diff --git a/src/whisper/core.clj b/src/whisper/core.clj
index 1ae48f0..0b3942a 100644
--- a/src/whisper/core.clj
+++ b/src/whisper/core.clj
@@ -12,23 +12,21 @@
         [whisper.signald]))
 
 (def sockpath "/var/run/signald/signald.sock")
-(def user (atom {"username" "" "filename" ""}))
+(def user (atom {}))
 
 ;; TODO: handle multi users (with list ui)
 (defn handle-users
   [data]
   (let [users (get-in data ["data" "accounts"])]
-        (if (> (count users) 1)
-          (log/info "Alert, multi account not supported yet. picking first on list"))
-        (swap! user (first users))))
+    (if (> (count users) 1)
+      (log/info "Alert, multi account not supported yet. picking first on list"))
+    (reset! user (first users)))
+  (disassoc-callback-type "account_list"))
 
 (defn -main
   "packs and shows main window with signald version string"
   [& args]
 
-  ;; TODO: removeme
-  (add-str-flag (json/read-str "\"loading....\""))
-
   ;; paint main chat window
   (paint-main)
 
@@ -39,11 +37,17 @@
   (assoc-callback-type "linking_error" (fn [_]
                                          (paint-linking nil)
                                          (add-str-flag "Linking returned Error")))
+  (assoc-callback-type "unexpected_error" (fn [x] (add-str-flag (str "Unexpected error: "
+                                                                     (get-in x ["data" "message"])))))
+  (assoc-callback-type "contacts_list" (fn [x] (let [contacts (get x "data")]
+                                                 ;; Should we iter in a background thread?
+                                                 (doseq [contact contacts]
+                                                   ;; TODO: sync with storage
+                                                   (add-json-contact contact)))))
 
-  ;; update ui loop
+  ;; prep to read signald
   (let [sigd (get-signald-sock sockpath)]
     (if (nil? sigd)
-      ;; TODO: change this to call add-json-flag
       (add-str-flag "No signald connection.")
 
       ;; else, we have connection to signald
@@ -56,10 +60,15 @@
                              (fn [x]
                                (if (< (count (get-in x ["data" "accounts"])) 1)
                                  (do (make-link-data-req sigd-input)
-                                     (make-list-accounts-req sigd-input)
-                                     (handle-users x)))))
+                                     ;; recur via callback
+                                     (make-list-accounts-req sigd-input))
+                                 (handle-users x))))
 
-        ;; log in every time username changes
+        ;; log in every time user state changes
+        ;; another way we could do this is to have a callback triggered on a
+        ;; signald message type of "subscribed"
+        ;; but I thought it would be more efficient to just watch for results
+        ;; from the call to handle-users
         (add-watch user :login-manager
                    (fn [key atom old-state new-state]
                      (let [old-user (get old-state "username")
@@ -76,8 +85,10 @@
 
                        ;; sub to new account
                        (if (some? new-user)
-                         (make-subscribe-req sigd-input new-user)
-                         (make-contact-sync-req sigd-input new-user)))))
+                         (do
+                           (make-subscribe-req sigd-input new-user)
+                           (make-contact-sync-req sigd-input new-user)
+                           (make-contact-list-req sigd-input new-user))))))
 
         ;; find avail accounts
         (make-list-accounts-req sigd-input)
diff --git a/src/whisper/signald.clj b/src/whisper/signald.clj
index dccb59f..c62614e 100644
--- a/src/whisper/signald.clj
+++ b/src/whisper/signald.clj
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@
   [callback-token callback]
   (swap! callback-table assoc callback-token callback))
 
+(defn disassoc-callback-type
+  [callback-token]
+  (swap! callback-table dissoc callback-token))
+
 ;; TODO wrap attempt to call callback func in try catch
 (defn callback-loop
   [BufferedReader]
@@ -40,18 +44,20 @@
          (get data "version") " "
          (get data "branch"))))
 
+;; sends data to signal socket
+;; adds a newline
 (defn -make-req
   [output-stream data]
-  (try (.write output-stream data) (.flush output-stream)
+  (try (.write output-stream (str data "\n")) (.flush output-stream)
        (catch Exception e (log/error e "Error sending to signald"))))
 
 (defn make-link-data-req
   [output-stream]
-  (-make-req output-stream "{\"type\": \"link\"}\n"))
+  (-make-req output-stream "{\"type\": \"link\"}"))
 
 (defn make-list-accounts-req
   [output-stream]
-  (-make-req output-stream "{\"type\": \"list_accounts\"}\n"))
+  (-make-req output-stream "{\"type\": \"list_accounts\"}"))
 
 (defn make-subscribe-req
   [output-stream username]
@@ -70,3 +76,8 @@
   (-make-req output-stream
              (json/write-str {"type" "sync_contacts"
                               "username" username})))
+(defn make-contact-list-req
+  [output-stream username]
+  (-make-req output-stream
+             (json/write-str {"type" "list_contacts"
+                              "username" username})))