diff --git a/command/agent/agent.go b/command/agent/agent.go
index a18fdf694..09c34450f 100644
--- a/command/agent/agent.go
+++ b/command/agent/agent.go
@@ -87,6 +87,9 @@ func NewAgent(config *Config, logOutput io.Writer, inmem *metrics.InmemSink) (*A
 	if err := a.setupConsul(config.Consul); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to initialize Consul client: %v", err)
 	}
+
+	// TODO setup plugin loader
+
 	if err := a.setupServer(); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/command/agent/command.go b/command/agent/command.go
index 5eb00f709..8beadc77f 100644
--- a/command/agent/command.go
+++ b/command/agent/command.go
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.BindAddr, "bind", "", "")
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.Region, "region", "", "")
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.DataDir, "data-dir", "", "")
+	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.PluginDir, "plugin-dir", "", "")
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.Datacenter, "dc", "", "")
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.LogLevel, "log-level", "", "")
 	flags.StringVar(&cmdConfig.NodeName, "node", "", "")
@@ -265,6 +266,12 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Default the plugin directory to be under that of the data directory if it
+	// isn't explicitly specified.
+	if config.PluginDir == "" && config.DataDir != "" {
+		config.PluginDir = filepath.Join(config.DataDir, "plugins")
+	}
+
 	if dev {
 		// Skip validation for dev mode
 		return config
@@ -289,9 +296,10 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 
 	// Verify the paths are absolute.
 	dirs := map[string]string{
-		"data-dir":  config.DataDir,
-		"alloc-dir": config.Client.AllocDir,
-		"state-dir": config.Client.StateDir,
+		"data-dir":   config.DataDir,
+		"plugin-dir": config.PluginDir,
+		"alloc-dir":  config.Client.AllocDir,
+		"state-dir":  config.Client.StateDir,
 	}
 	for k, dir := range dirs {
 		if dir == "" {
@@ -304,7 +312,7 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Ensure that we have the directories we neet to run.
+	// Ensure that we have the directories we need to run.
 	if config.Server.Enabled && config.DataDir == "" {
 		c.Ui.Error("Must specify data directory")
 		return nil
@@ -313,8 +321,8 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 	// The config is valid if the top-level data-dir is set or if both
 	// alloc-dir and state-dir are set.
 	if config.Client.Enabled && config.DataDir == "" {
-		if config.Client.AllocDir == "" || config.Client.StateDir == "" {
-			c.Ui.Error("Must specify both the state and alloc dir if data-dir is omitted.")
+		if config.Client.AllocDir == "" || config.Client.StateDir == "" || config.PluginDir == "" {
+			c.Ui.Error("Must specify the state, alloc dir, and plugin dir if data-dir is omitted.")
 			return nil
 		}
 	}
@@ -1012,6 +1020,10 @@ General Options (clients and servers):
     downloaded artifacts used by drivers. On server nodes, the data
     dir is also used to store the replicated log.
 
+  -plugin-dir=<path>
+    The plugin directory is used to discover Nomad plugins. If not specified,
+    the plugin directory defaults to be that of <data-dir>/plugins/.
+
   -dc=<datacenter>
     The name of the datacenter this Nomad agent is a member of. By
     default this is set to "dc1".
diff --git a/command/agent/command_test.go b/command/agent/command_test.go
index 41e51aab9..ee39d7d3f 100644
--- a/command/agent/command_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/command_test.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func TestCommand_Args(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 		{
 			[]string{"-client", "-alloc-dir="},
-			"Must specify both the state and alloc dir if data-dir is omitted.",
+			"Must specify the state, alloc dir, and plugin dir if data-dir is omitted.",
 		},
 	}
 	for _, tc := range tcases {
diff --git a/command/agent/config-test-fixtures/basic.hcl b/command/agent/config-test-fixtures/basic.hcl
index 9dab81096..3cae860fc 100644
--- a/command/agent/config-test-fixtures/basic.hcl
+++ b/command/agent/config-test-fixtures/basic.hcl
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ region = "foobar"
 datacenter = "dc2"
 name = "my-web"
 data_dir = "/tmp/nomad"
+plugin_dir = "/tmp/nomad-plugins"
 log_level = "ERR"
 bind_addr = "192.168.0.1"
 enable_debug = true
diff --git a/command/agent/config.go b/command/agent/config.go
index eff01b06e..2e57e00d5 100644
--- a/command/agent/config.go
+++ b/command/agent/config.go
@@ -37,6 +37,9 @@ type Config struct {
 	// DataDir is the directory to store our state in
 	DataDir string `mapstructure:"data_dir"`
 
+	// PluginDir is the directory to lookup plugins.
+	PluginDir string `mapstructure:"plugin_dir"`
+
 	// LogLevel is the level of the logs to putout
 	LogLevel string `mapstructure:"log_level"`
 
@@ -737,6 +740,9 @@ func (c *Config) Merge(b *Config) *Config {
 	if b.DataDir != "" {
 		result.DataDir = b.DataDir
 	}
+	if b.PluginDir != "" {
+		result.PluginDir = b.PluginDir
+	}
 	if b.LogLevel != "" {
 		result.LogLevel = b.LogLevel
 	}
diff --git a/command/agent/config_parse.go b/command/agent/config_parse.go
index b0f4be3a8..554aaf923 100644
--- a/command/agent/config_parse.go
+++ b/command/agent/config_parse.go
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ func parseConfig(result *Config, list *ast.ObjectList) error {
 		"datacenter",
 		"name",
 		"data_dir",
+		"plugin_dir",
 		"log_level",
 		"bind_addr",
 		"enable_debug",
diff --git a/command/agent/config_parse_test.go b/command/agent/config_parse_test.go
index 433789f91..1464b9e0f 100644
--- a/command/agent/config_parse_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/config_parse_test.go
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ func TestConfig_Parse(t *testing.T) {
 				Datacenter:  "dc2",
 				NodeName:    "my-web",
 				DataDir:     "/tmp/nomad",
+				PluginDir:   "/tmp/nomad-plugins",
 				LogLevel:    "ERR",
 				BindAddr:    "192.168.0.1",
 				EnableDebug: true,
@@ -245,6 +246,7 @@ func TestConfig_Parse(t *testing.T) {
 				Datacenter:     "",
 				NodeName:       "",
 				DataDir:        "",
+				PluginDir:      "",
 				LogLevel:       "",
 				BindAddr:       "",
 				EnableDebug:    false,
diff --git a/command/agent/config_test.go b/command/agent/config_test.go
index 7e567ef4b..0b6c438db 100644
--- a/command/agent/config_test.go
+++ b/command/agent/config_test.go
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ func TestConfig_Merge(t *testing.T) {
 		Datacenter:                "dc1",
 		NodeName:                  "node1",
 		DataDir:                   "/tmp/dir1",
+		PluginDir:                 "/tmp/pluginDir1",
 		LogLevel:                  "INFO",
 		EnableDebug:               false,
 		LeaveOnInt:                false,
@@ -191,6 +192,7 @@ func TestConfig_Merge(t *testing.T) {
 		Datacenter:                "dc2",
 		NodeName:                  "node2",
 		DataDir:                   "/tmp/dir2",
+		PluginDir:                 "/tmp/pluginDir2",
 		LogLevel:                  "DEBUG",
 		EnableDebug:               true,
 		LeaveOnInt:                true,