diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 7e4e949..9b1d1e4 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -108,3 +108,19 @@ impl FromStr for Snapshot {
         Ok(Self { year, week, build })
     }
 }
+
+impl FromStr for MinecraftVersion {
+    type Err = VersionError;
+
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Self::Err> {
+        if let Ok(ver) = Version::from_str(s) {
+            return Ok(MinecraftVersion::Release(ver));
+        }
+
+        if let Ok(snap) = Snapshot::from_str(s) {
+            return Ok(MinecraftVersion::Snapshot(snap));
+        }
+
+        Err(VersionError::UnknownVersionFormat(s.to_string()))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index ba7e9e8..e208a5e 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -40,6 +40,21 @@ pub enum VersionError {
 
     #[error("Too many components")]
     ExtraComponents,
+
+    #[error("Unrecognized version format: {0}")]
+    UnknownVersionFormat(String),
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Error)]
+pub enum HandleError {
+    #[error("Invalid Minecraft Version: {0}")]
+    InvalidVersion(String),
+
+    #[error("Invalid server root directory: {0}")]
+    InvalidDirectory(String),
+
+    #[error("Invalid relative JAR path: {0}")]
+    InvalidPathJAR(String),
 }
 
 type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, Error>;
diff --git a/src/instance.rs b/src/instance.rs
index 12835b3..bf4ba8e 100644
--- a/src/instance.rs
+++ b/src/instance.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,63 @@
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
-use crate::config::MinecraftVersion;
+use crate::{
+    config::{MinecraftType, MinecraftVersion},
+    error::HandleError,
+};
 
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct InstanceData {
     pub root_dir: PathBuf,
     pub jar_path: PathBuf,
-    pub version: MinecraftVersion,
+    pub mc_version: MinecraftVersion,
+    pub mc_type: MinecraftType,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum InstanceStatus {
+    Starting,
+    Running,
+    Stopping,
+    Stopped,
+    Crashed,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct InstanceHandle {
+    pub data: InstanceData,
+    pub status: InstanceStatus,
+}
+
+impl InstanceHandle {
+    pub fn new_with_params(
+        root_dir: &str,
+        jar_path: &str,
+        mc_version: &str,
+        mc_type: MinecraftType,
+    ) -> Result<Self, HandleError> {
+        let parsed_version: MinecraftVersion = mc_version
+            .parse()
+            .map_err(|_| HandleError::InvalidVersion(mc_version.to_string()))?;
+
+        let root: PathBuf = root_dir.into();
+        if !root.exists() || !root.is_dir() {
+            return Err(HandleError::InvalidDirectory(root_dir.to_string()));
+        }
+
+        let path: PathBuf = jar_path.into();
+        let conc = root.join(path.clone());
+        if !path.is_relative() || !conc.is_file() {
+            return Err(HandleError::InvalidPathJAR(jar_path.to_string()));
+        }
+
+        let data = InstanceData {
+            root_dir: root,
+            jar_path: path,
+            mc_version: parsed_version,
+            mc_type: mc_type,
+        };
+
+        let status = InstanceStatus::Stopped;
+        Ok(Self { data, status })
+    }
 }