diff --git a/test/Makefile b/test/Makefile
index fdc3eb3..06dd47e 100644
--- a/test/Makefile
+++ b/test/Makefile
@@ -1,19 +1,25 @@
-CC=afl-cc
-LD=afl-cc
-
 BIN=../bin
 
-.PHONY: all masm mld msim
+ASM = $(shell find ./masm -type f -name "*.asm")
+OBJ = $(patsubst ./masm/%.asm,./mld/%.o,$(ASM))
+ELF = $(patsubst ./mld/%.o,./msim/%,$(OBJ))
+TEST = $(patsubst ./msim/%,%,$(ELF))
 
-all: masm mld msim
+.PHONY: build clean
 
-masm:
-	make -C ../masm clean build CC=$(CC) LD=$(LD)
-	$(BIN)/masm/masm -o ./mld/test.o ./masm/test.asm
+build: $(TEST)
 
-mld:
-	make -C ../mld clean build CC=$(CC) LD=$(LD)
-	$(BIN)/mld/mld -o ./msim/test ./mld/test.o
+clean:
+	rm -fr ./mld
+	rm -fr ./msim
 
-msim:
-	make -C ../msim clean build CC=$(CC) LD=$(LD)
+$(OBJ): ./mld/%.o : ./masm/%.asm
+	@mkdir -p $(@D)
+	$(BIN)/masm/masm -o $@ $<
+
+$(ELF): ./msim/% : ./mld/%.o ../lib/runtime.asm
+	@mkdir -p $(@D)
+	$(BIN)/mld/mld -o $@ $<
+
+$(TEST): % : ./msim/%
+	../tools/test.sh $@
diff --git a/test/a.out b/test/a.out
deleted file mode 100755
index 075ddb6..0000000
Binary files a/test/a.out and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/test/masm/div.asm b/test/masm/div.asm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9b4f3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/masm/div.asm
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Freya Murphy
+
+# file: div.asm
+# test: should cause floting point exception
+
+.text
+.align 2
+.globl main
+
+main:
+	# divide by zero
+	li	$t0, 0
+	div	$t0, $t0, $t0
+
+	# return
+	li	$v0, 0
+	jr	$ra
diff --git a/test/masm/fault.asm b/test/masm/fault.asm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df700cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/masm/fault.asm
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Freya Murphy
+
+# file: div.asm
+# test: should cause page fault
+
+.text
+.align 2
+.globl main
+
+main:
+	lw	$t0, 0($zero)
+
+	# return
+	li	$v0, 0
+	jr	$ra
diff --git a/test/masm/fncall.asm b/test/masm/fncall.asm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..96d1ba2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/masm/fncall.asm
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Freya Murphy
+
+# file: fncall.asm
+# test: should return value from function call
+
+.text
+.align 2
+.globl main
+
+result:
+	move	$t0, $a0
+	move	$v0, $t0
+	jr	$ra
+
+main:
+	# save ra on stack
+	addi	$sp, $sp, -4
+	sw	$ra, 0($sp)
+
+	# set return to 17
+	li	$a0, 17
+	jal	result
+
+	# pop ra from stack
+	lw	$ra, 0($sp)
+	addi	$sp, $sp, 4
+
+	# return result
+	jr	$ra
diff --git a/test/masm/hello.asm b/test/masm/hello.asm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d64ae5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/masm/hello.asm
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2024 Freya Murphy
+
+# file: div.asm
+# test: should print hello world
+
+.data
+.align 1
+
+hw:
+	.asciiz "Hello, world!\n"
+
+.text
+.align 2
+.globl main
+
+main:
+	# print hello world
+	li	$v0, 1
+	li	$a0, 1	# stdout
+	la	$a1, hw # load string
+	li	$a2, 14 # load length
+	syscall
+
+	# return 1
+	li	$v0, 0
+	jr	$ra
diff --git a/test/masm/test.asm b/test/masm/test.asm
deleted file mode 100644
index b099c2e..0000000
--- a/test/masm/test.asm
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,242 +0,0 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2024 Freya Murphy
-
-.data
-.align 2
-
-heap_start:
-	.space 4
-heap_len:
-	.space 4
-heap_free:
-	.space 4
-heap_ptr:
-	.space 4
-
-null:
-	.space 4
-
-.text
-.align 2
-.globl main
-
-# init the heap
-heap_init:
-	# sbrk(0)
-	li	$v0, 9
-	li	$a0, 0
-	syscall
-	sw	$v0, heap_start
-	sw	$v1, heap_len
-
-	# heap is empty, ptr at start
-	sw	$v0, heap_ptr
-	# heap is empty, size = len
-	sw	$v1, heap_free
-
-	jr	$ra
-
-
-
-# $a0 : amount of bytes to increase
-heap_increase:
-	# t0 : OLD heap len + 1
-	# t1 : heap ptr
-	# t2 : heap end
-	# t2 : heap free
-	# t3 : a0
-
-	# save current length
-	lw	$t0, heap_len
-
-	# save a0
-	move	$t3, $a0
-
-	# sbrk(amt)
-	li	$v0, 9
-	syscall
-	# sbrk(0)
-	li	$v0, 9
-	li	$a0, 0
-	syscall
