diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c111b33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+*.gem
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
deleted file mode 100644
index efabfbe..0000000
--- a/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-PREFIX= /usr/local
-INSTALL_BIN= $(PREFIX)/bin
-INSTALL= cp -p
-
-install:
-	mkdir -p $(INSTALL_BIN)
-	$(INSTALL) xtpl $(INSTALL_BIN)
-
-
-
diff --git a/README.md.xtpl b/README.md.xtpl
index b9c7d62..f125b0b 100644
--- a/README.md.xtpl
+++ b/README.md.xtpl
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ we will get the following output:
 
 ~~~~ {.tpl}
 <<<<
-./xtpl < examples/output_from_utility.xtpl
+xtpl < examples/output_from_utility.xtpl
 >>>>
 
 ~~~~
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Piping this through xtpl will yield:
 
 ~~~~~ {.tpl}
 <<<<
-./xtpl < examples/filtering.xtpl
+xtpl < examples/filtering.xtpl
 >>>>
 
 ~~~~~
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Now this yields the following output:
 
 ~~~~~~ {.html}
 <<<<
-./xtpl < examples/redirecting_utility_output_to_file.xtpl
+xtpl < examples/redirecting_utility_output_to_file.xtpl
 >>>>
 
 ~~~~~~
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52344a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+task :default => :build
+
+task :build do
+  system "gem build xtpl.gemspec"
+end
diff --git a/xtpl b/bin/xtpl
similarity index 100%
rename from xtpl
rename to bin/xtpl
diff --git a/xtpl.gemspec b/xtpl.gemspec
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..62facad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtpl.gemspec
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+Gem::Specification.new do |s|
+  s.name         = 'xtpl'
+  s.summary      = 'xtpl is a templating mechnism in the spirit of unix. It was developed to help with document preparation, but could also be used in other circumstances, where text needs to be enriched with output from other utilities.
+
+xtpl takes a template text and substitutes special expressions with the output from external tools. It also allows to filter parts of the document through an external filter.'
+  s.description  = 'xtpl is a templating mechnism in the spirit of unix'
+  s.version      = '0.1'
+  s.platform     = Gem::Platform::RUBY
+
+  s.files        = ['bin/xtpl']
+
+  s.bindir = 'bin'
+
+  s.files         = `git ls-files`.split("\n")
+  s.executables   = `git ls-files -- bin/*`.split("\n").map{ |f| File.basename(f) }
+
+  s.author      = 'Felix Leipold'
+  s.email       = ''
+  s.homepage    = 'https://github.com/fleipold/xtpl'
+end
+