diff --git a/src/mcp_cordra/client.py b/src/mcp_cordra/client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47a49bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcp_cordra/client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+"""Cordra client wrapper using CordraPy."""
+
+from typing import Any
+
+import cordra
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
+
+from .config import CordraConfig
+
+
+class DigitalObject(BaseModel):
+    """Model for a Cordra digital object."""
+
+    id: str = Field(description="Object identifier")
+    type: str = Field(description="Object type")
+    content: dict[str, Any] = Field(description="Object content as JSON")
+    metadata: dict[str, Any] | None = Field(default=None, description="Object metadata")
+    acl: dict[str, Any] | None = Field(default=None, description="Access control list")
+    payloads: list[dict[str, Any]] | None = Field(default=None, description="List of payloads")
+
+
+class CordraClientError(Exception):
+    """Base exception for Cordra client errors."""
+    pass
+
+
+class CordraNotFoundError(CordraClientError):
+    """Exception raised when an object is not found."""
+    pass
+
+
+class CordraClient:
+    """Client for interacting with Cordra repository."""
+
+    def __init__(self, config: CordraConfig) -> None:
+        """Initialize the Cordra client.
+        
+        Args:
+            config: Configuration settings for the Cordra connection
+        """
+        self.config = config
+
+    async def get_object(self, object_id: str) -> DigitalObject:
+        """Retrieve a digital object by its ID.
+        
+        Args:
+            object_id: The unique identifier of the object to retrieve
+            
+        Returns:
+            The full digital object
+            
+        Raises:
+            CordraNotFoundError: If the object is not found
+            CordraClientError: For other API errors
+        """
+        try:
+            # Use CordraPy to read the object
+            cordra_obj = cordra.CordraObject.read(
+                host=self.config.cordra_url,  # type: ignore
+                obj_id=object_id,
+                username=self.config.username,
+                password=self.config.password,
+                verify=self.config.verify_ssl,
+                full=True  # Get full object details including metadata, paylods, etc.
+            )
+
+            return DigitalObject(
+                id=object_id,
+                type=getattr(cordra_obj, 'type', ''),
+                content=getattr(cordra_obj, 'content', {}),
+                metadata=getattr(cordra_obj, 'metadata', None),
+                acl=getattr(cordra_obj, 'acl', None),
+                payloads=getattr(cordra_obj, 'payloads', None),
+            )
+
+        except Exception as e:
+            error_msg = str(e).lower()
+            if 'not found' in error_msg or '404' in error_msg:
+                raise CordraNotFoundError(f"Object not found: {object_id}") from e
+            raise CordraClientError(f"Failed to retrieve object {object_id}: {e}") from e
+
diff --git a/src/mcp_cordra/config.py b/src/mcp_cordra/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d21c510
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcp_cordra/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+"""Configuration settings for the MCP Cordra server."""
+
+
+from pydantic import Field
+from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
+
+
+class CordraConfig(BaseSettings):
+    """Configuration for connecting to a Cordra repository."""
+
+    model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
+        env_prefix="CORDRA_",
+        env_file=".env",
+        env_file_encoding="utf-8",
+        case_sensitive=False,
+    )
+
+    cordra_url: str = Field(
+        default="https://localhost:8443",
+        description="Base URL of the Cordra repository"
+    )
+    username: str | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description="Username for Cordra authentication"
+    )
+    password: str | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description="Password for Cordra authentication"
+    )
+    max_search_results: int = Field(
+        default=1000,
+        description="Maximum number of search results to return"
+    )
+    verify_ssl: bool = Field(
+        default=True,
+        description="Whether to verify SSL certificates"
+    )
+    timeout: int = Field(
+        default=30,
+        description="Request timeout in seconds"
+    )
+
+
diff --git a/tests/test_client.py b/tests/test_client.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca8ed84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_client.py
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+"""Unit tests for the Cordra client."""
+
+from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from mcp_cordra.client import (
+    CordraClient,
+    CordraClientError,
+    CordraNotFoundError,
+    DigitalObject,
+)
+from mcp_cordra.config import CordraConfig
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def config():
+    """Create a test configuration."""
+    return CordraConfig(
+        cordra_url="https://test.example.com",
+        username="testuser",
+        password="testpass",
+        verify_ssl=False,
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def client(config):
+    """Create a test client."""
+    return CordraClient(config)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def mock_cordra_object():
+    """Create a mock CordraObject."""
