diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/__init__.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/__init__.py
index 7d54871e7..937035fb2 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/__init__.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,12 @@
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from dataclasses import dataclass
-from typing import Any, Generic, Literal, TypeVar
+from functools import wraps
+from typing import Annotated, Any, Generic, Literal, TypeVar, get_type_hints
+
+from clan_cli.errors import ClanError
 
 T = TypeVar("T")
 
-
 ResponseDataType = TypeVar("ResponseDataType")
 
 
@@ -16,22 +18,55 @@ class ApiError:
 
 
 @dataclass
-class ApiResponse(Generic[ResponseDataType]):
-    status: Literal["success", "error"]
-    errors: list[ApiError] | None
-    data: ResponseDataType | None
+class SuccessDataClass(Generic[ResponseDataType]):
+    status: Annotated[Literal["success"], "The status of the response."]
+    data: ResponseDataType
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ErrorDataClass:
+    status: Literal["error"]
+    errors: list[ApiError]
+
+
+ApiResponse = SuccessDataClass[ResponseDataType] | ErrorDataClass
 
 
 class _MethodRegistry:
     def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self._orig: dict[str, Callable[[Any], Any]] = {}
         self._registry: dict[str, Callable[[Any], Any]] = {}
 
     def register(self, fn: Callable[..., T]) -> Callable[..., T]:
-        self._registry[fn.__name__] = fn
+        self._orig[fn.__name__] = fn
+
+        @wraps(fn)
+        def wrapper(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> ApiResponse[T]:
+            try:
+                data: T = fn(*args, **kwargs)
+                return SuccessDataClass(status="success", data=data)
+            except ClanError as e:
+                return ErrorDataClass(
+                    status="error",
+                    errors=[
+                        ApiError(
+                            message=e.msg,
+                            description=e.description,
+                            location=[fn.__name__, e.location],
+                        )
+                    ],
+                )
+
+        # @wraps preserves all metadata of fn
+        # we need to update the annotation, because our wrapper changes the return type
+        # This overrides the new return type annotation with the generic typeVar filled in
+        orig_return_type = get_type_hints(fn).get("return")
+        wrapper.__annotations__["return"] = ApiResponse[orig_return_type]  # type: ignore
+
+        self._registry[fn.__name__] = wrapper
         return fn
 
     def to_json_schema(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        # Import only when needed
         from typing import get_type_hints
 
         from clan_cli.api.util import type_to_dict
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/util.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/util.py
index 277a273e1..57e02a240 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/util.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/api/util.py
@@ -1,20 +1,92 @@
+import copy
 import dataclasses
 import pathlib
 from types import NoneType, UnionType
-from typing import Any, Union
+from typing import (
+    Annotated,
+    Any,
+    Literal,
+    TypeVar,
+    Union,
+    get_args,
+    get_origin,
+)
 
 
-def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "") -> dict:
+class JSchemaTypeError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+# Inspect the fields of the parameterized type
+def inspect_dataclass_fields(t: type) -> dict[TypeVar, type]:
+    """
+    Returns a map of type variables to actual types for a parameterized type.
+    """
+    origin = get_origin(t)
+    type_args = get_args(t)
+    if origin is None:
+        return {}
+
+    type_params = origin.__parameters__
+    # Create a map from type parameters to actual type arguments
+    type_map = dict(zip(type_params, type_args))
+
+    return type_map
+
+
+def apply_annotations(schema: dict[str, Any], annotations: list[Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """
+    Add metadata from typing.annotations to the json Schema.
+    The annotations can be a dict, a tuple, or a string and is directly applied to the schema as shown below.
+    No further validation is done, the caller is responsible for following json-schema.
+
+    Examples
+
+    ```python
+    # String annotation
+    Annotated[int, "This is an int"] -> {"type": "integer", "description": "This is an int"}
+
+    # Dict annotation
+    Annotated[int, {"minimum": 0, "maximum": 10}] -> {"type": "integer", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10}
+
+    # Tuple annotation
+    Annotated[int, ("minimum", 0)] -> {"type": "integer", "minimum": 0}
+    ```
+    """
+    for annotation in annotations:
+        if isinstance(annotation, dict):
+            # Assuming annotation is a dict that can directly apply to the schema
+            schema.update(annotation)
+        elif isinstance(annotation, tuple) and len(annotation) == 2:
+            # Assuming a tuple where first element is a keyword (like 'minLength') and the second is the value
+            schema[annotation[0]] = annotation[1]
+        elif isinstance(annotation, str):
+            # String annotations can be used for description
+            schema.update({"description": f"{annotation}"})
+    return schema
+
+
+def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "", type_map: dict[TypeVar, type] = {}) -> dict:
     if t is None:
         return {"type": "null"}
 
