diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0dac33c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+WakaTime is written and maintained by Alan Hamlett and
+various contributors:
+
+
+Development Lead
+----------------
+
+- Alan Hamlett <alan.hamlett@gmail.com>
+
+
+Patches and Suggestions
+-----------------------
+
+- 3onyc <3onyc@x3tech.com>
diff --git a/wakatime/__init__.py b/wakatime/__init__.py
index c6fa21f..004c14f 100644
--- a/wakatime/__init__.py
+++ b/wakatime/__init__.py
@@ -26,8 +26,15 @@ import re
 import sys
 import time
 import traceback
-
-from ConfigParser import RawConfigParser
+try:
+    import ConfigParser as configparser
+except ImportError:
+    import configparser
+try:
+    from urllib2 import HTTPError, Request, urlopen
+except ImportError:
+    from urllib.error import HTTPError
+    from urllib.request import Request, urlopen
 
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), 'packages'))
@@ -37,11 +44,6 @@ from .stats import get_file_stats
 from .packages import argparse
 from .packages import simplejson as json
 from .packages import tzlocal
-try:
-    from urllib2 import HTTPError, Request, urlopen
-except ImportError:
-    from urllib.error import HTTPError
-    from urllib.request import Request, urlopen
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -53,55 +55,63 @@ class FileAction(argparse.Action):
         values = os.path.realpath(values)
         setattr(namespace, self.dest, values)
 
-def checkUpdateConfigFile(configFile):
-    """Checks if the config has a header section, if not add it for ConfigParser"""
-    with open(configFile) as fh:
-        configData = fh.read()
-        if not configData.strip().startswith('[settings]'):
-            configData = "[settings]\n" + configData.strip()
 
-            with open(configFile, 'w') as fh:
-                fh.write(configData)
+def upgradeConfigFile(configFile):
+    """For backwards-compatibility, upgrade the existing config file
+    to work with configparser and rename from .wakatime.conf to .wakatime.cfg.
+    """
+
+    if os.path.isfile(configFile):
+        # if upgraded cfg file already exists, don't overwrite it
+        return
+
+    oldConfig = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.wakatime.conf')
+    try:
+        with open(oldConfig) as infile:
+            with open(configFile, 'w') as outfile:
+                outfile.write("[settings]\n%s" % infile.read().strip())
+        os.remove(oldConfig)
+    except IOError:
+        pass
+
 
 def parseConfigFile(configFile):
+    """Returns a configparser.SafeConfigParser instance with configs
+    read from the config file. Default location of the config file is
+    at ~/.wakatime.cfg.
+    """
+
     if not configFile:
-        configFile = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.wakatime.conf')
+        configFile = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.wakatime.cfg')
 
-    checkUpdateConfigFile(configFile)
-
-    # define default config values
-    defaults = {
-        'settings' : {
-            'api_key': None,
-            'ignore': [],
-            'verbose': False
-        },
-    }
-
-    if not os.path.isfile(configFile):
-        return configs
+    upgradeConfigFile(configFile)
 
+    configs = configparser.SafeConfigParser()
     try:
         with open(configFile) as fh:
-            configs = RawConfigParser()
-            setConfigDefaults(configs, defaults)
-            configs.readfp(fh)
+            try:
+                configs.readfp(fh)
+            except configparser.Error:
+                print(traceback.format_exc())
+                return None
     except IOError:
-        print('Error: Could not read from config file ~/.wakatime.conf')
+        if not os.path.isfile(configFile):
+            print('Error: Could not read from config file ~/.wakatime.conf')
     return configs
 
-def setConfigDefaults(config, defaults):
-    for section, values in defaults.iteritems():
-        if not config.has_section(section):
-            config.add_section(section)
-        for key, value in values.iteritems():
-            config.set(section, key, value)
 
 def parseArguments(argv):
+    """Parse command line arguments and configs from ~/.wakatime.cfg.
+    Command line arguments take precedence over config file settings.
+    Returns instances of ArgumentParser and SafeConfigParser.
+    """
+
     try:
         sys.argv
     except AttributeError:
         sys.argv = argv
+
+    # define supported command line arguments
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
             description='Wakati.Me event api appender')
     parser.add_argument('--file', dest='targetFile', metavar='file',
@@ -129,24 +139,41 @@ def parseArguments(argv):
     parser.add_argument('--verbose', dest='verbose', action='store_true',
             help='turns on debug messages in log file')
     parser.add_argument('--version', action='version', version=__version__)
+
+    # parse command line arguments
     args = parser.parse_args(args=argv[1:])
+
+    # use current unix epoch timestamp by default
     if not args.timestamp:
         args.timestamp = time.time()
 