-	sw	$v0, heap_start
-	sw	$v1, heap_len
-
-	lw	$t1, heap_ptr    # heap ptr
-	add	$t2, $v0, $v1   # heap end
-	sub	$t3, $t2, $t1   # heap free
-	sw	$t3, heap_free
-
-	# set return code to 1 if fail to allocate
-	# i.e. $v1 = $t0 or ($v1 < $t0 + 1)
-	# i.e. heap size hasen't changed
-	addi	$t0, $t0, 1
-	slt	$v0, $v1, $t0
-	jr	$ra
-
-
-
-# $a0 : amount of bytes to allocate
-malloc:
-	# t0 : heap free + 1
-	# t1 : if enough mem is free
-	# t2 : alloc size [(a0 align 4) + 4096 + 4]
-	# t3 : temp for heap_ptr
-	# t7 : alloc amt (a0 align 4) + 4
-	# t8 : temp for modulo
-
-	# save $a0
-	move	$t7, $a0
-	addi	$t7, $t7, 4 # add 4 bytes to save INTERAL ptr size
-
-	# align $t7 by 4
-	# allows us to use lw and sw in realloc
-	li	$t8, 4
-	div	$t8, $t7, $t8
-	mfhi	$t8
-	beq	$t8, $zero, malloc_aligned
-	addi	$t7, $t7, 4
-	sub	$t7, $t7, $t8
-
-malloc_aligned:
-	# check if we have enough memory free
-	lw	$t0, heap_free
-	addi	$t0, $t0, 1
-	slt	$t1, $t7, $t0
-	bne	$t1, $zero, malloc_hasmem
-
-	# set needed mem to alloc
-	# page size + alloc request
-
-	# save $ra and $t7
-	addi	$sp, $sp, -8
-	sw	$ra, 0($sp)
-	sw	$t7, 4($sp)
-
-	li	$t2, 4096
-	add	$t2, $t2, $t7
-	move	$a0, $t2
-	jal	heap_increase
-
-	# pop $ra and $t7
-	lw	$ra, 0($sp)
-	lw	$t7, 4($sp)
-	addi	$sp, $sp, 8
-
-	# check heap_increase return code
-	beq	$v0, $zero, malloc_hasmem
-
-malloc_error:
-	# failed to sbrk, return null
-	la	$v0, null
-	jr	$ra
-
-malloc_hasmem:
-	# set return value, and save ptr size in it
-	# add 4 to return ptr, since first 4 bytes are INTERNAL
-	addi	$t3, $t7, -4
-	lw	$v0, heap_ptr
-	sw	$t3, ($v0)
-	addi	$v0, $v0, 4
-
-	lw	$t3, heap_ptr
-	add	$t3, $t3, $t7 # increase ptr by alloc size
-	sw	$t3, heap_ptr
-
-	jr	$ra
-
-
-
-# $a0 : address of ptr
-free:
-	# haha hehe hoho
-	jr	$ra
-
-
-
-# $a0 : new size
-# $a1 : old ptr
-realloc:
-	# t0 : old ptr size
-	# t2 : new ptr addr
-
-	# check if $a0 is zero, if so then just free
-	bne	$a0, $zero, realloc_inner
-	move	$a0, $a1
-	la	$v0, null
-	j	free
-
-	# save to stack
-	addi	$sp, $sp, -12
-	sw	$ra, 0($sp)
-	sw	$a0, 4($sp)
-	sw	$a1, 8($sp)
-
-	jal	malloc
-
-	# pop to stack
-	lw	$ra, 0($sp)
-	lw	$a0, 4($sp)
-	lw	$a1, 8($sp)
-	addi	$sp, $sp, 12
-
-realloc_inner:
-	addi	$a1, $a1, -4
-	lw	$t0, ($a1)
-	addi	$a1, $a1, 4
-
-realloc_loop:
-	# loop until $t0 or $t1 is zero
-	beq	$t0, $zero, realloc_end
-	beq	$a0, $zero, realloc_end
-
-	addi	$a1, $a1, 4
-	addi	$t0, $t0, -4
-	addi	$a0, $a0, -4
-	#lw	$t3,
-
-	j	realloc_loop
-
-realloc_end:
-
-
-realloc_free:
-	jr	$ra
-
-
-main:
-	# push return address
-	addi	$sp, $sp, -4
-	sw	$ra, ($sp)
-
-	jal	heap_init
-
-	li	$a0, 24
-	jal	malloc
-
-	move	$a0, $v0
-	li	$v0, 1
-	syscall
-
-	li	$v0, 11
-	li	$a0, 10
-	syscall
-
-	li	$a0, 24
-	jal	malloc
-
-	move	$a0, $v0
-	li	$v0, 1
-	syscall
-
-	li	$v0, 11
-	li	$a0, 10
-	syscall
-
-	# pop return address
-	lw	$ra, ($sp)
-	addi	$sp, $sp, 4
-
-exit:
-	# exit with code 0
-	li	$v0, 0
-	jr	$ra
diff --git a/test/mld/test.o b/test/mld/div.o
similarity index 63%
rename from test/mld/test.o
rename to test/mld/div.o
index 28af663..0ec84f2 100644
Binary files a/test/mld/test.o and b/test/mld/div.o differ
diff --git a/test/mld/fault.o b/test/mld/fault.o
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb48c85
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/mld/fault.o differ
diff --git a/test/mld/fncall.o b/test/mld/fncall.o
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..76732db
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/mld/fncall.o differ
diff --git a/test/mld/hello.o b/test/mld/hello.o
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ed85643
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/mld/hello.o differ
diff --git a/test/msim/div b/test/msim/div
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..de72052
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/msim/div differ
diff --git a/test/msim/fault b/test/msim/fault
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..d1f5e0b
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/msim/fault differ
diff --git a/test/msim/fncall b/test/msim/fncall
