diff --git a/src/core/qweb_vdom.ts b/src/core/qweb_vdom.ts
index cdc5686f..07e12dce 100644
--- a/src/core/qweb_vdom.ts
+++ b/src/core/qweb_vdom.ts
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ export default class QWeb {
       elseDirective,
       elifDirective,
       ifDirective,
-      callDirective
+      callDirective,
+      onDirective
     ].forEach(d => this.addDirective(d));
   }
 
@@ -170,6 +171,9 @@ export default class QWeb {
    * @param {string} name the template should already have been added
    */
   render(name: string, context: any = {}): VNode {
+    if (!(name in this.rawTemplates)) {
+      throw new Error(`Template ${name} does not exist`);
+    }
     const template = this.templates[name] || this._compile(name);
     return template(context);
   }
@@ -617,4 +621,22 @@ const forEachDirective: Directive = {
     ctx.addLine("}");
     return true;
   }
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+};
+
+const onDirective: Directive = {
+  name: "on",
+  priority: 90,
+  atNodeCreation({ ctx, fullName, value, nodeID }) {
+    const eventName = fullName.slice(5);
+    let extraArgs;
+    let handler = value.replace(/\(.*\)/, function(args) {
+      extraArgs = args.slice(1, -1);
+      return "";
+    });
+    ctx.addLine(
+      `p${nodeID}.on = {${eventName}: context['${handler}'].bind(context${
+        extraArgs ? ", " + extraArgs : ""
+      })}`
+    );
+  }
+};
diff --git a/tests/qweb_vdom.test.ts b/tests/qweb_vdom.test.ts
index f7207bc2..9b49e864 100644
--- a/tests/qweb_vdom.test.ts
+++ b/tests/qweb_vdom.test.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,14 @@ import sdListeners from "../src/libs/snabbdom/src/modules/eventlisteners";
 
 const patch = init([sdAttributes, sdListeners]);
 
-function qwebRender(qweb: QWeb, t: string, context: EvalContext = {}): string {
+function renderToDOM(qweb: QWeb, t: string, context: EvalContext = {}): HTMLElement {
   const vnode = qweb.render(t, context);
   const node = document.createElement(vnode.sel!);
   patch(node, vnode);
+  return node;
+}
+function qwebRender(qweb: QWeb, t: string, context: EvalContext = {}): string {
+  const node = renderToDOM(qweb, t, context);
   return node.outerHTML;
 }
 
@@ -54,6 +58,13 @@ describe("error handling", () => {
       "A template should have one root node"
     );
   });
+
+  test("nice warning if no template with given name", () => {
+    const qweb = new QWeb();
+    expect(() => qweb.render('invalidname')).toThrow('does not exist');
+  });
+
+
 });
 
 describe("t-esc", () => {
@@ -518,3 +529,28 @@ describe("misc", () => {
     expect(qwebRender(qweb, "caller").trim()).toBe(expected);
   });
 });
+
+describe("t-on", () => {
+  test("can bind event handler", () => {
+    const qweb = new QWeb();
+    qweb.addTemplate('test', `<button t-on-click="add">Click</button>`);
+    let a = 1;
+    const node = renderToDOM(qweb, 'test', {
+      add() { a = 3}
+    });
+    node.click();
+    expect(a).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  test("can bind handlers with arguments", () => {
+    const qweb = new QWeb();
+    qweb.addTemplate('test', `<button t-on-click="add(5)">Click</button>`);
+    let a = 1;
+    const node = renderToDOM(qweb, 'test', {
+      add(n) { a = a + n}
+    });
+    node.click();
+    expect(a).toBe(6);
+  });
+});
+