-    # set arguments from config file
+    # parse ~/.wakatime.cfg file
     configs = parseConfigFile(args.config)
+    if configs is None:
+        return args, configs
+
+    # update args from configs
     if not args.key:
-        default_key = configs.get('settings', 'api_key')
+        default_key = None
+        if configs.has_option('settings', 'api_key'):
+            default_key = configs.get('settings', 'api_key')
         if default_key:
             args.key = default_key
         else:
             parser.error('Missing api key')
-    for pattern in configs.get('settings', 'ignore'):
-        if not args.ignore:
-            args.ignore = []
-        args.ignore.append(pattern)
+    if not args.ignore:
+        args.ignore = []
+    if configs.has_option('settings', 'ignore'):
+        try:
+            for pattern in configs.get('settings', 'ignore').split("\n"):
+                if pattern.strip() != '':
+                    args.ignore.append(pattern)
+        except TypeError:
+            pass
     if not args.verbose and configs.has_option('settings', 'verbose'):
         args.verbose = configs.getboolean('settings', 'verbose')
+    if not args.verbose and configs.has_option('settings', 'debug'):
+        args.verbose = configs.getboolean('settings', 'debug')
     if not args.logfile and configs.has_option('settings', 'logfile'):
         args.logfile = configs.get('settings', 'logfile')
 
@@ -244,28 +271,39 @@ def send_action(project=None, branch=None, stats={}, key=None, targetFile=None,
 def main(argv=None):
     if not argv:
         argv = sys.argv
-    args, config = parseArguments(argv)
+
+    args, configs = parseArguments(argv)
+    if configs is None:
+        return 103 # config file parsing error
+
     setup_logging(args, __version__)
+
     ignore = should_ignore(args.targetFile, args.ignore)
     if ignore is not False:
         log.debug('File ignored because matches pattern: %s' % ignore)
         return 0
+
     if os.path.isfile(args.targetFile):
+
+        stats = get_file_stats(args.targetFile)
+
+        project = find_project(args.targetFile, configs=configs)
         branch = None
         name = None
-        stats = get_file_stats(args.targetFile)
-        project = find_project(args.targetFile, config)
         if project:
             branch = project.branch()
-            name = project.name()
+            project_name = project.name()
+
         if send_action(
-                project=name,
+                project=project_name,
                 branch=branch,
                 stats=stats,
                 **vars(args)
             ):
-            return 0
-        return 102
+            return 0 # success
+
+        return 102 # api error
+
     else:
         log.debug('File does not exist; ignoring this action.')
-    return 101
+        return 0
diff --git a/wakatime/project.py b/wakatime/project.py
index 9f93790..88827be 100644
--- a/wakatime/project.py
+++ b/wakatime/project.py
@@ -12,15 +12,18 @@
 import logging
 import os
 
-from .projects.wakatime import WakaTime
-from .projects.projectmap import ProjectMap
 from .projects.git import Git
 from .projects.mercurial import Mercurial
+from .projects.projectmap import ProjectMap
 from .projects.subversion import Subversion
+from .projects.wakatime import WakaTime
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+
+# List of plugin classes to find a project for the current file path.
+# Project plugins will be processed with priority in the order below.
 PLUGINS = [
     WakaTime,
     ProjectMap,
@@ -30,14 +33,13 @@ PLUGINS = [
 ]
 
 
-def find_project(path, config):
+def find_project(path, configs=None):
     for plugin in PLUGINS:
         plugin_name = plugin.__name__.lower()
-        if config.has_section(plugin_name):
-            plugin_config = config
-        else:
-            plugin_config = None
-        project = plugin(path, plugin_config)
+        plugin_configs = None
+        if configs and configs.has_section(plugin_name):
+            plugin_configs = dict(configs.items(plugin_name))
+        project = plugin(path, configs=plugin_configs)
         if project.process():
             return project
     return None
diff --git a/wakatime/projects/base.py b/wakatime/projects/base.py
index 249ff2d..aeafdf7 100644
--- a/wakatime/projects/base.py
+++ b/wakatime/projects/base.py
@@ -22,19 +22,19 @@ class BaseProject(object):
     be found for the current path.
     """
 
-    def __init__(self, path, settings):
+    def __init__(self, path, configs=None):
         self.path = path
-        self.settings = settings
+        self._configs = configs
 
-    def type(self):
+    def project_type(self):
         """ Returns None if this is the base class.
         Returns the type of project if this is a
         valid project.
         """
-        type = self.__class__.__name__.lower()
-        if type == 'baseproject':
-            type = None
-        return type
+        project_type = self.__class__.__name__.lower()
+        if project_type == 'baseproject':
+            project_type = None
+        return project_type
 
     def process(self):
         """ Processes self.path into a project and
diff --git a/wakatime/projects/git.py b/wakatime/projects/git.py
index ef19a89..7670bc9 100644
--- a/wakatime/projects/git.py
+++ b/wakatime/projects/git.py
@@ -25,35 +25,32 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 class Git(BaseProject):
 
     def process(self):
-        self.config = self._find_config(self.path)
-        if self.config:
-            return True
-        return False
+        self.configFile = self._find_git_config_file(self.path)
+        return self.configFile is not None
 
     def name(self):
         base = self._project_base()
         if base:
-            return os.path.basename(base)
+            return unicode(os.path.basename(base))
         return None
 
     def branch(self):
-        branch = None
         base = self._project_base()
         if base:
             head = os.path.join(self._project_base(), '.git', 'HEAD')
             try:
-                with open(head) as f:
-                    branch = f.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1]
+                with open(head) as fh:
+                    return unicode(fh.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1])
             except IOError:
                 pass
-        return branch
-
-    def _project_base(self):
-        if self.config:
-            return os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(self.config))
         return None
 
