diff --git a/notmuch/src/lib.rs b/notmuch/src/lib.rs
index 513b598..7626b8f 100644
--- a/notmuch/src/lib.rs
+++ b/notmuch/src/lib.rs
@@ -206,7 +206,12 @@
 //! }
 //! ```
 
-use std::{ffi::OsStr, process::Command};
+use std::{
+    ffi::OsStr,
+    io::Result,
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    process::Command,
+};
 
 use serde::Deserialize;
 
@@ -378,14 +383,54 @@ pub struct ThreadSummary {
 
 // TODO(wathiede): notmuch reply schema
 
-pub fn run_notmuch<I, S>(args: I) -> std::io::Result<Vec<u8>>
-where
-    I: IntoIterator<Item = S>,
-    S: AsRef<OsStr>,
-{
-    let mut cmd = Command::new("notmuch");
-    let cmd = cmd.args(args);
-    dbg!(&cmd);
-    let out = cmd.output()?;
-    Ok(out.stdout)
+struct Notmuch {
+    config_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl Notmuch {
+    pub fn with_config<P: AsRef<Path>>(config_path: P) -> Notmuch {
+        Notmuch {
+            config_path: config_path.as_ref().into(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn new(&self) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+        self.run_notmuch(["new"])
+    }
+
+    pub fn no_args(&self) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+        self.run_notmuch(std::iter::empty::<&str>())
+    }
+
+    fn run_notmuch<I, S>(&self, args: I) -> Result<Vec<u8>>
+    where
+        I: IntoIterator<Item = S>,
+        S: AsRef<OsStr>,
+    {
+        let mut cmd = Command::new("notmuch");
+        let cmd = cmd.arg("--config").arg(&self.config_path);
+        let cmd = cmd.args(args);
+        dbg!(&cmd);
+        let out = cmd.output()?;
+        Ok(out.stdout)
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn new() -> Result<()> {
+        let nm = Notmuch::with_config("testdata/notmuch.config");
+        nm.new()?;
+        let output = nm.no_args()?;
+        let s = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output);
+        assert!(
+            s.contains("Notmuch is configured and appears to have a database. Excellent!"),
+            "output:\n```\n{}```",
+            s
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
 }