diff --git a/importer/exporter.c b/importer/exporter.c
index 77a1a6e..bf0c73f 100644
--- a/importer/exporter.c
+++ b/importer/exporter.c
@@ -38,31 +38,43 @@ int ipfs_exporter_to_file(const unsigned char* hash, const char* file_name, cons
 		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
 		return 0;
 	}
-	size_t bytes_written = fwrite(read_node->data, 1, read_node->data_size, file);
-	if (bytes_written != read_node->data_size) {
-		fclose(file);
-		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
-		return 0;
-	}
-	struct NodeLink* link = read_node->head_link;
-	struct Node* link_node = NULL;
-	while (link != NULL) {
-		if ( ipfs_merkledag_get(link->hash, link->hash_size, &link_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
-			fclose(file);
-			ipfs_node_free(read_node);
-			return 0;
-		}
-		bytes_written = fwrite(link_node->data, 1, link_node->data_size, file);
-		if (bytes_written != link_node->data_size) {
-			ipfs_node_free(link_node);
-			fclose(file);
-			ipfs_node_free(read_node);
-			return 0;
-		}
-		ipfs_node_free(link_node);
-		link = link->next;
-	}
 
+	if (read_node->head_link == NULL) {
+		// convert the node's data into a UnixFS data block
+		struct UnixFS* unix_fs;
+		ipfs_unixfs_protobuf_decode(read_node->data, read_node->data_size, &unix_fs);
+		size_t bytes_written = fwrite(unix_fs->bytes, 1, unix_fs->bytes_size, file);
+		if (bytes_written != unix_fs->bytes_size) {
+			fclose(file);
+			ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+			ipfs_unixfs_free(unix_fs);
+			return 0;
+		}
+		ipfs_unixfs_free(unix_fs);
+	} else {
+		struct NodeLink* link = read_node->head_link;
+		struct Node* link_node = NULL;
+		while (link != NULL) {
+			if ( ipfs_merkledag_get(link->hash, link->hash_size, &link_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
+				fclose(file);
+				ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+				return 0;
+			}
+			struct UnixFS* unix_fs;
+			ipfs_unixfs_protobuf_decode(link_node->data, link_node->data_size, &unix_fs);
+			size_t bytes_written = fwrite(unix_fs->bytes, 1, unix_fs->bytes_size, file);
+			if (bytes_written != unix_fs->bytes_size) {
+				ipfs_node_free(link_node);
+				fclose(file);
+				ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+				ipfs_unixfs_free(unix_fs);
+				return 0;
+			}
+			ipfs_node_free(link_node);
+			ipfs_unixfs_free(unix_fs);
+			link = link->next;
+		}
+	}
 	fclose(file);
 
 	if (read_node != NULL)
diff --git a/importer/importer.c b/importer/importer.c
index 02daf4f..04ea505 100644
--- a/importer/importer.c
+++ b/importer/importer.c
@@ -178,11 +178,15 @@ int ipfs_import_print_node_results(const struct Node* node, const char* file_nam
 /**
  * Creates a node based on an incoming file or directory
  * NOTE: this can be called recursively for directories
+ * @param root_dir the directory for where to look for the file
  * @param file_name the file (or directory) to import
  * @param parent_node the root node (has links to others in case this is a large file and is split)
+ * @param fs_repo the ipfs repository
+ * @param bytes_written number of bytes written to disk
+ * @param recursive true if we should navigate directories
  * @returns true(1) on success
  */
-int ipfs_import_file(const char* root_dir, const char* fileName, struct Node** parent_node, struct FSRepo* fs_repo, size_t* bytes_written) {
+int ipfs_import_file(const char* root_dir, const char* fileName, struct Node** parent_node, struct FSRepo* fs_repo, size_t* bytes_written, int recursive) {
 	/**
 	 * NOTE: When this function completes, parent_node will be either:
 	 * 1) the complete file, in the case of a small file (<256k-ish)
@@ -194,44 +198,76 @@ int ipfs_import_file(const char* root_dir, const char* fileName, struct Node** p
 	size_t total_size = 0;
 
