diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c1b47c1e0fb..a81ffdbd759 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
-.vagrant
+.vagrant/*
 .DS_Store
 stack.tgz
-build
-tmp
+tmp/*
 *.deb
diff --git a/docs/development/plugin-creation.md b/docs/development/plugin-creation.md
index c1822e1d938..82e3b036333 100644
--- a/docs/development/plugin-creation.md
+++ b/docs/development/plugin-creation.md
@@ -7,14 +7,53 @@ If you create your own plugin:
 3. Edit [this page](http://progrium.viewdocs.io/dokku/plugins) and add a link to it.
 4. Subscribe to the [dokku development blog](http://progrium.com) to be notified about API changes and releases
 
-### Sample plugin
+### Sample plugin - new structure
+The below plugin is a dummy `dokku hello` plugin.
+
+hello/command
+
+```shell
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2";
+
+echo "Hello $APP"
+```
+
+hello/subcommands/world
+
+```shell
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2";
+
+echo "Hello world"
+```
+
+hello/help.txt
+
+```shell
+: <app>                                         Says "Hello <app>"
+hello:world                                     Says "Hello world"
+```
+
+
+### Sample plugin - old structure (still supported but not advised)
 
 The below plugin is a dummy `dokku hello` plugin. If your plugin exposes commands, this is a good template for your `commands` file:
 
 ```shell
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 case "$1" in
   hello)
diff --git a/dokku b/dokku
index 3b4a7c26af1..7f48603f541 100755
--- a/dokku
+++ b/dokku
@@ -138,22 +138,6 @@ case "$1" in
     docker rmi $(docker images -f 'dangling=true' -q) &> /dev/null &
     ;;
 
-  plugins)
-    ls -1 -d $PLUGIN_PATH/*/
-    ;;
-
-  plugins-install)
-    pluginhook install
-    ;;
-
-  plugins-install-dependencies)
-    pluginhook dependencies
-    ;;
-
-  plugins-update)
-    pluginhook update
-    ;;
-
   # DEPRECATED as of v0.3.14
   deploy:all)
       echo "*DEPRECATED* in v0.3.14: deploy:all will be removed in future versions"
@@ -165,29 +149,24 @@ case "$1" in
     echo ""
     echo "Options:"
 
-    cat<<EOF | pluginhook commands help | sort
-    help                                            Print the list of commands
-    plugins                                         Print active plugins
-    plugins-install                                 Install active plugins
-    plugins-update                                  Update active plugins
-EOF
+    pluginhook commands help | sort
     ;;
 
   *)
     implemented=0
     for script in $PLUGIN_PATH/*/commands; do
       set +e; $script "$@" ; exit_code=$? ; set -e
-      if [ "$exit_code" -eq "$DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT" ]; then
+      if [[ "$exit_code" -eq "$DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT" ]]; then
         continue
       fi
 
       implemented=1
-      if [ "$exit_code" -ne "$DOKKU_VALID_EXIT" ]; then
+      if [[ "$exit_code" -ne "$DOKKU_VALID_EXIT" ]]; then
         exit $exit_code
       fi
     done
 
-    if [ "$implemented" -eq 0 ]; then
+    if [[ "$implemented" -eq 0 ]]; then
       dokku_log_warn "\`$*\` is not a dokku command."
       dokku_log_warn "See \`dokku help\` for a list of available commands."
       exit 1
diff --git a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/commands b/plugins/00_dokku-standard/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index 6f8ca6642f6..00000000000
--- a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,209 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-case "$1" in
-  build)
-    APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"; IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="$3"; TMP_WORK_DIR="$4"
-    CACHE_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/cache"
-
-    pushd "$TMP_WORK_DIR" &> /dev/null
-
-    case "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE" in
-      buildstep)
-        id=$(tar -c . | docker run -i -a stdin $DOKKU_IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app && tar -xC /app")
-        test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
-        docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
-        [[ -d $CACHE_DIR ]] || mkdir $CACHE_DIR
-        # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook pre-build` will be removed in future releases
-        pluginhook pre-build "$APP"
-        pluginhook pre-build-buildstep "$APP"
-
-        # *DEPRECATED* in v0.3.14: `pluginhook docker-args` will be removed in future releases
-        # https://github.com/progrium/dokku/issues/896 & https://github.com/progrium/dokku/issues/906
-        DOCKER_ARGS=$(: | pluginhook docker-args $APP build)
-        DOCKER_ARGS+=$(: | pluginhook docker-args-build $APP)
-        id=$(docker run -d -v $CACHE_DIR:/cache -e CACHE_PATH=/cache $DOCKER_ARGS $IMAGE /build/builder)
-        docker attach $id
-        test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
-        docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
-
-        # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook post-build` will be removed in future releases
-        pluginhook post-build "$APP"
-        pluginhook post-build-buildstep "$APP"
-        ;;
-
-      dockerfile)
-        # extract first port from Dockerfile
-        DOCKERFILE_PORT=$(grep EXPOSE Dockerfile | head -1 | awk '{ print $2 }')
-        [[ -n "$DOCKERFILE_PORT" ]] && dokku config:set-norestart $APP DOKKU_DOCKERFILE_PORT=$DOCKERFILE_PORT
-
-        # sticking with same pattern of building app image before pre-build for now.
-        docker build -t "$IMAGE" .
-        # buildstep pluginhooks don't necessarily make sense for dockerfiles. call the new breed!!!
-        pluginhook pre-build-dockerfile "$APP"
-        pluginhook post-build-dockerfile "$APP"
-        ;;
-
-      *)
-        dokku_log_fail "Building image source type $IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE not supported!"
-        ;;
-    esac
-    ;;
-
-  release)
-    APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"; IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="$3"
-    case "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE" in
-      buildstep)
-        # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook pre-release` will be removed in future releases
-        pluginhook pre-release "$APP"
-        pluginhook pre-release-buildstep "$APP"
-        if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV" ]]; then
-          id=$(docker run -i -a stdin $IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app/.profile.d && cat > /app/.profile.d/00-global-env.sh" < "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV")
-          test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
-          docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
-        fi
-        if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV" ]]; then
-          id=$(docker run -i -a stdin $IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app/.profile.d && cat > /app/.profile.d/01-app-env.sh" < "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV")
-          test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
-          docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
-        fi
-        # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook post-release` will be removed in future releases
-        pluginhook post-release "$APP"
-        pluginhook post-release-buildstep "$APP"
-        ;;
-
-      dockerfile)
-        # buildstep pluginhooks don't necessarily make sense for dockerfiles. call the new breed!!!
-        pluginhook pre-release-dockerfile "$APP"
-        pluginhook post-release-dockerfile "$APP"
-        ;;
-
-      *)
-        dokku_log_fail "Releasing image source type $IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE not supported!"
-        ;;
-    esac
-    ;;
-
-  trace)
-    [[ -d $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc ]] || mkdir -p $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc
-    [[ "$2" == "on" ]] || [[ "$2" == "off" ]] || {
-      echo "Valid trace options are [on/off]"
-      exit 1
-    }
-
-    if [[ "$2" == "on" ]]; then
-      echo "Enabling dokku trace"
-      echo "export DOKKU_TRACE=1" > $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc/DOKKU_TRACE
-    fi
-
-    if [[ "$2" == "off" ]]; then
-      echo "Disabling dokku trace"
-      rm -f $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc/DOKKU_TRACE
-    fi
-    ;;
-
-  delete)
-    dokku apps:destroy $2
-    ;;
-
-  ls)
-    apps=$(ls -d $DOKKU_ROOT/*/ 2>/dev/null) || (echo "You haven't depoyed any applications yet" && exit 1)
-
-    dokku_col_log_info2_quiet "App Name" "Container id"
-
-    for app in $apps; do
-      if [[ -f $app/CONTAINER ]]; then
-        dokku_col_log_msg "$(basename $app)" "$(< $app/CONTAINER)"
-      else
-        dokku_col_log_msg "$(basename $app)"
-      fi
-    done
-    ;;
-
-  logs)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2";
-
-    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
-      CONTAINER=$(<$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER)
-      if [[ $3 == "-t" ]]; then
-        docker logs --follow $CONTAINER
-      else
-        docker logs $CONTAINER | tail -n 100
-      fi
-    else
-      echo "Application's container not found"
-    fi
-    ;;
-
-  run)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
-
-    shift 2
-
-    DOCKER_ARGS=$(: | pluginhook docker-args $APP run)
-    DOCKER_ARGS+=$(: | pluginhook docker-args-run $APP)
-    [[ $DOKKU_RM_CONTAINER ]] && DOKKU_RUN_OPTS="--rm"
-    has_tty && DOKKU_RUN_OPTS+=" -i -t"
-    is_image_buildstep_based "$IMAGE" && EXEC_CMD="/exec"
-
-    docker run $DOKKU_RUN_OPTS $DOCKER_ARGS $IMAGE $EXEC_CMD "$@"
-    ;;
-
-  url | urls)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2";
-
-    if [[ -s "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS" ]]; then
-      case "$1" in
-        url)
-          grep "^http" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS" | head -1
-        ;;
-        urls)
-          grep "^http" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS"
-        ;;
-      esac
-
-      exit 0
-    fi
-
-    SCHEME="http"; SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"; WILDCARD_SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/tls"
-    if [[ -e "$SSL/server.crt" && -e "$SSL/server.key" ]] || [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.crt" && -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.key" ]]; then
-      SCHEME="https"
-    fi
-
-    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]]; then
-      echo "$SCHEME://$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST")"
-    else
-      echo "$SCHEME://$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/HOSTNAME"):$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT")"
-    fi
-  ;;
-
-  version)
-    cat "$DOKKU_ROOT/VERSION" || {
-      echo "Unable to determine dokku's version" 2>&1
-      exit 1
-    }
-    ;;
-
-  help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    ls                                              Pretty listing of deployed applications and containers
-    logs <app> [-t]                                 Show the last logs for an application (-t follows)
-    run <app> <cmd>                                 Run a command in the environment of an application
-    url <app>                                       Show the first URL for an application (compatibility)
-    urls <app>                                      Show all URLs for an application
-    version                                         Print dokku's version
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/WARNING b/plugins/WARNING
deleted file mode 100644
index d3eee9aacc8..00000000000
--- a/plugins/WARNING
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-
-Please note that the hooks in Dokku are experimental and are likely to change quite a bit.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/plugins/apps/README.md b/plugins/apps/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ca54c841085
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/apps/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core apps plugin
+
+This plugin handles creation and destruction of applications.
+
diff --git a/plugins/apps/command b/plugins/apps/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..2a8128d095c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/apps/command
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+dokku_log_info2_quiet "My Apps"
+find $DOKKU_ROOT -follow -maxdepth 1 -type d  \( ! -iname ".*" \)  -not -path $DOKKU_ROOT/tls | sed 's|^\./||g' | sed 's|'$DOKKU_ROOT'\/||' | tail -n +2 | sort
diff --git a/plugins/apps/commands b/plugins/apps/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index a82aa1e4fbf..00000000000
--- a/plugins/apps/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,67 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-case "$1" in
-  apps)
-    dokku_log_info2_quiet "My Apps"
-    find $DOKKU_ROOT -follow -maxdepth 1 -type d  \( ! -iname ".*" \)  -not -path $DOKKU_ROOT/tls | sed 's|^\./||g' | sed 's|'$DOKKU_ROOT'\/||' | tail -n +2 | sort
-    ;;
-
-  apps:create)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    [[ -d "$DOKKU_ROOT/$2" ]] && dokku_log_warn "Name is already taken" && exit 1
-    APP="$2"
-
-    mkdir -p "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP"
-    echo "Creating $APP... done"
-    ;;
-
-  apps:destroy)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    [[ "$2" == "tls" ]] && echo "Unable to destroy tls directory" && exit 1
-    APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
-
-    [[ "$3" == "force" ]] && DOKKU_APPS_FORCE_DELETE=1
-    if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APPS_FORCE_DELETE" ]]; then
-      dokku_log_warn "WARNING: Potentially Destructive Action"
-      dokku_log_warn "This command will destroy $APP (including all add-ons)."
