diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 09b3e6a..523a7ec 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 use git2::Repository;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
-use std::{collections::HashMap, fs, path::Path};
+use std::{
+    collections::HashMap,
+    fs,
+    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    process::Command,
+};
 use walkdir::WalkDir;
 
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize, Deserialize)]
@@ -10,14 +15,26 @@ struct PersistableRepo {
 }
 
 fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
-    let dir = match std::env::args().nth(1) {
+    let dir = match std::env::args().nth(2) {
         Some(d) => d,
         None => {
-            println!("Usage:\n  gitice <dir>\n");
+            println!("Usage:\n  gitice <command> <dir>\n");
             return Ok(());
         }
     };
 
+    // temporary solution to support both freezing and thawing
+    match std::env::args().nth(1).as_ref().map(|s| &s[..]) {
+        Some("freeze") => freeze_repos(dir),
+        Some("thaw") => thaw_repos(dir),
+        _ => {
+            println!("Usage:\n  gitice <command> <dir>\n");
+            Ok(())
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn freeze_repos(dir: String) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     let mut repos: HashMap<String, PersistableRepo> = HashMap::new();
     for entry in WalkDir::new(dir.clone()).into_iter().filter_map(|e| e.ok()) {
         if entry.file_type().is_dir() {
@@ -60,3 +77,27 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     fs::write("gitice.lock", toml::to_string(&repos)?).expect("could not write to lockfile!");
     Ok(())
 }
+
+fn thaw_repos(dir: String) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let lockfile = fs::read_to_string("gitice.lock").expect("unable to read lockfile!");
+    let repos: HashMap<String, PersistableRepo> = toml::from_str(&lockfile)?;
+
+    for (name, repo) in repos {
+        let output = Command::new("git")
+            .args(&[
+                "clone",
+                &repo.remote_url,
+                PathBuf::from(&dir).join(&name).to_str().unwrap(),
+            ])
+            .output()
+            .expect("Failed to run `git clone`. Perhaps git is not installed?");
+
+        if output.status.success() {
+            println!("Thawed {} successfully.", name)
+        } else {
+            println!("{}", std::str::from_utf8(&output.stderr)?)
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}