diff --git a/lib/mpl/network.js b/lib/mpl/network.js
index 882419c..f2dedc3 100644
--- a/lib/mpl/network.js
+++ b/lib/mpl/network.js
@@ -10,6 +10,14 @@ var _events = require('events');
 
 var _events2 = _interopRequireDefault(_events);
 
+var _fs = require('fs');
+
+var _fs2 = _interopRequireDefault(_fs);
+
+var _mkdirp = require('mkdirp');
+
+var _mkdirp2 = _interopRequireDefault(_mkdirp);
+
 var _ipfs = require('ipfs');
 
 var _ipfs2 = _interopRequireDefault(_ipfs);
@@ -58,12 +66,15 @@ var Network = function (_EventEmitter) {
     });
 
     if (!process.env.DAT_DIR) {
-      console.error('DAT_DIR environment variable not set');
-      process.exit(1);
+      throw new Error('DAT_DIR environment variable not set');
+      // process.exit(1)
     }
-    (0, _datNode2.default)(process.env.DAT_DIR, function (dat, err) {
+    _this.datDir = process.env.DAT_DIR;
+    (0, _datNode2.default)(_this.datDir, function (err, dat) {
       if (err) throw err; // What is the right way to handle errors here?
 
+      _this.dat = dat;
+
       dat.joinNetwork(function (err) {
         if (err) {
           console.error('joinNetwork error', err);
@@ -138,6 +149,19 @@ var Network = function (_EventEmitter) {
         this.Peers[peer] = new _automerge2.default.Connection(this.docSet, function (msg) {
           console.log('Automerge.Connection> send to ' + peer + ':', msg);
           _this3.room.sendTo(peer, JSON.stringify(msg));
+
+          if (_this3.dat) {
+            _mkdirp2.default.sync(_this3.datDir + '/' + peer);
+            _fs2.default.writeFileSync(_this3.datDir + '/' + peer + '/lastMessage.json', JSON.stringify(msg));
+            _this3.dat.importFiles();
+            /*
+            this.dat.archive.writeFile('/lastMessage.json', JSON.stringify(msg), err => {
+              if (err) {
+                console.error('writeFile error', err)
+              }
+            })
+            */
+          }
         });
 
         this.Peers[peer].open();
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 142a2e2..52344dc 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@
     "debug": "^2.6.8",
     "dotenv": "^4.0.0",
     "ipfs": "^0.26.0",
-    "ipfs-pubsub-room": "^0.5.0"
+    "ipfs-pubsub-room": "^0.5.0",
+    "mkdirp": "^0.5.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "babel-cli": "6.24.1",
diff --git a/src/mpl/network.js b/src/mpl/network.js
index ace6787..6449009 100644
--- a/src/mpl/network.js
+++ b/src/mpl/network.js
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import EventEmitter from 'events'
 
+import fs from 'fs'
+import mkdirp from 'mkdirp'
 import IPFS from 'ipfs'
 import Room from 'ipfs-pubsub-room'
 import Dat from 'dat-node'
@@ -27,12 +29,15 @@ export default class Network extends EventEmitter {
     })
 
     if (!process.env.DAT_DIR) {
-      console.error('DAT_DIR environment variable not set')
-      process.exit(1)
+      throw new Error('DAT_DIR environment variable not set')
+      // process.exit(1)
     }
-    Dat(process.env.DAT_DIR, (dat, err) => {
+    this.datDir = process.env.DAT_DIR
+    Dat(this.datDir, (err, dat) => {
       if (err) throw err  // What is the right way to handle errors here?
 
+      this.dat = dat
+
       dat.joinNetwork(err => {
         if (err) {
           console.error('joinNetwork error', err)
@@ -84,6 +89,20 @@ export default class Network extends EventEmitter {
       this.Peers[peer] = new Automerge.Connection(this.docSet, msg => {
         console.log('Automerge.Connection> send to ' + peer + ':', msg)
         this.room.sendTo(peer, JSON.stringify(msg))
+
+        if (this.dat) {
+          mkdirp.sync(`${this.datDir}/${peer}`)
+          fs.writeFileSync(`${this.datDir}/${peer}/lastMessage.json`, JSON.stringify(msg))
+          this.dat.importFiles()
+          /*
+          this.dat.archive.writeFile('/lastMessage.json', JSON.stringify(msg), err => {
+            if (err) {
+              console.error('writeFile error', err)
+            }
+          })
+          */
+        }
+
       })
 
       this.Peers[peer].open()