diff --git a/cmd/dendrite/main.go b/cmd/dendrite/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..66eb88f87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/dendrite/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+// Copyright 2017 Vector Creations Ltd
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"flag"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/getsentry/sentry-go"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/caching"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/httputil"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/internal/sqlutil"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/jetstream"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/process"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/gomatrixserverlib/fclient"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/appservice"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/federationapi"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/roomserver"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup"
+	basepkg "github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/base"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/config"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/setup/mscs"
+	"github.com/matrix-org/dendrite/userapi"
+)
+
+var (
+	unixSocket = flag.String("unix-socket", "",
+		"EXPERIMENTAL(unstable): The HTTP listening unix socket for the server (disables http[s]-bind-address feature)",
+	)
+	unixSocketPermission = flag.String("unix-socket-permission", "755",
+		"EXPERIMENTAL(unstable): The HTTP listening unix socket permission for the server (in chmod format like 755)",
+	)
+	httpBindAddr  = flag.String("http-bind-address", ":8008", "The HTTP listening port for the server")
+	httpsBindAddr = flag.String("https-bind-address", ":8448", "The HTTPS listening port for the server")
+	certFile      = flag.String("tls-cert", "", "The PEM formatted X509 certificate to use for TLS")
+	keyFile       = flag.String("tls-key", "", "The PEM private key to use for TLS")
+)
+
+func main() {
+	cfg := setup.ParseFlags(true)
+	httpAddr := config.ServerAddress{}
+	httpsAddr := config.ServerAddress{}
+	if *unixSocket == "" {
+		http, err := config.HTTPAddress("http://" + *httpBindAddr)
+		if err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Fatalf("Failed to parse http address")
+		}
+		httpAddr = http
+		https, err := config.HTTPAddress("https://" + *httpsBindAddr)
+		if err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Fatalf("Failed to parse https address")
+		}
+		httpsAddr = https
+	} else {
+		socket, err := config.UnixSocketAddress(*unixSocket, *unixSocketPermission)
+		if err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Fatalf("Failed to parse unix socket")
+		}
+		httpAddr = socket
+	}
+
+	configErrors := &config.ConfigErrors{}
+	cfg.Verify(configErrors)
+	if len(*configErrors) > 0 {
+		for _, err := range *configErrors {
+			logrus.Errorf("Configuration error: %s", err)
+		}
+		logrus.Fatalf("Failed to start due to configuration errors")
+	}
+	processCtx := process.NewProcessContext()
+
+	internal.SetupStdLogging()
+	internal.SetupHookLogging(cfg.Logging)
+	internal.SetupPprof()
+
+	basepkg.PlatformSanityChecks()
+
+	logrus.Infof("Dendrite version %s", internal.VersionString())
+	if !cfg.ClientAPI.RegistrationDisabled && cfg.ClientAPI.OpenRegistrationWithoutVerificationEnabled {
+		logrus.Warn("Open registration is enabled")
+	}
+
+	// create DNS cache
+	var dnsCache *fclient.DNSCache
+	if cfg.Global.DNSCache.Enabled {
+		dnsCache = fclient.NewDNSCache(
+			cfg.Global.DNSCache.CacheSize,
+			cfg.Global.DNSCache.CacheLifetime,
+		)
+		logrus.Infof(
+			"DNS cache enabled (size %d, lifetime %s)",
+			cfg.Global.DNSCache.CacheSize,
+			cfg.Global.DNSCache.CacheLifetime,
+		)
+	}
+
+	// setup tracing
+	closer, err := cfg.SetupTracing()
+	if err != nil {
+		logrus.WithError(err).Panicf("failed to start opentracing")
+	}
+	defer closer.Close() // nolint: errcheck
+
+	// setup sentry
+	if cfg.Global.Sentry.Enabled {
+		logrus.Info("Setting up Sentry for debugging...")
+		err = sentry.Init(sentry.ClientOptions{
+			Dsn:              cfg.Global.Sentry.DSN,
+			Environment:      cfg.Global.Sentry.Environment,
+			Debug:            true,
+			ServerName:       string(cfg.Global.ServerName),
+			Release:          "dendrite@" + internal.VersionString(),
+			AttachStacktrace: true,
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Panic("failed to start Sentry")
+		}
+		go func() {
+			processCtx.ComponentStarted()
+			<-processCtx.WaitForShutdown()
+			if !sentry.Flush(time.Second * 5) {
+				logrus.Warnf("failed to flush all Sentry events!")