-      dokku_log_warn "To proceed, type \"$APP\""
-      echo ""
-
-      read -p "> " app_name
-      if [[ "$app_name" != "$APP" ]]; then
-        dokku_log_warn "Confirmation did not match $APP. Aborted."
-        exit 1
-      fi
-    fi
-
-    echo "Destroying $APP (including all add-ons)"
-
-    pluginhook pre-delete $APP
-    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
-      ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
-
-      docker stop $ID > /dev/null || true
-      docker rm $ID  > /dev/null || true
-    fi
-
-    docker images | grep $IMAGE | awk '{print $3}' | xargs docker rmi &> /dev/null &
-
-    pluginhook post-delete $APP
-    ;;
-
-  help | apps:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    apps                                            List your apps
-    apps:create <app>                               Create a new app
-    apps:destroy <app>                              Permanently destroy an app
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/apps/help.txt b/plugins/apps/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..944c547e6ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/apps/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+:                                            List your apps
+apps:create <app>                               Create a new app
+apps:destroy <app>                              Permanently destroy an app
diff --git a/plugins/apps/subcommands/create b/plugins/apps/subcommands/create
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..587562cfd28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/apps/subcommands/create
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+[[ -d "$DOKKU_ROOT/$2" ]] && dokku_log_warn "Name is already taken" && exit 1
+APP="$2"
+
+mkdir -p "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP"
+echo "Creating $APP... done"
diff --git a/plugins/apps/subcommands/destroy b/plugins/apps/subcommands/destroy
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..4157d3983a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/apps/subcommands/destroy
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+[[ "$2" == "tls" ]] && echo "Unable to destroy tls directory" && exit 1
+APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
+
+[[ "$3" == "force" ]] && DOKKU_APPS_FORCE_DELETE=1
+if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APPS_FORCE_DELETE" ]]; then
+  dokku_log_warn "WARNING: Potentially Destructive Action"
+  dokku_log_warn "This command will destroy $APP (including all add-ons)."
+  dokku_log_warn "To proceed, type \"$APP\""
+  echo ""
+
+  read -p "> " app_name
+  if [[ "$app_name" != "$APP" ]]; then
+    dokku_log_warn "Confirmation did not match $APP. Aborted."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+echo "Destroying $APP (including all add-ons)"
+
+pluginhook pre-delete $APP
+if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
+  ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
+
+  docker stop $ID > /dev/null || true
+  docker rm $ID  > /dev/null || true
+fi
+
+docker images | grep $IMAGE | awk '{print $3}' | xargs docker rmi &> /dev/null &
+
+pluginhook post-delete $APP
diff --git a/plugins/backup/README.md b/plugins/backup/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..72d2aebe162
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/backup/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Dokku core backup system
+
+This plugin provides the commands for exporting and importing backups of a
+Dokku configuration (including the list of apps and any plugin configurations
+for those apps), as well as hooks for the backup of core Dokku configuration
+files.
+
+Note that this does *not* backup the content of the apps themselves: to back up
+your apps, you should be using another solution, such as pushing your apps to a
+Git backup server. Similarly, you should have a relevant backup solution for
+any data you may be keeping through a datastore plugin.
+
diff --git a/plugins/backup/commands b/plugins/backup/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index 3eacdde2a04..00000000000
--- a/plugins/backup/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,99 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-
-CURRENT_BACKUP_VERSION=1
-
-case "$1" in
-  backup:export)
-    OUTPUT_FILE="$2"
-    BACKUP_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT"
-
-    BACKUP_TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-    BACKUP_TMP_FILE="$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/backup.tar"
-
-    : | pluginhook backup-export 1 $BACKUP_DIR | tar -cf $BACKUP_TMP_FILE --files-from -
-
-    pushd $BACKUP_DIR > /dev/null
-    find . -maxdepth 1 -type d -not -name . | sed 's:./::g' > "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"
-    popd > /dev/null
-
-    # we want to insert the files in the root of the tar
-    pushd $BACKUP_TMP_DIR > /dev/null
-    echo $CURRENT_BACKUP_VERSION > .dokku_backup_version
-    tar --append -f $BACKUP_TMP_FILE .dokku_backup_version
-    tar --append -f $BACKUP_TMP_FILE .dokku_backup_apps
-    popd > /dev/null
-
-    # if no file specified, output to stdout
-    if [[ -z $OUTPUT_FILE ]]; then
-      cat $BACKUP_TMP_FILE
-    else
-      mv $BACKUP_TMP_FILE $OUTPUT_FILE
-    fi
-
-    rm -rf $BACKUP_TMP_DIR
-    ;;
-
-  backup:import)
-    if [[ $2 == "-f" ]]; then
-      force=true
-      shift
-    else
-      force=false
-    fi
-
-    INPUT_FILE="$2"
-    [[ -z $INPUT_FILE ]] && INPUT_FILE="-"
-
-    BACKUP_TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-
-    tar xf $INPUT_FILE --directory=$BACKUP_TMP_DIR
-
-    if [[ ! -f $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_version ]]; then
-      echo "Unable to determine backup version"
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    VERSION=$(< $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_version)
-    if [[ $VERSION -ne 1 ]]; then
-      echo "Unknown format version $VERSION"
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    echo "Importing a version $VERSION backup..."
-
-    BACKUP_ROOT="$BACKUP_TMP_DIR""$DOKKU_ROOT"
-    TARGET_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT"
-
-    if ! pluginhook backup-check $VERSION "$BACKUP_ROOT" "$TARGET_DIR" "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"; then
-      if $force; then
-        echo "-f used. Ignoring warnings."
-      else
-        echo "Archive did not pass sanity checks. Use -f to import anyway" >&2
-        exit 1
-      fi
-    fi
-
-    # create all the app directories
-    while read app; do mkdir "$TARGET_DIR/$app"; echo "Imported $app"; done < $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps
-
-    # have the plugins import their stuff
-    pluginhook backup-import $VERSION "$BACKUP_ROOT" $TARGET_DIR "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"
-
-    rm -rf $BACKUP_TMP_DIR
-
-    echo "Import complete."
-    ;;
-
-  help | backup:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    backup:export [file]                            Export dokku configuration files
-    backup:import [file]                            Import dokku configuration files
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/backup/help.txt b/plugins/backup/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a2340900b23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/backup/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+:export [file]                            Export dokku configuration files
+:import [file]                            Import dokku configuration files
diff --git a/plugins/backup/subcommands/export b/plugins/backup/subcommands/export
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..12e6f82d4ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/backup/subcommands/export
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+CURRENT_BACKUP_VERSION=1
+
+OUTPUT_FILE="$2"
+BACKUP_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT"
+
+BACKUP_TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+BACKUP_TMP_FILE="$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/backup.tar"
+
+: | pluginhook backup-export 1 $BACKUP_DIR | tar -cf $BACKUP_TMP_FILE --files-from -
+
+pushd $BACKUP_DIR > /dev/null
+find . -maxdepth 1 -type d -not -name . | sed 's:./::g' > "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"
+popd > /dev/null
+
+# we want to insert the files in the root of the tar
+pushd $BACKUP_TMP_DIR > /dev/null
+echo $CURRENT_BACKUP_VERSION > .dokku_backup_version
+tar --append -f $BACKUP_TMP_FILE .dokku_backup_version
+tar --append -f $BACKUP_TMP_FILE .dokku_backup_apps
+popd > /dev/null
+
+# if no file specified, output to stdout
+if [[ -z $OUTPUT_FILE ]]; then
+  cat $BACKUP_TMP_FILE
+else
+  mv $BACKUP_TMP_FILE $OUTPUT_FILE
+fi
+
+rm -rf $BACKUP_TMP_DIR
diff --git a/plugins/backup/subcommands/import b/plugins/backup/subcommands/import
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..00c293bc95d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/backup/subcommands/import
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+CURRENT_BACKUP_VERSION=1
+
+if [[ $2 == "-f" ]]; then
+  force=true
+  shift
+else
+  force=false
+fi
+
+INPUT_FILE="$2"
+[[ -z $INPUT_FILE ]] && INPUT_FILE="-"
+
+BACKUP_TMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+
+tar xf $INPUT_FILE --directory=$BACKUP_TMP_DIR
+
+if [[ ! -f $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_version ]]; then
+  echo "Unable to determine backup version"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+VERSION=$(< $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_version)
+if [[ $VERSION -ne 1 ]]; then
+  echo "Unknown format version $VERSION"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Importing a version $VERSION backup..."
+
+BACKUP_ROOT="$BACKUP_TMP_DIR""$DOKKU_ROOT"
+TARGET_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT"
+
+if ! pluginhook backup-check $VERSION "$BACKUP_ROOT" "$TARGET_DIR" "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"; then
+  if $force; then
+    echo "-f used. Ignoring warnings."
+  else
+    echo "Archive did not pass sanity checks. Use -f to import anyway" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
+# create all the app directories
+while read app; do mkdir "$TARGET_DIR/$app"; echo "Imported $app"; done < $BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps
+
+# have the plugins import their stuff
+pluginhook backup-import $VERSION "$BACKUP_ROOT" $TARGET_DIR "$BACKUP_TMP_DIR/.dokku_backup_apps"
+
+rm -rf $BACKUP_TMP_DIR
+
+echo "Import complete."
diff --git a/plugins/build-env/README.md b/plugins/build-env/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ff28a6ef1af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/build-env/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core build-env plugin
+
+This plugin is responsible for generating an application's build environment.
+
diff --git a/plugins/build-env/pre-build b/plugins/build-env/pre-build
index fa14ac60b82..6f557d8909a 100755
--- a/plugins/build-env/pre-build
+++ b/plugins/build-env/pre-build
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"; BUILD_ENV=""
 
diff --git a/plugins/build/README.md b/plugins/build/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dd1d7f31ff8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/build/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Dokku core build command
+
+This plugin defines the `build` command used internally to build an app
+(usually after receiving an app with the internally-used `receive` command).
+
+It runs any pre-build hooks, builds a container for the app using
+[buildstep][], then runs any post-build hooks. Further release and deployment,
+if any, is handled by the external context (again, usually the `receive`
+command).
+
+[buildstep]: https://github.com/progrium/buildstep
+
diff --git a/plugins/build/command b/plugins/build/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..f9703a3babe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/build/command
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"; IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="$3"; TMP_WORK_DIR="$4"
+CACHE_DIR="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/cache"
+
+pushd "$TMP_WORK_DIR" &> /dev/null
+
+case "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE" in
+  buildstep)
+    id=$(tar -c . | docker run -i -a stdin $DOKKU_IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app && tar -xC /app")
+    test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
+    docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
+    [[ -d $CACHE_DIR ]] || mkdir $CACHE_DIR
+    # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook pre-build` will be removed in future releases
+    pluginhook pre-build "$APP"
+    pluginhook pre-build-buildstep "$APP"
+
+    # *DEPRECATED* in v0.3.14: `pluginhook docker-args` will be removed in future releases
+    # https://github.com/progrium/dokku/issues/896 & https://github.com/progrium/dokku/issues/906
+    DOCKER_ARGS=$(: | pluginhook docker-args $APP build)
+    DOCKER_ARGS+=$(: | pluginhook docker-args-build $APP)
+    id=$(docker run -d -v $CACHE_DIR:/cache -e CACHE_PATH=/cache $DOCKER_ARGS $IMAGE /build/builder)
+    docker attach $id
+    test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
+    docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
+
+    # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook post-build` will be removed in future releases
+    pluginhook post-build "$APP"
+    pluginhook post-build-buildstep "$APP"
+    ;;
+
+  dockerfile)
+    # extract first port from dockerfile
+    DOCKERFILE_PORT=$(grep EXPOSE Dockerfile | head -1 | awk '{ print $2 }')
+    [[ -n "$DOCKERFILE_PORT" ]] && dokku config:set-norestart $APP DOKKU_DOCKERFILE_PORT=$DOCKERFILE_PORT
+
+    # sticking with same pattern of building app image before pre-build for now.
