diff --git a/node/server.js b/node/server.js
index e683f7655..731f6b63b 100644
--- a/node/server.js
+++ b/node/server.js
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ var http = require('http')
   , fs = require('fs')
   , io = require('socket.io')
   , sys = require('sys')
+  , settings = require('./settings')
   , server;
 
 server = http.createServer(function(req, res){
@@ -56,7 +57,7 @@ server = http.createServer(function(req, res){
     send404(res, path);
   }
 });
-server.listen(9001);
+server.listen(settings.port);
 console.log("Server is listening at port 9001");
 
 function randomPadName() {
diff --git a/node/settings.js b/node/settings.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..49564d257
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node/settings.js
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+var fs = require("fs");
+
+//default settings
+exports.port = 9001;
+
+//read the settings sync
+var settingsStr = fs.readFileSync("../settings.json");
+
+//try to parse the settings
+var settings;
+try
+{
+  settings = JSON.parse(settingsStr);
+}
+catch(e)
+{
+  console.error("There is a syntax error in your settings.json file");
+  console.error("We recommend http://jsonlint.com/ to find the mistake");
+  console.error(e.stack);
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+//loop trough the settings
+for(var i in settings)
+{
+  //test if the setting start with a low character
+  if(i.charAt(0).search("[a-z]") !== 0)
+  {
+    console.error("WARNING: Settings should start with a low character: '" + i + "'");
+  }
+
+  //we know this setting, so we overwrite it
+  if(exports[i])
+  {
+    exports[i] = settings[i];
+  }
+  //this setting is unkown, output a warning and throw it away
+  else
+  {
+    console.error("WARNING: Unkown Setting: '" + i + "'");
+    console.error("If this isn't a mistake, add the default settings for this value to node/settings.js");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/settings.json b/settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3d7f6e2ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "port":9001
+}