diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index b55c9f5..83a611f 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ set(PROJECT_SOURCES
     src/layoutmodel.h
     src/environment.cpp
     src/environment.h
+    src/settings.cpp
+    src/settings.h
     src/theme.c
     src/theme.h
     src/xml.c
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index f8f47cd..8d1a51c 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -2,9 +2,16 @@
 
 #include <QApplication>
 #include <QLibraryInfo>
+#include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QTranslator>
 #include <QFileInfo>
 
+#include "settings.h"
+
+extern "C" {
+#include "xml.h"
+}
+
 static void initLocale(QTranslator *qtTranslator, QTranslator *translator)
 {
     QApplication *app = qApp;
@@ -37,6 +44,30 @@ static void initLocale(QTranslator *qtTranslator, QTranslator *translator)
     app->installTranslator(translator);
 }
 
+void initConfig(std::string &config_file)
+{
+    bool success = xml_init(config_file.data());
+
+    if (!success) {
+        QMessageBox msgBox;
+        msgBox.setText(QObject::tr("Error loading ") + QString(config_file.data()));
+        msgBox.setInformativeText(
+                QObject::tr("Run labwc-tweaks from a terminal to view error messages"));
+        msgBox.exec();
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
+
+    /* Ensure all relevant nodes exist before we start getting/setting */
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/cornerRadius");
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/name");
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/dropShadows");
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/icon");
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/placement/policy");
+    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/libinput/device/naturalScroll");
+
+    xml_save();
+}
+
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
     QApplication app(argc, argv);
@@ -45,7 +76,17 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     QTranslator qtTranslator, translator;
     initLocale(&qtTranslator, &translator);
 
-    MainDialog w;
+    std::string config_dir =
+            std::getenv("LABWC_CONFIG_DIR") ?: std::getenv("HOME") + std::string("/.config/labwc");
+    std::string config_file = config_dir + "/rc.xml";
+    initConfig(config_file);
+
+    // The 'settings' vector contains the master state of all settings that can
+    // be changed by labwc-tweaks.
+    std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> settings;
+    initSettings(settings);
+
+    MainDialog w(settings);
     w.show();
 
     // Make work the window icon also when the application is not (yet) installed
diff --git a/src/maindialog.cpp b/src/maindialog.cpp
index 2342bb3..d1764ba 100644
--- a/src/maindialog.cpp
+++ b/src/maindialog.cpp
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 #include <QDebug>
 #include <QDir>
-#include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QFile>
 #include <QString>
 #include <QStandardPaths>
@@ -11,6 +10,7 @@
 #include "evdev-lst-layouts.h"
 #include "layoutmodel.h"
 #include "maindialog.h"
+#include "settings.h"
 #include "./ui_maindialog.h"
 
 extern "C" {
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ extern "C" {
 #include "xml.h"
 }
 
-MainDialog::MainDialog(QWidget *parent) : QDialog(parent), ui(new Ui::MainDialog)
+MainDialog::MainDialog(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QWidget *parent)
+    : QDialog(parent), ui(new Ui::MainDialog), m_settings(settings)
 {
     ui->setupUi(this);
 
@@ -27,11 +28,6 @@ MainDialog::MainDialog(QWidget *parent) : QDialog(parent), ui(new Ui::MainDialog
     m_model = new LayoutModel(this);
     ui->layoutView->setModel(m_model);
 
-    std::string config_dir =
-            std::getenv("LABWC_CONFIG_DIR") ?: std::getenv("HOME") + std::string("/.config/labwc");
-    std::string config_file = config_dir + "/rc.xml";
-    initConfig(config_file);
-
     QObject::connect(ui->buttonBox, &QDialogButtonBox::clicked, [&](QAbstractButton *button) {
         if (ui->buttonBox->standardButton(button) == QDialogButtonBox::Apply) {
             onApply();
@@ -87,7 +83,7 @@ void MainDialog::activate()
     theme_free_vector(&openbox_themes);
 
     /* Corner Radius */
-    ui->cornerRadius->setValue(xml_get_int("/labwc_config/theme/cornerradius"));
+    ui->cornerRadius->setValue(xml_get_int("/labwc_config/theme/cornerRadius"));
 
     /* Drop Shadows */
     ui->dropShadows->addItem("no");
@@ -153,39 +149,102 @@ void MainDialog::activate()
     }
 }
 
-void MainDialog::initConfig(std::string &config_file)
+void setInt(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QString name, int value)
 {
-    bool success = xml_init(config_file.data());
+    std::shared_ptr<Setting> setting = retrieve(settings, name);
+    if (setting == nullptr) {
+        qDebug() << "warning: no settings with name" << name;
+        return;
+    }
+    if (setting->valueType() != LAB_VALUE_TYPE_INT) {
+        qDebug() << "setInt(): not valid int setting" << name << value;
+    }
+    if (value != std::get<int>(setting->value())) {
+        qDebug() << name << "has changed to" << value;
+        xml_set_num(name.toStdString().c_str(), value);
+    }
+}
 