+    docker build -t "$IMAGE" .
+    # buildstep pluginhooks don't necessarily make sense for dockerfiles. call the new breed!!!
+    pluginhook pre-build-dockerfile "$APP"
+    pluginhook post-build-dockerfile "$APP"
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    dokku_log_fail "Building image source type $IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE not supported!"
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/plugins/checks/README.md b/plugins/checks/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6b027d990ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/checks/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Dokku core checks plugin
+
+This plugin handles zero-downtime functionality by checking the application
+container against a list of checks specified in CHECKS file.
+
+The CHECKS file may contain empty lines, comments (lines starting with #),
+settings (NAME=VALUE) and check instructions.
+
+The format of a check instruction is a path, optionally followed by the
+expected content.  For example:
+  ```shell
+   /                       My Amazing App
+   /stylesheets/index.css  .body
+   /scripts/index.js       $(function()
+   /images/logo.png
+   ```
+
+To check an application that supports multiple hostnames, use relative URLs
+that include the hostname, for example:
+  ```shell
+  //admin.example.com     Admin Dashboard
+  //static.example.com/logo.png
+  ```
+
+You can also specify the protocol to explicitly check HTTPS requests.
+
+The default behavior is to wait for 5 seconds before running the first check,
+and timeout each check to 30 minutes.
+
+You can change these by setting DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT and DOKKU_CHECKS_TIMEOUT to different values, for
+example:
+   ```shell
+   DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT=30     # Wait 1/2 minute
+   DOKKU_CHECKS_TIMEOUT=60  # Timeout after a minute
+   ```
diff --git a/plugins/checks/check-deploy b/plugins/checks/check-deploy
index 861d90de93c..65b125a476d 100755
--- a/plugins/checks/check-deploy
+++ b/plugins/checks/check-deploy
@@ -1,38 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Hook to check server against list of checks specified in CHECKS file.
-#
-# The CHECKS file may contain empty lines, comments (lines starting with #),
-# settings (NAME=VALUE) and check instructions.
-#
-# The format of a check instruction is a path, optionally followed by the
-# expected content.  For example:
-#
-#   /                       My Amazing App
-#   /stylesheets/index.css  .body
-#   /scripts/index.js       $(function()
-#   /images/logo.png
-#
-# To check an application that supports multiple hostnames, use relative URLs
-# that include the hostname, for example:
-#
-#  //admin.example.com     Admin Dashboard
-#  //static.example.com/logo.png
-#
-# You can also specify the protocol to explicitly check HTTPS requests.
-#
-# The default behavior is to wait for 5 seconds before running the first check,
-# and timeout each check to 30 minutes.
-#
-# You can change these by setting WAIT and TIMEOUT to different values, for
-# example:
-#
-#   WAIT=30     # Wait 1/2 minute
-#   TIMEOUT=60  # Timeout after a minute
-#
-
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT="$2"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP="$3"; DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_ID="$4"
 if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT" ]]; then
diff --git a/plugins/common/README.md b/plugins/common/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ebc1ef3d306
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/common/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core common functions
+
+This plugin provides the common functions for dokku and all plugins.
+
diff --git a/plugins/config/README.md b/plugins/config/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..43a06ac0192
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Dokku core config commands
+
+This plugin provides the `config` commands for easily dealing with an app's
+environment definition, as well as hooks for backing up apps' configured
+environments.
+
diff --git a/plugins/config/command b/plugins/config/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..912de81f979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/command
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+config_create
+[[ ! -s $ENV_FILE ]] && echo "$APP has no config vars" && exit 1
+
+VARS=$(grep -Eo "export ([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*)" $ENV_FILE | cut -d" " -f2-)
+
+for var in "$@"; do
+  if [[ "$var" == "--shell" ]]; then
+    echo $VARS
+    exit 0
+  fi
+done
+
+dokku_log_info2_quiet "$APP config vars"
+config_styled_hash "$VARS"
diff --git a/plugins/config/commands b/plugins/config/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index 348ca4bba0e..00000000000
--- a/plugins/config/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,210 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
-ENV_FILE_TEMP="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV.tmp"
-config_create () {
-  [ -f $ENV_FILE ] || {
-    touch $ENV_FILE
-  }
-}
-
-config_styled_hash () {
-  vars="$1"
-  prefix="$2"
-
-  longest=""
-  while read -r word; do
-    KEY=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f1)
-    if [ ${#KEY} -gt ${#longest} ]; then
-      longest=$KEY
-    fi
-  done <<< "$vars"
-
-  while read -r word; do
-    KEY=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f1)
-    VALUE=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f2- | sed -e "s/^'//" -e "s/'$//")
-
-    num_zeros=$((${#longest} - ${#KEY}))
-    zeros=" "
-    while [ $num_zeros -gt 0 ]; do
-      zeros="$zeros "
-      num_zeros=$((num_zeros - 1))
-    done
-    echo "$prefix$KEY:$zeros$VALUE"
-  done <<< "$vars"
-}
-
-config_write() {
-  ENV_TEMP="$1"
-  echo -e "$ENV_TEMP" | sed '/^$/d' | sort > $ENV_FILE_TEMP
-  if ! cmp -s $ENV_FILE $ENV_FILE_TEMP; then
-    cp -f $ENV_FILE_TEMP $ENV_FILE
-    chmod 600 $ENV_FILE
-  fi
-  rm -f $ENV_FILE_TEMP
-}
-
-case "$1" in
-  config)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    config_create
-    [[ ! -s $ENV_FILE ]] && echo "$APP has no config vars" && exit 1
-
-    VARS=$(grep -Eo "export ([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*)" $ENV_FILE | cut -d" " -f2-)
-
-    for var in "$@"; do
-      if [[ "$var" == "--shell" ]]; then
-        echo $VARS
-        exit 0
-      fi
-    done
-
-    dokku_log_info2_quiet "$APP config vars"
-    config_styled_hash "$VARS"
-    ;;
-
-  config:get)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku config:get APP KEY"
-      echo "Must specify KEY."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    config_create
-    if [[ ! -s $ENV_FILE ]] ; then
-      exit 0
-    fi
-
-    KEY="$3"
-
-    grep -Eo "export ([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*)" $ENV_FILE | grep "^export $KEY=" | cut -d"=" -f2- | sed -e "s/^'//" -e "s/'$//"
-    ;;
-
-  config:set)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z "${*:3}" ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
-      echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    shift 2
-    dokku config:set-norestart $APP "$@"
-    dokku_log_info1 "Restarting app $APP"
-    dokku ps:restart $APP
-   ;;
-
-  config:set-norestart)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z "${*:3}" ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
-      echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    config_create
-    ENV_ADD=""
-    ENV_TEMP=$(cat "${ENV_FILE}")
-    RESTART_APP=false
-    shift 2
-
-    for var; do
-      if [[ $var != *"="* ]]; then
-        echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
-        echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
-        exit 1
-      fi
-    done
-
-    for var; do
-      KEY=$(echo ${var} | cut -d"=" -f1)
-      VALUE=$(echo ${var} | cut -d"=" -f2-)
-
-      if [[ $KEY =~ [a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]* ]]; then
-        RESTART_APP=true
-        ENV_TEMP=$(echo -e "${ENV_TEMP}" | sed "/^export $KEY=/ d")
-        ENV_TEMP="${ENV_TEMP}\nexport $KEY='$VALUE'"
-        ENV_ADD=$(echo -e "${ENV_ADD}" | sed "/^$KEY=/ d")
-        ENV_ADD="${ENV_ADD}$
-${var}"
-      fi
-    done
-    ENV_ADD=$(echo "$ENV_ADD" | tail -n +2) #remove first empty line
-
-    if [ $RESTART_APP ]; then
-      dokku_log_info1 "Setting config vars"
-      config_styled_hash "$ENV_ADD" "       "
-
-      config_write "$ENV_TEMP"
-    fi
-    ;;
-
-  config:unset)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku config:unset APP KEY1 [KEY2 ...]"
-      echo "Must specify KEY to unset."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    shift 2
-    dokku config:unset-norestart $APP "$@"
-    dokku_log_info1 "Restarting app $APP"
-    dokku ps:restart $APP
-  ;;
-
-  config:unset-norestart)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku config:unset APP KEY1 [KEY2 ...]"
-      echo "Must specify KEY to unset."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    config_create
-    ENV_TEMP=$(cat "${ENV_FILE}")
-    VARS="${*:3}"
-
-    for var in $VARS; do
-      dokku_log_info1 "Unsetting $var"
-      ENV_TEMP=$(echo -e "${ENV_TEMP}" | sed "/^export $var=/ d")
-
-      config_write "$ENV_TEMP"
-    done
-    ;;
-
-  help | config:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    config <app>                                    Display the config vars for an app
-    config:get <app> KEY                            Display a config value for an app
-    config:set <app> KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]  Set one or more config vars
-    config:unset <app> KEY1 [KEY2 ...]              Unset one or more config vars
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/config/docker-args-deploy b/plugins/config/docker-args-deploy
index 53bda23835c..c33a9930c15 100755
--- a/plugins/config/docker-args-deploy
+++ b/plugins/config/docker-args-deploy
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 STDIN=$(cat); APP="$1"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
 DOCKERFILE_ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/DOCKERFILE_ENV_FILE"
diff --git a/plugins/config/functions b/plugins/config/functions
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..c9eeeacae4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/functions
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+ENV_FILE_TEMP="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV.tmp"
+
+config_create () {
+  [ -f $ENV_FILE ] || {
+    touch $ENV_FILE
+  }
+}
+
+config_styled_hash () {
+  vars="$1"
+  prefix="$2"
+
+  longest=""
+  while read -r word; do
+    KEY=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f1)
+    if [ ${#KEY} -gt ${#longest} ]; then
+      longest=$KEY
+    fi
+  done <<< "$vars"
+
+  while read -r word; do
+    KEY=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f1)
+    VALUE=$(echo $word | cut -d"=" -f2- | sed -e "s/^'//" -e "s/'$//")
+
+    num_zeros=$((${#longest} - ${#KEY}))
+    zeros=" "
+    while [ $num_zeros -gt 0 ]; do
+      zeros="$zeros "
+      num_zeros=$((num_zeros - 1))
+    done
+    echo "$prefix$KEY:$zeros$VALUE"
+  done <<< "$vars"
+}
+
+config_write() {
+  ENV_TEMP="$1"
+  echo -e "$ENV_TEMP" | sed '/^$/d' | sort > $ENV_FILE_TEMP
+  if ! cmp -s $ENV_FILE $ENV_FILE_TEMP; then
+    cp -f $ENV_FILE_TEMP $ENV_FILE
+    chmod 600 $ENV_FILE
+    dokku ps:restart $APP
+  fi
+  rm -f $ENV_FILE_TEMP
+}
diff --git a/plugins/config/help.txt b/plugins/config/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d66c5b0c09f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+: <app>                                    Display the config vars for an app
+config:get <app> KEY                            Display a config value for an app
+config:set <app> KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]  Set one or more config vars
+config:unset <app> KEY1 [KEY2 ...]              Unset one or more config vars
diff --git a/plugins/config/subcommands/get b/plugins/config/subcommands/get
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..cfa60e4430b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/subcommands/get
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku config:get APP KEY"
+  echo "Must specify KEY."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+config_create
+if [[ ! -s $ENV_FILE ]] ; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+KEY="$3"
+
+grep -Eo "export ([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*=.*)" $ENV_FILE | grep "^export $KEY=" | cut -d"=" -f2- | sed -e "s/^'//" -e "s/'$//"
diff --git a/plugins/config/subcommands/set b/plugins/config/subcommands/set
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..724be3659fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/subcommands/set
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z "${*:3}" ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
+  echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+shift 2
+dokku config:set-norestart $APP "$@"
+dokku_log_info1 "Restarting app $APP"
+dokku ps:restart $APP
diff --git a/plugins/config/subcommands/set-norestart b/plugins/config/subcommands/set-norestart
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..59422f7e18a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/subcommands/set-norestart
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z "${*:3}" ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
+  echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+config_create
+ENV_ADD=""
+ENV_TEMP=$(cat "${ENV_FILE}")
+RESTART_APP=false
+shift 2
+
+for var; do
+  if [[ $var != *"="* ]]; then
+    echo "Usage: dokku config:set APP KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]"
+    echo "Must specify KEY and VALUE to set."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+for var; do
+  KEY=$(echo ${var} | cut -d"=" -f1)
+  VALUE=$(echo ${var} | cut -d"=" -f2-)
+
+  if [[ $KEY =~ [a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]* ]]; then
+    RESTART_APP=true
+    ENV_TEMP=$(echo -e "${ENV_TEMP}" | sed "/^export $KEY=/ d")
+    ENV_TEMP="${ENV_TEMP}\nexport $KEY='$VALUE'"
+    ENV_ADD=$(echo -e "${ENV_ADD}" | sed "/^$KEY=/ d")
+    ENV_ADD="${ENV_ADD}$
+${var}"
+  fi
+done
+ENV_ADD=$(echo "$ENV_ADD" | tail -n +2) #remove first empty line
+
+if [ $RESTART_APP ]; then
+  dokku_log_info1 "Setting config vars"
+  config_styled_hash "$ENV_ADD" "       "
+
+  config_write "$ENV_TEMP"
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/config/subcommands/unset b/plugins/config/subcommands/unset
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..313e5b4dc56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/subcommands/unset
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku config:unset APP KEY1 [KEY2 ...]"