-    def _find_config(self, path):
+    def _project_base(self):
+        if self.configFile:
+            return os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(self.configFile))
+        return None
+
+    def _find_git_config_file(self, path):
         path = os.path.realpath(path)
         if os.path.isfile(path):
             path = os.path.split(path)[0]
@@ -62,34 +59,4 @@ class Git(BaseProject):
         split_path = os.path.split(path)
         if split_path[1] == '':
             return None
-        return self._find_config(split_path[0])
-
-    def _parse_config(self):
-        sections = {}
-        try:
-            f = open(self.config, 'r')
-        except IOError as e:
-            log.exception("Exception:")
-        else:
-            with f:
-                section = None
-                for line in f.readlines():
-                    line = line.lstrip()
-                    if len(line) > 0 and line[0] == '[':
-                        section = line[1:].split(']', 1)[0]
-                        temp = section.split(' ', 1)
-                        section = temp[0].lower()
-                        if len(temp) > 1:
-                            section = ' '.join([section, temp[1]])
-                        sections[section] = {}
-                    else:
-                        try:
-                            (setting, value) = line.split('=', 1)
-                        except ValueError:
-                            setting = line.split('#', 1)[0].split(';', 1)[0]
-                            value = 'true'
-                        setting = setting.strip().lower()
-                        value = value.split('#', 1)[0].split(';', 1)[0].strip()
-                        sections[section][setting] = value
-                f.close()
-        return sections
+        return self._find_git_config_file(split_path[0])
diff --git a/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py b/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
index aa4881f..40e23f5 100644
--- a/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
+++ b/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
@@ -1,20 +1,16 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 """
     wakatime.projects.projectmap
-    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-    Information from ~/.waka-projectmap mapping folders (relative to home folder)
-    to project names
+    Use the ~/.wakatime.cfg file to define custom projects for folders.
 
-    :author: 3onyc
+    :copyright: (c) 2013 Alan Hamlett.
     :license: BSD, see LICENSE for more details.
 """
 
 import logging
 import os
-from functools import partial
-
-from ..packages import simplejson as json
 
 from .base import BaseProject
 
@@ -23,34 +19,36 @@ log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class ProjectMap(BaseProject):
+
     def process(self):
-        if not self.settings:
+        if not self._configs:
             return False
 
-        self.project = self._find_project()
-        return self.project != None
+        self.project = self._find_project(self.path)
 
-    def _find_project(self):
-        has_option = partial(self.settings.has_option, 'projectmap')
-        get_option = partial(self.settings.get, 'projectmap')
-        paths = self._path_generator()
+        return self.project is not None
 
-        projects = map(get_option, filter(has_option, paths))
-        return projects[0] if projects else None
+    def _find_project(self, path):
+        path = os.path.realpath(path)
+        if os.path.isfile(path):
+            path = os.path.split(path)[0]
+
+        if self._configs.get(path.lower()):
+            return self._configs.get(path.lower())
+        if self._configs.get('%s/' % path.lower()):
+            return self._configs.get('%s/' % path.lower())
+        if self._configs.get('%s\\' % path.lower()):
+            return self._configs.get('%s\\' % path.lower())
+
+        split_path = os.path.split(path)
+        if split_path[1] == '':
+            return None
+        return self._find_project(split_path[0])
 
     def branch(self):
         return None
 
     def name(self):
-        return self.project
-
-    def _path_generator(self):
-        """
-        Generates paths from the current directory up to the user's home folder
-        stripping anything in the path before the home path
-        """
-
-        path = self.path.replace(os.environ['HOME'], '')
-        while path != os.path.dirname(path):
-            yield path
-            path = os.path.dirname(path)
+        if self.project:
+            return unicode(self.project)
+        return None
diff --git a/wakatime/projects/subversion.py b/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
index 403f344..bc5e6b8 100644
--- a/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
+++ b/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
@@ -30,13 +30,12 @@ class Subversion(BaseProject):
         return self._find_project_base(self.path)
 
     def name(self):
-        return self.info['Repository Root'].split('/')[-1]
+        return unicode(self.info['Repository Root'].split('/')[-1])
 
     def branch(self):
-        branch = None
         if self.base:
-            branch = os.path.basename(self.base)
-        return branch
+            unicode(os.path.basename(self.base))
+        return None
 
     def _get_info(self, path):
         info = OrderedDict()
diff --git a/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py b/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
index 1dd92ef..c558467 100644
--- a/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
+++ b/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
@@ -28,13 +28,12 @@ class WakaTime(BaseProject):
         return False
 
     def name(self):
-        project_name = None
         try:
             with open(self.config) as fh:
-                project_name = fh.readline().strip()
+                return unicode(fh.readline().strip())
         except IOError as e:
             log.exception("Exception:")
-        return project_name
+        return None
 
     def branch(self):
         return None