-    if (!success) {
-        QMessageBox msgBox;
-        msgBox.setText(tr("Error loading ") + QString(config_file.data()));
-        msgBox.setInformativeText(tr("Run labwc-tweaks from a terminal to view error messages"));
-        msgBox.exec();
-        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+void setStr(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QString name, QString value)
+{
+    std::shared_ptr<Setting> setting = retrieve(settings, name);
+    if (setting == nullptr) {
+        qDebug() << "warning: no settings with name" << name;
+        return;
+    }
+    if (setting->valueType() != LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING) {
+        qDebug() << "setStr(): not valid string setting" << name << value;
+    }
+    if (value != std::get<QString>(setting->value())) {
+        qDebug() << name << "has changed to" << value;
+        xml_set(name.toStdString().c_str(), value.toStdString().c_str());
     }
+}
 
-    /* Ensure all relevant nodes exist before we start getting/setting */
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/cornerRadius");
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/name");
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/dropShadows");
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/theme/name");
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/placement/policy");
-    xpath_add_node("/labwc_config/libinput/device/naturalScroll");
+/**
+ * parse_bool() - Parse boolean value of string.
+ * @string: String to interpret. This check is case-insensitive.
+ * @default_value: Default value to use if string is not a recognised boolean.
+ *                 Use -1 to avoid setting a default value.
+ *
+ * Return: 0 for false; 1 for true; -1 for non-boolean
+ */
+int parseBool(const char *str, int defaultValue)
+{
+    if (!str)
+        goto error_not_a_boolean;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "yes"))
+        return 1;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "true"))
+        return 1;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "on"))
+        return 1;
+    else if (!strcmp(str, "1"))
+        return 1;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "no"))
+        return 0;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "false"))
+        return 0;
+    else if (!strcasecmp(str, "off"))
+        return 0;
+    else if (!strcmp(str, "0"))
+        return 0;
+error_not_a_boolean:
+    qDebug() << str << "is not a boolean value";
+    return defaultValue;
+}
 
-    xml_save();
+// TODO: make this more bool-ish
+void setBool(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QString name, QString value)
+{
+    std::shared_ptr<Setting> setting = retrieve(settings, name);
+    if (setting == nullptr) {
+        qDebug() << "warning: no settings with name" << name;
+        return;
+    }
+    if (setting->valueType() != LAB_VALUE_TYPE_BOOL) {
+        qDebug() << "setBool(): not valid bool setting" << name << value;
+    }
+    int boolValue = parseBool(value.toStdString().c_str(), -1);
+    if (boolValue != std::get<int>(setting->value())) {
+        qDebug() << name << "has changed to" << value;
+        xml_set(name.toStdString().c_str(), value.toStdString().c_str());
+    }
 }
 
 void MainDialog::onApply()
 {
     /* ~/.config/labwc/rc.xml */
-    xml_set_num("/labwc_config/theme/cornerradius", ui->cornerRadius->value());
-    xml_set("/labwc_config/theme/name", ui->openboxTheme->currentText().toLatin1().data());
-    xml_set("/labwc_config/theme/dropShadows", ui->dropShadows->currentText().toLatin1().data());
-    xml_set("/labwc_config/theme/icon", ui->iconTheme->currentText().toLatin1().data());
-    xml_set("/labwc_config/libinput/device/naturalscroll",
+    setInt(m_settings, "/labwc_config/theme/cornerRadius", ui->cornerRadius->value());
+    setStr(m_settings, "/labwc_config/theme/name",
+           ui->openboxTheme->currentText().toLatin1().data());
+    setBool(m_settings, "/labwc_config/theme/dropShadows",
+            ui->dropShadows->currentText().toLatin1().data());
+    setStr(m_settings, "/labwc_config/theme/icon", ui->iconTheme->currentText().toLatin1().data());
+    setBool(m_settings, "/labwc_config/libinput/device/naturalScroll",
             ui->naturalScroll->currentText().toLatin1().data());
-    xml_set("/labwc_config/placement/policy", ui->placementPolicy->currentText().toLatin1().data());
+    setStr(m_settings, "/labwc_config/placement/policy",
+           ui->placementPolicy->currentText().toLatin1().data());
     xml_save();
 
     /* ~/.config/labwc/environment */
diff --git a/src/maindialog.h b/src/maindialog.h
index a78d22a..ffd7061 100644
--- a/src/maindialog.h
+++ b/src/maindialog.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define MAINDIALOG_H
 #include <QDialog>
 #include "layoutmodel.h"
+#include "settings.h"
 
 QT_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
 namespace Ui {
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ class MainDialog : public QDialog
     Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
-    MainDialog(QWidget *parent = nullptr);
+    MainDialog(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QWidget *parent = nullptr);
     ~MainDialog();
     void activate();
     QStringList findIconThemes();
@@ -25,8 +26,8 @@ private slots:
 
 private:
     LayoutModel *m_model;
+    std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &m_settings;
 
-    void initConfig(std::string &config_file);
     void onApply();
 