 	if (os_utils_is_directory(fileName)) {
+		// calculate the new root_dir
+		char* new_root_dir = (char*)root_dir;
+		char* path = NULL;
+		char* file = NULL;
+		os_utils_split_filename(fileName, &path, &file);
+		if (root_dir == NULL) {
+			new_root_dir = file;
+		} else {
+			free(path);
+			path = malloc(strlen(root_dir) + strlen(file) + 2);
+			os_utils_filepath_join(root_dir, file, path, strlen(root_dir) + strlen(file) + 2);
+			new_root_dir = path;
+		}
 		// initialize parent_node as a directory
-		if (ipfs_node_create_directory(parent_node) == 0)
+		if (ipfs_node_create_directory(parent_node) == 0) {
+			if (path != NULL)
+				free(path);
+			if (file != NULL)
+				free(file);
 			return 0;
+		}
 		// get list of files
 		struct FileList* first = os_utils_list_directory(fileName);
 		struct FileList* next = first;
-		while (next != NULL) {
-			// process each file. NOTE: could be an embedded directory
-			*bytes_written = 0;
-			struct Node* file_node;
-			size_t filename_len = strlen(fileName) + strlen(next->file_name) + 2;
-			char full_file_name[filename_len];
-			os_utils_filepath_join(fileName, next->file_name, full_file_name, filename_len);
-			if (ipfs_import_file(root_dir, full_file_name, &file_node, fs_repo, bytes_written) == 0) {
-				ipfs_node_free(*parent_node);
-				os_utils_free_file_list(first);
-				return 0;
-			}
-			// TODO: probably need to display what was imported
-			int len = strlen(next->file_name) + strlen(root_dir) + 2;
-			char full_path[len];
-			os_utils_filepath_join(root_dir, next->file_name, full_path, len);
-			ipfs_import_print_node_results(file_node, full_path);
-			// TODO: Determine what needs to be done if this file_node is a file, a split file, or a directory
-			// Create link from file_node
-			struct NodeLink* file_node_link;
-			ipfs_node_link_create(next->file_name, file_node->hash, file_node->hash_size, &file_node_link);
-			file_node_link->t_size = *bytes_written;
-			// add file_node as link to parent_node
-			ipfs_node_add_link(*parent_node, file_node_link);
-			// clean up file_node
-			ipfs_node_free(file_node);
-			// move to next file in list
-			next = next->next;
-		} // while going through files
+		if (recursive) {
+			while (next != NULL) {
+				// process each file. NOTE: could be an embedded directory
+				*bytes_written = 0;
+				struct Node* file_node;
+				// put the filename together from fileName, which is the directory, and next->file_name
+				// which is a file (or a directory) within the directory we just found.
+				size_t filename_len = strlen(fileName) + strlen(next->file_name) + 2;
+				char full_file_name[filename_len];
+				os_utils_filepath_join(fileName, next->file_name, full_file_name, filename_len);
+				// adjust root directory
+
+				if (ipfs_import_file(new_root_dir, full_file_name, &file_node, fs_repo, bytes_written, recursive) == 0) {
+					ipfs_node_free(*parent_node);
+					os_utils_free_file_list(first);
+					if (file != NULL)
+						free(file);
+					if (path != NULL)
+						free (path);
+					return 0;
+				}
+				// TODO: probably need to display what was imported
+				int len = strlen(next->file_name) + strlen(new_root_dir) + 2;
+				char full_path[len];
+				os_utils_filepath_join(new_root_dir, next->file_name, full_path, len);
+				ipfs_import_print_node_results(file_node, full_path);
+				// TODO: Determine what needs to be done if this file_node is a file, a split file, or a directory
+				// Create link from file_node
+				struct NodeLink* file_node_link;
+				ipfs_node_link_create(next->file_name, file_node->hash, file_node->hash_size, &file_node_link);
+				file_node_link->t_size = *bytes_written;
+				// add file_node as link to parent_node
+				ipfs_node_add_link(*parent_node, file_node_link);
+				// clean up file_node
+				ipfs_node_free(file_node);
+				// move to next file in list
+				next = next->next;
+			} // while going through files
+		}
 		// save the parent_node (the directory)
 		size_t bytes_written;
 		ipfs_merkledag_add(*parent_node, fs_repo, &bytes_written);
+		if (file != NULL)
+			free(file);
+		if (path != NULL)
+			free (path);
 	} else {
 		// process this file
 		FILE* file = fopen(fileName, "rb");
@@ -304,7 +340,7 @@ int ipfs_import_files(int argc, char** argv) {
 		char* filename;
 		os_utils_split_filename(current->file_name, &path, &filename);
 		size_t bytes_written = 0;
-		retVal = ipfs_import_file(filename, current->file_name, &directory_entry, fs_repo, &bytes_written);
+		retVal = ipfs_import_file(NULL, current->file_name, &directory_entry, fs_repo, &bytes_written, recursive);
 
