diff --git a/pyiron_snippets/resources.py b/pyiron_snippets/resources.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cc17918
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyiron_snippets/resources.py
@@ -0,0 +1,302 @@
+"""
+Classes to find data files and executables in global paths.
+"""
+
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from collections.abc import Iterator, Iterable
+import os
+import os.path
+from fnmatch import fnmatch
+from glob import glob
+import re
+from typing import Any
+
+if os.name == "nt":
+    EXE_SUFFIX = "bat"
+else:
+    EXE_SUFFIX = "sh"
+
+
+class ResourceNotFound(RuntimeError):
+    pass
+
+
+class AbstractResolver(ABC):
+    """
+    Interface for resolvers.
+
+    Implementations must define :meth:`._search`, taking a tuple of names to search for and yielding instances of any
+    type.  Implementations should pick a single type to yield, e.g. :class:`.ResourceResolver` always yields absolute
+    paths, while :class:`.ExecutableResolver` always yields 2-tuples of a version tag and absolute paths.
+    """
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def _search(self, name: tuple[str]) -> Iterator[Any]:
+        pass
+
+    def search(self, name: Iterable[str] | str = "*") -> Iterator[Any]:
+        """
+        Yield all matches.
+
+        When `name` is given as an iterable, returned results match at least one of the `name` globs.
+
+        Args:
+            name (str, iterable of str): file name to search for; can be an exact file name, a glob or list of those
+
+        Yields:
+            object: resources matching `name`
+        """
+        if name is not None and not isinstance(name, str):
+            name = tuple(name)
+        else:
+            name = (name,)
+        yield from self._search(name)
+
+    def list(self, name: Iterable[str] | str = "*") -> list[Any]:
+        """
+        Return all matches.
+
+        Args:
+            name (str, iterable of str): file name to search for; can be an exact file name, a glob or list of those
+
+        Returns:
+            list: all matches returned by :meth:`.search`.
+        """
+        return list(self.search(name))
+
+    def first(self, name: Iterable[str] | str = "*") -> Any:
+        """
+        Return first match.
+
+        Args:
+            name (str, iterable of str): file name to search for; can be an exact file name, a glob or list of those
+
+        Returns:
+            object: the first match returned by :meth:`.search`.
+
+        Raises:
+            :class:`~.ResourceNotFound`: if no matches are found.
+        """
+        try:
+            return next(iter(self.search(name)))
+        except StopIteration:
+            raise ResourceNotFound(f"Could not find {name} in {self}!") from None
+
+    def chain(self, *resolvers: "AbstractResolver") -> "ResolverChain":
+        """
+        Return a new resolver that searches this and all given resolvers sequentially.
+
+        You will likely want to ensure that all given resolvers yield the same types and e.g. not mix ExecutableResolver
+        and ResourceResolver, but this is not checked.
+
+        The advantage of using :meth:`.chain` rather than adding more paths to one resolver is when different paths have
+        different internal sub structure, such as when combining resources from pyiron resources and conda data
+        packages.  When searching for lammps potential files, e.g. we have some folders that are set up as
+
+            <resources>/lammps/potentials/...
+
+        but iprpy conda package that ships the NIST potentials doesn't have the lammps/potentials
+
+            <iprpy>/...
+
+        With chaining we can do very easily
+
+        >>> ResourceResolver([<resources>], "lammps", "potentials").chain(
+        ...     ResourceResolver([<iprpy>])) # doctest: +SKIP
+
+        without we'd need to modify the resource paths ourselves explicitly
+
+        >>> ResourceResolver([r + '/lammps/potentials' for r in <resources>] + [<iprpy>]) # doctest: +SKIP
+
+        which is a bit more awkward.
+
+        Args:
+            resolvers (:class:`.AbstractResolver`): any number of sub resolvers
+
+        Returns:
+            self: if `resolvers` is empty
+            :class:`.ResolverChain`: otherwise
+        """
+        if resolvers == ():
+            return self
+        return ResolverChain(self, *resolvers)
+
+
+class ResolverChain(AbstractResolver):
+    """
+    A chain of resolvers.  Matches are returned sequentially.
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = ("_resolvers",)
+
+    def __init__(self, *resolvers):
+        """
+        Args:
+            *resolvers (:class:`.AbstractResolver`): sub resolvers to use
+        """
+        self._resolvers = resolvers
+
+    def _search(self, name):
+        for resolver in self._resolvers:
+            yield from resolver.search(name)
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        inner = ", ".join(repr(r) for r in self._resolvers)
+        return f"{type(self).__name__}({inner})"
+
+
+class ResourceResolver(AbstractResolver):
+    """
+    Generic resolver for files and directories.
+
+    Resources are expected to conform to the following format:
+        <resource_path>/<module>/<subdir0>/<subdir1>/...
+
+    *All* entries within in this final `subdir` are yielded by :meth:`.search`, whether they are files or directories.
+    Search results can be restricted by passing a (list of) globs.  If a list is given, entries matching at least one of
+    them are returned.