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7060b14
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/msim/fncall differ
diff --git a/test/msim/test b/test/msim/hello
similarity index 91%
rename from test/msim/test
rename to test/msim/hello
index f53e634..02a3aa9 100755
Binary files a/test/msim/test and b/test/msim/hello differ
diff --git a/test/out/div b/test/out/div
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94b9ab8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/div
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+
+		!!! An exception has occurred !!!
+
+error: floating point exception
+pc: 0x00400004
+ins: 0x0108409a
+registers:
+$zero:	0x00000000 $t0:	0x00000000 $s0:	0x00000000 $t8:	0x00000000
+$at:	0x00000000 $t1:	0x00000000 $s1:	0x00000000 $t9:	0x00000000
+$v0:	0x00000000 $t2:	0x00000000 $s2:	0x00000000 $k0:	0x00000000
+$v1:	0x00000000 $t3:	0x00000000 $s3:	0x00000000 $k1:	0x00000000
+$a0:	0x00000000 $t4:	0x00000000 $s4:	0x00000000 $gp:	0x00000000
+$a1:	0x00000000 $t5:	0x00000000 $s5:	0x00000000 $sp:	0x10001000
+$a2:	0x00000000 $t6:	0x00000000 $s6:	0x00000000 $fp:	0x00000000
+$a3:	0x00000000 $t7:	0x00000000 $s7:	0x00000000 $ra:	0x0040001c
diff --git a/test/out/div.status b/test/out/div.status
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d00491f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/div.status
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1
diff --git a/test/out/fault b/test/out/fault
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..938bb46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/fault
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+
+		!!! An exception has occurred !!!
+
+error: page fault at (nil): address not mapped to object
+pc: 0x00400000
+ins: 0x8c080000
+registers:
+$zero:	0x00000000 $t0:	0x00000000 $s0:	0x00000000 $t8:	0x00000000
+$at:	0x00000000 $t1:	0x00000000 $s1:	0x00000000 $t9:	0x00000000
+$v0:	0x00000000 $t2:	0x00000000 $s2:	0x00000000 $k0:	0x00000000
+$v1:	0x00000000 $t3:	0x00000000 $s3:	0x00000000 $k1:	0x00000000
+$a0:	0x00000000 $t4:	0x00000000 $s4:	0x00000000 $gp:	0x00000000
+$a1:	0x00000000 $t5:	0x00000000 $s5:	0x00000000 $sp:	0x10001000
+$a2:	0x00000000 $t6:	0x00000000 $s6:	0x00000000 $fp:	0x00000000
+$a3:	0x00000000 $t7:	0x00000000 $s7:	0x00000000 $ra:	0x00400018
diff --git a/test/out/fault.status b/test/out/fault.status
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d00491f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/fault.status
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+1
diff --git a/test/out/fncall b/test/out/fncall
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/test/out/fncall.status b/test/out/fncall.status
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98d9bcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/fncall.status
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+17
diff --git a/test/out/hello b/test/out/hello
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af5626b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/hello
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Hello, world!
diff --git a/test/out/hello.status b/test/out/hello.status
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..573541a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/out/hello.status
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0
diff --git a/tools/test.sh b/tools/test.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2dcbf6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+#
+# tests a binary
+# against a output and an exit code
+#
+
+dir="$(dirname "$0")"
+
+msim="$dir/../bin/msim/msim"
+bin="$dir/../test/msim/$1"
+
+out=$(cat "$dir/../test/out/$1")
+status=$(cat "$dir/../test/out/$1.status")
+
+temp=$(mktemp)
+
+$msim $bin &> $temp
+
+rstatus="$?"
+rout=$(cat $temp)
+rm $temp
+
+res=0
+
+if [ "$out" != "$rout" ]; then
+	res=1
+fi
+
+if [ "$status" != "$rstatus" ]; then
+	res=1
+fi
+
+if [ $res = 0 ]; then
+	printf "\033[32mPASSED\033[0m\n"
+else
+	printf "\033[31mFAILED\033[0m\n"
+	diff <(echo $out) <(echo $rout)
+fi
+
+exit $res