diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 397bba0..8e62b56 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 cssselect
 lxml
+ipython
diff --git a/shell.py b/shell.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a761057
--- /dev/null
+++ b/shell.py
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+"""Parslepy shell to help building parselets on the command-line
+"""
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+import re
+import json
+
+import parslepy
+import lxml
+
+
+def get_prop_name(key):
+    return re.split('[?]?[(]', key)[0]
+
+
+class ParslepyShellSession(object):
+    def __init__(self, doc_path, outfile):
+        self.doc_path = doc_path
+        self.outfile = outfile
+        self.doc = self.load_document(doc_path)
+        self.selector = parslepy.selectors.DefaultSelectorHandler()
+        self.parselet_obj = {}
+
+    def load_document(self, doc_path):
+        parser = lxml.etree.HTMLParser()
+        return lxml.etree.parse(doc_path, parser=parser).getroot()
+
+    def extract_expr(self, expr):
+        # TODO: the current output for this may be too terse.
+        # In a real-world scenario I'd want to have the option of seeing
+        # the actual HTML too, not only the text
+        return self.selector.extract(self.doc, self.selector.make(expr))
+
+    def record_simple_property(self, name, expr):
+        self.parselet_obj[name] = expr
+
+    def record_aggregating_property(self, name, expr, is_list=False):
+        key = '%s(%s)' % (name, expr)
+        self.parselet_obj[key] = [{}] if is_list else {}
+
+    def _get_key_for_property(self, name):
+        for key in self.parselet_obj:
+            if get_prop_name(key) == name:
+                return key
+
+    def record_nested_property(self, parent_name, name, expr):
+        key = self._get_key_for_property(parent_name)
+
+        if not key:
+            valid_keys = [get_prop_name(k) for k in self.parselet_obj]
+            raise ValueError('Invalid property: %s (valid properties: %r)' %
+                             (parent_name, valid_keys))
+
+        target_obj = self.parselet_obj[key]
+        if isinstance(target_obj, list):
+            target_obj = target_obj[0]
+
+        target_obj[name] = expr
+
+    def write(self):
+        with open(self.outfile, 'w') as fp:
+            json.dump(self.parselet_obj, fp, indent=4)
+            print('Wrote parselet: %s' % self.outfile)
+
+    def extract(self):
+        return parslepy.Parselet(self.parselet_obj).extract(self.doc)
+
+
+def _run(args):
+    """Run IPython shell with a few functions to help create a parselet"""
+    from IPython import embed as _embed
+
+    global _session
+    _session = ParslepyShellSession(args.input, args.parselet)
+
+    # Here are functions available in the shell:
+    def fetch(url, parselet=None):
+        global _session
+        _session = ParslepyShellSession(url, parselet or args.parselet)
+
+    def test(expr):
+        return _session.extract_expr(expr)
+
+    def add(name, expr):
+        _session.record_simple_property(name, expr)
+
+    def add_list(name, expr):
+        _session.record_aggregating_property(name, expr, is_list=True)
+
+    def add_object(name, expr):
+        _session.record_aggregating_property(name, expr, is_list=False)
+
+    def add_nested(parent_name, name, expr):
+        _session.record_nested_property(parent_name, name, expr)
+
+    def save():
+        _session.write()
+
+    def extract():
+        return _session.extract()
+
+    banner = """
+    Available functions:
+
+    test(expression)                 - test a CSS or XPath expression
+    fetch(url, [parselet])           - fetch a new URL, optionally starts new parselet
+    extract()                        - run the extraction using current parselet rules
+    add(name, expr)                  - add a simple property to current parselet
+    add_list(name, expr)             - add a list property to current parselet
+    add_object(name, expr)           - add an object property to current parselet
+    add_nested(parent, name, expr)   - add a property to a list or object property
+    save()                           - saves current parselet to disk
+    \n"""
+    _embed(banner1=banner)
+
+
+if '__main__' == __name__:
+    import argparse
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument('parselet', help='Path to Parsley script')
+    parser.add_argument('input', help='URL or file')
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+    _run(args)