diff --git a/backend/CMakeLists.txt b/backend/CMakeLists.txt
index 7618728..4f152d4 100644
--- a/backend/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/backend/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.27)
+
+## application
 project(backend)
 
 find_package(Crow REQUIRED)
@@ -7,6 +9,7 @@ find_package(SQLite3 REQUIRED)
 set(SOURCES
     src/main.cpp
     src/database.cpp
+    src/passwords.cpp
 )
 
 set(CMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS ON)
@@ -16,3 +19,20 @@ add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} ${SOURCES})
 target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} Crow::Crow SQLite::SQLite3)
 
 target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE src)
+
+## tests
+project(tests)
+
+find_package(Catch2 REQUIRED)
+
+set (TEST_SOURCE
+    tests/test.cpp
+)
+
+add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} ${TEST_SOURCE})
+
+target_link_libraries(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE Catch2::Catch2WithMain)
+
+target_include_directories(${PROJECT_NAME} PRIVATE tests)
+
+include(Catch)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/README.md b/backend/README.md
index 2bdad04..6295eb0 100644
--- a/backend/README.md
+++ b/backend/README.md
@@ -30,3 +30,9 @@ To fix VS Code import errors with Crow, try adding the following line to your `s
 ```
 
 [Source](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58077908/linking-conan-include-to-vs-code)
+
+## Testing
+After building, you can run tests from `/backend`:
+```bash
+cd build && ./tests
+```
diff --git a/backend/conanfile.py b/backend/conanfile.py
index e9af6e1..451d8fd 100644
--- a/backend/conanfile.py
+++ b/backend/conanfile.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ class BackendRecipe(ConanFile):
     def requirements(self):
         self.requires("crowcpp-crow/1.0+5")
         self.requires("sqlite3/3.42.0")
+        self.requires("catch2/3.4.0")
 
     def build_requirements(self):
         self.tool_requires("cmake/3.22.6")
diff --git a/backend/src/main.cpp b/backend/src/main.cpp
index df1c70e..7b61467 100644
--- a/backend/src/main.cpp
+++ b/backend/src/main.cpp
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@
 #include "crow.h"
 #include <sqlite3.h>
 #include "database.hpp"
+#include "passwords.hpp"
 
 int main()
-{
+{   
     database::Database db = database::Database("passwords.db");
     db.execute("CREATE TABLE passwords (password TEXT);");
     db.execute("INSERT INTO passwords (password) VALUES ('chocolate1');");
diff --git a/backend/tests/test.cpp b/backend/tests/test.cpp
index cad41b7..38b01c0 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test.cpp
+++ b/backend/tests/test.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,29 @@
-#include <cassert>
-#include <iostream>
+#define CATCH_CONFIG_MAIN
+#include <regex>
+#include <catch2/catch_all.hpp>
+#include "../src/passwords.cpp"
 
-int main()
+std::unordered_set<std::string> passwordSet = passwords::generatePasswords(5, 24);
+
+bool hasLettersAndDigit(std::string str)
+{
+    const std::regex pattern("^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*\\d).+$");
+    return regex_match(str, pattern);
+}
+
+bool hasSymbol(std::string str)
+{
+    return str.find_first_not_of("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ01234567890_") != std::string::npos;
+}
+
+TEST_CASE("Test basic password requirements")
 {
-    return 0;
+    // function generated 5 passwords
+    REQUIRE(passwordSet.size() == 5);
+    // a password has more than 10 characters
+    auto password = *(passwordSet.begin());
+    REQUIRE(password.length() >= 10);
+    // a password meets all char requirements
+    REQUIRE(hasLettersAndDigit(password));
+    REQUIRE(hasSymbol(password));
 }
\ No newline at end of file