+  echo "Must specify KEY to unset."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+shift 2
+dokku config:unset-norestart $APP "$@"
+dokku_log_info1 "Restarting app $APP"
+dokku ps:restart $APP
diff --git a/plugins/config/subcommands/unset-norestart b/plugins/config/subcommands/unset-norestart
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..be630ab8332
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/config/subcommands/unset-norestart
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+ENV_FILE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$2/ENV"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku config:unset APP KEY1 [KEY2 ...]"
+  echo "Must specify KEY to unset."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+config_create
+ENV_TEMP=$(cat "${ENV_FILE}")
+VARS="${*:3}"
+
+for var in $VARS; do
+  dokku_log_info1 "Unsetting $var"
+  ENV_TEMP=$(echo -e "${ENV_TEMP}" | sed "/^export $var=/ d")
+
+  config_write "$ENV_TEMP"
+done
diff --git a/plugins/core/README.md b/plugins/core/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7e9c6343491
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/core/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Dokku core
+
+This plugin provides the base Dokku installation steps.
+
+## Dokku core installation
+
+- Sets the dokku HOSTNAME file from the server's hostname, if missing.
+- Creates an Upstart rule to restart all apps after a reboot (redeploying them
+  to refresh their port mappings for virtual hosting).
+
diff --git a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-check b/plugins/core/backup-check
similarity index 100%
rename from plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-check
rename to plugins/core/backup-check
diff --git a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-export b/plugins/core/backup-export
similarity index 100%
rename from plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-export
rename to plugins/core/backup-export
diff --git a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-import b/plugins/core/backup-import
similarity index 100%
rename from plugins/00_dokku-standard/backup-import
rename to plugins/core/backup-import
diff --git a/plugins/core/commands b/plugins/core/commands
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..3ff09eeab11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/core/commands
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+case "$1" in
+  delete)
+    dokku apps:destroy $2
+    ;;
+
+  ls)
+    apps=$(ls -d $DOKKU_ROOT/*/ 2>/dev/null) || (echo "You haven't depoyed any applications yet" && exit 1)
+
+    dokku_col_log_info2_quiet "App Name" "Container id"
+
+    for app in $apps; do
+      if [[ -f $app/CONTAINER ]]; then
+        dokku_col_log_msg "$(basename $app)" "$(< $app/CONTAINER)"
+      else
+        dokku_col_log_msg "$(basename $app)"
+      fi
+    done
+    ;;
+
+  logs)
+    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+    verify_app_name "$2"
+    APP="$2";
+
+    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
+      CONTAINER=$(<$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER)
+      if [[ $3 == "-t" ]]; then
+        docker logs --follow $CONTAINER
+      else
+        docker logs $CONTAINER | tail -n 100
+      fi
+    else
+      echo "Application's container not found"
+    fi
+    ;;
+
+  url | urls)
+      [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+      verify_app_name "$2"
+      APP="$2";
+
+      if [[ -s "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS" ]]; then
+        case "$1" in
+          url)
+            grep "^http" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS" | head -1
+          ;;
+          urls)
+            grep "^http" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS"
+          ;;
+        esac
+
+        exit 0
+      fi
+
+      SCHEME="http"; SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"; WILDCARD_SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/tls"
+      if [[ -e "$SSL/server.crt" && -e "$SSL/server.key" ]] || [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.crt" && -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.key" ]]; then
+        SCHEME="https"
+      fi
+
+      if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]]; then
+        echo "$SCHEME://$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST")"
+      else
+        echo "$SCHEME://$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/HOSTNAME"):$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT")"
+      fi
+    ;;
+
+  help)
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
+    ;;
+
+esac
diff --git a/plugins/core/help.txt b/plugins/core/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dd793a07bce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/core/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+ls                                              Pretty listing of deployed applications and containers
+logs <app> [-t]                                 Show the last logs for an application (-t follows)
+url <app>                                       Show the first URL for an application (compatibility)
+urls <app>                                      Show all URLs for an application
diff --git a/plugins/00_dokku-standard/install b/plugins/core/install
similarity index 100%
rename from plugins/00_dokku-standard/install
rename to plugins/core/install
diff --git a/plugins/domains/README.md b/plugins/domains/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..964ddfd02ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core domains plugin
+
+This plugin handles management of custom domains.
+
diff --git a/plugins/domains/command b/plugins/domains/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..8e5a5a68424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/command
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+dokku domains:setup $APP
+dokku_log_info2_quiet "$APP Domain Names"
+cat "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
diff --git a/plugins/domains/commands b/plugins/domains/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index c479a63f3a0..00000000000
--- a/plugins/domains/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,137 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-RE_IPV4="([0-9]{1,3}[\.]){3}[0-9]{1,3}"
-
-RE_IPV6="([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7,7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}|"                    # TEST: 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:|"                         # TEST: 1::                              1:2:3:4:5:6:7::
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,6}:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}|"         # TEST: 1::8             1:2:3:4:5:6::8  1:2:3:4:5:6::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,5}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,2}|"  # TEST: 1::7:8           1:2:3:4:5::7:8  1:2:3:4:5::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,4}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,3}|"  # TEST: 1::6:7:8         1:2:3:4::6:7:8  1:2:3:4::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,3}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,4}|"  # TEST: 1::5:6:7:8       1:2:3::5:6:7:8  1:2:3::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,2}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,5}|"  # TEST: 1::4:5:6:7:8     1:2::4:5:6:7:8  1:2::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:((:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,6})|"       # TEST: 1::3:4:5:6:7:8   1::3:4:5:6:7:8  1::8
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}:((:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,7}|:)|"                     # TEST: ::2:3:4:5:6:7:8  ::2:3:4:5:6:7:8 ::8       ::
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}fe08:(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){2,2}%[0-9a-zA-Z]{1,}|"     # TEST: fe08::7:8%eth0      fe08::7:8%1                                      (link-local IPv6 addresses with zone index)
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}::(ffff(:0{1,4}){0,1}:){0,1}${RE_IPV4}|"            # TEST: ::255.255.255.255   ::ffff:255.255.255.255  ::ffff:0:255.255.255.255 (IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses and IPv4-translated addresses)
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,4}:${RE_IPV4}"                # TEST: 2001:db8:3:4::192.0.2.33  64:ff9b::192.0.2.33
-
-# Ensure the ip address continues to the end of the line
-# Fixes using a wildcard dns service such as xip.io which allows for *.<ip address>.xip.io
-RE_IPV4="${RE_IPV4}\$"
-RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}\$"
-
-case "$1" in
-  domains)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    dokku domains:setup $APP
-    dokku_log_info2_quiet "$APP Domain Names"
-    cat "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-    ;;
-
-  domains:setup)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"; VHOST_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-
-    if [[ ! -f $VHOST_PATH ]]; then
-      if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]];then
-        VHOST=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST")
-      else
-        VHOST=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/HOSTNAME")
-      fi
-      if [[ "$VHOST" =~ $RE_IPV4 ]] || [[ "$VHOST" =~ $RE_IPV6 ]];then
-        echo "unsupported vhost config found. disabling vhost support"
-        [[ ! $(grep -q NO_VHOST "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV") ]] && echo "export NO_VHOST='1'" >> "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV"
-      else
-        if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]]; then
-          dokku_log_info1 "Creating new $VHOST_PATH..."
-          SUBDOMAIN=${APP/%\.${VHOST}/}
-          hostname=$(: | pluginhook nginx-hostname $APP $SUBDOMAIN $VHOST)
-          if [[ ! -n $hostname ]]; then
-            if [[ "$APP" == *.* ]] && [[ "$SUBDOMAIN" == "$APP" ]]; then
-              hostname="${APP/\//-}"
-            else
-              hostname="${APP/\//-}.$VHOST"
-            fi
-          fi
-
-          echo "$hostname" > $VHOST_PATH
-        fi
-      fi
-    fi
-    ;;
-
-  domains:add)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku $1 $APP DOMAIN"
-      echo "Must specify DOMAIN."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    if [[ $(egrep ^"$3"$ "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" > /dev/null 2>&1; echo $?) -eq 0 ]]; then
-      echo "$3 is already defined for $APP"
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    dokku domains:setup $APP
-    echo "$3" >> "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-    # we need to restart the app to make sure we're binding to the appropriate network interface
-    dokku ps:restart $APP
-    pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
-    dokku_log_info1 "Added $3 to $APP"
-
-    ;;
-
-  domains:clear)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    rm -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-    dokku domains:setup $APP
-    pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
-    dokku_log_info1 "Cleared domains in $APP"
-
-    ;;
-
-  domains:remove)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
-      echo "Usage: dokku $1 $2 DOMAIN"
-      echo "Must specify DOMAIN."