     if dataclasses.is_dataclass(t):
         fields = dataclasses.fields(t)
         properties = {
-            f.name: type_to_dict(f.type, f"{scope} {t.__name__}.{f.name}")
+            f.name: type_to_dict(f.type, f"{scope} {t.__name__}.{f.name}", type_map)
             for f in fields
         }
-        required = [pn for pn, pv in properties.items() if "null" not in pv["type"]]
+
+        required = []
+        for pn, pv in properties.items():
+            if pv.get("type") is not None:
+                if "null" not in pv["type"]:
+                    required.append(pn)
+
+            elif pv.get("oneOf") is not None:
+                if "null" not in [i["type"] for i in pv.get("oneOf", [])]:
+                    required.append(pn)
+
         return {
             "type": "object",
             "properties": properties,
@@ -22,24 +94,54 @@ def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "") -> dict:
             # Dataclasses can only have the specified properties
             "additionalProperties": False,
         }
+
     elif type(t) is UnionType:
         return {
-            "type": [type_to_dict(arg, scope)["type"] for arg in t.__args__],
+            "oneOf": [type_to_dict(arg, scope, type_map) for arg in t.__args__],
         }
 
+    if isinstance(t, TypeVar):
+        # if t is a TypeVar, look up the type in the type_map
+        # And return the resolved type instead of the TypeVar
+        resolved = type_map.get(t)
+        if not resolved:
+            raise JSchemaTypeError(
+                f"{scope} - TypeVar {t} not found in type_map, map: {type_map}"
+            )
+        return type_to_dict(type_map.get(t), scope, type_map)
+
     elif hasattr(t, "__origin__"):  # Check if it's a generic type
-        origin = getattr(t, "__origin__", None)
+        origin = get_origin(t)
+        args = get_args(t)
 
         if origin is None:
             # Non-generic user-defined or built-in type
             # TODO: handle custom types
-            raise BaseException("Unhandled Type: ", origin)
+            raise JSchemaTypeError("Unhandled Type: ", origin)
+
+        elif origin is Literal:
+            # Handle Literal values for enums in JSON Schema
+            return {
+                "type": "string",
+                "enum": list(args),  # assumes all args are strings
+            }
+
+        elif origin is Annotated:
+            base_type, *metadata = get_args(t)
+            schema = type_to_dict(base_type, scope)  # Generate schema for the base type
+            return apply_annotations(schema, metadata)
 
         elif origin is Union:
-            return {"type": [type_to_dict(arg, scope)["type"] for arg in t.__args__]}
+            union_types = [type_to_dict(arg, scope, type_map) for arg in t.__args__]
+            return {
+                "oneOf": union_types,
+            }
 
-        elif issubclass(origin, list):
-            return {"type": "array", "items": type_to_dict(t.__args__[0], scope)}
+        elif origin in {list, set, frozenset}:
+            return {
+                "type": "array",
+                "items": type_to_dict(t.__args__[0], scope, type_map),
+            }
 
         elif issubclass(origin, dict):
             value_type = t.__args__[1]
@@ -48,10 +150,19 @@ def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "") -> dict:
             else:
                 return {
                     "type": "object",
-                    "additionalProperties": type_to_dict(value_type, scope),
+                    "additionalProperties": type_to_dict(value_type, scope, type_map),
                 }
+        # Generic dataclass with type parameters
+        elif dataclasses.is_dataclass(origin):
+            # This behavior should mimic the scoping of typeVars in dataclasses
+            # Once type_to_dict() encounters a TypeVar, it will look up the type in the type_map
+            # When type_to_dict() returns the map goes out of scope.
+            # This behaves like a stack, where the type_map is pushed and popped as we traverse the dataclass fields
+            new_map = copy.deepcopy(type_map)
+            new_map.update(inspect_dataclass_fields(t))
+            return type_to_dict(origin, scope, new_map)
 