 		ipfs_import_print_node_results(directory_entry, filename);
 		// cleanup
diff --git a/include/ipfs/importer/importer.h b/include/ipfs/importer/importer.h
index 3b4b0e9..dd1f2a3 100644
--- a/include/ipfs/importer/importer.h
+++ b/include/ipfs/importer/importer.h
@@ -6,11 +6,15 @@
 
 /**
  * Creates a node based on an incoming file
- * @param file_name the file to import
+ * @param root the root directory
+ * @param file_name the file to import (could contain a directory)
  * @param node the root node (could have links to others)
+ * @param fs_repo the repo to use
+ * @param bytes_written the number of bytes written to disk
+ * @param recursive true(1) if you want to include files and directories
  * @returns true(1) on success
  */
-int ipfs_import_file(const char* root, const char* fileName, struct Node** node, struct FSRepo* fs_repo, size_t* bytes_written);
+int ipfs_import_file(const char* root, const char* fileName, struct Node** node, struct FSRepo* fs_repo, size_t* bytes_written, int recursive);
 
 /**
  * called from the command line
diff --git a/include/ipfs/os/utils.h b/include/ipfs/os/utils.h
index 2753ced..214a741 100644
--- a/include/ipfs/os/utils.h
+++ b/include/ipfs/os/utils.h
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ int os_utils_split_filename(const char* in, char** path, char** filename);
  * @returns the results
  */
 char* os_utils_getenv(const char* variable);
-
+int os_utils_setenv(const char* variable, const char* value, int overwrite);
 /**
  * get the user's home directory
  * @returns the user's home directory
diff --git a/merkledag/merkledag.c b/merkledag/merkledag.c
index cf3db22..fd2fdec 100644
--- a/merkledag/merkledag.c
+++ b/merkledag/merkledag.c
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ int ipfs_merkledag_get(const unsigned char* hash, size_t hash_size, struct Node*
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	// set the hash
+	ipfs_node_set_hash(*node, hash, hash_size);
+
 	return 1;
 }
 
diff --git a/os/utils.c b/os/utils.c
index 93c5f80..a65d2e7 100644
--- a/os/utils.c
+++ b/os/utils.c
@@ -17,6 +17,17 @@ char* os_utils_getenv(const char* variable) {
 	return getenv(variable);
 }
 
+/**
+ * set an environment variable in the os
+ * @param variable the variable to set
+ * @param value the value to assign to the variable
+ * @param overwrite passing a non-zero will allow an existing value to be overwritten
+ * @returns true(1) on success
+ */
+int os_utils_setenv(const char* variable, const char* value, int overwrite) {
+	return setenv(variable, value, overwrite);
+}
+
 /**
  * returns the user's home directory
  * @returns the home directory
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.c b/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.c
index c615104..57f901a 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.c
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.c
@@ -116,15 +116,27 @@ int ipfs_repo_fsrepo_new(const char* repo_path, struct RepoConfig* config, struc
 
