diff --git a/scripts/finetune.py b/scripts/finetune.py
index 8019af8e3..201a47e14 100644
--- a/scripts/finetune.py
+++ b/scripts/finetune.py
@@ -4,9 +4,7 @@ import importlib
 import logging
 import os
 import random
-import signal
 import sys
-from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Union
 
@@ -17,17 +15,17 @@ import yaml
 
 # add src to the pythonpath so we don't need to pip install this
 from art import text2art
-from optimum.bettertransformer import BetterTransformer
 from transformers import GenerationConfig, TextStreamer
 
+from axolotl.common.cli import TrainerCliArgs, load_model_and_tokenizer
 from axolotl.logging_config import configure_logging
+from axolotl.train import TrainDatasetMeta, train
 from axolotl.utils.config import normalize_config, validate_config
 from axolotl.utils.data import prepare_dataset
 from axolotl.utils.dict import DictDefault
 from axolotl.utils.distributed import is_main_process
-from axolotl.utils.models import load_model, load_model_config, load_tokenizer
+from axolotl.utils.models import load_model_config, load_tokenizer
 from axolotl.utils.tokenization import check_dataset_labels
-from axolotl.utils.trainer import setup_trainer
 from axolotl.utils.wandb import setup_wandb_env_vars
 
 project_root = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
@@ -40,26 +38,13 @@ LOG = logging.getLogger("axolotl.scripts")
 os.environ["HF_HUB_ENABLE_HF_TRANSFER"] = "1"
 
 
-@dataclass
-class TrainerCliArgs:
-    """
-    dataclass representing the various non-training arguments
-    """
-
-    debug: bool = field(default=False)
-    inference: bool = field(default=False)
-    merge_lora: bool = field(default=False)
-    prepare_ds_only: bool = field(default=False)
-    prompter: Optional[str] = field(default=None)
-    shard: bool = field(default=False)
-
-
 def print_axolotl_text_art(suffix=None):
     font = "nancyj"
     ascii_text = "  axolotl"
     if suffix:
         ascii_text += f"  x  {suffix}"
     ascii_art = text2art(" axolotl", font=font)
+
     if is_main_process():
         print(ascii_art)
 
@@ -73,9 +58,45 @@ def get_multi_line_input() -> Optional[str]:
     return instruction
 
 
-def do_inference(cfg, model, tokenizer, prompter: Optional[str]):
-    if prompter == "None":
-        prompter = None
+def do_merge_lora(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+):
+    model, tokenizer = load_model_and_tokenizer(cfg=cfg, cli_args=cli_args)
+    safe_serialization = cfg.save_safetensors is True
+
+    LOG.info("running merge of LoRA with base model")
+    model = model.merge_and_unload()
+    model.to(dtype=torch.float16)
+
+    if cfg.local_rank == 0:
+        LOG.info("saving merged model")
+        model.save_pretrained(
+            str(Path(cfg.output_dir) / "merged"),
+            safe_serialization=safe_serialization,
+        )
+        tokenizer.save_pretrained(str(Path(cfg.output_dir) / "merged"))
+
+
+def shard(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+):
+    model, _ = load_model_and_tokenizer(cfg=cfg, cli_args=cli_args)
+    safe_serialization = cfg.save_safetensors is True
+    LOG.debug("Re-saving model w/ sharding")
+    model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
+
+
+def do_inference(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+):
+    model, tokenizer = load_model_and_tokenizer(cfg=cfg, cli_args=cli_args)
+    prompter = cli_args.prompter
     default_tokens = {"unk_token": "<unk>", "bos_token": "<s>", "eos_token": "</s>"}
 
     for token, symbol in default_tokens.items():
@@ -176,141 +197,6 @@ def check_not_in(list1: List[str], list2: Union[Dict[str, Any], List[str]]) -> b
     return not any(el in list2 for el in list1)
 