+
+    >>> res = ResourceResolver(..., "lammps")
+    >>> res.list() # doctest: +SKIP
+    [
+        "bin",
+        "potentials",
+        "potentials.csv"
+    ]
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = "_resource_paths", "_module", "_subdirs"
+
+    def __init__(self, resource_paths, module, *subdirs):
+        """
+        Args:
+            resource_paths (list of str): base paths for resource locations
+            module (str): name of the module
+            *subdirs (str): additional sub directories to descend into
+        """
+        self._resource_paths = resource_paths
+        self._module = module
+        self._subdirs = subdirs
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        inner = repr(self._resource_paths)
+        inner += f", {repr(self._module)}"
+        inner += ", ".join(repr(s) for s in self._subdirs)
+        return f"{type(self).__name__}({inner})"
+
+    def _search(self, name):
+        for p in self._resource_paths:
+            sub = os.path.join(p, self._module, *self._subdirs)
+            if os.path.exists(sub):
+                for n in name:
+                    yield from sorted(glob(os.path.join(sub, n)))
+
+
+class ExecutableResolver(AbstractResolver):
+    """
+    A resolver for executable scripts.
+
+    Executables are expected to conform to the following format:
+        <resource_path>/<module>/bin/run_<code>_<version_string>.<suffix>
+
+    and have the executable bit set. :meth:`.search` yields tuples of version strings and full paths to the executable
+    instead of plain strings.
+
+    >>> exe = ExecutableResolver(..., "lammps")
+    >>> exe.list() # doctest: +SKIP
+    [
+        ('v1', '/my/resources/lammps/bin/run_lammps_v1.sh),
+        ('v1_mpi', '/my/resources/lammps/bin/run_lammps_v1_mpi.sh),
+        ('v2_default', '/my/resources/lammps/bin/run_lammps_v2_default.sh),
+    ]
+    >>> exe.default_version # doctest: +SKIP
+    "v2_default"
+    >>> exe.dict("v1*") # doctest: +SKIP
+    {
+        'v1': '/my/resources/lammps/bin/run_lammps_v1.sh),
+        'v1_mpi': '/my/resources/lammps/bin/run_lammps_v1_mpi.sh)
+    }
+    """
+
+    __slots__ = "_regex", "_resolver"
+
+    def __init__(self, resource_paths, code, module=None, suffix=EXE_SUFFIX):
+        """
+        Args:
+            resource_paths (list of str): base paths for resource locations
+            code (str): name of the simulation code
+            module (str): name of the module the code is part of, same as `code` by default
+            suffix (str, optional): file ending; if `None`, 'bat' on Windows 'sh' elsewhere
+        """
+        if suffix is None:
+            suffix = EXE_SUFFIX
+        if module is None:
+            module = code
+        self._regex = re.compile(f"run_{code}_(.*)\\.{suffix}$")
+        self._glob = f"run_{code}_*.{suffix}"
+        self._resolver = ResourceResolver(
+            resource_paths,
+            module,
+            "bin",
+        )
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        inner = repr(self._resolver._resource_paths)
+        inner += f", {repr(self._glob)}"
+        inner += f", {repr(self._resolver._module)}"
+        # recover suffix
+        inner += f", {repr(self._glob.split('.')[-1])}"
+        return f"{type(self).__name__}({inner})"
+
+    def _search(self, name):
+        seen = set()
+
+        def cond(path):
+            isfile = os.path.isfile(path)
+            isexec = os.access(
+                path, os.X_OK, effective_ids=os.access in os.supports_effective_ids
+            )
+            return isfile and isexec
+
+        for path in filter(cond, self._resolver.search(self._glob)):
+            # we know that the regex has to match, because we constrain the resolver with the glob
+            version = self._regex.search(path).group(1)
+            if version not in seen and any(fnmatch(version, n) for n in name):
+                yield (version, path)
+                seen.add(version)
+
+    def dict(self, name="*") -> dict[str, str]:
+        """
+        Construct dict from :meth:`.search` results.
+
+        Args:
+            name (str or list of str): glob(s) to filter the version strings
+
+        Returns:
+            dict: mapping version strings to full paths
+        """
+        return dict(self.search(name=name))
+
+    @property
+    def available_versions(self):
+        """
+        list of str: all found versions
+        """
+        return [x[0] for x in self.search("*")]
+
+    @property
+    def default_version(self):
+        """
+        str: the first version found in resources
+
+        If a version matching `*default*` exists, the first matching is returned.
