diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3943bed..be655f3 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,3 +3,4 @@
 /build/*
 parser
 /.vscode
+/*.html
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9f77ed3..4380f7b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Define the C++ compiler and flags
 CXX = g++
-CXXFLAGS = -Wall -g
+CXXFLAGS = -Wall -g -fPIE
 
 # Directories
 BUILD_DIR = build
@@ -29,15 +29,15 @@ $(BUILD_DIR):
 	mkdir -p $(BUILD_DIR)
 
 $(TARGET): $(OBJECTS)
-	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) $^ -o $@
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) $^ -o $@ -pie
 
 # Generic rule for all .cpp files in the src/ directory
 $(BUILD_DIR)/%.o: $(SRC_DIR)/%.cpp
-	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) -c $< -o $@
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) -c $< -o $@ -pie
 
 # Generic rule for all .cpp files in the lib/ directory
 $(BUILD_DIR)/%.o: $(LIB_DIR)/%.cpp
-	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) -c $< -o $@
+	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) $(INCLUDES) -c $< -o $@ -pie
 
 test: all
 	./$(TARGET)
diff --git a/input.md b/input.md
index 77ed442..c031c06 100644
--- a/input.md
+++ b/input.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 The goal is to create a program that reads a file containing text formatted in a simple version of 
 Markdown and converts it into a valid HTML file. The program will need to identify and translate 
-specific syntax (e.g., `# Heading` to `<h1>Heading</h1>`, `*text*` to `<em>text</em>`).
+specific syntax (e.g., ` Heading` to `\<h1\>Heading\</h1\>`, `*text*` to `\<em\>text\</em\>`).
 
 
 ### Implementation Requirements (Generated by Gemini)
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ that all tags are correctly opened and closed. Your presentation can visually de
 with a stack diagram.
 
 Hash Map or Map: A hash map (std::unordered_map) or a map (std::map) can be used to efficiently store
-and retrieve the HTML equivalent for each Markdown tag. For example, you could map `#` to `<h1>`or `*`
-to `<em>`. This provides O(1) average-case lookup time.
+and retrieve the HTML equivalent for each Markdown tag. For example, you could map `#` to `\<h1\>`or `*`
+to `\<em\>`. This provides O(1) average-case lookup time.
 