-      exit 1
-    fi
-
-    dokku domains:setup $APP
-    sed -i "/^$3$/d" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-    pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
-    dokku_log_info1 "Removed $3 from $APP"
-
-    ;;
-
-  help | domains:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    domains <app>                                   List custom domains for app
-    domains:add <app> DOMAIN                        Add a custom domain to app
-    domains:clear <app>                             Clear all custom domains for app
-    domains:remove <app> DOMAIN                     Remove a custom domain from app
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/domains/functions b/plugins/domains/functions
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..d166bd92ba2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/functions
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+RE_IPV4="([0-9]{1,3}[\.]){3}[0-9]{1,3}"
+
+RE_IPV6="([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){7,7}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}|"                    # TEST: 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,7}:|"                         # TEST: 1::                              1:2:3:4:5:6:7::
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,6}:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}|"         # TEST: 1::8             1:2:3:4:5:6::8  1:2:3:4:5:6::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,5}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,2}|"  # TEST: 1::7:8           1:2:3:4:5::7:8  1:2:3:4:5::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,4}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,3}|"  # TEST: 1::6:7:8         1:2:3:4::6:7:8  1:2:3:4::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,3}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,4}|"  # TEST: 1::5:6:7:8       1:2:3::5:6:7:8  1:2:3::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,2}(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,5}|"  # TEST: 1::4:5:6:7:8     1:2::4:5:6:7:8  1:2::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:((:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,6})|"       # TEST: 1::3:4:5:6:7:8   1::3:4:5:6:7:8  1::8
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}:((:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){1,7}|:)|"                     # TEST: ::2:3:4:5:6:7:8  ::2:3:4:5:6:7:8 ::8       ::
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}fe08:(:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}){2,2}%[0-9a-zA-Z]{1,}|"     # TEST: fe08::7:8%eth0      fe08::7:8%1                                      (link-local IPv6 addresses with zone index)
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}::(ffff(:0{1,4}){0,1}:){0,1}${RE_IPV4}|"            # TEST: ::255.255.255.255   ::ffff:255.255.255.255  ::ffff:0:255.255.255.255 (IPv4-mapped IPv6 addresses and IPv4-translated addresses)
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}([0-9a-fA-F]{1,4}:){1,4}:${RE_IPV4}"                # TEST: 2001:db8:3:4::192.0.2.33  64:ff9b::192.0.2.33
+
+# Ensure the ip address continues to the end of the line
+# Fixes using a wildcard dns service such as xip.io which allows for *.<ip address>.xip.io
+RE_IPV4="${RE_IPV4}\$"
+RE_IPV6="${RE_IPV6}\$"
diff --git a/plugins/domains/help.txt b/plugins/domains/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..165c112f99f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+: <app>                                   List custom domains for app
+domains:add <app> DOMAIN                        Add a custom domain to app
+domains:clear <app>                             Clear all custom domains for app
+domains:remove <app> DOMAIN                     Remove a custom domain from app
diff --git a/plugins/domains/subcommands/add b/plugins/domains/subcommands/add
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..6847c6737b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/subcommands/add
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku $1 $APP DOMAIN"
+  echo "Must specify DOMAIN."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ $(egrep ^"$3"$ "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" > /dev/null 2>&1; echo $?) -eq 0 ]]; then
+  echo "$3 is already defined for $APP"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+dokku domains:setup $APP
+echo "$3" >> "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+# we need to restart the app to make sure we're binding to the appropriate network interface
+dokku ps:restart $APP
+pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
+dokku_log_info1 "Added $3 to $APP"
diff --git a/plugins/domains/subcommands/clear b/plugins/domains/subcommands/clear
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..9e41112dedf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/subcommands/clear
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+rm -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+dokku domains:setup $APP
+pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
+dokku_log_info1 "Cleared domains in $APP"
diff --git a/plugins/domains/subcommands/remove b/plugins/domains/subcommands/remove
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..b91ce56537f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/subcommands/remove
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
+  echo "Usage: dokku $1 $2 DOMAIN"
+  echo "Must specify DOMAIN."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+dokku domains:setup $APP
+sed -i "/^$3$/d" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+pluginhook post-domains-update $APP
+dokku_log_info1 "Removed $3 from $APP"
diff --git a/plugins/domains/subcommands/setup b/plugins/domains/subcommands/setup
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..dcb1a8ecbdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/domains/subcommands/setup
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"; VHOST_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+
+if [[ ! -f $VHOST_PATH ]]; then
+  if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]];then
+    VHOST=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST")
+  else
+    VHOST=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/HOSTNAME")
+  fi
+  if [[ "$VHOST" =~ $RE_IPV4 ]] || [[ "$VHOST" =~ $RE_IPV6 ]];then
+    echo "unsupported vhost config found. disabling vhost support"
+    [[ ! $(grep -q NO_VHOST "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV") ]] && echo "export NO_VHOST='1'" >> "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV"
+  else
+    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/VHOST" ]]; then
+      dokku_log_info1 "Creating new $VHOST_PATH..."
+      SUBDOMAIN=${APP/%\.${VHOST}/}
+      hostname=$(: | pluginhook nginx-hostname $APP $SUBDOMAIN $VHOST)
+      if [[ ! -n $hostname ]]; then
+        if [[ "$APP" == *.* ]] && [[ "$SUBDOMAIN" == "$APP" ]]; then
+          hostname="${APP/\//-}"
+        else
+          hostname="${APP/\//-}.$VHOST"
+        fi
+      fi
+
+      echo "$hostname" > $VHOST_PATH
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/git/README.md b/plugins/git/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b5a40ad0631
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/git/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Dokku core git handling
+
+This plugin provides the `git` interface for creating and deploying apps in
+Dokku by adding commands to Dokku to wrap Git's SSH interface, as well as
+defining a hook to create the relevant git pre-receive hook for any apps being
+imported from backup.
+
diff --git a/plugins/git/commands b/plugins/git/commands
index 47934f493b3..eff68d0f1ea 100755
--- a/plugins/git/commands
+++ b/plugins/git/commands
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 git_build_app_repo() {
   verify_app_name "$1"
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ EOF
     git-shell -c "$args"
     ;;
 
-  help | git:help)
-    cat
+  help)
+    :
     ;;
 
   *)
diff --git a/plugins/git/receive-app b/plugins/git/receive-app
index 847df876c63..c8e2c1866e6 100755
--- a/plugins/git/receive-app
+++ b/plugins/git/receive-app
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"; REV="$2"
 
diff --git a/plugins/help/README.md b/plugins/help/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e80cc4c58ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/help/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Dokku core help command
+
+This plugin provides the `help` command, which outputs the usage of every
+command provided by a Dokku plugin, as specified by the plugin's `help.txt`
+and the output of the `help` command as by other plugins.
+
+## help.txt format
+
+Each line is interpreted to describe the usage, and human explanation, for a
+command. Usage and explanation are separated by the first instance of 2 or more
+spaces.
+
+Lines starting with ":" will have the ":" replaced with the name of the plugin,
+followed by a colon if there is a subcommand name immediately following the
+colon.
+
+For example, this `help.txt` for the `config` plugin:
+
+```
+: <app>  display the config vars for an app
+:get <app> KEY  display a config value for an app
+:set <app> KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]  set one or more config vars
+:unset <app> KEY1 [KEY2 ...]  unset one or more config vars
+```
+
+would be formatted as this when output by the `help` command:
+```
+    config <app>                                    display the config vars for an app
+    config:get <app> KEY                            display a config value for an app
+    config:set <app> KEY1=VALUE1 [KEY2=VALUE2 ...]  set one or more config vars
+    config:unset <app> KEY1 [KEY2 ...]              unset one or more config vars
+```
+
diff --git a/plugins/help/command b/plugins/help/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..39057f7e220
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/help/command
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+for helpfile in $PLUGIN_PATH/*/help.txt; do
+  PLUGIN=$(basename ${helpfile%/help.txt})
+  sed -e "s/^\\s*: /$PLUGIN /" -e "s/^\\s*:/$PLUGIN:/" -e "s/^/    /" $helpfile
+done
+
+# Print any legacy plugin help output
+DOKKU_NO_COMMAND=1 pluginhook commands help | sort
diff --git a/plugins/help/help.txt b/plugins/help/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..17ceb7f319c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/help/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+:                                            Print the list of commands
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/README.md b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8545c81bd52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core nginx virtual hosting
+
+This plugin handles virtual hosting for Dokku apps using a running nginx instance.
+
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/commands b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index ab8d6e24527..00000000000
--- a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,153 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-restart_nginx () {
-  case "$DOKKU_DISTRO" in
-    ubuntu)
-      sudo /etc/init.d/nginx reload > /dev/null
-      ;;
-
-    opensuse)
-      sudo /sbin/service nginx reload > /dev/null
-      ;;
-  esac
-}
-
-case "$1" in
-  nginx:build-config)
-    APP="$2"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT="$3"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP="${4}"
-    VHOST_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-    URLS_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS"
-    WILDCARD_SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/tls"
-    SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"
-
-    if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT" ]]; then
-      DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT")
-    fi
-    if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/IP" ]]; then
-      DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/IP")
-    fi
-
-    [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV" ]] && source $DOKKU_ROOT/ENV
-    [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV" ]] && source $DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV
-
-    if [[ ! -n "$NO_VHOST" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" ]]; then
-      NONSSL_VHOSTS=$(cat $VHOST_PATH)
-      if [[ -e "$SSL/server.crt" ]] && [[ -e "$SSL/server.key" ]]; then
-        SSL_INUSE="$SSL"
-        SSL_DIRECTIVES=$(cat <<EOF
-  ssl_certificate     $SSL_INUSE/server.crt;
-  ssl_certificate_key $SSL_INUSE/server.key;
-EOF
-)
-      elif  [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.crt" ]] && [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.key" ]]; then
-        SSL_INUSE="$WILDCARD_SSL"
-        SSL_DIRECTIVES=""
-      fi
-
-      NGINX_CONF=$(mktemp -t "nginx.conf.XXXXXX")
-      SCHEME="http"
-      if [[ -n "$SSL_INUSE" ]]; then
-        SCHEME="https"
-
-        SSL_HOSTNAME=$(openssl x509 -in $SSL_INUSE/server.crt -noout -subject | tr '/' '\n' | grep CN= | cut -c4-)
-        if [[ -n "$SSL_HOSTNAME" ]]; then
-          SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX=$(echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME" | sed 's|\.|\\.|g' | sed 's/\*/\[^\.\]\*/g')
-          [[ -z "$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH)" ]] && echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME" >> $VHOST_PATH
-        fi
-
-        SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT=$(openssl x509 -in $SSL_INUSE/server.crt -noout -text | grep --after-context=1 '509v3 Subject Alternative Name:' | tail -n 1 | sed -e "s/[[:space:]]*DNS://g"  | tr ',' '\n' || true)
-        if [[ -n "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" ]]; then
-          SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX=$(echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" | sed 's|\.|\\.|g' | sed 's/\*/\[^\.\]\*/g')
-          [[ -z "$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH)" ]] && echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" >> $VHOST_PATH
-        fi
-
-        SSL_VHOSTS=$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX}$|^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH || exit 0)
-        NONSSL_VHOSTS=$(egrep -v "^${SSL_HOSTNAME}$|^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT}$" $VHOST_PATH || exit 0)
-
-        NGINX_TEMPLATE="$PLUGIN_PATH/nginx-vhosts/templates/nginx.ssl.conf"
-        while read line; do
-          dokku_log_info1 "Configuring SSL for $line..."
