diff --git a/include/vstr.h b/include/vstr.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c68d7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/vstr.h
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#ifndef VSTR_INCLUDED
+#define VSTR_INCLUDED
+
+#include <stddef.h>
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+struct Vstr {
+  size_t len; // String len
+  char *buf;  // String data 
+};
+typedef struct Vstr Vstr;
+
+#define Vstr_Fmt "%.*s"
+#define Vstr_Arg(vstr) (int) (vstr).len, (vstr).buf
+#define VSTR(cstr) vstr_n(cstr, sizeof(cstr) - 1)
+#define VSTR_NULL vstr_n(NULL, 0)
+
+size_t pack_vstr(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *vstr);
+void unpack_vstr(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *vstr);
+size_t pack_vstr_array(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *array, size_t count);
+Vstr *unpack_vstr_array(unsigned char *buffer, size_t *count);
+Vstr vstr_s(const char *s);
+Vstr vstr_n(const char *s, size_t n);
+bool vstr_cmp(const Vstr v1, const Vstr v2);
+const char *vstr_str(const Vstr haystack, const Vstr needle);
+Vstr vstr_after_delim(const Vstr v, const char *delims);
+Vstr vstr_before_delim(const Vstr v, const char *delims);
+Vstr vstr_substr(Vstr v, size_t start, size_t stop);
+Vstr vstr_trim(Vstr v);
+Vstr vstr_trim_left(Vstr v);
+Vstr vstr_trim_right(Vstr v);
+
+
+#endif
diff --git a/src/vstr.c b/src/vstr.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d5bde2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/vstr.c
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+#include "../include/vstr.h"
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+size_t pack_vstr(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *vstr) {
+    size_t offset = 0;
+
+    // Pack the length of the string first (size_t)
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 56) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 48) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 40) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 32) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 24) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 16) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (vstr->len >> 8) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = vstr->len & 0xFF;
+
+    // Pack the string data
+    memcpy(&buffer[offset], vstr->buf, vstr->len);
+    offset += vstr->len;
+
+    return offset;  // Return the total packed size
+}
+void unpack_vstr(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *vstr) {
+    unsigned int offset = 0;
+
+    // Unpack the length of the string (size_t)
+    vstr->len = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
+        vstr->len = (vstr->len << 8) | buffer[offset++];
+    }
+
+    // Allocate memory for the string and copy it from the buffer
+    vstr->buf = (char *)malloc(vstr->len + 1);  // +1 for null terminator
+    if (vstr->buf != NULL) {
+        memcpy(vstr->buf, &buffer[offset], vstr->len);
+        vstr->buf[vstr->len] = '\0';  // Null-terminate the string
+    } else {
+        vstr->len = 0;  // If memory allocation fails, set len to 0
+    }
+}
+size_t pack_vstr_array(unsigned char *buffer, Vstr *array, size_t count) {
+    size_t offset = 0;
+
+    // Pack the number of elements in the array
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 56) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 48) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 40) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 32) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 24) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 16) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = (count >> 8) & 0xFF;
+    buffer[offset++] = count & 0xFF;
+
+    // Pack each Vstr in the array
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < count; i++) {
+        // Pack the length of the string
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 56) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 48) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 40) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 32) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 24) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 16) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = (array[i].len >> 8) & 0xFF;
+        buffer[offset++] = array[i].len & 0xFF;
+
+        // Pack the string data
+        memcpy(&buffer[offset], array[i].buf, array[i].len);
+        offset += array[i].len;
+    }
+
+    return offset;  // Return the total packed size
+}
+Vstr *unpack_vstr_array(unsigned char *buffer, size_t *count) {
+    size_t offset = 0;
+
+    // Unpack the number of elements in the array
+    *count = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
+        *count = (*count << 8) | buffer[offset++];
+    }
+
+    // Allocate memory for the Vstr array
+    Vstr *array = malloc(*count * sizeof(Vstr));
+    if (!array) return NULL;  // Memory allocation failure
