diff --git a/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e891682
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/simple/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+include_directories(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
+add_executable(simple-client simple.c)
+target_link_libraries(simple-client discord-rpc)
diff --git a/examples/simple/simple.c b/examples/simple/simple.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..73a1019
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/simple/simple.c
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+    This is a simple example in C of using the rich presence API syncronously.
+*/
+
+#define _CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS /* thanks Microsoft */
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <time.h>
+
+#include "discord-rpc.h"
+
+static const char* APPLICATION_ID = "12345678910";
+static int FrustrationLevel = 0;
+
+static void updateDiscordPresence() {
+    char buffer[256];
+    DiscordRichPresence discordPresence;
+    memset(&discordPresence, 0, sizeof(discordPresence));
+    discordPresence.state = "West of House";
+    sprintf(buffer, "Frustration level: %d", FrustrationLevel);
+    discordPresence.details = buffer;
+    Discord_UpdatePresence(&discordPresence);
+}
+
+static void handleDiscordReady() {
+    printf("Discord: ready\n");
+}
+
+static void handleDiscordDisconnected() {
+    printf("Discord: disconnected\n");
+}
+
+static void handleDiscordWantsPresence() {
+    printf("Discord: requests presence\n");
+    updateDiscordPresence();
+}
+
+static int prompt(char* line, size_t size) {
+    int res;
+    char* nl;
+    printf("\n> ");
+    fflush(stdout);
+    res = fgets(line, size, stdin) ? 1 : 0;
+    line[size - 1] = 0;
+    nl = strchr(line, '\n');
+    if (nl) {
+        *nl = 0;
+    }
+    return res;
+}
+
+static void gameLoop() {
+    char line[512];
+    char* space;
+
+    printf("You are standing in an open field west of a white house.\n");
+    while (prompt(line, sizeof(line))) {
+        if (time(NULL) & 1) {
+            printf("I don't understand that.\n");
+        } else {
+            space = strchr(line, ' ');
+            if (space) {
+                *space = 0;
+            }
+            printf("I don't know the word \"%s\".\n", line);
+        }
+
+        ++FrustrationLevel;
+        
+        updateDiscordPresence();
+    }
+}
+
+int main() {
+    DiscordEventHandlers handlers;
+    memset(&handlers, 0, sizeof(handlers));
+    handlers.ready = handleDiscordReady;
+    handlers.disconnected = handleDiscordDisconnected;
+    handlers.wantsPresence = handleDiscordWantsPresence;
+    Discord_Initialize(APPLICATION_ID, &handlers);
+
+    gameLoop();
+    
+    Discord_Shutdown();
+    return 0;
+}
+
diff --git a/examples/simplest/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/simplest/CMakeLists.txt
index d3c9023..757ada0 100644
--- a/examples/simplest/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/simplest/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 include_directories(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
-add_executable(simple-client simple.c)
-target_link_libraries(simple-client discord-rpc-sync)
+add_executable(simplest-client simple.c)
+target_link_libraries(simplest-client discord-rpc-simple)
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index da94152..93eeaaf 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,9 @@
 include_directories(${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
-add_library(discord-rpc-sync STATIC ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/discord-rpc.h discord-rpc-sync.cpp)
+
+add_library(discord-rpc-simple STATIC ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/discord-rpc.h discord-rpc-simple.cpp)
+
+set(BASE_RPC_SRC ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include/discord-rpc.h discord-rpc.cpp yolojson.h connection.h)
+
+if(WIN32)
+    add_library(discord-rpc STATIC ${BASE_RPC_SRC} connection_win_sync.cpp)
+endif(WIN32)
diff --git a/src/connection.h b/src/connection.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c59f0a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/connection.h
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+#pragma once
+
+// This is to wrap the platform specific kinds of connect/read/write.