 
-def train(
-    *,
-    cfg: DictDefault,
-    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
-):
-    # load the tokenizer first
-    LOG.info(f"loading tokenizer... {cfg.tokenizer_config or cfg.base_model_config}")
-    tokenizer = load_tokenizer(cfg)
-
-    if not (
-        cli_args.shard or cli_args.merge_lora or cli_args.inference
-    ):  # don't need to load dataset for these
-        train_dataset, eval_dataset, total_num_steps = prepare_dataset(cfg, tokenizer)
-
-    if cli_args.debug or cfg.debug:
-        LOG.info("check_dataset_labels...")
-        check_dataset_labels(
-            train_dataset.select(
-                [random.randrange(0, len(train_dataset) - 1) for _ in range(5)]  # nosec
-            ),
-            tokenizer,
-        )
-
-    if cli_args.prepare_ds_only:
-        LOG.info("Finished preparing dataset. Exiting...")
-        return
-
-    # Load the model and tokenizer
-    LOG.info("loading model and (optionally) peft_config...")
-    model, peft_config = load_model(cfg, tokenizer, inference=cli_args.inference)
-
-    safe_serialization = cfg.save_safetensors is True
-
-    if cli_args.merge_lora and cfg.adapter is not None:
-        LOG.info("running merge of LoRA with base model")
-        model = model.merge_and_unload()
-        model.to(dtype=torch.float16)
-
-        if cfg.local_rank == 0:
-            LOG.info("saving merged model")
-            model.save_pretrained(
-                str(Path(cfg.output_dir) / "merged"),
-                safe_serialization=safe_serialization,
-            )
-            tokenizer.save_pretrained(str(Path(cfg.output_dir) / "merged"))
-        return
-
-    if cli_args.inference:
-        LOG.debug("Running inference on model")
-        do_inference(cfg, model, tokenizer, prompter=cli_args.prompter)
-        return
-
-    if cli_args.shard:
-        LOG.debug("Re-saving model w/ sharding")
-        model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
-        return
-
-    if cfg.resume_from_checkpoint is None and cfg.auto_resume_from_checkpoints:
-        possible_checkpoints = [
-            str(cp) for cp in Path(cfg.output_dir).glob("checkpoint-*")
-        ]
-        if len(possible_checkpoints) > 0:
-            sorted_paths = sorted(
-                possible_checkpoints,
-                key=lambda path: int(path.split("-")[-1]),
-            )
-            cfg.resume_from_checkpoint = sorted_paths[-1]
-            LOG.info(
-                f"Using Auto-resume functionality to start with checkpoint at {cfg.resume_from_checkpoint}"
-            )
-    resume_from_checkpoint = cfg.resume_from_checkpoint
-
-    trainer = setup_trainer(
-        cfg, train_dataset, eval_dataset, model, tokenizer, total_num_steps
-    )
-
-    model.config.use_cache = False
-
-    if torch.__version__ >= "2" and sys.platform != "win32":
-        LOG.info("Compiling torch model")
-        model = torch.compile(model)
-
-    # go ahead and presave, so we have the adapter config available to inspect
-    if peft_config:
-        LOG.info(f"Pre-saving adapter config to {cfg.output_dir}")
-        peft_config.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir)
-
-    # In case we want to stop early with ctrl+c, this is a nice to have to save the pretrained model
-    if cfg.local_rank == 0:
-
-        def terminate_handler(_, __, model):
-            if cfg.flash_optimum:
-                model = BetterTransformer.reverse(model)
-            model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
-            sys.exit(0)
-
-        signal.signal(
-            signal.SIGINT, lambda signum, frame: terminate_handler(signum, frame, model)
-        )
-
-    LOG.info("Starting trainer...")
-    if cfg.group_by_length:
-        LOG.info("hang tight... sorting dataset for group_by_length")
-
-    if not Path(cfg.output_dir).is_dir():
-        os.makedirs(cfg.output_dir, exist_ok=True)
-    tokenizer.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir)
-    if cfg.flash_optimum:
-        with torch.backends.cuda.sdp_kernel(
-            enable_flash=True, enable_math=True, enable_mem_efficient=True
-        ):
-            trainer.train(resume_from_checkpoint=resume_from_checkpoint)
-    else:
-        trainer.train(resume_from_checkpoint=resume_from_checkpoint)
-
-    LOG.info(f"Training Completed!!! Saving pre-trained model to {cfg.output_dir}")
-
-    if cfg.relora_steps:
-        if cfg.adapter == "lora" and not (cfg.load_in_4bit or cfg.load_in_8bit):
-            model = model.merge_and_unload()
-        else:
-            # final model weights have already been saved by `ReLoRACallback.on_train_end`
-            return
-
-    # TODO do we need this fix? https://huggingface.co/docs/accelerate/usage_guides/fsdp#saving-and-loading
-    # only save on rank 0, otherwise it corrupts output on multi-GPU when multiple processes attempt to write the same file
-    if cfg.fsdp:
-        trainer.save_model(cfg.output_dir)
-    elif cfg.local_rank == 0:
-        if cfg.flash_optimum:
-            model = BetterTransformer.reverse(model)
-
-        model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
-
-
 def load_cfg(config: Path = Path("examples/"), **kwargs):
     if Path(config).is_dir():
         config = choose_config(config)
@@ -347,15 +233,50 @@ def load_cfg(config: Path = Path("examples/"), **kwargs):
     return cfg
 