+
+    // Unpack each Vstr in the array
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < *count; i++) {
+        // Unpack the length of the string
+        array[i].len = 0;
+        for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
+            array[i].len = (array[i].len << 8) | buffer[offset++];
+        }
+
+        // Allocate memory for the string
+        array[i].buf = malloc(array[i].len + 1);  // +1 for null terminator
+        if (!array[i].buf) {
+            // Free previously allocated memory in case of failure
+            for (size_t k = 0; k < i; k++) {
+                free(array[k].buf);
+            }
+            free(array);
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
+        // Copy the string data
+        memcpy(array[i].buf, &buffer[offset], array[i].len);
+        array[i].buf[array[i].len] = '\0';  // Null-terminate the string
+        offset += array[i].len;
+    }
+
+    return array;
+}
+
+Vstr vstr_s(const char *s){
+    Vstr v = {s == NULL ? 0 : strlen(s), (char *)s};
+    return v;
+}
+Vstr vstr_n(const char *s, size_t n){
+    Vstr v = {n,(char *)s};
+    return v;
+}
+bool vstr_cmp(const Vstr v1, const Vstr v2){
+    size_t i = 0;
+    while (i < v1.len && i < v2.len) {
+        int c1 = v1.buf[i];
+        int c2 = v2.buf[i];
+        if (c1 < c2) return false;
+        if (c1 > c2) return true;
+        i++;
+    }
+    if (i < v1.len) return true;
+    if (i < v2.len) return false;
+    return false;
+}
+const char *vstr_str(const Vstr haystack, const Vstr needle){
+    size_t i;
+    if (needle.len > haystack.len) return NULL;
+    if (needle.len == 0) return haystack.buf;
+    for (i = 0; i <= haystack.len - needle.len; i++) {
+        if (memcmp(haystack.buf + i, needle.buf, needle.len) == 0) {
+            return haystack.buf + i;
+        }
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+Vstr vstr_after_delim(const Vstr v, const char *delims) {
+    // Handle NULL pointer or empty string view
+    if (v.buf == NULL || delims == NULL) {
+        return vstr_n(NULL, 0);
+    }
+
+    size_t i = 0;
+    while (i < v.len) {
+        // Check if the current character is a delimiter
+        for (size_t j = 0; delims[j] != '\0'; j++) {
+            if (v.buf[i] == delims[j]) {
+                Vstr result = vstr_n(v.buf+i+1, v.len-i-1);
+                return result;
+            }
+        }
+        i++;
+    }
+
+    // Return the whole string if no delimiter was found
+    Vstr result = vstr_n(v.buf, i);
+    return result;
+}
+Vstr vstr_before_delim(const Vstr v, const char *delims) {
+    // Handle NULL pointer or empty string view
+    if (v.buf == NULL || delims == NULL) {
+        return vstr_n(NULL, 0);
+    }
+
+    size_t i = 0;
+    while (i < v.len) {
+        // Check if the current character is a delimiter
+        for (size_t j = 0; delims[j] != '\0'; j++) {
+            if (v.buf[i] == delims[j]) {
+                Vstr result = vstr_n(v.buf, i);
+                return result;
+            }
+        }
+        i++;
+    }
+
+    // Return the whole string if no delimiter was found
+    Vstr result = vstr_n(v.buf, i);
+    return result;
+}
+Vstr vstr_substr(Vstr v, size_t start, size_t stop) {
+    if (start >= v.len || stop > v.len || start >= stop) {
+        // Return an empty Vstr if indices are out of bounds or invalid
+        return vstr_n(NULL, 0);
+    }
+    size_t sub_len = stop - start;
+    return vstr_n(v.buf + start, sub_len);
+}
+
+static bool is_space(int c) {
+    return c == ' ' || c == '\t' || c == '\n' || c == '\r' || c == '\v' || c == '\f';
+}
+Vstr vstr_trim(Vstr v){
+    while (v.len > 0 && is_space((int) *v.buf)) v.buf++, v.len--;
+    while (v.len > 0 && is_space((int) *(v.buf + v.len - 1))) v.len--;
+    return v; 
+}
+Vstr vstr_trim_left(Vstr v){
+    while (v.len > 0 && is_space((int) *v.buf)) v.buf++, v.len--;
+    return v;
+}
+Vstr vstr_trim_right(Vstr v){
+    while (v.len > 0 && is_space((int) *(v.buf + v.len - 1))) v.len--;
+    return v;
+}
+
diff --git a/tests/02_execute.c b/tests/02_execute.c
index a56c760..8a200a2 100644
--- a/tests/02_execute.c
+++ b/tests/02_execute.c
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 #include "../include/exectd.h"
 int main() {
-    char *argv[] = {"/bin/ping", "-c","3","myrepos.dev", NULL}; // Example arguments
-    char *envp[] = {NULL}; // Example environment variables
-    int status = execute_job("/bin/ping", argv, envp);
+     // Arguments for the ls command
+    char *argv[] = {"ls", "-l", "-a", NULL};
+
+    // Custom environment variables
+    char *envp[] = {
+        "MY_ENV_VAR=example",
+        "PATH=/usr/bin:/bin", // Ensure PATH is set for executable lookup
+        NULL
+    };
+    int status = execute_job("/bin/ls", argv, envp);
     if (status != 0) {
         // Handle error
         printf("my_execve returned error code: %d\n", status);
diff --git a/tests/03_shell.c b/tests/03_shell.c
index 27b5d9d..5568c3d 100644