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+struct RpcMessageFrame {
+    uint32_t length;
+    char message[64 * 1024 - sizeof(uint32_t)];
+};
+
+struct RpcConnection {
+    void (*onConnect)() = nullptr;
+    void (*onDisconnect)() = nullptr;
+
+    static RpcConnection* Create();
+    static void Destroy(RpcConnection*&);
+    void Open();
+    void Close();
+    void Write(const void* data, size_t length);
+    
+    RpcMessageFrame* GetNextFrame();
+    void WriteFrame(RpcMessageFrame* frame);
+};
diff --git a/src/connection_win_sync.cpp b/src/connection_win_sync.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c81bb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/connection_win_sync.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#include "connection.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#define NOMCX
+#define NOSERVICE
+#define NOIME
+#include <windows.h>
+
+struct WinRpcConnection : public RpcConnection {
+    HANDLE pipe{INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE};
+    RpcMessageFrame frame;
+};
+
+static const wchar_t* PipeName = L"\\\\.\\pipe\\DiscordRpcServer";
+
+/*static*/ RpcConnection* RpcConnection::Create()
+{
+    return new WinRpcConnection;
+}
+
+/*static*/ void RpcConnection::Destroy(RpcConnection*& c)
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(c);
+    delete self;
+    c = nullptr;
+}
+
+void RpcConnection::Open()
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(this);
+    for (;;) {
+        self->pipe = ::CreateFileW(PipeName, GENERIC_READ | GENERIC_WRITE, 0, nullptr, OPEN_EXISTING, 0, nullptr);
+        if (self->pipe != INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
+            if (self->onConnect) {
+                self->onConnect();
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+
+        if (GetLastError() != ERROR_PIPE_BUSY) {
+            printf("Could not open pipe. Error: %d\n", GetLastError());
+            return;
+        }
+
+        if (!WaitNamedPipeW(PipeName, 10000)) {
+            printf("Could not open pipe: 10 second wait timed out.\n");
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+void RpcConnection::Close()
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(this);
+    ::CloseHandle(self->pipe);
+    self->pipe = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+    if (self->onDisconnect) {
+        self->onDisconnect();
+    }
+}
+
+void RpcConnection::Write(const void* data, size_t length)
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(this);
+
+    if (self->pipe == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
+        self->Open();
+        if (self->pipe == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+    BOOL success = ::WriteFile(self->pipe, data, length, nullptr, nullptr);
+    if (!success) {
+        self->Close();
+    }
+}
+
+RpcMessageFrame* RpcConnection::GetNextFrame()
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(this);
+    return &(self->frame);
+}
+
+void RpcConnection::WriteFrame(RpcMessageFrame* frame)
+{
+    auto self = reinterpret_cast<WinRpcConnection*>(this);
+    self->Write(frame, frame->length);
+}
diff --git a/src/discord-rpc-sync.cpp b/src/discord-rpc-simple.cpp
similarity index 100%
rename from src/discord-rpc-sync.cpp
rename to src/discord-rpc-simple.cpp
diff --git a/src/discord-rpc.cpp b/src/discord-rpc.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd09c5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/discord-rpc.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#include "discord-rpc.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+#include "connection.h"
+#include "yolojson.h"
+
+static RpcConnection* MyConnection = nullptr;
+static char ApplicationId[64]{};
+static DiscordEventHandlers Handlers{};
+
+void Discord_Initialize(const char* applicationId, DiscordEventHandlers* handlers)
+{
+    StringCopy(ApplicationId, applicationId, sizeof(ApplicationId));
+    if (handlers) {
+        Handlers = *handlers;
+    }
+    else {
+        Handlers = {};
+    }
+
+    MyConnection = RpcConnection::Create();
+    MyConnection->Open();
+}
+
+void Discord_Shutdown()
+{
+    Handlers = {};
+    MyConnection->Close();
+    RpcConnection::Destroy(MyConnection);
+}
+
+void Discord_UpdatePresence(const DiscordRichPresence* presence)
+{
+    auto frame = MyConnection->GetNextFrame();
+    char* jsonWrite = frame->message;
+    JsonWriteRichPresenceObj(jsonWrite, presence);
+    frame->length = sizeof(uint32_t) + (jsonWrite - frame->message);
+    MyConnection->WriteFrame(frame);
+}
diff --git a/src/yolojson.h b/src/yolojson.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34f315f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/yolojson.h
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+#pragma once
+
+// if only there was a standard library function for this
+inline size_t StringCopy(char* dest, const char* src, size_t maxBytes = UINT32_MAX) {
+    if (!dest || !src || !maxBytes) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+    size_t copied;