-          SSL_SERVER_NAME=$line
-          NOSSL_SERVER_NAME=$line
-          eval "cat <<< \"$(< $NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" >> $NGINX_CONF"
-        done <<< "$SSL_VHOSTS"
-      fi
-
-      NOSSL_SERVER_NAME=$(echo $NONSSL_VHOSTS | tr '\n' ' ')
-      APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf.template"
-      if [[ -f $APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE ]]; then
-        dokku_log_info1 "Overriding default nginx.conf with detected nginx.conf.template"
-        eval "cat <<< \"$(< $APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" > $NGINX_CONF"
-      elif [[ -n "$NONSSL_VHOSTS" ]]; then
-        xargs -i echo "-----> Configuring {}..." <<< "$NONSSL_VHOSTS"
-        NGINX_TEMPLATE="$PLUGIN_PATH/nginx-vhosts/templates/nginx.conf"
-        eval "cat <<< \"$(< $NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" >> $NGINX_CONF"
-      fi
-
-      if [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]]; then
-        echo "upstream $APP { server $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP:$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT; }" >> $NGINX_CONF
-      fi
-
-      dokku_log_info1 "Creating $SCHEME nginx.conf"
-      mv $NGINX_CONF "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf"
-
-      if [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]]; then
-        dokku_log_info1 "Running nginx-pre-reload"
-        pluginhook nginx-pre-reload $APP $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP
-
-        echo "       Reloading nginx"
-        restart_nginx
-      fi
-
-      echo "# THIS FILE IS GENERATED BY DOKKU - DO NOT EDIT, YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN" > $URLS_PATH
-      xargs -i echo "https://{}" <<< "${SSL_VHOSTS}" >> $URLS_PATH
-      xargs -i echo "http://{}" <<< "${NONSSL_VHOSTS}" >> $URLS_PATH
-    else
-      if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" ]]; then
-        dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, deleting $APP/VHOST"
-        rm "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
-      fi
-      if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf" ]]; then
-        dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, deleting nginx.conf"
-        rm "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf"
-
-        dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, reloading nginx after nginx.conf deletion"
-        restart_nginx
-      fi
-    fi
-    ;;
-
-  nginx:import-ssl)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    [[ -t 0 ]] && echo "Tar archive containing server.crt and server.key expected on stdin" && exit 1
-    APP="$2"
-
-    TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
-    cd $TEMP_DIR
-    tar xvf - <&0
-    [[ ! -f "$TEMP_DIR/server.crt" ]] && echo "Tar archive missing server.crt" && exit 1
-    [[ ! -f "$TEMP_DIR/server.key" ]] && echo "Tar archive missing server.key" && exit 1
-
-    mkdir -p "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"
-    mv "$TEMP_DIR/server.crt" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls/server.crt"
-    mv "$TEMP_DIR/server.key" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls/server.key"
-    cd $DOKKU_ROOT
-    rm -rf $TEMP_DIR
-    dokku nginx:build-config $APP
-    ;;
-
-  help | nginx:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    nginx:import-ssl <app>                          Imports a tarball from stdin; should contain server.crt and server.key
-    nginx:build-config <app>                        (Re)builds nginx config for given app
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/functions b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/functions
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..c581b01610c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/functions
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+restart_nginx () {
+  case "$DOKKU_DISTRO" in
+    ubuntu)
+      sudo /etc/init.d/nginx reload > /dev/null
+      ;;
+
+    opensuse)
+      sudo /sbin/service nginx reload > /dev/null
+      ;;
+  esac
+}
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/help.txt b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f51c92c6df0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+nginx:import-ssl <app>                          Imports a tarball from stdin; should contain server.crt and server.key
+nginx:build-config <app>                        (Re)builds nginx config for given app
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-deploy b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-deploy
index c803c980b63..df7c160899c 100755
--- a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-deploy
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-deploy
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"; PORT="$2"; IP="$3"
 NO_VHOST=$(dokku config:get $APP NO_VHOST || true)
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-domains-update b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-domains-update
index 30d8006f46a..945057998a7 100755
--- a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-domains-update
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/post-domains-update
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
 
 APP="$1"
 
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/build-config b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/build-config
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..af4d6f49e1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/build-config
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+APP="$2"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT="$3"; DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP="${4}"
+VHOST_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+URLS_PATH="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/URLS"
+WILDCARD_SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/tls"
+SSL="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"
+
+if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT" ]]; then
+  DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/PORT")
+fi
+if [[ -z "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/IP" ]]; then
+  DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/IP")
+fi
+
+[[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV" ]] && source $DOKKU_ROOT/ENV
+[[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV" ]] && source $DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV
+
+if [[ ! -n "$NO_VHOST" ]] && [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" ]]; then
+  NONSSL_VHOSTS=$(cat $VHOST_PATH)
+  if [[ -e "$SSL/server.crt" ]] && [[ -e "$SSL/server.key" ]]; then
+    SSL_INUSE="$SSL"
+    SSL_DIRECTIVES=$(cat <<EOF
+ssl_certificate     $SSL_INUSE/server.crt;
+ssl_certificate_key $SSL_INUSE/server.key;
+EOF
+)
+  elif  [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.crt" ]] && [[ -e "$WILDCARD_SSL/server.key" ]]; then
+    SSL_INUSE="$WILDCARD_SSL"
+    SSL_DIRECTIVES=""
+  fi
+
+  NGINX_CONF=$(mktemp -t "nginx.conf.XXXXXX")
+  SCHEME="http"
+  if [[ -n "$SSL_INUSE" ]]; then
+    SCHEME="https"
+
+    SSL_HOSTNAME=$(openssl x509 -in $SSL_INUSE/server.crt -noout -subject | tr '/' '\n' | grep CN= | cut -c4-)
+    if [[ -n "$SSL_HOSTNAME" ]]; then
+      SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX=$(echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME" | sed 's|\.|\\.|g' | sed 's/\*/\[^\.\]\*/g')
+      [[ -z "$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH)" ]] && echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME" >> $VHOST_PATH
+    fi
+
+    SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT=$(openssl x509 -in $SSL_INUSE/server.crt -noout -text | grep --after-context=1 '509v3 Subject Alternative Name:' | tail -n 1 | sed -e "s/[[:space:]]*DNS://g"  | tr ',' '\n' || true)
+    if [[ -n "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" ]]; then
+      SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX=$(echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" | sed 's|\.|\\.|g' | sed 's/\*/\[^\.\]\*/g')
+      [[ -z "$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH)" ]] && echo "$SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT" >> $VHOST_PATH
+    fi
+
+    SSL_VHOSTS=$(egrep "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX}$|^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH || exit 0)
+    NONSSL_VHOSTS=$(egrep -v "^${SSL_HOSTNAME_REGEX}$|^${SSL_HOSTNAME_ALT_REGEX}$" $VHOST_PATH || exit 0)
+
+    NGINX_TEMPLATE="$PLUGIN_PATH/nginx-vhosts/templates/nginx.ssl.conf"
+    while read line; do
+      dokku_log_info1 "Configuring SSL for $line..."
+      SSL_SERVER_NAME=$line
+      NOSSL_SERVER_NAME=$line
+      eval "cat <<< \"$(< $NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" >> $NGINX_CONF"
+    done <<< "$SSL_VHOSTS"
+  fi
+
+  NOSSL_SERVER_NAME=$(echo $NONSSL_VHOSTS | tr '\n' ' ')
+  APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE="$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf.template"
+  if [[ -f $APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE ]]; then
+    dokku_log_info1 "Overriding default nginx.conf with detected nginx.conf.template"
+    eval "cat <<< \"$(< $APP_NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" > $NGINX_CONF"
+  elif [[ -n "$NONSSL_VHOSTS" ]]; then
+    xargs -i echo "-----> Configuring {}..." <<< "$NONSSL_VHOSTS"
+    NGINX_TEMPLATE="$PLUGIN_PATH/nginx-vhosts/templates/nginx.conf"
+    eval "cat <<< \"$(< $NGINX_TEMPLATE)\" >> $NGINX_CONF"
+  fi
+
+  if [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]]; then
+    echo "upstream $APP { server $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP:$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT; }" >> $NGINX_CONF
+  fi
+
+  dokku_log_info1 "Creating $SCHEME nginx.conf"
+  mv $NGINX_CONF "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf"
+
+  if [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT" ]] && [[ -n "$DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP" ]]; then
+    dokku_log_info1 "Running nginx-pre-reload"
+    pluginhook nginx-pre-reload $APP $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_PORT $DOKKU_APP_LISTEN_IP
+
+    echo "       Reloading nginx"
+    restart_nginx
+  fi
+
+  echo "# THIS FILE IS GENERATED BY DOKKU - DO NOT EDIT, YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN" > $URLS_PATH
+  xargs -i echo "https://{}" <<< "${SSL_VHOSTS}" >> $URLS_PATH
+  xargs -i echo "http://{}" <<< "${NONSSL_VHOSTS}" >> $URLS_PATH
+else
+  if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST" ]]; then
+    dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, deleting $APP/VHOST"
+    rm "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/VHOST"
+  fi
+  if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf" ]]; then
+    dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, deleting nginx.conf"
+    rm "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/nginx.conf"
+
+    dokku_log_info1 "VHOST support disabled, reloading nginx after nginx.conf deletion"
+    restart_nginx
+  fi
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/import-ssl b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/import-ssl
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..6ad7408661f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/nginx-vhosts/subcommands/import-ssl
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+[[ -t 0 ]] && echo "Tar archive containing server.crt and server.key expected on stdin" && exit 1
+APP="$2"
+
+TEMP_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+cd $TEMP_DIR
+tar xvf - <&0
+[[ ! -f "$TEMP_DIR/server.crt" ]] && echo "Tar archive missing server.crt" && exit 1
+[[ ! -f "$TEMP_DIR/server.key" ]] && echo "Tar archive missing server.key" && exit 1
+
+mkdir -p "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls"
+mv "$TEMP_DIR/server.crt" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls/server.crt"
+mv "$TEMP_DIR/server.key" "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/tls/server.key"
+cd $DOKKU_ROOT
+rm -rf $TEMP_DIR
+dokku nginx:build-config $APP
diff --git a/plugins/plugins/README.md b/plugins/plugins/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b1a9961f039
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/plugins/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Dokku core plugin management system
+
+This plugin provides the `plugins` commands for managing plugins in Dokku,
+including the `plugins-install` command that triggers the `install` script for
+each plugin.
+
+It also includes the functionality that executes command and subcommand
+scripts for each plugin.
+
diff --git a/plugins/plugins/command b/plugins/plugins/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..256d37787a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/plugins/command
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+
+ls -1 -d $PLUGIN_PATH/*/
diff --git a/plugins/plugins/commands b/plugins/plugins/commands
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..2a3df4ae52c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/plugins/commands
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+case "$1" in
+  plugins-install)
+    pluginhook install
+    exit $?
+    ;;
+
+  plugins-install-dependencies)
+    pluginhook dependencies
+    exit $?
+    ;;
+
+  plugins-update)
+    pluginhook update
+    exit $?
+    ;;
+
+  help)
+    :
+    ;;
+esac
+
+if [ -z $DOKKU_NO_COMMAND ]; then
+  case "$1" in
+    nginx:*)
+      PLUGIN_NAME="nginx-vhosts"
+      ;;
+    *)
+      PLUGIN_NAME="$1"
+      ;;
+  esac
+  if [ -x $PLUGIN_PATH/$PLUGIN_NAME/command ]; then
+    "$PLUGIN_PATH/$PLUGIN_NAME/command" "$@"
+  elif [ -x $PLUGIN_PATH/${PLUGIN_NAME%%:*}/subcommands/${1#*:} ]; then
+    "$PLUGIN_PATH/${PLUGIN_NAME%%:*}/subcommands/${1#*:}" "$@"
+  else
+    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
+  fi
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/plugins/help.txt b/plugins/plugins/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..19b8f64fa4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/plugins/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+:                                         Print active plugins
+plugins-install                                 Install active plugins
+plugins-update                                  Update active plugins
diff --git a/plugins/ps/README.md b/plugins/ps/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8f34c12a5d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Dokku core ps plugin
+
+This plugin handles standard process level functions such as stopping, starting, restarting 
+and rebuilding of dokku apps.