 	if (repo_path == NULL) {
 		// get the user's home directory
-		char* home_dir = os_utils_get_homedir();
+		char* ipfs_path = os_utils_getenv("IPFS_PATH");
+		if (ipfs_path == NULL)
+			ipfs_path = os_utils_get_homedir();
 		char* default_subdir = "/.ipfs";
-		unsigned long newPathLen = strlen(home_dir) + strlen(default_subdir) + 2;  // 1 for slash and 1 for end
+		unsigned long newPathLen = 0;
+		if (strstr(ipfs_path, default_subdir) != NULL) {
+			newPathLen = strlen(ipfs_path) + 1;
+		} else {
+			// add /.ipfs to the string
+			newPathLen = strlen(ipfs_path) + strlen(default_subdir) + 2;  // 1 for slash and 1 for end
+		}
 		(*repo)->path = malloc(sizeof(char) * newPathLen);
 		if ((*repo)->path == NULL) {
 			free( (*repo));
 			return 0;
 		}
-		os_utils_filepath_join(os_utils_get_homedir(), default_subdir, (*repo)->path, newPathLen);
+		if (strstr(ipfs_path, default_subdir) != NULL) {
+			strcpy((*repo)->path, ipfs_path);
+		} else {
+			os_utils_filepath_join(os_utils_get_homedir(), default_subdir, (*repo)->path, newPathLen);
+		}
 	} else {
 		int len = strlen(repo_path) + 1;
 		(*repo)->path = (char*)malloc(len);
diff --git a/repo/init.c b/repo/init.c
index dce7587..a3c4b34 100644
--- a/repo/init.c
+++ b/repo/init.c
@@ -52,10 +52,16 @@ int make_ipfs_repository(const char* path) {
  * Initialize a repository
  */
 int ipfs_repo_init(int argc, char** argv) {
+	// the default is the user's home directory
 	char* home_directory = os_utils_get_homedir();
 	//allow user to pass directory on command line
 	if (argc > 2) {
 		home_directory = argv[2];
+	} else {
+		// check the IPFS_PATH
+		char* temp = os_utils_getenv("IPFS_PATH");
+		if (temp != NULL)
+			home_directory = temp;
 	}
 	// get the full path
 	int dir_len = strlen(home_directory) + 7;
diff --git a/test/node/test_importer.h b/test/node/test_importer.h
index 5a5f3f2..35b34ea 100644
--- a/test/node/test_importer.h
+++ b/test/node/test_importer.h
@@ -46,13 +46,13 @@ int test_import_large_file() {
 	// write to ipfs
 	struct Node* write_node;
 	size_t bytes_written;
-	if (ipfs_import_file("/tmp", fileName, &write_node, fs_repo, &bytes_written) == 0) {
+	if (ipfs_import_file("/tmp", fileName, &write_node, fs_repo, &bytes_written, 1) == 0) {
 		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
 		return 0;
 	}
 
 	// cid should be the same each time
-	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0x2c ,0x8e ,0x20 ,0x1b, 0xc7, 0xcc, 0x4d, 0x8f, 0x7e, 0x77 };
+	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0xc1 ,0x69 ,0x68 ,0x22, 0xfa, 0x47, 0x16, 0xe2, 0x41, 0xa1 };
 
 	/*
 	for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
@@ -195,13 +195,13 @@ int test_import_small_file() {
 	// write to ipfs
 	struct Node* write_node;
 	size_t bytes_written;
-	if (ipfs_import_file("/tmp", fileName, &write_node, fs_repo, &bytes_written) == 0) {
+	if (ipfs_import_file("/tmp", fileName, &write_node, fs_repo, &bytes_written, 1) == 0) {
 		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
 		return 0;
 	}
 
 	// cid should be the same each time
-	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0x94, 0x4f, 0x39, 0xa0, 0x33, 0x5d, 0x7f, 0xf2, 0xcd, 0x66 };
+	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0x1e, 0xcf, 0x04, 0xce, 0x6a, 0xe8, 0xbf, 0xc0, 0xeb, 0xe4 };
 
 	/*
 	for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ int test_import_small_file() {
 	}
 