+    for (copied = 1; *src && copied < maxBytes; ++copied) {
+        *dest++ = *src++;
+    }
+    *dest = 0;
+    return copied - 1;
+}
+
+inline void JsonWriteEscapedString(char*& dest, const char* src)
+{
+    for (char c = *src++; c; c = *src++) {
+        switch (c) {
+        case '\"':
+        case '\\':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = c;
+            break;
+        case '\b':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = 'b';
+            break;
+        case '\f':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = 'f';
+            break;
+        case '\n':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = 'n';
+            break;
+        case '\r':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = 'r';
+            break;
+        case '\t':
+            *dest++ = '\\';
+            *dest++ = 't';
+            break;
+        default:
+            *dest++ = c;
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+template<typename T> void JsonWriteNumber(char*& dest, T number)
+{
+    if (!number) {
+        *dest++ = '0';
+        return;
+    }
+    if (number < 0) {
+        *dest++ = '-';
+        number = -number;
+    }
+    char temp[32];
+    int place = 0;
+    while (number) {
+        auto digit = number % 10;
+        number = number / 10;
+        temp[place++] = '0' + (char)digit;
+    }
+    for (--place; place >= 0; --place) {
+        *dest++ = temp[place];
+    }
+    *dest = 0;
+}
+
+inline void JsonWritePropName(char*& dest, const char* name)
+{
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    dest += StringCopy(dest, name);
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    *dest++ = ':';
+    *dest++ = ' ';
+}
+
+inline void JsonWritePropSep(char*& dest)
+{
+    *dest++ = ',';
+    *dest++ = ' ';
+}
+
+inline void JsonWriteStringProp(char*& dest, const char* name, const char* value)
+{
+    JsonWritePropName(dest, name);
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    JsonWriteEscapedString(dest, value);
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    JsonWritePropSep(dest);
+}
+
+template<typename T>
+void JsonWriteNumberAsStringProp(char*& dest, const char* name, T value)
+{
+    JsonWritePropName(dest, name);
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    JsonWriteNumber(dest, value);
+    *dest++ = '"';
+    JsonWritePropSep(dest);
+}
+
+template<typename T>
+void JsonWriteNumberProp(char*& dest, const char* name, T value)
+{
+    JsonWritePropName(dest, name);
+    JsonWriteNumber(dest, value);
+    JsonWritePropSep(dest);
+}
+
+inline void JsonWriteBoolProp(char*& dest, const char* name, bool value)
+{
+    JsonWritePropName(dest, name);
+    dest += StringCopy(dest, value ? "true" : "false");
+    JsonWritePropSep(dest);
+}
+
+inline void JsonWriteRichPresenceObj(char*& dest, const DiscordRichPresence* presence)
+{
+    *dest++ = '{';
+
+    if (presence->state) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "state", presence->state);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->details) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "details", presence->details);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->startTimestamp) {
+        JsonWriteNumberAsStringProp(dest, "start_timestamp", presence->startTimestamp);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->endTimestamp) {
+        JsonWriteNumberAsStringProp(dest, "end_timestamp", presence->endTimestamp);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->largeImageKey) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "large_image_key", presence->largeImageKey);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->largeImageText) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "large_image_text", presence->largeImageText);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->smallImageKey) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "small_image_key", presence->smallImageKey);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->smallImageText) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "small_image_text", presence->smallImageText);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->partyId) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "party_id", presence->partyId);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->partyMax) {
+        JsonWriteNumberProp(dest, "party_size", presence->partySize);
+        JsonWriteNumberProp(dest, "party_max", presence->partyMax);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->matchSecret) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "match_secret", presence->matchSecret);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->joinSecret) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "join_secret", presence->joinSecret);
+    }
+
+    if (presence->spectateSecret) {
+        JsonWriteStringProp(dest, "spectate_secret", presence->spectateSecret);
+    }
+
+    JsonWriteBoolProp(dest, "instance", presence->instance != 0);
+
+    dest -= 1;
+    *(dest - 1) = '}';
+}