     Ui::MainDialog *ui;
diff --git a/src/settings.cpp b/src/settings.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3ae5a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/settings.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+#include <QDebug>
+#include <variant>
+#include "settings.h"
+
+extern "C" {
+#include "xml.h"
+}
+
+void initSettings(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings)
+{
+    // Appearance
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/theme/name", LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML,
+                                                 LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING, ""));
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/theme/cornerRadius",
+                                                 LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML, LAB_VALUE_TYPE_INT, 8));
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/theme/dropShadows",
+                                                 LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML, LAB_VALUE_TYPE_BOOL, 1));
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/theme/icon", LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML,
+                                                 LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING, ""));
+
+    // Behaviour
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/placement/policy",
+                                                 LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML, LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING,
+                                                 "Cascade"));
+
+    // Mouse & Touchpad
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("XCURSOR_THEME", LAB_FILE_TYPE_ENVIRONMENT,
+                                                 LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING, "Adwaita"));
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("XCURSOR_SIZE", LAB_FILE_TYPE_ENVIRONMENT,
+                                                 LAB_VALUE_TYPE_INT, 24));
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("/labwc_config/libinput/device/naturalScroll",
+                                                 LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML, LAB_VALUE_TYPE_BOOL, 0));
+
+    // Language
+    settings.push_back(std::make_shared<Setting>("XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT", LAB_FILE_TYPE_ENVIRONMENT,
+                                                 LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING, "us"));
+}
+
+Setting::Setting(QString name, enum settingFileType fileType, enum settingValueType valueType,
+                 std::variant<int, QString> defaultValue)
+    : m_name(name), m_fileType(fileType), m_valueType(valueType), m_value(defaultValue)
+{
+    m_valueOrigin = LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_DEFAULT;
+
+    if (m_fileType == LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML) {
+        switch (m_valueType) {
+        case LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING: {
+            QString value = QString(xml_get(m_name.toStdString().c_str()));
+            if (value != std::get<QString>(m_value)) {
+                m_valueOrigin = LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_USER_OVERRIDE;
+                m_value = value;
+                qDebug() << "USER OVERRIDE: " << m_name << "=" << value;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        case LAB_VALUE_TYPE_INT: {
+            int value = xml_get_int(m_name.toStdString().c_str());
+            if (value != std::get<int>(m_value)) {
+                m_valueOrigin = LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_USER_OVERRIDE;
+                m_value = value;
+                qDebug() << "USER OVERRIDE: " << m_name << "=" << value;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        case LAB_VALUE_TYPE_BOOL: {
+            int value = xml_get_bool_text(m_name.toStdString().c_str());
+            if (value != std::get<int>(m_value)) {
+                m_valueOrigin = LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_USER_OVERRIDE;
+                m_value = value;
+                qDebug() << "USER OVERRIDE: " << m_name << "=" << value;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+        default:
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+};
+
+std::shared_ptr<Setting> retrieve(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QString name)
+{
+    for (auto &setting : settings) {
+        if (name == setting->name()) {
+            return setting;
+        }
+    }
+    return nullptr;
+}
diff --git a/src/settings.h b/src/settings.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b81a0af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/settings.h
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#pragma once
+#include <memory>
+#include <vector>
+#include <QString>
+#include "settings.h"
+
+enum settingFileType {
+    LAB_FILE_TYPE_UNKNOWN = 0,
+    LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML,
+    LAB_FILE_TYPE_ENVIRONMENT,
+};
+
+enum settingValueOrigin {
+    LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_UNKNOWN = 0,
+    LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_DEFAULT,
+    LAB_VALUE_ORIGIN_USER_OVERRIDE,
+};
+
+enum settingValueType {
+    LAB_VALUE_TYPE_UNKNOWN = 0,
+    LAB_VALUE_TYPE_INT,
+    LAB_VALUE_TYPE_BOOL,
+    LAB_VALUE_TYPE_STRING,
+};
+
+static inline QString settingFileTypeName(enum settingFileType type)
+{
+    if (type == LAB_FILE_TYPE_RCXML)
+        return "rc.xml";
+    else if (type == LAB_FILE_TYPE_ENVIRONMENT)
+        return "environment";
+    return "unknown";
+}
+
+class Setting
+{
+public:
+    Setting(QString name, enum settingFileType fileType, enum settingValueType valueType,
+            std::variant<int, QString> defaultValue);
+
+private:
+    QString m_name;
+    enum settingFileType m_fileType;
+    enum settingValueOrigin m_valueOrigin;
+    enum settingValueType m_valueType;
+    std::variant<int, QString> m_value;
+
+public:
+    // Getters
+    QString name() const { return m_name; }
+    enum settingFileType fileType() const { return m_fileType; }
+    enum settingValueOrigin valueOrigin() const { return m_valueOrigin; }
+    enum settingValueType valueType() const { return m_valueType; }
+    std::variant<int, QString> value() const { return m_value; }
+};
+
+void initSettings(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings);
+
+std::shared_ptr<Setting> retrieve(std::vector<std::shared_ptr<Setting>> &settings, QString name);
+