session[:user_id] = user.id
+        cookies[:_csrf_token] = session[:csrf_token] = SecureRandom.base64(32)
+
+        status :ok
+        {}
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/api/api_helpers.rb b/app/api/api_helpers.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44131cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/api/api_helpers.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+module APIHelpers
+  extend Grape::API::Helpers
+
+  def session
+    env['rack.session']
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/api/api_routes.rb b/app/api/api_routes.rb
index e07fa6b..fdd1444 100644
--- a/app/api/api_routes.rb
+++ b/app/api/api_routes.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
 class APIRoutes < Grape::API
+  use ActionDispatch::Session::CookieStore, key: '_sbhacks_session'
+  helpers APIHelpers
   format :json
+  auth :from_session
+
+  mount API::Auth
 end
diff --git a/app/lib/auth/session_auth_middleware.rb b/app/lib/auth/session_auth_middleware.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5684d1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/lib/auth/session_auth_middleware.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+module Auth
+  class SessionAuthMiddleware < Grape::Middleware::Auth::Base
+    def call(env)
+      self.env = env
+
+      if context.route.options[:auth] != false
+        throw(:error, status: 401, message: 'Unauthorized') unless context.session[:user_id]
+        throw(:error, status: 403, message: 'Forbidden') unless verified_request?
+      end
+
+      @app.call(env)
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def verified_request?
+      return true if Rails.env.development? && env['HTTP_X_IGNORE_CSRF']
+
+      method = context.route.options[:method]
+      method == 'GET' || method == 'HEAD' || context.session[:csrf_token] == env['HTTP_X_CSRF_TOKEN']
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24262df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+class User < ApplicationRecord
+  has_secure_password
+
+  validates :name, presence: true
+  validates :email, format: {
+    with: URI::MailTo::EMAIL_REGEXP,
+    message: 'is not a valid email address'
+  }
+  validates :password, length: { in: 8..72 }
+end
diff --git a/config/application.rb b/config/application.rb
index 601e6f2..0d526f7 100644
--- a/config/application.rb
+++ b/config/application.rb
@@ -33,5 +33,9 @@ class Application < Rails::Application
     # Middleware like session, flash, cookies can be added back manually.
     # Skip views, helpers and assets when generating a new resource.
     config.api_only = true
+
+    config.generators do |g|
+      g.test_framework :test_unit, fixture: false
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/config/credentials/development.yml.enc b/config/credentials/development.yml.enc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3958a5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/credentials/development.yml.enc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+hAbLzw==--Izatsmxe7g0ccMzf--NlgK4PY2R7zLYMwSPx4Yeg==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/credentials/production.yml.enc b/config/credentials/production.yml.enc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2785b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/credentials/production.yml.enc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+DClZHkmJZpADs4292n3axT+PHxN5YgAXk7CUqJEiQlW9+BfPJjeCH6IgLVI13ERsPqjE5HLwPwkewSbjw2pzwTDoZ6IbLbJFCCE5TSMnDvfOo8mjzaFoqMyFSouUN5BRinqJlbm7tLIuWauoH5UjE2LmWN6n7hr8iO6dchDzyWyhDJ+sH2xqaiDrlIgTeJGbxhSEOg4dHw==--I5PVRTkkRL16keFX--RS9Oq7j9pwZalWyU/Q26lw==
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/environments/test.rb b/config/environments/test.rb
index 0cb2424..8969127 100644
--- a/config/environments/test.rb
+++ b/config/environments/test.rb
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 # your test database is "scratch space" for the test suite and is wiped
 # and recreated between test runs. Don't rely on the data there!
 
+# Tell Ruby to shut up about deprecation warnings during tests
+# https://fuzzyblog.io/blog/rails/2020/01/28/turning-off-ruby-deprecation-warnings-when-running-tests.html
+$VERBOSE = nil
+
 Rails.application.configure do
   # Settings specified here will take precedence over those in config/application.rb.
 