 	// compare data
-	if (write_node->data_size != bytes_size || write_node->data_size != read_node->data_size) {
+	if (write_node->data_size != bytes_size + 8 || write_node->data_size != read_node->data_size) {
 		printf("Data size of nodes are not equal or are incorrect. Should be %lu but are %lu\n", write_node->data_size, read_node->data_size);
 		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
 		ipfs_node_free(write_node);
diff --git a/test/node/test_resolver.h b/test/node/test_resolver.h
index f9fcd90..787a64d 100644
--- a/test/node/test_resolver.h
+++ b/test/node/test_resolver.h
@@ -1,19 +1,24 @@
 #include "ipfs/importer/resolver.h"
+#include "ipfs/os/utils.h"
 
 int test_resolver_get() {
 	// clean out repository
-	drop_and_build_repository("/Users/JohnJones/.ipfs");
+	const char* ipfs_path = "/tmp/.ipfs";
+	os_utils_setenv("IPFS_PATH", ipfs_path, 1);
 
-	int argc = 3;
+	drop_and_build_repository(ipfs_path);
+
+	int argc = 4;
 	char* argv[argc];
 	argv[0] = "ipfs";
 	argv[1] = "add";
-	argv[2] = "/Users/JohnJones/ipfstest";
+	argv[2] = "-r";
+	argv[3] = "/Users/JohnJones/ipfstest";
 
 	ipfs_import_files(argc, (char**)argv);
 
 	struct FSRepo* fs_repo;
-	ipfs_repo_fsrepo_new("/Users/JohnJones/.ipfs", NULL, &fs_repo);
+	ipfs_repo_fsrepo_new(ipfs_path, NULL, &fs_repo);
 	ipfs_repo_fsrepo_open(fs_repo);
 
 	// find something that is already in the repository
@@ -25,7 +30,7 @@ int test_resolver_get() {
 	ipfs_node_free(result);
 
 	// find something by path
-	result = ipfs_resolver_get("/ipfs/QmWKtXwRg4oL2KaXhvJ3KyGjFE2PVKREwu7qb65V7ficui/hello_world.txt", NULL, fs_repo);
+	result = ipfs_resolver_get("/ipfs/QmZBvycPAYScBoPEzm35zXHt6gYYV5t9PyWmr4sksLPNFS/hello_world.txt", NULL, fs_repo);
 	if (result == NULL) {
 		return 0;
 	}
diff --git a/test/repo/test_repo_config.h b/test/repo/test_repo_config.h
index 52ead48..98f4a36 100644
--- a/test/repo/test_repo_config.h
+++ b/test/repo/test_repo_config.h
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #ifndef test_repo_config_h
 #define test_repo_config_h
-
+#include <sys/stat.h>
 #include "ipfs/repo/config/config.h"
 #include "ipfs/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.h"
 #include "ipfs/os/utils.h"
@@ -63,6 +63,10 @@ int test_repo_config_init() {
  * test the writing of the config file
  */
 int test_repo_config_write() {
+	// make sure the directory is there
+	if (!os_utils_file_exists("/tmp/.ipfs")) {
+		mkdir("/tmp/.ipfs", S_IRWXU);
+	}
 	// first delete the existing one
 	unlink("/tmp/.ipfs/config");
 	
diff --git a/test/storage/test_unixfs.h b/test/storage/test_unixfs.h
index 1ea4357..89ca69b 100644
--- a/test/storage/test_unixfs.h
+++ b/test/storage/test_unixfs.h
@@ -65,8 +65,7 @@ int test_unixfs_encode_smallfile() {
 			0x74, 0x68, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x20,
 			0x48, 0x65, 0x6c, 0x6c, 0x6f,
 			0x57, 0x65, 0x72, 0x6c, 0x64,
-			0x2e, 0x74, 0x78, 0x74, 0x0a,
-			0x18, 0x23
+			0x2e, 0x74, 0x78, 0x74, 0x0a
 	};
 
 	unixfs->bytes = (unsigned char*)malloc(35);
@@ -81,7 +80,7 @@ int test_unixfs_encode_smallfile() {
 
 	int retVal = 1;
 
-	if (bytes_written != 41) {
+	if (bytes_written != 39) {
 		printf("Length should be %lu, but is %lu\n", 41LU, bytes_written);
 		retVal = 0;
 	}