+			}
+			processCtx.ComponentFinished()
+		}()
+	}
+
+	federationClient := basepkg.CreateFederationClient(cfg, dnsCache)
+	httpClient := basepkg.CreateClient(cfg, dnsCache)
+
+	// prepare required dependencies
+	cm := sqlutil.NewConnectionManager(processCtx, cfg.Global.DatabaseOptions)
+	routers := httputil.NewRouters()
+
+	caches := caching.NewRistrettoCache(cfg.Global.Cache.EstimatedMaxSize, cfg.Global.Cache.MaxAge, caching.EnableMetrics)
+	natsInstance := jetstream.NATSInstance{}
+	rsAPI := roomserver.NewInternalAPI(processCtx, cfg, cm, &natsInstance, caches, caching.EnableMetrics)
+	fsAPI := federationapi.NewInternalAPI(
+		processCtx, cfg, cm, &natsInstance, federationClient, rsAPI, caches, nil, false,
+	)
+
+	keyRing := fsAPI.KeyRing()
+
+	userAPI := userapi.NewInternalAPI(processCtx, cfg, cm, &natsInstance, rsAPI, federationClient)
+	asAPI := appservice.NewInternalAPI(processCtx, cfg, &natsInstance, userAPI, rsAPI)
+
+	// The underlying roomserver implementation needs to be able to call the fedsender.
+	// This is different to rsAPI which can be the http client which doesn't need this
+	// dependency. Other components also need updating after their dependencies are up.
+	rsAPI.SetFederationAPI(fsAPI, keyRing)
+	rsAPI.SetAppserviceAPI(asAPI)
+	rsAPI.SetUserAPI(userAPI)
+
+	monolith := setup.Monolith{
+		Config:    cfg,
+		Client:    httpClient,
+		FedClient: federationClient,
+		KeyRing:   keyRing,
+
+		AppserviceAPI: asAPI,
+		// always use the concrete impl here even in -http mode because adding public routes
+		// must be done on the concrete impl not an HTTP client else fedapi will call itself
+		FederationAPI: fsAPI,
+		RoomserverAPI: rsAPI,
+		UserAPI:       userAPI,
+	}
+	monolith.AddAllPublicRoutes(processCtx, cfg, routers, cm, &natsInstance, caches, caching.EnableMetrics)
+
+	if len(cfg.MSCs.MSCs) > 0 {
+		if err := mscs.Enable(cfg, cm, routers, &monolith, caches); err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Fatalf("Failed to enable MSCs")
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Expose the matrix APIs directly rather than putting them under a /api path.
+	go func() {
+		basepkg.SetupAndServeHTTP(processCtx, cfg, routers, httpAddr, nil, nil)
+	}()
+	// Handle HTTPS if certificate and key are provided
+	if *unixSocket == "" && *certFile != "" && *keyFile != "" {
+		go func() {
+			basepkg.SetupAndServeHTTP(processCtx, cfg, routers, httpsAddr, certFile, keyFile)
+		}()
+	}
+
+	// We want to block forever to let the HTTP and HTTPS handler serve the APIs
+	basepkg.WaitForShutdown(processCtx)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/dendrite/main_test.go b/cmd/dendrite/main_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d51bc7434
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/dendrite/main_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/signal"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// This is an instrumented main, used when running integration tests (sytest) with code coverage.
+// Compile: go test -c -race -cover -covermode=atomic -o monolith.debug -coverpkg "github.com/matrix-org/..." ./cmd/dendrite
+// Run the monolith: ./monolith.debug -test.coverprofile=/somewhere/to/dump/integrationcover.out DEVEL --config dendrite.yaml
+// Generate HTML with coverage: go tool cover -html=/somewhere/where/there/is/integrationcover.out -o cover.html
+// Source: https://dzone.com/articles/measuring-integration-test-coverage-rate-in-pouchc
+func TestMain(_ *testing.T) {
+	var (
+		args []string
+	)
+
+	for _, arg := range os.Args {
+		switch {
+		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "DEVEL"):
+		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-test"):
+		default:
+			args = append(args, arg)
+		}
+	}
+	// only run the tests if there are args to be passed
+	if len(args) <= 1 {
+		return
+	}
+
+	waitCh := make(chan int, 1)
+	os.Args = args
+	go func() {
+		main()
+		close(waitCh)
+	}()
+
+	signalCh := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
+	signal.Notify(signalCh, syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGQUIT, syscall.SIGTERM, syscall.SIGHUP)
+
+	select {
+	case <-signalCh:
+		return
+	case <-waitCh:
+		return
+	}
+}