diff --git a/config/initializers/cookies.rb b/config/initializers/cookies.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9aa8b20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/initializers/cookies.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
+
+Rails.application.config.middleware.use ActionDispatch::Cookies
diff --git a/config/initializers/grape.rb b/config/initializers/grape.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5c09bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/initializers/grape.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
+
+Rails.configuration.to_prepare do
+  Grape::Middleware::Auth::Strategies.add(:from_session, Auth::SessionAuthMiddleware)
+end
diff --git a/config/initializers/session_store.rb b/config/initializers/session_store.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63d593a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/initializers/session_store.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Be sure to restart your server when you modify this file.
+
+Rails.application.config.middleware.use ActionDispatch::Session::CookieStore, key: '_sbhacks_session'
diff --git a/db/migrate/20200824035326_create_users.rb b/db/migrate/20200824035326_create_users.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5987b7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20200824035326_create_users.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class CreateUsers < ActiveRecord::Migration[6.0]
+  def change
+    create_table :users do |t|
+      t.string :name, nil: false
+      t.string :email, index: { unique: true }, nil: false
+      t.string :password_digest, nil: false
+
+      t.timestamps
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index b10373b..147138a 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,9 +10,18 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 0) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 2020_08_24_035326) do
 
   # These are extensions that must be enabled in order to support this database
   enable_extension "plpgsql"
 
+  create_table "users", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.string "name"
+    t.string "email"
+    t.string "password_digest"
+    t.datetime "created_at", precision: 6, null: false
+    t.datetime "updated_at", precision: 6, null: false
+    t.index ["email"], name: "index_users_on_email", unique: true
+  end
+
 end
diff --git a/db/seeds.rb b/db/seeds.rb
index 1beea2a..4468e03 100644
--- a/db/seeds.rb
+++ b/db/seeds.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-# This file should contain all the record creation needed to seed the database with its default values.
-# The data can then be loaded with the rails db:seed command (or created alongside the database with db:setup).
-#
-# Examples:
-#
-#   movies = Movie.create([{ name: 'Star Wars' }, { name: 'Lord of the Rings' }])
-#   Character.create(name: 'Luke', movie: movies.first)
+User.create!(
+  name: 'SBHacks Admin',
+  email: 'development@sbhacks.com',
+  password: 'password'
+)
diff --git a/test/api/auth_test.rb b/test/api/auth_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6174a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/api/auth_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+require 'test_helper'
+
+class AuthTest < ActionDispatch::IntegrationTest
+  test 'signing in sets the session id' do
+    user = sign_in_as(:user)
+
+    assert_equal user.id, @request.session[:user_id]
+  end
+
+  test 'signing in with invalid credentials clears the session' do
+    sign_in_as(:user)
+
+    post session_path, params: { username: 'nonexistent user', password: '' }
+
+    assert_nil @request.session[:user_id]
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/factories/user.rb b/test/factories/user.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7528474
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/factories/user.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+FactoryBot.define do
+  factory :user do
+    name { 'Akshay Heda' }
+    sequence :email do |n|
+      "akshay.#{n}@example.com"
+    end
+    password { 'ilovesbhacks' }
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/fixtures/.keep b/test/fixtures/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/test/fixtures/files/.keep b/test/fixtures/files/.keep
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29..0000000
diff --git a/test/models/user_test.rb b/test/models/user_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd81ae9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/models/user_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+require 'test_helper'
+
+class UserTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
+  test 'factory is valid' do
+    assert_predicate build(:user), :valid?
+  end
+
+  test 'requires a name' do
+    user = build(:user)
+    user.name = nil
+    assert_not_predicate user, :valid?
+
+    user.name = ''
+    assert_not_predicate user, :valid?
+  end
+
+  test 'requires a valid email address' do
+    user = build(:user)
+    user.email = 'not an email'
+    assert_not_predicate user, :valid?
+  end
+
+  test 'requires a password' do
+    user = build(:user)
+    user.password = nil
+    assert_not_predicate user, :valid?
+
+    user.password = 'short'
+    assert_not_predicate user, :valid?
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 1b7300e..105832a 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -1,15 +1,16 @@
 ENV['RAILS_ENV'] ||= 'test'
 require_relative '../config/environment'
 require 'rails/test_help'
+require 'test_helpers/sign_in_helper'
 
 module ActiveSupport
   class TestCase
+    include GrapeRouteHelpers::NamedRouteMatcher
+    include FactoryBot::Syntax::Methods
+    include SignInHelper
     # Run tests in parallel with specified workers
     parallelize(workers: :number_of_processors)
 
-    # Setup all fixtures in test/fixtures/*.yml for all tests in alphabetical order.
-    fixtures :all
-
     # Add more helper methods to be used by all tests here...
   end
 end
diff --git a/test/test_helpers/sign_in_helper.rb b/test/test_helpers/sign_in_helper.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..675e7db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_helpers/sign_in_helper.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+module SignInHelper
+  def sign_in_as(user)
+    user = create(user) if user.is_a? Symbol
+
+    post session_path, params: { username: user.email, password: user.password }
+
+    user
+  end
+end