diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c07614a..c5e43c8 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ node_modules/
 output/*
 !output/menu.html
 !output/index.html
-
+.DS_Store
diff --git a/lib/pipeline.js b/lib/pipeline.js
index 53ec3af..ff6b662 100644
--- a/lib/pipeline.js
+++ b/lib/pipeline.js
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ var fs = require('fs'),
     convertMd = require('./convert-md');
 
 module.exports = function(argv) {
+  if (!argv.meta) {
+    // load the metadata file if it exists
+    argv.meta = fs.existsSync(argv.input + '/meta.json') ? require(argv.input + '/meta.json') : {};
+  }
+
   return pi.pipeline([
       md.parseHeader(),
       md.parseMd(),
@@ -25,15 +30,12 @@ module.exports = function(argv) {
       setOutputPath({
         input: argv.input,
         output: argv.output,
-        isSingleFile: argv.isSingleFile
+        isSingleFile: argv.isSingleFile,
+        'asset-path': argv['asset-path']
       }),
 
       // merge metadata now that relative is set
-      mergeMeta(
-        // load the metadata file if it exists
-        fs.existsSync(argv.input + '/meta.json') ?
-        require(argv.input + '/meta.json') : {}
-      ),
+      mergeMeta(argv.meta),
 
       // apply handlebars templates
       applyTemplate({
diff --git a/lib/set-output-path.js b/lib/set-output-path.js
index dfdcd14..1488cd2 100644
--- a/lib/set-output-path.js
+++ b/lib/set-output-path.js
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ module.exports = function(opts) {
     // determine the relative path to ./output/assets
     // -- since files can be in subdirs like: sub/sub/dir/index.html
 
-    item.assetsRelative = path.relative(outputDir, opts.output + '/assets');
+    item.assetsRelative = path.relative(outputDir, opts['asset-path'] || opts.output + '/assets');
 
     return item;
   });
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index e9dcdbf..0e59dae 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -339,6 +339,9 @@ If any markdown file in `./input/foo/` defines a metadata value called `repoUrl`
   - `path` (an absolute path to the input file name),
   - `stat` (the fs.stat object associated with the input file),
   - `contents` (a string with the content of the input file).
+- Since `v3.1.3`, the `pipeline` function supports a couple of arguments that are not exposed on the CLI (in addition to all the CLI args):
+  - `meta`: a hash of JSON (the contents of a meta.json file if you prefer to set that explicitly)
+  - `asset-path`: a full path to the `/assets` folder, defaults to `${output}/assets`.
 
 The writable stream returns objects with the same properties, plus any metadata. The pipeline updates `path` to be the output path that generate-md would write the file to, and updates `contents` to be a string of HTML.
 
diff --git a/test/integration.test.js b/test/integration.test.js
index 100c256..4513b11 100644
--- a/test/integration.test.js
+++ b/test/integration.test.js
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ describe('integration tests', function() {
           setOutputPath({
             input: '/fake/input',
             output: '/fake/output',
-            assetDir: '/fake/output/assets/'
+            'asset-path': '/fake/output/assets/'
           }),
 
           applyTemplate(opts),
@@ -213,8 +213,8 @@ describe('integration tests', function() {
       }, { template: 'a{{> toc}}b' }, function(html) {
         assert.equal(html, [
           'a<ul class="nav nav-list">',
-          '    <li><a href="#foo">foo</a></li>',
-          '    <li><a href="#bar">bar</a></li>',
+          '    <li class="sidebar-header-1"><a href="#foo">foo</a></li>',
+          '    <li class="sidebar-header-2"><a href="#bar">bar</a></li>',
           '</ul>',
           'b'
         ].join('\n'));
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
index cf3d823..96f22f3 100644
--- a/todo.md
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -36,3 +36,16 @@
   - quiz
   - equations
   - exercises
+- sidebar menu component
+  - responsive (e.g. top-level hamburger icon on mobile)
+  - toggleable (e.g. tablet)
+  - https://dribbble.com/shots/1830513-Tumblr-Free-PSD-Template
+  - https://dribbble.com/shots/1590417-Portfolio-Review-Page
+- scrollable, expanding TOC
+  - sticky on side
+  - scrollable on overflow
+  - expands to match specific targets
+  - has buttons to expand specific sections
+- full site TOC views / helpers ??
+- better preview system (e.g. theme switcher, hosted online)
+