 
 ### Contribution Policy
diff --git a/lib/fileSystem.cpp b/lib/fileSystem.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3742b7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/fileSystem.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#include "fileSystem.h"
+#include "util.h"
+
+#include <fstream>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <stdexcept>
+#include <string>
+
+FileSystem::FileSystem(string input_file_path, string output_file_path) {
+  removeWhitespace(input_file_path);
+  removeWhitespace(output_file_path);
+
+  if (input_file_path.empty())
+    throw std::runtime_error("input_file_path cannot be empty");
+
+  this->input_file_path = input_file_path;
+
+  this->output_file_path = output_file_path;
+  if (this->output_file_path.empty())
+    GenerateOutputFilePath();
+};
+
+void FileSystem::GenerateOutputFilePath() {
+  if (this->input_file_path.empty())
+    throw std::runtime_error("Cannot generate output path from empty input.");
+
+  int ext_idx = this->input_file_path.find_last_of('.');
+  string output_cleaned = this->input_file_path.substr(0, ext_idx) + ".html";
+  this->output_file_path = output_cleaned;
+}
+
+std::string FileSystem::ReadInputFile() {
+  // Cannot read file if the path does not exist
+  if (this->input_file_path.empty())
+    throw std::runtime_error("Cannot open file: path was not provided.");
+
+  std::ifstream input_file(this->input_file_path);
+
+  if (!input_file.is_open())
+    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open input file.");
+
+  // Read the file into a single string using a string stream
+  std::stringstream buffer;
+  buffer << input_file.rdbuf();
+  input_file.close();
+
+  return buffer.str();
+}
+
+void FileSystem::WriteOutputFile(std::string content) {
+  // Cannot write to file if the path does not exist
+  if (this->output_file_path.empty())
+    throw std::runtime_error("Cannot open file: path was not provided.");
+
+  std::ofstream output_file(this->output_file_path);
+
+  if (!output_file.is_open())
+    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open output file.");
+
+  output_file << content;
+  output_file.close();
+}
diff --git a/lib/fileSystem.h b/lib/fileSystem.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1e5ac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/fileSystem.h
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#ifndef FILESYSTEM_H
+#define FILESYSTEM_H
+
+#include <string>
+
+using std::string;
+
+class FileSystem {
+public:
+  FileSystem(string input_file_path, string output_file_path = "");
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Read the input file and return its content.
+   *
+   * This method will read the file at the input_file_path and create a single
+   * output string. Each line will be delimited by either `\n` (Unix) or `\r\n`
+   * (Windows). If the file path does not exist OR the file fails to open, this
+   * method will throw a run time error.
+   *
+   * @return File contents as a single string.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  string ReadInputFile();
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Write the provided string to the output file.
+   *
+   * This method will attempt to open the output file and write the content
+   * provided to the method in the file. If the file does not exist, it will be
+   * created. If the file path does not exist OR the file fails to open, this
+   * method will throw a run time error.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  void WriteOutputFile(string content);
+
+protected:
+  /**
+   * @brief Input file path.
+   *
+   * Must be provided by the user.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  string input_file_path;
+
+  /**
+   * @brief Output file path.
+   *
+   * If not provided, will be generated using the `input_file_path` by removing
+   * the extension and appending `.html`.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  string output_file_path;
+
+private:
+  /**
+   * @brief Generate an output file path.
+   *
+   * If the user does not provide an output file path, this method can be
+   * used to generate the path. This is done by simply swapping the `.md`
+   * with `.html`.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  void GenerateOutputFilePath();
+};
+
+#endif
diff --git a/lib/parser.cpp b/lib/parser.cpp
index 51bde62..86ab32d 100644
--- a/lib/parser.cpp
+++ b/lib/parser.cpp
@@ -1,49 +1,19 @@
 #include "parser.h"
+#include "fileSystem.h"
 #include "inlineNode.h"
 #include "structureNode.h"
-#include "util.h"
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <cctype>
-#include <fstream>
 #include <memory>
-#include <sstream>
-#include <stdexcept>
 #include <string>
 
 using std::string;
 using std::vector;
 
-Parser::Parser(string input_file_path, string output_file_path) {
-  // NOTE: Remove any white space AROUND the inputs
-  removeWhitespace(input_file_path);
-  removeWhitespace(output_file_path);
-
-  if (input_file_path == "") {
-    throw std::runtime_error("input_file_path cannot be empty");
-  }
-
-  this->input_file_path = input_file_path;
-
-  // NOTE: If the user does not provide an output file, then we should construct
-  // one using the input file with .md swapped with the extension.
-  if (output_file_path == "") {
-    int ext_idx = input_file_path.find_last_of('.');
-    string output_cleaned = input_file_path.substr(0, ext_idx) + ".html";
-    this->output_file_path = output_cleaned;
-    return;
-  }
-
-  this->output_file_path = output_file_path;
-}
-
 void Parser::Inspect() {
-  std::cout << "std::string input_file_path: " << this->input_file_path
-            << std::endl;
-  std::cout << "std::string output_file_path: " << this->output_file_path
-            << std::endl;
+  std::cerr << "Parser::Inspect() is not yet implemented." << std::endl;
 }
 
-// replace '\r\n' with '\n'
 void Parser::NormalizeInputStream() {
   if (this->content.empty())
     return;
@@ -60,22 +30,23 @@ void Parser::NormalizeInputStream() {
       this->content.end());
 }
 
-void Parser::ParseDocument() {
-  // Open the input file
-  std::ifstream input_file(this->input_file_path);
+void Parser::WriteOutput() {
+  if (this->DOM == nullptr)
+    throw std::runtime_error(
+        "Cannot write output, output DOM tree does not exist. Please run the "
+        "Parser::ParserDocument method first.");
 
