diff --git a/.babelrc b/.babelrc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6206925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.babelrc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "presets": ["latest", "react"] }
diff --git a/actions.js b/actions.js
index 3020159..56c0d14 100644
--- a/actions.js
+++ b/actions.js
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@ module.exports = {
       if (activeElement && !$(activeElement).is(':focus') && notSillyBlankIEObject(activeElement)) {
         $(activeElement).trigger('blur');
       }
-      document.activeElement = element;
+      if (document.toString() !== '[object HTMLDocument]'){
+        document.activeElement = element;
+      }
       $(element).focus();
     }
   },
diff --git a/karma.conf.js b/karma.conf.js
index c937a3c..89b264a 100644
--- a/karma.conf.js
+++ b/karma.conf.js
@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ module.exports = function(config) {
     ],
 
     browserify: {
-      debug: true
+      debug: true,
+      extensions: ['.jsx'],
+      transform: ['babelify'],
     },
 
     client: {
diff --git a/mount.js b/mount.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e0306cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mount.js
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+var runningInBrowser = !require('is-node');
+var createBrowser = require('./create');
+var VineHill = require('vinehill');
+var window = require('global');
+var document = window.document;
+
+function addRefreshButton() {
+  var refreshLink = document.createElement('a');
+  refreshLink.href = window.location.href;
+  refreshLink.innerText = 'refresh';
+  document.body.appendChild(refreshLink);
+  document.body.appendChild(document.createElement('hr'));
+}
+
+var div;
+function createTestDiv() {
+  if (div) {
+    div.parentNode.removeChild(div);
+  }
+  div = document.createElement('div');
+  document.body.appendChild(div);
+  return div;
+}
+
+if (runningInBrowser) {
+  if (/\/debug\.html$/.test(window.location.pathname)) {
+    localStorage['debug'] = 'browser-monkey';
+    addRefreshButton();
+  }
+} else {
+  require('./stubBrowser');
+}
+
+function Mount(options) {
+  this.vinehill = new VineHill();
+  this.startApp = options.startApp.bind(this);
+  this.stopApp = options.stopApp.bind(this);
+}
+
+Mount.prototype.setOrigin = function(host) {
+  this.vinehill.setOrigin(host);
+  return this;
+}
+
+Mount.prototype.withServer = function(host, app) {
+  this.vinehill.add(host, app);
+  return this;
+}
+
+Mount.prototype.withApp = function(getApp) {
+  this.getApp = getApp;
+  return this;
+}
+
+Mount.prototype.start = function() {
+  this.vinehill.start();
+  this.app = this.getApp();
+  this.startApp();
+  return this;
+}
+
+Mount.prototype.stop = function(){
+  this.stopApp();
+  this.vinehill.stop();
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  angular: function() {
+    return new Mount({
+      stopApp: function(){},
+      startApp: function(){
+        var app = this.app;
+
+        var div = createTestDiv();
+        div.setAttribute(app.directiveName, '');
+        angular.bootstrap(div, [app.moduleName]);
+
+        this.browser = createBrowser(document.body);
+      }
+    });
+  },
+
+  hyperdom: function() {
+    var hyperdom = require('hyperdom');
+    var router = require('hyperdom-router');
+    var vquery = require('vdom-query');
+    router.start();
+
+    return new Mount({
+      stopApp: function(){
+        router.clear();
+      },
+      startApp: function(){
+        var app = this.app;
+
+        if (runningInBrowser) {
+          this.browser = createBrowser(document.body);
+          hyperdom.append(createTestDiv(), app);
+        } else {
+          var vdom = hyperdom.html('body');
+
+          this.browser = createBrowser(vdom);
+          this.browser.set({$: vquery, visibleOnly: false, document: {}});
+
+          hyperdom.appendVDom(vdom, app, { requestRender: setTimeout, window: window });
+        }
+      }
+    });
+  }
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 14b30a1..518c54d 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -4,16 +4,26 @@
   "description": "reliable dom testing",
   "main": "index.js",
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "mocha && karma start --single-run"
+    "test": "mocha --compilers js:babel-register && karma start --single-run"
   },
   "author": "Tim Macfarlane <timmacfarlane@gmail.com>",
   "license": "MIT",
   "devDependencies": {
     "2vdom": "^0.2.0",
+    "angular": "^1.6.0",
+    "babel-cli": "^6.18.0",
+    "babel-preset-latest": "^6.16.0",
+    "babel-preset-react": "^6.16.0",
+    "babel-register": "^6.18.0",
+    "babelify": "^7.3.0",
     "browserify": "^13.1.1",
     "chai-as-promised": "6.0.0",
     "detect-node": "^2.0.3",
+    "express": "^4.14.0",
+    "httpism": "^2.6.2",
     "hyperdom": "^0.2.0",
+    "hyperdom-router": "^2.18.0",
+    "is-node": "^1.0.2",
     "karma": "1.3.0",
     "karma-browserify": "5.1.0",
     "karma-browserstack-launcher": "1.1.1",
@@ -27,6 +37,7 @@
     "lie": "^3.0.1",
     "mocha": "3.1.2",
     "vdom-query": "https://github.com/featurist/vdom-query",
+    "vinehill": "^0.4.1",
     "virtual-dom": "^2.1.1",
     "watchify": "^3.7.0"
   },
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 2e2f2d2..9cf11dc 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -75,6 +75,45 @@ Or to be more specific:
 localStorage['debug'] = 'browser-monkey';
 ```
 
+# mount
+
+Typically you will need to mount your application into the DOM before running your tests.
