diff --git a/checks/impure/flake-module.nix b/checks/impure/flake-module.nix
index 9add525bf..d8018061b 100644
--- a/checks/impure/flake-module.nix
+++ b/checks/impure/flake-module.nix
@@ -5,9 +5,13 @@
         check-clan-template = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "check-clan-template" ''
           #!${pkgs.bash}/bin/bash
           set -euo pipefail
+
           export TMPDIR=$(${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/mktemp -d)
           trap "${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/chmod -R +w '$TMPDIR'; ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/rm -rf '$TMPDIR'" EXIT
+
           export PATH="${lib.makeBinPath [
+            pkgs.coreutils
+            pkgs.curl
             pkgs.gitMinimal
             pkgs.gnugrep
             pkgs.jq
@@ -35,6 +39,9 @@
 
           echo check machine1 appears in nixosConfigurations
           nix flake show --json | jq '.nixosConfigurations' | grep -q machine1
+
+          echo check machine1 jsonschema can be evaluated
+          nix eval .#nixosConfigurations.machine1.config.clanSchema
         '';
       };
     in
diff --git a/lib/build-clan/default.nix b/lib/build-clan/default.nix
index 4da48dafd..6539a366c 100644
--- a/lib/build-clan/default.nix
+++ b/lib/build-clan/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ nixpkgs, clan, lib }:
+{ nixpkgs, self, lib }:
 { directory  # The directory containing the machines subdirectory
 , specialArgs ? { } # Extra arguments to pass to nixosSystem i.e. useful to make self available
 , machines ? { } # allows to include machine-specific modules i.e. machines.${name} = { ... }
@@ -18,9 +18,12 @@ let
     (name: _:
       nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
         modules = [
-          clan.nixosModules.clanCore
+          self.nixosModules.clanCore
           (machineSettings name)
           (machines.${name} or { })
+          { clanCore.clanDir = directory; }
+          # TODO: remove this once we have a hardware-config mechanism
+          { nixpkgs.hostPlatform = lib.mkDefault "x86_64-linux"; }
         ];
         specialArgs = specialArgs;
       })
diff --git a/lib/default.nix b/lib/default.nix
index 89ac0cc3f..dcd09edb7 100644
--- a/lib/default.nix
+++ b/lib/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ lib, clan, nixpkgs, ... }:
+{ lib, self, nixpkgs, ... }:
 {
   findNixFiles = folder:
     lib.mapAttrs'
@@ -14,5 +14,5 @@
 
   jsonschema = import ./jsonschema { inherit lib; };
 
-  buildClan = import ./build-clan { inherit lib clan nixpkgs; };
+  buildClan = import ./build-clan { inherit lib self nixpkgs; };
 }
diff --git a/lib/flake-module.nix b/lib/flake-module.nix
index 13855fbc6..1062e92c1 100644
--- a/lib/flake-module.nix
+++ b/lib/flake-module.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 { lib
 , inputs
+, self
 , ...
 }: {
   imports = [
@@ -7,6 +8,7 @@
   ];
   flake.lib = import ./default.nix {
     inherit lib;
-    inherit (inputs) nixpkgs clan;
+    inherit self;
+    inherit (inputs) nixpkgs;
   };
 }
diff --git a/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix b/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
index da8fa0e63..437f54874 100644
--- a/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
+++ b/nixosModules/clanCore/flake-module.nix
@@ -1,8 +1,18 @@
 { self, inputs, lib, ... }: {
-  flake.nixosModules.clanCore = { pkgs, ... }: {
+  flake.nixosModules.clanCore = { pkgs, options, ... }: {
+    imports = [
+      ./secrets
+      ./zerotier.nix
+      inputs.sops-nix.nixosModules.sops
+    ];
+    options.clanSchema = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.attrs;
+      description = "The json schema for the .clan options namespace";
+      default = self.lib.jsonschema.parseOptions options.clan;
+    };
     options.clanCore = {
       clanDir = lib.mkOption {
-        type = lib.types.str;
+        type = lib.types.either lib.types.path lib.types.str;
         description = ''
           the location of the flake repo, used to calculate the location of facts and secrets
         '';
@@ -23,10 +33,5 @@
         utility outputs for clan management of this machine
       '';
     };
-    imports = [
-      ./secrets
-      ./zerotier.nix
-      inputs.sops-nix.nixosModules.sops
-    ];
   };
 }
diff --git a/nixosModules/clanCore/secrets/sops.nix b/nixosModules/clanCore/secrets/sops.nix
index 7df0b31d2..2c1042f98 100644
--- a/nixosModules/clanCore/secrets/sops.nix
+++ b/nixosModules/clanCore/secrets/sops.nix
@@ -45,13 +45,17 @@
     '';
     sops.secrets =
       let
+        secretsDir = config.clanCore.clanDir + "/sops/secrets";
         encryptedForThisMachine = name: type:
           let
-            symlink = config.clanCore.clanDir + "/sops/secrets/${name}/machines/${config.clanCore.machineName}";
+            symlink = secretsDir + "/${name}/machines/${config.clanCore.machineName}";
           in
           # WTF, nix bug, my symlink is in the nixos module detected as a directory also it works in the repl
           type == "directory" && (builtins.readFileType symlink == "directory" || builtins.readFileType symlink == "symlink");
-        secrets = lib.filterAttrs encryptedForThisMachine (builtins.readDir (config.clanCore.clanDir + "/sops/secrets"));
+        secrets =
+          if !builtins.pathExists secretsDir
+          then { }
+          else lib.filterAttrs encryptedForThisMachine (builtins.readDir secretsDir);
       in
       builtins.mapAttrs
         (name: _: {
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/create.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/create.py
index adc1ee9fa..54b70705a 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/create.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/create.py
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ from .folders import machine_folder
 def create_machine(name: str) -> None:
     folder = machine_folder(name)
     folder.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    # create empty settings.json file inside the folder
+    with open(folder / "settings.json", "w") as f:
+        f.write("{}")
 
 
 def create_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/delete.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/delete.py
index 20dc3c087..6fd5cf6ec 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/delete.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/machines/delete.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import argparse
+import shutil
 
 from ..errors import ClanError
 from .folders import machine_folder
@@ -7,7 +8,7 @@ from .folders import machine_folder
 def delete_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     folder = machine_folder(args.host)
     if folder.exists():
-        folder.rmdir()
+        shutil.rmtree(folder)
     else:
         raise ClanError(f"Machine {args.host} does not exist")