-        raise BaseException(f"Error api type not yet supported {t!s}")
+        raise JSchemaTypeError(f"Error api type not yet supported {t!s}")
 
     elif isinstance(t, type):
         if t is str:
@@ -65,7 +176,7 @@ def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "") -> dict:
         if t is object:
             return {"type": "object"}
         if t is Any:
-            raise BaseException(
+            raise JSchemaTypeError(
                 f"Usage of the Any type is not supported for API functions. In: {scope}"
             )
 
@@ -79,6 +190,6 @@ def type_to_dict(t: Any, scope: str = "") -> dict:
         if t is NoneType:
             return {"type": "null"}
 
-        raise BaseException(f"Error primitive type not supported {t!s}")
+        raise JSchemaTypeError(f"Error primitive type not supported {t!s}")
     else:
-        raise BaseException(f"Error type not supported {t!s}")
+        raise JSchemaTypeError(f"Error type not supported {t!s}")
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/errors.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/errors.py
index 0f01801ad..84c3957f5 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/errors.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/errors.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import shutil
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from math import floor
 from pathlib import Path
 
@@ -15,25 +16,17 @@ def text_heading(heading: str) -> str:
     return f"{'=' * filler} {heading} {'=' * filler}"
 
 
+@dataclass
 class CmdOut:
-    def __init__(
-        self,
-        stdout: str,
-        stderr: str,
-        cwd: Path,
-        command: str,
-        returncode: int,
-        msg: str | None,
-    ) -> None:
-        super().__init__()
-        self.stdout = stdout
-        self.stderr = stderr
-        self.cwd = cwd
-        self.command = command
-        self.returncode = returncode
-        self.msg = msg
+    stdout: str
+    stderr: str
+    cwd: Path
+    command: str
+    returncode: int
+    msg: str | None
 
-        self.error_str = f"""
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        error_str = f"""
 {text_heading(heading="Command")}
 {self.command}
 {text_heading(heading="Stderr")}
@@ -45,15 +38,30 @@ Message: {self.msg}
 Working Directory: '{self.cwd}'
 Return Code: {self.returncode}
         """
-
-    def __str__(self) -> str:
-        return self.error_str
+        return error_str
 
 
 class ClanError(Exception):
     """Base class for exceptions in this module."""
 
-    pass
+    description: str | None
+    location: str
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        msg: str | None = None,
+        *,
+        description: str | None = None,
+        location: str | None = None,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.description = description
+        self.location = location or "Unknown location"
+        self.msg = msg or ""
+        if self.description:
+            exception_msg = f"{self.location}: {self.msg} - {self.description}"
+        else:
+            exception_msg = f"{self.location}: {self.msg}"
+        super().__init__(exception_msg)
 
 
 class ClanHttpError(ClanError):
diff --git a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/flakes/create.py b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/flakes/create.py
index d8aba488a..e698a5ef7 100644
--- a/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/flakes/create.py
+++ b/pkgs/clan-cli/clan_cli/flakes/create.py
@@ -1,66 +1,90 @@
 # !/usr/bin/env python3
 import argparse
+from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path
 
+from clan_cli.api import API
+
 from ..cmd import CmdOut, run
 from ..errors import ClanError
 from ..nix import nix_command, nix_shell
 
-DEFAULT_URL: str = "git+https://git.clan.lol/clan/clan-core"
+DEFAULT_TEMPLATE_URL: str = "git+https://git.clan.lol/clan/clan-core"
 
 
-def create_flake(directory: Path, url: str) -> dict[str, CmdOut]:
+@dataclass
+class CreateClanResponse:
+    git_init: CmdOut
+    git_add: CmdOut
+    git_config: CmdOut
+    flake_update: CmdOut
+
+
+@API.register
+def create_clan(directory: Path, template_url: str) -> CreateClanResponse:
     if not directory.exists():
         directory.mkdir()
     else:
-        raise ClanError(f"Flake at '{directory}' already exists")
-    response = {}
+        raise ClanError(
+            location=f"{directory.resolve()}",
+            msg="Cannot create clan",
+            description="Directory already exists",
+        )
+
+    cmd_responses = {}
     command = nix_command(
         [
             "flake",
             "init",
             "-t",
-            url,
+            template_url,
         ]
     )
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
 
     command = nix_shell(["nixpkgs#git"], ["git", "init"])
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
-    response["git init"] = out
+    cmd_responses["git init"] = out
 
     command = nix_shell(["nixpkgs#git"], ["git", "add", "."])
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
-    response["git add"] = out
+    cmd_responses["git add"] = out
 
     command = nix_shell(["nixpkgs#git"], ["git", "config", "user.name", "clan-tool"])
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
-    response["git config"] = out
+    cmd_responses["git config"] = out
 
     command = nix_shell(
         ["nixpkgs#git"], ["git", "config", "user.email", "clan@example.com"]
     )
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
-    response["git config"] = out
+    cmd_responses["git config"] = out
 
     command = ["nix", "flake", "update"]
     out = run(command, cwd=directory)
-    response["flake update"] = out
+    cmd_responses["flake update"] = out
 