+
+Browser monkey comes with a handy way of doing this for popular web frameworks (currently hyperdom and angular are supported)
+
+```js
+var mount = require('browser-monkey/mount');
+
+
+// for hyperdom
+// where YourHyperdomApp is a class that has a render method. [see here](test/app/hyperdom.js) for an example
+
+var monkey =  mount.hyperdom()
+  .withApp(() => new YourHyperdomApp())
+  .start()
+
+// for angular
+// where YourAngularApp is a class with fields 'directiveName' and 'moduleName' [see here](test/app/angular.js) for an example
+var monkey =  mount.hyperdom()
+  .withApp(() => new YourAngularApp())
+  .start()
+
+
+monkey.browser.find('h1').shouldHave({text: 'Hello World'});
+```
+
+The mount functions (hyperdom/angular etc.) return a `Mount` object with the following chainable functions:
+
+ * withApp - accepts a single function as a parameter that returns an object containing the application
+ * withServer - allows you to route http requests to an express server using [Vinehill](https://www.npmjs.com/package/vinehill)
+ * start - starts the application and returns a `monkey`
+ * stop - stops the application and performs any cleanup necessary
+
+The `monkey` has the following properties:
+
+ * browser - a browser monkey object that scoped to your application
+ * app - the application passed to withApp
+
 # api
 
 The API is made up of three concepts: scopes, actions and assertions.
diff --git a/stubBrowser.js b/stubBrowser.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db955ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/stubBrowser.js
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+var window = require('global');
+
+
+var registeredEvents = {};
+var pushState, replaceState;
+
+pushState = replaceState = function(state, title, url) {
+  window.location.pathname = url;
+  (registeredEvents['onpopstate'] || []).forEach(cb => cb({}));
+};
+
+window.location = window.location || {};
+window.location.pathname = window.location.pathname || '/';
+window.location.origin = window.location.origin || '';
+window.location.search = window.location.search || '';
+window.history = {
+  pushState,
+  replaceState,
+};
+
+window.addEventListener = function(eventName, cb) {
+  eventName = 'on'+eventName;
+  if (!registeredEvents[eventName]) {
+    registeredEvents[eventName] = [];
+  }
+  registeredEvents[eventName].push(cb);
+};
diff --git a/test/actionsSpec.js b/test/actionsSpec.js
index 93c0d82..71090b3 100644
--- a/test/actionsSpec.js
+++ b/test/actionsSpec.js
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ describe('actions', function(){
       var clicked;
       var buttonState = 'disabled';
 
-      button = dom.insert('<button disabled>a button</button>');
+      var button = dom.insert('<button disabled>a button</button>');
       button.on('click', function () {
         clicked = buttonState;
       });
diff --git a/test/app/angular.js b/test/app/angular.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e3033f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app/angular.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+var angular = require('angular');
+var httpism = require('httpism');
+
+angular
+  .module('FrameworksApp', [])
+  .directive('bestFrameworks', function () {
+    return {
+      restrict: 'A',
+      controller: 'FrameworksController',
+      template: `<div ng-controller="FrameworksController">
+        <ul>
+          <li ng-repeat="framework in frameworks">{{framework}}</li>
+        </ul>
+      </div>`
+    };
+  })
+  .controller('FrameworksController', function($scope){
+    httpism.get('/api/frameworks').then(response => {
+      $scope.frameworks = response.body;
+      $scope.$digest();
+    });
+  });
+
+module.exports = class WebApp {
+  constructor() {
+    this.directiveName = 'best-frameworks';
+    this.moduleName = 'FrameworksApp';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/app/hyperdom.jsx b/test/app/hyperdom.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..83e5f00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app/hyperdom.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/** @jsx hyperdom.jsx */
+var httpism = require('httpism/browser');
+var hyperdom = require('hyperdom');
+var html = hyperdom.html;
+
+module.exports = class WebApp {
+  constructor() {
+    var self = this;
+    this.model = {
+      frameworks: []
+    };
+
+    httpism.get('/api/frameworks').then(response => {
+      self.model.frameworks = response.body;
+      self.model.refresh();
+    });
+  }
+
+
+  render() {
+    this.model.refresh = html.refresh;
+
+    return <ul>
+      {this.model.frameworks.map(name => <li>{name}</li>)}
+    </ul>
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/app/server.js b/test/app/server.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a028279
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app/server.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+var expressApp = (require('express'))();
+expressApp.get('/api/frameworks', (req, res) => {
+  res.json([
+    'browser-monkey',
+    'hyperdom',
+    'vinehill',
+  ]);
+});
+
+module.exports = expressApp;
diff --git a/test/mountSpec.js b/test/mountSpec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac1afd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/mountSpec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+var expect = require('chai').expect
+var isBrowser = !require('is-node');
+if (isBrowser) {
+  var mount = require('../mount');
+  var expressApp= require('./app/server');
+
+  require('./app/angular');
+  require('./app/hyperdom');
+
+  [
+    'hyperdom',
+    'angular'
+  ].forEach(appType => {
+    var WebApp = require('./app/'+appType);
+    var monkeyBuilder = mount[appType];
+
+    describe(`mount ${appType}`, () => {
+      var monkey, app;
+
+      beforeEach(() => {
+        monkey = monkeyBuilder()
+          .withServer('http://localhost:1234', expressApp)
+          .withApp(() => {
+            app = new WebApp();
+            return app;
+          })
+          .start();
+      });
+
+      afterEach(() => monkey.stop());
+
+      it('loads some data', () => {
+        return monkey.browser.find('li').shouldHave({text: [
+          'browser-monkey',
+          'hyperdom',
+          'vinehill',
+        ]})
+      });
+
+      it('exposes the app', () => {
+        expect(monkey.app).to.equal(app);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+}