diff --git a/gogsmaker.py b/gogsmaker.py
index 9375167..7005afb 100644
--- a/gogsmaker.py
+++ b/gogsmaker.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import hmac
 from hashlib import sha256
 from threading import Thread
 from functools import wraps
+from termcolor import colored
 from flask import Flask, request
 from . import settings
 
@@ -138,4 +139,24 @@ def view_root(payload, hook):
     return 'OK\n', 200
 
 
-# TODO: @app.before_first_request settings checkup
+@app.before_first_request  # FIXME this should be run on startup...
+def check_settings():
+    ''' Check the supplied settings '''
+    if settings.DEBUG:
+        print(colored('WARNING! ', 'red', attrs=['bold'])
+              + 'GogsMaker is running in DEBUG MODE, this is unsuitable for '
+              + 'production environments!')
+
+    required_keys = ['name', 'url', 'targets', 'secret']
+    for hook_id, hook in enumerate(settings.HOOKS):
+        for key in required_keys:
+            if key not in hook:
+                if key == 'name':
+                    descr = '#{}'.format(hook_id)
+                else:
+                    descr = '{} (#{})'.format(hook['name'], hook_id)
+
+                print((colored('FATAL! ', 'red', attrs=['bold'])
+                       + 'Configuration error: hook {} lacks attribute {}.')
+                      .format(descr, key))
+                sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 30dde8b..a9c542b 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ itsdangerous==0.24
 Jinja2==2.10
 MarkupSafe==1.0
 Werkzeug==0.14.1
+termcolor==1.1.0