diff --git a/cruciverb-cli/src/main.rs b/cruciverb-cli/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43016cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cruciverb-cli/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,367 @@
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use std::time::Instant;
+
+use clap::{Parser, ValueEnum};
+
+use cruciverb_core::clue::seed::load_clue_database;
+use cruciverb_core::config::{DifficultyPreset, GenerationConfig, SymmetryType};
+use cruciverb_core::dict::Dictionary;
+use cruciverb_core::puzzle::generate_full_puzzle;
+use cruciverb_core::validate::validate_puzzle;
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+#[command(name = "cruciverb", about = "Crossword puzzle generator")]
+struct Cli {
+    #[command(subcommand)]
+    command: Commands,
+}
+
+#[derive(clap::Subcommand)]
+enum Commands {
+    Generate(GenerateArgs),
+    ImportClues(ImportCluesArgs),
+}
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+struct ImportCluesArgs {
+    #[arg(help = "Path to CSV file (columns: Date,Word,Clue)")]
+    csv: PathBuf,
+
+    #[arg(short, long, default_value = "../data/clues.db")]
+    output: PathBuf,
+}
+
+#[derive(Parser)]
+struct GenerateArgs {
+    #[arg(short, long, default_value = "15")]
+    size: usize,
+
+    #[arg(short, long, value_enum)]
+    difficulty: Option<CliDifficulty>,
+
+    #[arg(long, value_enum, default_value = "rotational180")]
+    symmetry: CliSymmetry,
+
+    #[arg(short, long)]
+    output: Option<PathBuf>,
+
+    #[arg(long)]
+    seed: Option<u64>,
+
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "0.22")]
+    density: f64,
+
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "../data/wordlists/enable.txt")]
+    wordlist: PathBuf,
+
+    #[arg(long)]
+    blocklist: Option<PathBuf>,
+
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "../data")]
+    data_dir: PathBuf,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, ValueEnum)]
+enum CliDifficulty {
+    Glyph,
+    Rune,
+    Scroll,
+    Codex,
+    Grimoire,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, ValueEnum)]
+enum CliSymmetry {
+    Rotational180,
+    Rotational90,
+    Diagonal,
+    Mirror,
+    None,
+}
+
+impl From<CliSymmetry> for SymmetryType {
+    fn from(s: CliSymmetry) -> Self {
+        match s {
+            CliSymmetry::Rotational180 => SymmetryType::Rotational180,
+            CliSymmetry::Rotational90 => SymmetryType::Rotational90,
+            CliSymmetry::Diagonal => SymmetryType::Diagonal,
+            CliSymmetry::Mirror => SymmetryType::Mirror,
+            CliSymmetry::None => SymmetryType::None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+        .with_env_filter(tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::from_default_env())
+        .init();
+
+    let cli = Cli::parse();
+
+    match cli.command {
+        Commands::Generate(args) => generate(args),
+        Commands::ImportClues(args) => import_clues(args),
+    }
+}
+
+fn generate(args: GenerateArgs) {
+    let start = Instant::now();
+
+    let config = match &args.difficulty {
+        Some(d) => {
+            let preset = match d {
+                CliDifficulty::Glyph => DifficultyPreset::Glyph,
+                CliDifficulty::Rune => DifficultyPreset::Rune,
+                CliDifficulty::Scroll => DifficultyPreset::Scroll,
+                CliDifficulty::Codex => DifficultyPreset::Codex,
+                CliDifficulty::Grimoire => DifficultyPreset::Grimoire,
+            };
+            let mut c = GenerationConfig::from_preset(preset);
+            c.seed = args.seed;
+            c.symmetry = args.symmetry.into();
+            c
+        }
+        None => GenerationConfig {
+            width: args.size,
+            height: args.size,
+            symmetry: args.symmetry.into(),
+            black_cell_density: args.density,
+            seed: args.seed,
+            rand_top_base: GenerationConfig::rand_top_for_size(args.size),
+            ..Default::default()
+        },
+    };
+
+    let difficulty: u8 = match &args.difficulty {
+        Some(CliDifficulty::Glyph) => 0,
+        Some(CliDifficulty::Rune) => 1,
+        Some(CliDifficulty::Scroll) => 2,
+        Some(CliDifficulty::Codex) => 3,
+        Some(CliDifficulty::Grimoire) => 3,
+        None => 1,
+    };
+
+    eprintln!("loading dictionary...");
+    let mut dict = Dictionary::load(
+        &args.wordlist,
+        args.blocklist.as_deref(),
+        config.min_word_length,
+    )
+    .unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        eprintln!("failed to load wordlist: {}", e);
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    });
+    eprintln!("loaded {} words", dict.word_count());
+
+    let clue_db = load_clue_database(&args.data_dir).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        eprintln!("warning: failed to load clue database: {}", e);
+        cruciverb_core::clue::ClueDatabase::empty()
+    });
+    eprintln!("loaded {} clue entries", clue_db.word_count());
+
+    let clue_words = clue_db.all_words();
+    eprintln!("boosting {} words with clue coverage", clue_words.len());
+    dict.boost_from_clue_words(&clue_words);
+
+    eprintln!("generating {}x{} puzzle...", config.width, config.height);
+    let puzzle = generate_full_puzzle(&config, &dict, &clue_db, difficulty).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        eprintln!("generation failed: {}", e);
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    });
+
+    eprintln!("solved in {:.2}s", start.elapsed().as_secs_f64());
+
+    let validation = validate_puzzle(
+        &puzzle.grid,
+        &puzzle.words,
+        &dict,
+        config.min_word_length,
+        config.obscurity_budget,
+    );
+    if !validation.is_valid() {
+        eprintln!("validation warnings:");
