diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 5c96108..ea709e1 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@coderoad/cli",
-  "version": "0.2.0",
+  "version": "0.2.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 1,
   "requires": true,
   "dependencies": {
@@ -960,6 +960,15 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-EaObqwIvayI5a8dCzhFrjKzVwKLxjoG9T6Ppd5CEo07LRKfQ8Yokw54r5+Wq7FaBQ+yXRvQAYPrHwya1/UFt9g==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "@types/fs-extra": {
+      "version": "9.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/fs-extra/-/fs-extra-9.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-B42Sxuaz09MhC3DDeW5kubRcQ5by4iuVQ0cRRWM2lggLzAa/KVom0Aft/208NgMvNQQZ86s5rVcqDdn/SH0/mg==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "requires": {
+        "@types/node": "*"
+      }
+    },
     "@types/glob": {
       "version": "7.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/glob/-/glob-7.1.1.tgz",
@@ -1269,6 +1278,11 @@
       "integrity": "sha1-x57Zf380y48robyXkLzDZkdLS3k=",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "at-least-node": {
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/at-least-node/-/at-least-node-1.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-+q/t7Ekv1EDY2l6Gda6LLiX14rU9TV20Wa3ofeQmwPFZbOMo9DXrLbOjFaaclkXKWidIaopwAObQDqwWtGUjqg=="
+    },
     "atob": {
       "version": "2.1.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/atob/-/atob-2.1.2.tgz",
@@ -2360,6 +2374,17 @@
         "map-cache": "^0.2.2"
       }
     },
+    "fs-extra": {
+      "version": "9.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fs-extra/-/fs-extra-9.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-h2iAoN838FqAFJY2/qVpzFXy+EBxfVE220PalAqQLDVsFOHLJrZvut5puAbCdNv6WJk+B8ihI+k0c7JK5erwqQ==",
+      "requires": {
+        "at-least-node": "^1.0.0",
+        "graceful-fs": "^4.2.0",
+        "jsonfile": "^6.0.1",
+        "universalify": "^1.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "fs.realpath": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/fs.realpath/-/fs.realpath-1.0.0.tgz",
@@ -2463,8 +2488,7 @@
     "graceful-fs": {
       "version": "4.2.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/graceful-fs/-/graceful-fs-4.2.4.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-WjKPNJF79dtJAVniUlGGWHYGz2jWxT6VhN/4m1NdkbZ2nOsEF+cI1Edgql5zCRhs/VsQYRvrXctxktVXZUkixw==",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha512-WjKPNJF79dtJAVniUlGGWHYGz2jWxT6VhN/4m1NdkbZ2nOsEF+cI1Edgql5zCRhs/VsQYRvrXctxktVXZUkixw=="
     },
     "growly": {
       "version": "1.3.0",
@@ -4141,6 +4165,15 @@
         "minimist": "^1.2.5"
       }
     },
+    "jsonfile": {
+      "version": "6.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/jsonfile/-/jsonfile-6.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-jR2b5v7d2vIOust+w3wtFKZIfpC2pnRmFAhAC/BuweZFQR8qZzxH1OyrQ10HmdVYiXWkYUqPVsz91cG7EL2FBg==",
+      "requires": {
+        "graceful-fs": "^4.1.6",
+        "universalify": "^1.0.0"
+      }
+    },
     "jsprim": {
       "version": "1.4.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/jsprim/-/jsprim-1.4.1.tgz",
@@ -5832,6 +5865,11 @@
         "set-value": "^2.0.1"
       }
     },
+    "universalify": {
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/universalify/-/universalify-1.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-rb6X1W158d7pRQBg5gkR8uPaSfiids68LTJQYOtEUhoJUWBdaQHsuT/EUduxXYxcrt4r5PJ4fuHW1MHT6p0qug=="
+    },
     "unset-value": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/unset-value/-/unset-value-1.0.0.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5ac564c..6a9fee1 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "ajv": "^6.12.2",
     "esm": "^3.2.25",
+    "fs-extra": "^9.0.1",
     "js-yaml": "^3.14.0",
     "kleur": "^3.0.3",
     "lodash": "^4.17.15",
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@
   "devDependencies": {
     "@babel/preset-typescript": "^7.10.1",
     "@types/ajv": "^1.0.0",
+    "@types/fs-extra": "^9.0.1",
     "@types/inquirer": "^6.5.0",
     "@types/jest": "^25.2.3",
     "@types/js-yaml": "^3.12.4",
diff --git a/src/utils/exec.ts b/src/utils/exec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a209b2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/exec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+import * as T from "../../typings/tutorial";
+import { exec as cpExec } from "child_process";
+import * as path from "path";
+import { promisify } from "util";
+
+const asyncExec = promisify(cpExec);
+
+export function createExec(cwd: string) {
+  return async function exec(
+    command: string
+  ): Promise<{ stdout: string | null; stderr: string }> {
+    try {
+      const result = await asyncExec(command, { cwd });
+      return result;
+    } catch (e) {
+      return { stdout: null, stderr: e.message };
+    }
+  };
+}
+
+export function createCherryPick(cwd: string) {
+  return async function cherryPick(commits: string[]): Promise<void> {
+    for (const commit of commits) {
+      try {
+        const { stdout } = await createExec(cwd)(
+          `git cherry-pick -X theirs ${commit}`
+        );
+        if (!stdout) {
+          console.warn(`No cherry-pick output for ${commit}`);
+        }
+      } catch (e) {
+        console.warn(`Cherry-pick failed for ${commit}`);
+      }
+    }
+  };
+}
+
+export function createCommandRunner(cwd: string) {
+  return async function runCommands(
+    commands: string[],
+    dir?: string
+  ): Promise<boolean> {
+    let errors = [];
+    for (const command of commands) {
+      try {
+        console.log(`--> ${command}`);
+        let cwdDir = cwd;
+        if (dir) {
+          cwdDir = path.join(cwd, dir);
+        }
+        const { stdout, stderr } = await createExec(cwdDir)(command);
+
+        console.warn(stderr);
+      } catch (e) {
+        console.error(`Command failed: "${command}"`);
+        console.warn(e.message);
+        errors.push(e.message);
+      }
+    }
+    return !!errors.length;
+  };
+}
+
+// function isAbsolute(p: string) {
+//   return path.normalize(p + "/") === path.normalize(path.resolve(p) + "/");
+// }
+
+export function createTestRunner(cwd: string, config: T.TestRunnerConfig) {
+  const { command, args, directory } = config;
+
+  // const commandIsAbsolute = isAbsolute(command);
+
+  let wd = cwd;
+  if (directory) {
+    wd = path.join(cwd, directory);
+  }
+
+  const commandWithArgs = `${command} ${args.tap}`;
+
+  return async function runTest(): Promise<{
+    stdout: string | null;
+    stderr: string | null;
+  }> {
+    try {
+      // console.log(await createExec(wd)("ls -a node_modules/.bin"));
+      return await createExec(wd)(commandWithArgs);
+    } catch (e) {
+      return Promise.resolve({ stdout: null, stderr: e.message });
+    }
+  };
+}
diff --git a/src/validate.ts b/src/validate.ts
index 4da3048..e5ed11e 100644
--- a/src/validate.ts
+++ b/src/validate.ts
@@ -1,16 +1,15 @@
 import * as path from "path";
-import * as fs from "fs";
-import util from "util";
+import * as fs from "fs-extra";
 import * as yamlParser from "js-yaml";
 import { getArg } from "./utils/args";
 import gitP, { SimpleGit } from "simple-git/promise";
+import {
+  createCommandRunner,
+  createCherryPick,
+  createTestRunner,
+} from "./utils/exec";
 import { getCommits, CommitLogObject } from "./utils/commits";
 