-  if (!input_file.is_open()) {
-    throw std::runtime_error("Failed to open input file.");
+  this->filesystem.WriteOutputFile(this->DOM->ToHtml());
+}
+
+void Parser::ParseDocument() {
+  try {
+    this->content = this->filesystem.ReadInputFile();
+  } catch (const std::runtime_error &e) {
+    std::cerr << "Caught an error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
     return;
   }
 
-  // Read the file into a single string
-  std::stringstream buffer;
-  buffer << input_file.rdbuf();
-  this->content = buffer.str();
-
-  input_file.close();
-
   // Remove the windows BS
   NormalizeInputStream();
 
@@ -88,8 +59,6 @@ void Parser::ParseDocument() {
     if (block != nullptr)
       this->DOM->AddChild(std::move(block));
   }
-
-  std::cout << this->DOM->ToHtml();
 }
 
 // All this does is pick which subparser to call
diff --git a/lib/parser.h b/lib/parser.h
index ce7590d..cd24c74 100644
--- a/lib/parser.h
+++ b/lib/parser.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef PARSER_H
 #define PARSER_H
 
+#include "fileSystem.h"
 #include "node.h"
 #include <iostream>
 #include <memory>
@@ -25,7 +26,8 @@ using std::vector;
  */
 class Parser {
 public:
-  Parser(string input_file_path, string output_file_path = "");
+  Parser(string input_file_path, string output_file_path = "")
+      : filesystem(input_file_path, output_file_path) {};
 
   /**
    * @brief Inspect (view) contents of the class.
@@ -37,7 +39,6 @@ public:
   void Inspect();
 
   /**
-   *
    * @brief Parse an entire document.
    *
    * This function will be called to yield the result. This is the entry point
@@ -53,25 +54,27 @@ public:
    */
   void ParseDocument();
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Write the output to the file.
+   *
+   * Once the tree is generated, this method should be called to actually
+   * write the output. Having this functionality separate allows for more
+   * portability.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
+  void WriteOutput();
+
 protected:
   /**
-   * @brief Input file path.
+   * @brief File system module to handle file I/O.
+   *
+   * Anything requiring file I/O operations will be handled by this module.
    *
-   * Must be provided by the user.
    *
    * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
    */
-  string input_file_path;
-
-  /**
-   * @brief Output file path.
-   *
-   * If not provided, will be generated using the `input_file_path` by removing
-   * the extension and appending `.html`.
-   *
-   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
-   */
-  string output_file_path;
+  FileSystem filesystem;
 
   /**
    * @brief Parser generated tree.
@@ -84,11 +87,16 @@ protected:
    */
   std::unique_ptr<Node> DOM;
 
-  // NOTE: We need a stack, just not sure what goes in it yet
-  // std::stack<any> stack;
-
 private:
-  // windows... >:(
+  /**
+   * @brief Normalize the input stream.
+   *
+   * Replaces all `\r\n` with just `\n` since that is what the parser expects.
+   * Then removes any left over `\r` elements in the stream. If the stream is
+   * empty this method does nothing.
+   *
+   * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
+   */
   void NormalizeInputStream();
 
   /**
@@ -97,7 +105,7 @@ private:
    * How does this function work...
    * This is where the magic happens.
    *
-   * @return DOMNode, once exists
+   * @return Node, to be appended to the callers children.
    *
    * @author Hayden Hargreaves (hhargreaves2006@gmail.com)
    */
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 5fc78ed..cf4be4c 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -79,9 +79,10 @@ void test_input(int argc, char **argv) {
 }
 
 int main(int argc, char **argv) {
-  Parser p("input.md");
+  Parser p("syntax.md");
   p.ParseDocument();
+  p.WriteOutput();
 
-  Parser p2("README.md");
-  p2.ParseDocument();
+  // Parser p2("README.md");
+  // p2.ParseDocument();
 }