+
+        Raises:
+            :class:`.ResourceNotFound`: if no executables are found at all
+        """
+        try:
+            return self.first("*default*")[0]
+        except ResourceNotFound:
+            pass
+        # try again outside the except clause to avoid nested error in case this fails as well
+        return self.first("*")[0]
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version1.bat b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version1.bat
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version1.sh b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version1.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version2.bat b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version2.bat
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version2.sh b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_version2.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_versionnonexec.bat b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_versionnonexec.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_versionnonexec.sh b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code1_versionnonexec.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version1.bat b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version1.bat
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version1.sh b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version1.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version2_default.bat b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version2_default.bat
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version2_default.sh b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/run_code2_version2_default.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/wrong_format b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/bin/wrong_format
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/data/empty.txt b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module1/data/empty.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module3/empty.txt b/tests/unit/static/resources/res1/module3/empty.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res2/module2/data/empty.txt b/tests/unit/static/resources/res2/module2/data/empty.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/static/resources/res2/module3/empty.txt b/tests/unit/static/resources/res2/module3/empty.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_resources.py b/tests/unit/test_resources.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bbee285
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_resources.py
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+import os
+import os.path
+import unittest
+from pyiron_snippets.resources import ResourceNotFound, ResourceResolver, ExecutableResolver
+
+class TestResolvers(unittest.TestCase):
+    """
+    Class to test resolvers
+    """
+
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpClass(cls):
+        cls.static_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "static", "resources")
+        cls.res1 = os.path.join(cls.static_path, "res1")
+        cls.res2 = os.path.join(cls.static_path, "res2")
+
+    def test_resource_resolver(self):
+        res = ResourceResolver([self.res1], "module1")
+        self.assertEqual(set(res.search()),
+                         {os.path.join(self.res1, "module1", "bin"),
+                          os.path.join(self.res1, "module1", "data")},
+                         "Simple search does not return all resources!")
+        self.assertEqual(res.first(), tuple(res.search())[0],
+                         "first does not return first result!")
+        self.assertEqual(list(res.search()), res.list(), "list not equal to search!")
+        with self.assertRaises(ResourceNotFound, msg="first does not raise error on non existing resource!"):
+            res.first("nonexisting")
+        res = ResourceResolver([self.res1, self.res2], "module3")
+        self.assertTrue(len(res.list("empty.txt")) == 2,
+                        msg="should find all instances of files with the same name.")
+
+    def test_order(self):
+        """search must return results in the order given by the resource paths."""
+        self.assertTrue("res1" in ResourceResolver([self.res1, self.res2], "module3").first(),
+                        "resolver does not respect order of given resource paths!")
+        self.assertTrue("res2" in ResourceResolver([self.res2, self.res1], "module3").first(),
+                        "resolver does not respect order of given resource paths!")
+        self.assertEqual(tuple(os.path.basename(r) for r in ResourceResolver([self.res1], "module1").search()),
+                         tuple(sorted(("bin", "data"))),
+                         "search does not return results from the same folder in alphabetical order!")
+
+    def test_chain(self):
+        """chained resolvers must behave like normal resolvers."""
+        chain = ResourceResolver([self.res1], "module3").chain(ResourceResolver([self.res2], "module3"))
+        resol = ResourceResolver([self.res1, self.res2], "module3")
+
+        self.assertEqual(chain.first(), resol.first(),
+                         "first returns different result for chained and normal resolver!")
+        self.assertEqual(tuple(chain.search()), tuple(resol.search()),
+                         "search returns different result for chained and normal resolver!")
+
+        self.assertIs(resol, resol.chain(), "Empty chain does not return the same resolver!")
+
+    def test_executable(self):
+        for suffix in (None, "sh", "bat"):
+            with self.subTest(suffix=suffix):
+                res = ExecutableResolver([self.res1], code="code1", module="module1", suffix=suffix)
+                if os.name != "nt":
+                    # no exec bits are present on windows it seems
+                    self.assertNotIn("versionnonexec", res.available_versions,
+                                     "ExecutableResolver must not list scripts that are not executable.")
+                self.assertNotIn("wrong_format", res.available_versions,
+                                 "ExecutableResolver must not list scripts that do not follow the correct format.")
+                self.assertEqual("version1", res.default_version,
+                                "default version should be chosen in alphabetical order if not explicitly set.")
+                res = ExecutableResolver([self.res1], code="code2", module="module1", suffix=suffix)
+                self.assertEqual(res.default_version, "version2_default",
+                                "default version should be chosen as explicitly set.")
+                self.assertEqual(dict(res.search()), res.dict(), "dict not equal to search!")
+
+    def test_resource_resolver_subdirs(self):
+        """Resolver constructor should take any additional args to search sub directories."""
+        res = ResourceResolver([self.res1], "module1", "bin")
+        expected_results = {
+            os.path.join(self.res1, "module1", "bin", path)
+                for path in ("run_code1_versionnonexec.sh", "run_code1_version1.sh", "run_code1_version2.sh")
+        }
+        self.assertEqual(set(res.search("*code1*.sh")), expected_results,
+                        "Search with subdirectories does not return all resources!")
+
+    def test_resource_resolver_name_globs(self):
+            res = ResourceResolver([self.res1], "module1", "bin")
+            expected_results = {
+                os.path.join(self.res1, "module1", "bin", "run_code1_version1.sh"),
+                os.path.join(self.res1, "module1", "bin", "run_code1_version2.sh"),
+            }
+            results = set(res.search(["*code1*version1.sh", "*code1*sion2.sh"]))
+            self.assertEqual(results, expected_results,
+                             "Search with multiple glob patterns does not return all resources!")
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()