 
-def do_train(config: Path = Path("examples/"), **kwargs):
+def load_datasets(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+) -> TrainDatasetMeta:
+    tokenizer = load_tokenizer(cfg)
+
+    train_dataset, eval_dataset, total_num_steps = prepare_dataset(cfg, tokenizer)
+
+    if cli_args.debug or cfg.debug:
+        LOG.info("check_dataset_labels...")
+        check_dataset_labels(
+            train_dataset.select(
+                [random.randrange(0, len(train_dataset) - 1) for _ in range(5)]  # nosec
+            ),
+            tokenizer,
+        )
+
+    return TrainDatasetMeta(
+        train_dataset=train_dataset,
+        eval_dataset=eval_dataset,
+        total_num_steps=total_num_steps,
+    )
+
+
+def do_cli(config: Path = Path("examples/"), **kwargs):
     print_axolotl_text_art()
     parsed_cfg = load_cfg(config, **kwargs)
     parser = transformers.HfArgumentParser((TrainerCliArgs))
     parsed_cli_args, _ = parser.parse_args_into_dataclasses(
         return_remaining_strings=True
     )
-    train(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args)
+    if parsed_cli_args.inference:
+        do_inference(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args)
+    elif parsed_cli_args.merge_lora:
+        do_merge_lora(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args)
+    elif parsed_cli_args.shard:
+        shard(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args)
+    else:
+        dataset_meta = load_datasets(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args)
+        if parsed_cli_args.prepare_ds_only:
+            return
+        train(cfg=parsed_cfg, cli_args=parsed_cli_args, dataset_meta=dataset_meta)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    fire.Fire(do_train)
+    fire.Fire(do_cli)
diff --git a/src/axolotl/common/__init__.py b/src/axolotl/common/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/src/axolotl/common/cli.py b/src/axolotl/common/cli.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f5bd9b037
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/axolotl/common/cli.py
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+"""
+shared module for cli specific things
+"""
+
+import logging
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from typing import Optional
+
+from axolotl.logging_config import configure_logging
+from axolotl.utils.dict import DictDefault
+from axolotl.utils.models import load_model, load_tokenizer
+
+configure_logging()
+LOG = logging.getLogger("axolotl.common.cli")
+
+
+@dataclass
+class TrainerCliArgs:
+    """
+    dataclass representing the various non-training arguments
+    """
+
+    debug: bool = field(default=False)
+    inference: bool = field(default=False)
+    merge_lora: bool = field(default=False)
+    prepare_ds_only: bool = field(default=False)
+    prompter: Optional[str] = field(default=None)
+    shard: bool = field(default=False)
+
+
+def load_model_and_tokenizer(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+):
+    LOG.info(f"loading tokenizer... {cfg.tokenizer_config or cfg.base_model_config}")
+    tokenizer = load_tokenizer(cfg)
+    LOG.info("loading model and (optionally) peft_config...")
+    model, _ = load_model(cfg, tokenizer, inference=cli_args.inference)
+
+    return model, tokenizer
diff --git a/src/axolotl/train.py b/src/axolotl/train.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..51ef35903
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/axolotl/train.py
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+"""Prepare and train a model on a dataset. Can also infer from a model or merge lora"""
+
+import logging
+import os
+import signal
+import sys
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+import torch
+
+# add src to the pythonpath so we don't need to pip install this
+from datasets import Dataset
+from optimum.bettertransformer import BetterTransformer
+
+from axolotl.common.cli import TrainerCliArgs
+from axolotl.logging_config import configure_logging
+from axolotl.utils.dict import DictDefault
+from axolotl.utils.models import load_model, load_tokenizer
+from axolotl.utils.trainer import setup_trainer
+
+project_root = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