+
diff --git a/plugins/ps/command b/plugins/ps/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..9cd501a8474
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/command
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+
+APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
+[[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
+
+docker exec -ti "$CONTAINER_ID" /bin/bash -c "ps auxwww"
diff --git a/plugins/ps/commands b/plugins/ps/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index 4fd227b7656..00000000000
--- a/plugins/ps/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,116 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-
-release_and_deploy() {
-  source "$(dirname $0)/../common/functions"
-  local APP="$1"; local IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
-
-  if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
-    if is_image_buildstep_based "$IMAGE"; then
-      IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="buildstep"
-    else
-      IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="dockerfile"
-    fi
-
-    dokku_log_info1 "Releasing $APP ..."
-    dokku release "$APP" "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE"
-    dokku_log_info1 "Deploying $APP ..."
-    dokku deploy "$APP"
-    dokku_log_info2 "Application deployed:"
-         dokku urls $APP | sed "s/^/       /"
-    echo
-  fi
-}
-
-case "$1" in
-  ps)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-
-    APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
-    [[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
-
-    docker exec -ti "$CONTAINER_ID" /bin/bash -c "ps auxwww"
-  ;;
-
-  ps:start)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-
-    APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
-    [[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
-
-    if [[ "$(docker ps -q --no-trunc| grep -q $CONTAINER_ID; echo $?)" != "0" ]]; then
-      release_and_deploy $APP
-    else
-      echo "App $APP already running"
-    fi
-  ;;
-
-  ps:stop)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-
-    APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
-    [[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
-
-    if [[ "$(docker ps -q --no-trunc| grep -q $CONTAINER_ID; echo $?)" = "0" ]]; then
-      echo "Stopping $APP ..."
-      docker stop $CONTAINER_ID > /dev/null
-    else
-      echo "App $APP already stopped"
-    fi
-  ;;
-
-  ps:rebuild)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-    APP="$2"
-
-    pluginhook receive-app $APP
-  ;;
-
-  ps:rebuildall)
-    shopt -s nullglob
-    for app in $DOKKU_ROOT/*/CONTAINER; do
-      APP=$(basename "$(dirname $app)");
-      dokku ps:rebuild $APP
-    done
-  ;;
-
-  ps:restart)
-    [[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
-    verify_app_name "$2"
-
-    APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
-    [[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
-
-    release_and_deploy $APP
-  ;;
-
-  ps:restartall)
-    shopt -s nullglob
-    for app in $DOKKU_ROOT/*/CONTAINER; do
-      APP=$(basename "$(dirname $app)");
-      dokku ps:restart $APP
-    done
-  ;;
-
-  help | ps:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    ps <app>                                        List processes running in app container(s)
-    ps:start <app>                                  Start app container(s)
-    ps:stop <app>                                   Stop app container(s)
-    ps:rebuild <app>                                Rebuild an app
-    ps:rebuildall                                   Rebuild all apps
-    ps:restart <app>                                Restart app container(s)
-    ps:restartall                                   Restart all deployed app containers
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/ps/functions b/plugins/ps/functions
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..319a2c812ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/functions
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+release_and_deploy() {
+  local APP="$1"; local IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
+
+  if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]]; then
+    if is_image_buildstep_based "$IMAGE"; then
+      IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="buildstep"
+    else
+      IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="dockerfile"
+    fi
+
+    dokku_log_info1 "Releasing $APP ..."
+    dokku release "$APP" "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE"
+    dokku_log_info1 "Deploying $APP ..."
+    dokku deploy "$APP"
+    dokku_log_info2 "Application deployed:"
+         dokku urls $APP | sed "s/^/       /"
+    echo
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/plugins/ps/help.txt b/plugins/ps/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0c6b187cf1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+: <app>                                        List processes running in app container(s)
+ps:start <app>                                  Start app container(s)
+ps:stop <app>                                   Stop app container(s)
+ps:rebuild <app>                                Rebuild an app
+ps:rebuildall                                   Rebuild all apps
+ps:restart <app>                                Restart app container(s)
+ps:restartall                                   Restart all deployed app containers
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuild b/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuild
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..0bf0d41fa15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuild
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"
+
+pluginhook receive-app $APP
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuildall b/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuildall
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..e01b3c626f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/rebuildall
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+for app in $DOKKU_ROOT/*/CONTAINER; do
+  APP=$(basename "$(dirname $app)");
+  dokku ps:rebuild $APP
+done
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/restart b/plugins/ps/subcommands/restart
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..9bbc7c5a7b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/restart
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+
+APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
+[[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
+
+release_and_deploy $APP
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/restartall b/plugins/ps/subcommands/restartall
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..e2e9f1b75aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/restartall
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+shopt -s nullglob
+for app in $DOKKU_ROOT/*/CONTAINER; do
+  APP=$(basename "$(dirname $app)");
+  dokku ps:restart $APP
+done
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/start b/plugins/ps/subcommands/start
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..07d2c78afa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/start
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+
+APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
+[[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
+
+if [[ "$(docker ps -q --no-trunc| grep -q $CONTAINER_ID; echo $?)" != "0" ]]; then
+  release_and_deploy $APP
+else
+  echo "App $APP already running"
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/ps/subcommands/stop b/plugins/ps/subcommands/stop
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..ee74902c684
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/ps/subcommands/stop
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+source "$(dirname $0)/../functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+
+APP="$2"; [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER" ]] && CONTAINER_ID=$(< "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/CONTAINER")
+[[ -z "$CONTAINER_ID" ]] && echo "App $APP has not been deployed" && exit 0
+
+if [[ "$(docker ps -q --no-trunc| grep -q $CONTAINER_ID; echo $?)" = "0" ]]; then
+  echo "Stopping $APP ..."
+  docker stop $CONTAINER_ID > /dev/null
+else
+  echo "App $APP already stopped"
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/release/README.md b/plugins/release/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..240cad8706a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/release/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# Dokku core release command
+
+This plugin defines the `release` command used internally to cut a new release
+of an app with a new configuration environment (usually after the `receive`
+command has built an app, or when setting a new configuration via the `config`
+command).
+
+It runs any pre-release hooks, creates a new container with the new environment
+included as its profile, then runs any post-release hooks. Further deployment,
+if any, is handled by the external context.
+
diff --git a/plugins/release/command b/plugins/release/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..1e4dda251d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/release/command
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"; IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE="$3"
+case "$IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE" in
+  buildstep)
+    # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook pre-release` will be removed in future releases
+    pluginhook pre-release "$APP"
+    pluginhook pre-release-buildstep "$APP"
+    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV" ]]; then
+      id=$(docker run -i -a stdin $IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app/.profile.d && cat > /app/.profile.d/00-global-env.sh" < "$DOKKU_ROOT/ENV")
+      test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
+      docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
+    fi
+    if [[ -f "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV" ]]; then
+      id=$(docker run -i -a stdin $IMAGE /bin/bash -c "mkdir -p /app/.profile.d && cat > /app/.profile.d/01-app-env.sh" < "$DOKKU_ROOT/$APP/ENV")
+      test "$(docker wait $id)" -eq 0
+      docker commit $id $IMAGE > /dev/null
+    fi
+    # *DEPRECATED* in v0.4.0: `pluginhook post-release` will be removed in future releases
+    pluginhook post-release "$APP"
+    pluginhook post-release-buildstep "$APP"
+    ;;
+
+  dockerfile)
+    # buildstep pluginhooks don't necessarily make sense for dockerfiles. call the new breed!!!
+    pluginhook pre-release-dockerfile "$APP"
+    pluginhook post-release-dockerfile "$APP"
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    dokku_log_fail "Releasing image source type $IMAGE_SOURCE_TYPE not supported!"
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/plugins/run/README.md b/plugins/run/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b4510ee6850
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/run/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Dokku core "run" command
+
+This plugin provides the Dokku `run` command, to run a command in the
+environment of an app's container.
+
diff --git a/plugins/run/command b/plugins/run/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..511e8f437f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/run/command
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -z $2 ]] && echo "Please specify an app to run the command on" && exit 1
+verify_app_name "$2"
+APP="$2"; IMAGE="dokku/$APP"
+
+shift 2
+
+DOCKER_ARGS=$(: | pluginhook docker-args $APP run)
+DOCKER_ARGS+=$(: | pluginhook docker-args-run $APP)
+[[ $DOKKU_RM_CONTAINER ]] && DOKKU_RUN_OPTS="--rm"
+has_tty && DOKKU_RUN_OPTS+=" -i -t"
+is_image_buildstep_based "$IMAGE" && EXEC_CMD="/exec"
+
+docker run $DOKKU_RUN_OPTS $DOCKER_ARGS $IMAGE $EXEC_CMD "$@"
diff --git a/plugins/run/help.txt b/plugins/run/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..057edb1e047
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/run/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+: <app> <cmd>                                 Run a command in the environment of an application
diff --git a/plugins/shell/README.md b/plugins/shell/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..64829f30e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/shell/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Dokku core shell plugin`
+
+This plugin provides a shell in which to run dokku commands.
+
diff --git a/plugins/shell/command b/plugins/shell/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..ccb64f5a73a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/shell/command
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+
+INPUTRC="$PLUGIN_ROOT/inputrc"
+HISTFILE=~/.dokku_history
+
+history -r || true
+
+trim()
+{
+  sed -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//g' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//g'
+}
+
+trap 'history -w' EXIT
+
+while true; do
+  trap '' SIGINT
+  read -ep "dokku> " line || {
+    echo; true; break
+  }
+  trap - SIGINT
+
+  line=$(echo $line | trim)
+  CMD=$(echo $line | awk '{ print $1 }')
+
+  [ -z $CMD ] && continue
+
+  [[ "$line" != "$(fc -ln -1 | trim)" ]] && history -s "$line"
+
+  case $CMD in
+# shell builtins
+    clear)
+      clear
+      ;;
+    quit|exit)
+      break
+      ;;
+
+# Not a built-in, run as regular dokku command
+    *)
+      dokku $line || true
+  esac
+
+done
diff --git a/plugins/shell/commands b/plugins/shell/commands
deleted file mode 100755
index c6dca6ffe5d..00000000000
--- a/plugins/shell/commands
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,59 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
-
-case "$1" in
-  shell)
-    INPUTRC="$PLUGIN_ROOT/inputrc"
-    HISTFILE=~/.dokku_history
-
-    history -r || true
-
-    trim()
-    {
-      sed -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//g' -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//g'
-    }
-
-    trap 'history -w' EXIT
-
-    while true; do
-      trap '' SIGINT
-      read -ep "dokku> " line || {
-        echo; true; break
-      }
-      trap - SIGINT
-
-      line=$(echo $line | trim)
-      CMD=$(echo $line | awk '{ print $1 }')
-
-      [ -z $CMD ] && continue
-
-      [[ "$line" != "$(fc -ln -1 | trim)" ]] && history -s "$line"
-
-      case $CMD in
-    # shell builtins
-        clear)
-          clear
-          ;;
-        quit|exit)
-          break
-          ;;
-
-    # Not a built-in, run as regular dokku command
-        *)
-          dokku $line || true
-      esac
-
-    done
-    ;;
-
-  help | shell:help)
-    cat && cat<<EOF
-    shell                                           Spawn dokku shell
-EOF
-    ;;
-
-  *)
-    exit $DOKKU_NOT_IMPLEMENTED_EXIT
-    ;;
-
-esac
diff --git a/plugins/shell/help.txt b/plugins/shell/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3dfc5d8780f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/shell/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+shell                                           Spawn dokku shell
diff --git a/plugins/trace/README.md b/plugins/trace/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..53620127cb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/trace/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Dokku core trace command
+
+This plugin provides the `trace` command, which enables `DOKKU_TRACE` for debugging.