+    mock_obj = Mock()
+    mock_obj.type = "TestType"
+    mock_obj.content = {"title": "Test Object", "description": "A test object"}
+    mock_obj.metadata = {"created": "2023-01-01", "modified": "2023-01-02"}
+    mock_obj.acl = {"read": ["public"], "write": ["admin"]}
+    mock_obj.payloads = [
+        {
+            "name": "file1.txt",
+            "filename": "file1.txt",
+            "size": 1024,
+            "mediaType": "text/plain"
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "file2.pdf", 
+            "filename": "file2.pdf",
+            "size": 2048,
+            "mediaType": "application/pdf"
+        }
+    ]
+    return mock_obj
+
+
+class TestDigitalObject:
+    """Test the DigitalObject model."""
+
+    def test_digital_object_creation(self):
+        """Test creating a DigitalObject."""
+        obj = DigitalObject(
+            id="test/123",
+            type="TestType",
+            content={"title": "Test"},
+            metadata={"created": "2023-01-01"},
+            acl={"read": ["public"]},
+            payloads=[
+                {
+                    "name": "file1.txt",
+                    "mediaType": "text/plain",
+                    "size": 1024,
+                    "filename": "file1.txt"
+                }
+            ],
+        )
+
+        assert obj.id == "test/123"
+        assert obj.type == "TestType"
+        assert obj.content == {"title": "Test"}
+        assert obj.metadata == {"created": "2023-01-01"}
+        assert obj.acl == {"read": ["public"]}
+        assert obj.payloads and len(obj.payloads) == 1
+        payload = obj.payloads[0]
+        assert payload["name"] == "file1.txt"
+        assert payload["mediaType"] == "text/plain"
+        assert payload["size"] == 1024
+        assert payload["filename"] == "file1.txt"
+
+    def test_digital_object_optional_fields(self):
+        """Test DigitalObject with only required fields."""
+        obj = DigitalObject(
+            id="test/123",
+            type="TestType",
+            content={"title": "Test"}
+        )
+
+        assert obj.id == "test/123"
+        assert obj.type == "TestType"
+        assert obj.content == {"title": "Test"}
+        assert obj.metadata is None
+        assert obj.acl is None
+        assert obj.payloads is None
+
+
+class TestCordraClient:
+    """Test the CordraClient class."""
+
+    def test_client_initialization(self, config):
+        """Test client initialization."""
+        client = CordraClient(config)
+        assert client.config == config
+
+    @patch('mcp_cordra.client.cordra.CordraObject.read')
+    async def test_get_object_success(self, mock_read, client, mock_cordra_object):
+        """Test successful object retrieval."""
+        mock_read.return_value = mock_cordra_object
+
+        result = await client.get_object("test/123")
+
+        assert isinstance(result, DigitalObject)
+        assert result.id == "test/123"
+        assert result.type == "TestType"
+        assert result.content == {"title": "Test Object", "description": "A test object"}
+        assert result.metadata == {"created": "2023-01-01", "modified": "2023-01-02"}
+        assert result.acl == {"read": ["public"], "write": ["admin"]}
+        assert result.payloads and len(result.payloads) == 2
+
+        mock_read.assert_called_once_with(
+            host="https://test.example.com",
+            obj_id="test/123",
+            username="testuser",
+            password="testpass",
+            verify=False,
+            full=True
+        )
+
+    @patch('mcp_cordra.client.cordra.CordraObject.read')
+    async def test_get_object_not_found(self, mock_read, client):
+        """Test object not found exception."""
+        mock_read.side_effect = Exception("Object not found")
+
+        with pytest.raises(CordraNotFoundError) as exc_info:
+            await client.get_object("test/nonexistent")
+
+        assert "Object not found: test/nonexistent" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+    @patch('mcp_cordra.client.cordra.CordraObject.read')
+    async def test_get_object_general_error(self, mock_read, client):
+        """Test general error handling."""
+        mock_read.side_effect = Exception("Connection failed")
+
+        with pytest.raises(CordraClientError) as exc_info:
+            await client.get_object("test/123")
+
+        assert "Failed to retrieve object test/123" in str(exc_info.value)
+
+
+class TestCordraConfig:
+    """Test the CordraConfig class."""
+
+    def test_default_config(self):
+        """Test default configuration values."""
+        config = CordraConfig()
+        assert config.cordra_url == "https://localhost:8443"
+        assert config.username is None
+        assert config.password is None
+        assert config.max_search_results == 1000
+        assert config.verify_ssl is True
+        assert config.timeout == 30