+src_dir = os.path.join(project_root, "src")
+sys.path.insert(0, src_dir)
+
+configure_logging()
+LOG = logging.getLogger("axolotl.train")
+
+
+@dataclass
+class TrainDatasetMeta:
+    """
+    dataclass to capture the dataset specific options for training
+    """
+
+    train_dataset: Dataset
+    eval_dataset: Optional[Dataset] = None
+    total_num_steps: Optional[int] = None
+
+
+def train(
+    *,
+    cfg: DictDefault,
+    cli_args: TrainerCliArgs,
+    dataset_meta: TrainDatasetMeta,
+):
+    # load the tokenizer first
+    LOG.info(f"loading tokenizer... {cfg.tokenizer_config or cfg.base_model_config}")
+    tokenizer = load_tokenizer(cfg)
+
+    train_dataset = dataset_meta.train_dataset
+    eval_dataset = dataset_meta.eval_dataset
+    total_num_steps = dataset_meta.total_num_steps
+
+    # Load the model and tokenizer
+    LOG.info("loading model and (optionally) peft_config...")
+    model, peft_config = load_model(cfg, tokenizer, inference=cli_args.inference)
+
+    safe_serialization = cfg.save_safetensors is True
+
+    if cfg.resume_from_checkpoint is None and cfg.auto_resume_from_checkpoints:
+        possible_checkpoints = [
+            str(cp) for cp in Path(cfg.output_dir).glob("checkpoint-*")
+        ]
+        if len(possible_checkpoints) > 0:
+            sorted_paths = sorted(
+                possible_checkpoints,
+                key=lambda path: int(path.split("-")[-1]),
+            )
+            cfg.resume_from_checkpoint = sorted_paths[-1]
+            LOG.info(
+                f"Using Auto-resume functionality to start with checkpoint at {cfg.resume_from_checkpoint}"
+            )
+    resume_from_checkpoint = cfg.resume_from_checkpoint
+
+    trainer = setup_trainer(
+        cfg, train_dataset, eval_dataset, model, tokenizer, total_num_steps
+    )
+
+    model.config.use_cache = False
+
+    if torch.__version__ >= "2" and sys.platform != "win32":
+        LOG.info("Compiling torch model")
+        model = torch.compile(model)
+
+    # go ahead and presave, so we have the adapter config available to inspect
+    if peft_config:
+        LOG.info(f"Pre-saving adapter config to {cfg.output_dir}")
+        peft_config.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir)
+
+    # In case we want to stop early with ctrl+c, this is a nice to have to save the pretrained model
+    if cfg.local_rank == 0:
+
+        def terminate_handler(_, __, model):
+            if cfg.flash_optimum:
+                model = BetterTransformer.reverse(model)
+            model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
+            sys.exit(0)
+
+        signal.signal(
+            signal.SIGINT, lambda signum, frame: terminate_handler(signum, frame, model)
+        )
+
+    LOG.info("Starting trainer...")
+    if cfg.group_by_length:
+        LOG.info("hang tight... sorting dataset for group_by_length")
+
+    if not Path(cfg.output_dir).is_dir():
+        os.makedirs(cfg.output_dir, exist_ok=True)
+    tokenizer.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir)
+    if cfg.flash_optimum:
+        with torch.backends.cuda.sdp_kernel(
+            enable_flash=True, enable_math=True, enable_mem_efficient=True
+        ):
+            trainer.train(resume_from_checkpoint=resume_from_checkpoint)
+    else:
+        trainer.train(resume_from_checkpoint=resume_from_checkpoint)
+
+    LOG.info(f"Training Completed!!! Saving pre-trained model to {cfg.output_dir}")
+
+    if cfg.relora_steps:
+        if cfg.adapter == "lora" and not (cfg.load_in_4bit or cfg.load_in_8bit):
+            model = model.merge_and_unload()
+        else:
+            # final model weights have already been saved by `ReLoRACallback.on_train_end`
+            return model, tokenizer
+
+    # TODO do we need this fix? https://huggingface.co/docs/accelerate/usage_guides/fsdp#saving-and-loading
+    # only save on rank 0, otherwise it corrupts output on multi-GPU when multiple processes attempt to write the same file
+    if cfg.fsdp:
+        trainer.save_model(cfg.output_dir)
+    elif cfg.local_rank == 0:
+        if cfg.flash_optimum:
+            model = BetterTransformer.reverse(model)
+
+        model.save_pretrained(cfg.output_dir, safe_serialization=safe_serialization)
+
+    return model, tokenizer