-const mkdir = util.promisify(fs.mkdir);
-const exists = util.promisify(fs.exists);
-const rmdir = util.promisify(fs.rmdir);
-const read = util.promisify(fs.readFile);
-
 async function validate(args: string[]) {
   // dir - default .
   const dir = !args.length || args[0].match(/^-/) ? "." : args[0];
@@ -21,14 +20,14 @@ async function validate(args: string[]) {
     yaml: getArg(args, { name: "yaml", alias: "y" }) || "coderoad.yaml",
   };
 
-  const _yaml = await read(path.join(localDir, options.yaml), "utf8");
+  const _yaml = await fs.readFile(path.join(localDir, options.yaml), "utf8");
 
   // parse yaml config
-  let config;
+  let skeleton;
   try {
-    config = yamlParser.load(_yaml);
-    // TODO: validate yaml
-    if (!config || !config.length) {
+    skeleton = yamlParser.load(_yaml);
+
+    if (!skeleton) {
       throw new Error("Invalid yaml file contents");
     }
   } catch (e) {
@@ -36,40 +35,131 @@ async function validate(args: string[]) {
     console.error(e.message);
   }
 
-  const codeBranch: string = config.config.repo.branch;
+  const codeBranch: string = skeleton.config.repo.branch;
+
+  // validate commits
+  const commits: CommitLogObject = await getCommits({ localDir, codeBranch });
+
+  // setup tmp dir
+  const tmpDir = path.join(localDir, ".tmp");
 
-  // VALIDATE SKELETON WITH COMMITS
-  const commits = getCommits({ localDir, codeBranch });
+  try {
+    if (!(await fs.pathExists(tmpDir))) {
+      await fs.emptyDir(tmpDir);
+    }
+    const tempGit: SimpleGit = gitP(tmpDir);
 
