diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 4fffb2f..6aa9b21 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
+*.swp
+
 /target
 /Cargo.lock
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8b1c9f1..a41494c 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -6,3 +6,5 @@ edition = "2021"
 # See more keys and their definitions at https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html
 
 [dependencies]
+lazy_static = "1.4.0"
+regex = "1"
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 7d12d9a..dbee0cb 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,14 +1,11 @@
-pub fn add(left: usize, right: usize) -> usize {
-    left + right
-}
+//! http parses the request according to the HTTP message specifications
+//! it also includes `HTTPResponse` to build an HTTPResponse
+//!
+//! see: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Messages
+//! NOTE: only few parts of the specification has been implemented
 
-#[cfg(test)]
-mod tests {
-    use super::*;
+mod start_line;
+mod version;
 
-    #[test]
-    fn it_works() {
-        let result = add(2, 2);
-        assert_eq!(result, 4);
-    }
-}
+pub use start_line::HTTPStartLine;
+pub use version::HTTPVersion;
diff --git a/src/request.rs b/src/request.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3678ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/request.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+use std::collections::VecDeque;
+
+type RequestParts = (String, VecDeque<String>, String);
+
+const HTTP_REQUEST_SEPARATOR: &'static str = "\r\n";
+const NULL_CHAR: &'static str = "\0";
diff --git a/src/start_line.rs b/src/start_line.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c76620
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/start_line.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+use lazy_static::lazy_static;
+use regex::Regex;
+
+use crate::version::HTTPVersion;
+
+lazy_static! {
+    static ref HTTP_VERSION_REGEX: Regex = Regex::new("^HTTP/(1.1|1.0|2)$").unwrap();
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct HTTPStartLine<'a> {
+    method: &'a str,
+    target: &'a str,
+    version: HTTPVersion,
+}
+
+impl<'a> HTTPStartLine<'a> {
+    fn new(method: &'a str, target: &'a str, version: HTTPVersion) -> Self {
+        HTTPStartLine {
+            method: &method,
+            target: &target,
+            version: version,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn parse(start_line: &'a str) -> Result<Self, &str> {
+        let parts: Vec<&str> = start_line.split(" ").collect();
+        if parts.len() < 3 {
+            return Err("unable to parse the start correctly");
+        }
+
+        let (method, target, version) = (parts[0], parts[1], parts[2]);
+
+        if !Self::check_version(version) {
+            return Err("http version validation failed, unknown version");
+        }
+
+        Ok(HTTPStartLine::new(
+            method,
+            target,
+            HTTPVersion::from(version),
+        ))
+    }
+
+    fn check_version(version: &str) -> bool {
+        HTTP_VERSION_REGEX.is_match(version)
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn test_start_line() {
+    struct Expect<'a> {
+        method: &'a str,
+        target: &'a str,
+        version: HTTPVersion,
+    }
+
+    let test_cases: [(&str, Expect, bool); 2] = [
+        (
+            "POST /get/ HTTP/1.1",
+            Expect {
+                method: "POST",
+                target: "/get/",
+                version: HTTPVersion::Http1_1,
+            },
+            true,
+        ),
+        (
+            "POST /get/ HTTP/1.1 blablablalfjhskfh",
+            Expect {
+                method: "",
+                target: "",
+                version: HTTPVersion::Unknown,
+            },
+            false,
+        ),
+    ];
+
+    for (start_line, expect, is_valid) in test_cases {
+        let res = HTTPStartLine::parse(start_line);
+        if is_valid {
+            assert!(res.is_ok());
+
+            let st = res.unwrap();
+
+            assert_eq!(expect.method, st.method);
+            assert_eq!(expect.target, st.target);
+            assert_eq!(expect.target, st.target);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/version.rs b/src/version.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b8d656b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/version.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum HTTPVersion {
+    Http1_0,
+    Http1_1,
+    Http2,
+    Unknown,
+}
+
+impl Into<String> for HTTPVersion {
+    fn into(self) -> String {
+        match self {
+            Self::Http1_0 => "HTTP/1.0".to_string(),
+            Self::Http1_1 => "HTTP/1.1".to_string(),
+            Self::Http2 => "HTTP/2".to_string(),
+            Self::Unknown => "UNKNOWN".to_string(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl From<&str> for HTTPVersion {
+    fn from(http_version: &str) -> Self {
+        match http_version {
+            "HTTP/1.0" => Self::Http1_0,
+            "HTTP/1.1" => Self::Http1_1,
+            "HTTP/2" => Self::Http2,
+            _ => Self::Unknown,
+        }
+    }
+}