+root directory.
+
diff --git a/plugins/trace/command b/plugins/trace/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..a042554e795
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/trace/command
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+[[ -d $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc ]] || mkdir -p $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc
+[[ "$2" == "on" ]] || [[ "$2" == "off" ]] || {
+  echo "Valid trace options are [on/off]"
+  exit 1
+}
+
+if [[ "$2" == "on" ]]; then
+  echo "Enabling dokku trace"
+  echo "export DOKKU_TRACE=1" > $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc/DOKKU_TRACE
+fi
+
+if [[ "$2" == "off" ]]; then
+  echo "Disabling dokku trace"
+  rm -f $DOKKU_ROOT/.dokkurc/DOKKU_TRACE
+fi
diff --git a/plugins/trace/help.txt b/plugins/trace/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1d1f6c7a531
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/trace/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+: [on|off]                                  Set DOKKU_TRACE on/off
diff --git a/plugins/version/README.md b/plugins/version/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..05b6363024a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/version/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Dokku core version command
+
+This plugin provides the `version` command, which outputs the version of Dokku
+that is installed, as stored as the content of the VERSION file in the Dokku
+root directory.
+
diff --git a/plugins/version/command b/plugins/version/command
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..525857e20bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/version/command
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -eo pipefail; [[ $DOKKU_TRACE ]] && set -x
+source "$PLUGIN_PATH/common/functions"
+
+cat "$DOKKU_ROOT/VERSION" || {
+  echo "Unable to determine dokku's version" 2>&1
+  exit 1
+}
diff --git a/plugins/version/help.txt b/plugins/version/help.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..18b4ccca81b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/version/help.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+:                                         Print dokku's version
diff --git a/tests.mk b/tests.mk
index a1d7e62b3b7..012b2bd8355 100644
--- a/tests.mk
+++ b/tests.mk
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ lint:
 	# SC2001: See if you can use ${variable//search/replace} instead. - https://github.com/koalaman/shellcheck/wiki/SC2001
 	@echo linting...
 	@$(QUIET) shellcheck -e SC2029 ./contrib/dokku_client.sh
-	@$(QUIET) find . -not -path '*/\.*' | xargs file | egrep "shell|bash" | grep -v directory | awk '{ print $$1 }' | sed 's/://g' | grep -v dokku_client.sh | xargs shellcheck -e SC2034,SC2086,SC2143,SC2001
+	@$(QUIET) find . -not -path '*/\.*' | xargs file | egrep "shell script|bash script" | grep -v directory | awk '{ print $$1 }' | sed 's/://g' | grep -v dokku_client.sh | xargs shellcheck -e SC2034,SC2086,SC2143,SC2001
 
 unit-tests:
 	@echo running unit tests...
diff --git a/tests/apps/config/package.json b/tests/apps/config/package.json
index 7bdf8db0c41..eb17caf0c4a 100644
--- a/tests/apps/config/package.json
+++ b/tests/apps/config/package.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     "express": "2.5.x"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "0.8.x",
-    "npm": "1.1.x"
+    "node": "0.10.x",
+    "npm": "2.7.x"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/tests/apps/gitsubmodules/package.json b/tests/apps/gitsubmodules/package.json
index 742e0610536..ca800a5dfe1 100644
--- a/tests/apps/gitsubmodules/package.json
+++ b/tests/apps/gitsubmodules/package.json
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": "0.10.x",
-    "npm": "1.3.x"
+    "npm": "2.7.x"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/tests/apps/nodejs-express-noprocfile/package.json b/tests/apps/nodejs-express-noprocfile/package.json
index 7f0462b584d..6f8ca43e18c 100644
--- a/tests/apps/nodejs-express-noprocfile/package.json
+++ b/tests/apps/nodejs-express-noprocfile/package.json
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
     "express": "2.5.x"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "0.8.x",
-    "npm": "1.1.x"
+    "node": "0.10.x",
+    "npm": "2.7.x"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "start": "node web.js"
diff --git a/tests/apps/nodejs-express/package.json b/tests/apps/nodejs-express/package.json
index 7bdf8db0c41..eb17caf0c4a 100644
--- a/tests/apps/nodejs-express/package.json
+++ b/tests/apps/nodejs-express/package.json
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     "express": "2.5.x"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": "0.8.x",
-    "npm": "1.1.x"
+    "node": "0.10.x",
+    "npm": "2.7.x"
   }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/apps.bats b/tests/unit/apps.bats
old mode 100755
new mode 100644
diff --git a/tests/unit/build-env.bats b/tests/unit/build-env.bats
index cd062742aaa..f18b58bfd7e 100644
--- a/tests/unit/build-env.bats
+++ b/tests/unit/build-env.bats
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ teardown() {
   destroy_app
 }
 
-@test "build-env with special chars" {
+@test "build-env: with special chars" {
   run dokku config:set $TEST_APP NEWRELIC_APP_NAME="$TEST_APP (Staging)"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
diff --git a/tests/unit/cleanup.bats b/tests/unit/cleanup.bats
index 22e0c4f5bde..31c3c82dbf0 100644
--- a/tests/unit/cleanup.bats
+++ b/tests/unit/cleanup.bats
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ teardown() {
   destroy_app
 }
 
-@test "remove exited containers" {
+@test "core: remove exited containers" {
   # make sure we have many exited containers of the same 'type'
   run bash -c "for cnt in 1 2 3; do dokku run $TEST_APP hostname; done"
   echo "output: "$output
diff --git a/tests/unit/00_dokku-standard.bats b/tests/unit/core.bats
similarity index 78%
rename from tests/unit/00_dokku-standard.bats
rename to tests/unit/core.bats
index d7a5cde9548..a77286159ca 100644
--- a/tests/unit/00_dokku-standard.bats
+++ b/tests/unit/core.bats
@@ -26,7 +26,18 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   dokku nginx:build-config $TEST_APP
 }
 
-@test "run (with tty)" {
+@test "core: unknown command" {
+  run /bin/bash -c "dokku fakecommand"
+  echo "output: "$output
+  echo "status: "$status
+  assert_failure
+  run /bin/bash -c "dokku fakecommand | grep -q 'is not a dokku command'"
+  echo "output: "$output
+  echo "status: "$status
+  assert_success
+}
+
+@test "core: run (with tty)" {
   deploy_app
   run /bin/bash -c "dokku run $TEST_APP ls /app/package.json"
   echo "output: "$output
@@ -34,7 +45,7 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   assert_success
 }
 
-@test "run (without tty)" {
+@test "core: run (without tty)" {
   deploy_app
   run /bin/bash -c ": |dokku run $TEST_APP ls /app/package.json"
   echo "output: "$output
@@ -42,7 +53,7 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   assert_success
 }
 
-@test "run (with --options)" {
+@test "core: run (with --options)" {
   deploy_app
   run /bin/bash -c "dokku --force --quiet run $TEST_APP node --version"
   echo "output: "$output
@@ -50,7 +61,7 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   assert_success
 }
 
-@test "urls (non-ssl)" {
+@test "core: urls (non-ssl)" {
   assert_urls "http://dokku.me"
   build_nginx_config
   assert_urls "http://${TEST_APP}.dokku.me"
@@ -58,7 +69,7 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   assert_urls "http://${TEST_APP}.dokku.me" "http://test.dokku.me"
 }
 
-@test "urls (app ssl)" {
+@test "core: urls (app ssl)" {
   setup_test_tls
   assert_urls "https://dokku.me"
   build_nginx_config
@@ -67,7 +78,7 @@ build_nginx_config() {
   assert_urls "https://node-js-app.dokku.me" "http://${TEST_APP}.dokku.me" "http://test.dokku.me"
 }
 
-@test "urls (wildcard ssl)" {
+@test "core: urls (wildcard ssl)" {
   setup_test_tls_wildcard
   assert_urls "https://dokku.me"
   build_nginx_config
diff --git a/tests/unit/ps-buildstep.bats b/tests/unit/ps-buildstep.bats
index 9973731efeb..4cbbdd0ed19 100644
--- a/tests/unit/ps-buildstep.bats
+++ b/tests/unit/ps-buildstep.bats
@@ -21,33 +21,25 @@ teardown() {
 #   assert_success
 # }
 
-@test "ps:start (buildstep)" {
+@test "ps (buildstep)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:stop $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
-  run bash -c "dokku ps:start $TEST_APP"
-  echo "output: "$output
-  echo "status: "$status
-  assert_success
   run bash -c "docker ps -q --no-trunc | grep -q $(< $DOKKU_ROOT/$TEST_APP/CONTAINER)"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
-  assert_success
-}
+  assert_failure
 
-@test "ps:stop (buildstep)" {
-  run bash -c "dokku ps:stop $TEST_APP"
+  run bash -c "dokku ps:start $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
   run bash -c "docker ps -q --no-trunc | grep -q $(< $DOKKU_ROOT/$TEST_APP/CONTAINER)"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
-  assert_failure
-}
+  assert_success
 
-@test "ps:restart (buildstep)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:restart $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
@@ -56,9 +48,7 @@ teardown() {
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
-}
 
-@test "ps:rebuild (buildstep)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:rebuild $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
diff --git a/tests/unit/ps-dockerfile.bats b/tests/unit/ps-dockerfile.bats
index ddc1d370688..1cce3a70460 100644
--- a/tests/unit/ps-dockerfile.bats
+++ b/tests/unit/ps-dockerfile.bats
@@ -10,44 +10,36 @@ teardown() {
   destroy_app
 }
 
-@test "ps (dockerfile)" {
-  # CI support: 'Ah. I just spoke with our Docker expert --
-  # looks like docker exec is built to work with docker-under-libcontainer,
-  # but we're using docker-under-lxc. I don't have an estimated time for the fix, sorry
-  skip "circleci does not support docker exec at the moment."
-  run bash -c "dokku ps $TEST_APP | grep -q \"node web.js\""
-  echo "output: "$output
-  echo "status: "$status
-  assert_success
-}
+# @test "ps (dockerfile)" {
+#   # CI support: 'Ah. I just spoke with our Docker expert --
+#   # looks like docker exec is built to work with docker-under-libcontainer,
+#   # but we're using docker-under-lxc. I don't have an estimated time for the fix, sorry
+#   skip "circleci does not support docker exec at the moment."
+#   run bash -c "dokku ps $TEST_APP | grep -q \"node web.js\""
+#   echo "output: "$output
+#   echo "status: "$status
+#   assert_success
+# }
 
-@test "ps:start (dockerfile)" {
+@test "ps (dockerfile)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:stop $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
-  run bash -c "dokku ps:start $TEST_APP"
-  echo "output: "$output
-  echo "status: "$status
-  assert_success
   run bash -c "docker ps -q --no-trunc | grep -q $(< $DOKKU_ROOT/$TEST_APP/CONTAINER)"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
-  assert_success
-}
+  assert_failure
 
-@test "ps:stop (dockerfile)" {
-  run bash -c "dokku ps:stop $TEST_APP"
+  run bash -c "dokku ps:start $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
   run bash -c "docker ps -q --no-trunc | grep -q $(< $DOKKU_ROOT/$TEST_APP/CONTAINER)"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
-  assert_failure
-}
+  assert_success
 
-@test "ps:restart (dockerfile)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:restart $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
@@ -56,9 +48,7 @@ teardown() {
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status
   assert_success
-}
 
-@test "ps:rebuild (dockerfile)" {
   run bash -c "dokku ps:rebuild $TEST_APP"
   echo "output: "$output
   echo "status: "$status