--- a/tests/03_shell.c
+++ b/tests/03_shell.c
@@ -1,10 +1,19 @@
 #include "../include/exectd.h"
 int main() {
-    char *argv[] = {"/bin/ping", "-c","3","myrepos.dev", NULL}; // Example arguments
-    char *envp[] = {NULL}; // Example environment variables
+    
+     // Arguments for the ls command
+    char *argv[] = {"ls", "-l", "-a", NULL};
+
+    // Custom environment variables
+    char *envp[] = {
+        "MY_ENV_VAR=example",
+        "PATH=/usr/bin:/bin", // Ensure PATH is set for executable lookup
+        NULL
+    };
+    
     int fd = ext_open("tests/bin/stdout_dup", O_WRONLY | O_CREAT);
     int fd2 = ext_open("tests/bin/stderr_dup", O_WRONLY | O_CREAT); 
-    int status = shell_job("/bin/ping", argv, envp, fd, fd2);
+    int status = shell_job("/bin/ls", argv, envp, fd, fd2);
     if (status != 0) {
         // Handle error
         printf("Shell job returned error code: %d\n", status);
diff --git a/tests/04_packed.c b/tests/04_packed.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fae10de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/04_packed.c
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+#include "../include/exectd.h"
+#include "../include/vstr.h"
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+size_t pack_execvpe_args(unsigned char *buffer, const char *file, char *const argv[], char *const envp[]) {
+    unsigned char *start = buffer;
+
+    // Pack the `file` string
+    Vstr file_vstr = vstr_s(file);
+    buffer += pack_vstr(buffer, &file_vstr);
+
+    // Pack `argv`
+    size_t argv_count = 0;
+    while (argv && argv[argv_count]) argv_count++;
+    memcpy(buffer, &argv_count, sizeof(size_t));
+    buffer += sizeof(size_t);
+
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < argv_count; i++) {
+        Vstr arg_vstr = vstr_s(argv[i]);
+        buffer += pack_vstr(buffer, &arg_vstr);
+    }
+
+    // Pack `envp`
+    size_t envp_count = 0;
+    while (envp && envp[envp_count]) envp_count++;
+    memcpy(buffer, &envp_count, sizeof(size_t));
+    buffer += sizeof(size_t);
+
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < envp_count; i++) {
+        Vstr env_vstr = vstr_s(envp[i]);
+        buffer += pack_vstr(buffer, &env_vstr);
+    }
+
+    return buffer - start; // Total packed size
+}
+
+void unpack_execvpe_args(unsigned char *buffer, char **file, char ***argv, char ***envp) {
+    // Unpack `file`
+    Vstr file_vstr;
+    unpack_vstr(buffer, &file_vstr);
+    buffer += sizeof(size_t) + file_vstr.len;
+    *file = strndup(file_vstr.buf, file_vstr.len);
+    free(file_vstr.buf);
+    // Unpack `argv`
+    size_t argv_count;
+    memcpy(&argv_count, buffer, sizeof(size_t));
+    buffer += sizeof(size_t);
+    *argv = malloc((argv_count + 1) * sizeof(char *));
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < argv_count; i++) {
+        Vstr arg_vstr;
+        unpack_vstr(buffer, &arg_vstr);
+        buffer += sizeof(size_t) + arg_vstr.len;
+        (*argv)[i] = strndup(arg_vstr.buf, arg_vstr.len);
+        free(arg_vstr.buf);
+    }
+    (*argv)[argv_count] = NULL;
+
+    // Unpack `envp`
+    size_t envp_count;
+    memcpy(&envp_count, buffer, sizeof(size_t));
+    buffer += sizeof(size_t);
+    *envp = malloc((envp_count + 1) * sizeof(char *));
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < envp_count; i++) {
+        Vstr env_vstr;
+        unpack_vstr(buffer, &env_vstr);
+        buffer += sizeof(size_t) + env_vstr.len;
+        (*envp)[i] = strndup(env_vstr.buf, env_vstr.len);
+        free(env_vstr.buf);
+    }
+    (*envp)[envp_count] = NULL;
+}
+int main(void) {
+    // Original arguments
+    const char *file = "/bin/ls";
+ // Arguments for the ls command
+    char *argv[] = {"ls", "-l", "-a", NULL};
+
+    // Custom environment variables
+    char *envp[] = {
+        "MY_ENV_VAR=example",
+        "PATH=/usr/bin:/bin", // Ensure PATH is set for executable lookup
+        NULL
+    };
+    // Buffer for packing
+    unsigned char buffer[1024]; // Adjust size as needed
+    size_t packed_size;
+
+    // Pack the arguments
+    packed_size = pack_execvpe_args(buffer, file, argv, envp);
+    (void)packed_size;
+    // Unpack the arguments
+    char *unpacked_file;
+    char **unpacked_argv;
+    char **unpacked_envp;
+    unpack_execvpe_args(buffer, &unpacked_file, &unpacked_argv, &unpacked_envp);
+
+    // Call execute_job with unpacked arguments
+    int status = execute_job(unpacked_file, unpacked_argv, unpacked_envp);
+
+    // Free unpacked arguments
+    free(unpacked_file);
+    for (char **arg = unpacked_argv; *arg; ++arg) free(*arg);
+    free(unpacked_argv);
+    for (char **env = unpacked_envp; *env; ++env) free(*env);
+    free(unpacked_envp);
+
+    // Check execution status
+    if (status != 0) {
+        printf("execute_job returned error code: %d\n", status);
+    }
+    printf("Job finished with %d \n",status);
+    // Code here will run after the child process has finished
+    return 0;
+}