+        for err in &validation.errors {
+            eprintln!("  - {}", err);
+        }
+    }
+
+    let json = puzzle.to_json().expect("failed to serialize puzzle");
+
+    match &args.output {
+        Some(path) => {
+            std::fs::write(path, &json).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+                eprintln!("failed to write output: {}", e);
+                std::process::exit(1);
+            });
+            eprintln!("puzzle written to {}", path.display());
+        }
+        None => println!("{}", json),
+    }
+
+    eprintln!(
+        "total time: {:.2}s | {} words placed | {}x{} grid",
+        start.elapsed().as_secs_f64(),
+        puzzle.words.len(),
+        config.width,
+        config.height,
+    );
+}
+
+fn import_clues(args: ImportCluesArgs) {
+    use rusqlite::Connection;
+    use std::collections::HashMap;
+    use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader};
+
+    eprintln!("importing clues from {}...", args.csv.display());
+
+    let db = Connection::open(&args.output).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        eprintln!("failed to open database: {}", e);
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    });
+
+    db.execute_batch(
+        "
+        DROP TABLE IF EXISTS clues;
+        DROP TABLE IF EXISTS word_difficulty;
+        CREATE TABLE clues (
+            id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
+            word TEXT NOT NULL,
+            clue TEXT NOT NULL,
+            difficulty INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 1
+        );
+        CREATE TABLE word_difficulty (
+            word TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
+            score REAL NOT NULL
+        );
+        CREATE INDEX idx_clues_word ON clues(word);
+        CREATE INDEX idx_clues_diff ON clues(word, difficulty);
+    ",
+    )
+    .unwrap();
+
+    let file = std::fs::File::open(&args.csv).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+        eprintln!("failed to open CSV: {}", e);
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    });
+    let reader = BufReader::new(file);
+
+    // day-of-week difficulty: Mon=1 (easy) through Sat=6 (hard), Sun=3 (medium-large)
+    // map to 3 tiers: easy (1-2), medium (3-4), hard (5-6)
+    fn day_of_week(date_str: &str) -> Option<u32> {
+        let parts: Vec<&str> = date_str.split('/').collect();
+        if parts.len() != 3 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let m: i32 = parts[0].parse().ok()?;
+        let d: i32 = parts[1].parse().ok()?;
+        let y: i32 = parts[2].parse().ok()?;
+        let (y, m) = if m <= 2 { (y - 1, m + 12) } else { (y, m) };
+        let dow = ((d + 13 * (m + 1) / 5 + y + y / 4 - y / 100 + y / 400) % 7 + 7) % 7;
+        let weight = match dow {
+            2 => 1, // Monday
+            3 => 2, // Tuesday
+            4 => 3, // Wednesday
+            5 => 4, // Thursday
+            6 => 5, // Friday
+            0 => 6, // Saturday
+            1 => 3, // Sunday (medium)
+            _ => 3,
+        };
+        Some(weight)
+    }
+
+    fn weight_to_tier(w: u32) -> u8 {
+        if w <= 2 {
+            1
+        } else if w <= 4 {
+            2
+        } else {
+            3
+        }
+    }
+
+    db.execute_batch("BEGIN").unwrap();
+
+    let mut count = 0u64;
+    let mut word_day_scores: HashMap<String, Vec<u32>> = HashMap::new();
+    let mut stmt = db
+        .prepare("INSERT INTO clues (word, clue, difficulty) VALUES (?1, ?2, ?3)")
+        .unwrap();
+
+    for (i, line) in reader.lines().enumerate() {
+        let line = match line {
+            Ok(l) => l,
+            Err(_) => continue,
+        };
+        if i == 0 && line.starts_with("Date") {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let fields = parse_csv_line(&line);
+        let Some((date, word, clue)) = fields else {
+            continue;
+        };
+
+        if word.is_empty() || !word.bytes().all(|b| b.is_ascii_alphabetic()) {
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        let upper = word.to_uppercase();
+        let day_score = day_of_week(&date).unwrap_or(3);
+        let tier = weight_to_tier(day_score);
+
+        stmt.execute(rusqlite::params![upper, clue, tier]).unwrap();
+        word_day_scores.entry(upper).or_default().push(day_score);
+        count += 1;
+
+        if count % 100_000 == 0 {
+            eprintln!("  {} clues imported...", count);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // compute per-word difficulty scores
+    let mut diff_stmt = db
+        .prepare("INSERT INTO word_difficulty (word, score) VALUES (?1, ?2)")
+        .unwrap();
+    for (word, scores) in &word_day_scores {
+        let avg: f64 = scores.iter().map(|&s| s as f64).sum::<f64>() / scores.len() as f64;
+        diff_stmt.execute(rusqlite::params![word, avg]).unwrap();
+    }
+
+    db.execute_batch("COMMIT").unwrap();
+    eprintln!(
+        "imported {} clues for {} words to {}",
+        count,
+        word_day_scores.len(),
+        args.output.display()
+    );
+}
+
+fn parse_csv_line(line: &str) -> Option<(String, String, String)> {
+    let chars = line.chars();
+    let mut fields: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    let mut field = String::new();
+    let mut in_quotes = false;
+
+    for ch in chars {
+        match ch {
+            '"' => in_quotes = !in_quotes,
+            ',' if !in_quotes => {
+                fields.push(field.clone());
+                field.clear();
+            }
+            _ => field.push(ch),
+        }
+    }
+    fields.push(field);
+
+    if fields.len() >= 3 {
+        Some((
+            fields[0].trim().to_string(),
+            fields[1].trim().to_string(),
+            fields[2..].join(",").trim().to_string(),
+        ))
+    } else {
+        None
+    }
+}