-  // parse tutorial skeleton for order and commands
+    await tempGit.init();
+    await tempGit.addRemote("origin", skeleton.config.repo.uri);
+    await tempGit.fetch("origin", skeleton.config.repo.branch);
+    // no js cherry pick implementation
+    const cherryPick = createCherryPick(tmpDir);
+    const runCommands = createCommandRunner(tmpDir);
+    const runTest = createTestRunner(tmpDir, skeleton.config.testRunner);
 
-  // on error, warn missing level/step
+    // setup
+    console.info("* Setup");
+    if (commits.INIT) {
+      // load commits
+      console.info("-- Loading commits...");
+      await cherryPick(commits.INIT);
 
-  // VALIDATE COMMIT ORDER
-  // list all commits in order
-  // validate that a level number doesn't come before another level
-  // validate that a step falls within a level
-  // validate that steps are in order
+      // run commands
+      if (skeleton.config?.testRunner?.setup?.commands) {
+        console.info("-- Running commands...");
+
+        await runCommands(
+          skeleton.config?.testRunner?.setup?.commands,
+          // add optional setup directory
+          skeleton.config?.testRunner?.directory
+        );
+      }
+    }
 
-  // on error, show level/step out of order
+    for (const level of skeleton.levels) {
+      console.info(`* ${level.id}`);
+      if (level?.setup) {
+        // load commits
+        if (commits[`${level.id}`]) {
+          console.log(`-- Loading commits...`);
+          await cherryPick(commits[level.id]);
+        }
+        // run commands
+        if (level.setup?.commands) {
+          console.log(`-- Running commands...`);
+          await runCommands(level.setup.commands);
+        }
+      }
+      // steps
+      if (level.steps) {
+        for (const step of level.steps) {
+          console.info(`** ${step.id}`);
+          // load commits
+          const stepSetupCommits = commits[`${step.id}Q`];
+          if (stepSetupCommits) {
+            console.info(`--- Loading setup commits...`);
+            await cherryPick(stepSetupCommits);
+          }
+          // run commands
+          if (step.setup.commands) {
+            console.info(`--- Running setup commands...`);
+            await runCommands(step.setup.commands);
+          }
 
-  // VALIDATE TUTORIAL TESTS
-  // load INIT commit(s)
-  // run test runner setup command(s)
-  // loop over commits:
-  // - load level commit
-  // - run level setup command(s)
-  // - load step setup commit(s)
-  // - run step setup command(s)
-  // - if next solution:
-  //    - run test - expect fail
-  // - if solution
-  //    - run test - expect pass
+          const stepSolutionCommits = commits[`${step.id}A`];
+          const hasSolution = step.solution || stepSolutionCommits;
 
-  // log level/step
-  // on error, show level/step & error message
+          // ignore running tests on steps with no solution
+          if (hasSolution) {
+            // run test
+            console.info("--- Running setup test...");
+            // expect fail
+            const { stdout, stderr } = await runTest();
+            if (stdout) {
+              console.error(
+                `--- Expected ${step.id} setup tests to fail, but passed`
+              );
+              // log tests
+              console.log(stdout);
+            }
+          }
 
-  // CLEANUP
+          if (stepSolutionCommits) {
+            console.info(`--- Loading solution commits...`);
+            await cherryPick(stepSolutionCommits);
+          }
+
+          // run commands
+          if (step?.solution?.commands) {
+            console.info(`--- Running solution commands...`);
+            await runCommands(step.solution.commands);
+          }
+
+          if (hasSolution) {
+            // run test
+            console.info("--- Running solution test...");
+            // expect pass
+            const { stdout, stderr } = await runTest();
+            if (stderr) {
+              console.error(
+                `--- Expected ${step.id} solution tests to pass, but failed`
+              );
+              // log tests
+              console.log(stderr);
+            }
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    console.info(`\n✔ Success!`);
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error("\n✘ Fail!");
+    console.error(e.message);
+  } finally {
+    // cleanup
+    await fs.emptyDir(tmpDir);
+  }
 }
 
 export default validate;
diff --git a/tests/validate.test.ts b/tests/tutorial.test.ts
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/validate.test.ts
rename to tests/tutorial.test.ts
diff --git a/typings/tutorial.d.ts b/typings/tutorial.d.ts
index f3fe401..82b1e2e 100644
--- a/typings/tutorial.d.ts
+++ b/typings/tutorial.d.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ export interface TestRunnerArgs {
 
 export interface TestRunnerConfig {
   command: string;
-  args?: TestRunnerArgs;
+  args: TestRunnerArgs;
   directory?: string;
   setup?: StepActions;
 }