+    response = CreateClanResponse(
+        git_init=cmd_responses["git init"],
+        git_add=cmd_responses["git add"],
+        git_config=cmd_responses["git config"],
+        flake_update=cmd_responses["flake update"],
+    )
     return response
 
 
-def create_flake_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
-    create_flake(args.path, args.url)
-
-
-# takes a (sub)parser and configures it
 def register_create_parser(parser: argparse.ArgumentParser) -> None:
     parser.add_argument(
         "--url",
         type=str,
-        help="url for the flake",
-        default=DEFAULT_URL,
+        help="url to the clan template",
+        default=DEFAULT_TEMPLATE_URL,
     )
-    parser.add_argument("path", type=Path, help="Path to the flake", default=Path("."))
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "path", type=Path, help="Path to the clan directory", default=Path(".")
+    )
+
+    def create_flake_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
+        create_clan(args.path, args.url)
+
     parser.set_defaults(func=create_flake_command)
diff --git a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/Config.tsx b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/Config.tsx
index e737c1338..cc1ac0ce8 100644
--- a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/Config.tsx
+++ b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/Config.tsx
@@ -8,9 +8,8 @@ import {
 import { OperationResponse, pyApi } from "./message";
 
 export const makeCountContext = () => {
-  const [machines, setMachines] = createSignal<
-    OperationResponse<"list_machines">
-  >([]);
+  const [machines, setMachines] =
+    createSignal<OperationResponse<"list_machines">>();
   const [loading, setLoading] = createSignal(false);
 
   pyApi.list_machines.receive((machines) => {
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@ export const CountContext = createContext<CountContextType>([
     loading: () => false,
 
     // eslint-disable-next-line
-    machines: () => ([]),
+    machines: () => undefined,
   },
   {
     // eslint-disable-next-line
diff --git a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/message.ts b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/message.ts
index e376d09ac..15f5616ff 100644
--- a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/message.ts
+++ b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/message.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,12 @@ const deserialize =
 // Create the API object
 
 const pyApi: PyApi = {} as PyApi;
+
+pyApi.create_clan.receive((r) => {
+  if (r.status === "success") {
+    r.status;
+  }
+});
 operationNames.forEach((opName) => {
   const name = opName as OperationNames;
   // @ts-expect-error - TODO: Fix this. Typescript is not recognizing the receive function correctly
diff --git a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/routes/machines/view.tsx b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/routes/machines/view.tsx
index dff0e5dc3..bb2acab5f 100644
--- a/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/routes/machines/view.tsx
+++ b/pkgs/webview-ui/app/src/routes/machines/view.tsx
@@ -1,13 +1,30 @@
-import { For, Match, Switch, createEffect, type Component } from "solid-js";
+import {
+  For,
+  Match,
+  Switch,
+  createEffect,
+  createSignal,
+  type Component,
+} from "solid-js";
 import { useCountContext } from "../../Config";
 import { route } from "@/src/App";
 
 export const MachineListView: Component = () => {
   const [{ machines, loading }, { getMachines }] = useCountContext();
 
+  const [data, setData] = createSignal<string[]>([]);
   createEffect(() => {
     if (route() === "machines") getMachines();
   });
+
+  createEffect(() => {
+    const response = machines();
+    if (response?.status === "success") {
+      console.log(response.data);
+      setData(response.data);
+    }
+  });
+
   return (
     <div class="max-w-screen-lg">
       <div class="tooltip" data-tip="Refresh ">
@@ -32,12 +49,12 @@ export const MachineListView: Component = () => {
             </div>
           </div>
         </Match>
-        <Match when={!loading() && machines().length === 0}>
+        <Match when={!loading() && data().length === 0}>
           No machines found
         </Match>
         <Match when={!loading()}>
           <ul>
-            <For each={machines()}>
+            <For each={data()}>
               {(entry) => (
                 <li>
                   <div class="card card-side m-2 bg-base-100 shadow-lg">