diff --git a/systemd_service_parser.hpp b/systemd_service_parser.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54d36b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd_service_parser.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
+
+#include <map>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+/** @brief Array of services to monitor */
+using ServiceMonitorData = std::vector<std::string>;
+
+using json = nlohmann::json;
+
+extern bool gVerbose;
+
+/** @brief Parse input json file(s) for services to monitor
+ *
+ * @note This function will throw exceptions for an invalid json file
+ * @note See phosphor-service-monitor-default.json for example of json file
+ *       format
+ *
+ * @param[in] filePaths - The file(s) to parse
+ *
+ * @return  Service(s) to monitor for errors
+ */
+ServiceMonitorData parseServiceFiles(const std::vector<std::string>& filePaths);