diff --git a/bin/cdist b/bin/cdist
index b04f2eb2..75047acb 100755
--- a/bin/cdist
+++ b/bin/cdist
@@ -69,6 +69,15 @@ def commandline():
          help='Operate on multiple hosts sequentially (default)',
          action='store_false', dest='parallel')
 
+    parser['configinstall'].add_argument('--remote-copy',
+         help='Command to use for remote copy (should behave like scp)',
+         action='store', dest='remote_copy',
+         default="scp -o User=root -q")
+    parser['configinstall'].add_argument('--remote-exec',
+         help='Command to use for remote execution (should behave like ssh)',
+         action='store', dest='remote_exec',
+         default="ssh -o User=root -q")
+
     # Config
     parser['config'] = parser['sub'].add_parser('config',
         parents=[parser['loglevel'], parser['configinstall']])
@@ -160,6 +169,8 @@ def configinstall_onehost(host, args, mode, parallel):
 
         context = cdist.context.Context(
             target_host=host,
+            remote_copy=args.remote_copy,
+            remote_exec=args.remote_exec,
             initial_manifest=args.manifest,
             base_path=args.cdist_home,
             exec_path=sys.argv[0],
diff --git a/doc/changelog b/doc/changelog
index 0e10533b..3546fe46 100644
--- a/doc/changelog
+++ b/doc/changelog
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Changelog
 
 2.0.11: 2012-05-23
 	* Fix insecure file/directory creation: Use umask 077
+	* Add support for --remote-exec and --remote-copy parameters
 
 2.0.10: 2012-05-18
 	* Cleanup __group: No getent gshadow in old Redhat, use groupmod -g
diff --git a/doc/man/man1/cdist.text b/doc/man/man1/cdist.text
index e46e84a3..b92fba18 100644
--- a/doc/man/man1/cdist.text
+++ b/doc/man/man1/cdist.text
@@ -41,23 +41,29 @@ CONFIG
 Configure a system
 
 -h, --help::
-   Show the help screen
+    Show the help screen
 
 -c CDIST_HOME, --cdist-home CDIST_HOME::
-   Instead of using the parent of the bin directory as cdist home,
-   use the specified directory
+    Instead of using the parent of the bin directory as cdist home,
+    use the specified directory
 
 -d, --debug::
-   Enable debug output
+    Enable debug output
 
 -i MANIFEST, --initial-manifest MANIFEST::
-   Path to a cdist manifest or - to read from stdin
+    Path to a cdist manifest or - to read from stdin
 
 -p, --parallel::
-   Operate on multiple hosts in parallel
+    Operate on multiple hosts in parallel
 
 -s, --sequential::
-   Operate on multiple hosts sequentially
+    Operate on multiple hosts sequentially
+
+--remote-copy REMOTE_COPY:
+    Command to use for remote copy (should behave like scp)
+
+--remote-exec REMOTE_EXEC:
+    Command to use for remote execution (should behave like ssh)
 
 
 EXAMPLES
@@ -69,7 +75,12 @@ cdist config -d ikq05.ethz.ch
 
 # Configure hosts in parallel and use a different home directory
 cdist config -c ~/p/cdist-nutzung \
-   -p ikq02.ethz.ch ikq03.ethz.ch ikq04.ethz.ch
+    -p ikq02.ethz.ch ikq03.ethz.ch ikq04.ethz.ch
+
+# Use custom remote exec / copy commands
+cdist config --remote-exec /path/to/my/remote/exec \
+    --remote-copy /path/to/my/remote/copy \
+    -p ikq02.ethz.ch ikq03.ethz.ch ikq04.ethz.ch
 
 # Display banner
 cdist banner
@@ -98,7 +109,7 @@ The following exit values shall be returned:
 0::
     Successful completion
 1::
-    One or more host configuration failed.
+    One or more host configurations failed
 
 
 SEE ALSO
diff --git a/doc/man/man7/cdist-remote-exec-copy.text b/doc/man/man7/cdist-remote-exec-copy.text
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d789b12d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/man/man7/cdist-remote-exec-copy.text
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+cdist-remote-exec-copy(7)
+=========================
+Nico Schottelius <nico-cdist--@--schottelius.org>
+
+
+NAME
+----
+cdist-remote-exec-copy - How to use remote exec and copy
+
+
+INTRO
+-----
+Cdist interacts with the target host in two ways:
+- it executes code (__remote_exec)
+- and it copies files (__remote_copy)
+
+By default this is accomplished with ssh and scp respectively.
+The default implementations used by cdist are:
+__remote_exec: ssh -o User=root -q
+__remote_copy: scp -o User=root -q
+
+The user can override these defaults by providing custom implementations and
+passing them to cdist with the --remote-exec and/or --remote-copy arguments.
+
+For __remote_exec, the custom implementation must behave as if it where ssh.
+For __remote_copy, it must behave like scp.
+
+With this simple interface the user can take total control of how cdist
+interacts with the target when required, while the default implementation 
+remains as simple as possible.
+
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------------
+See cdist/other/examples/remote/ for some example implementations.
+
+
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+- cdist(7)
+
+
+COPYING
+-------
+Copyright \(C) 2011-2012 Nico Schottelius. Free use of this software is
+granted under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3).
diff --git a/lib/cdist/context.py b/lib/cdist/context.py
index ab8677a7..8b468739 100644
--- a/lib/cdist/context.py
+++ b/lib/cdist/context.py
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ class Context(object):
 
     def __init__(self,
         target_host,
+        remote_copy,
+        remote_exec,
         initial_manifest=False,
         base_path=False,
         exec_path=sys.argv[0],
@@ -70,10 +72,18 @@ class Context(object):
         self.initial_manifest = (initial_manifest or
             os.path.join(self.local.manifest_path, "init"))
 
-        # Remote
+        self._init_remote(remote_copy, remote_exec)
+
+    # Remote stuff
+    def _init_remote(self, remote_copy, remote_exec):
+
         self.remote_base_path = os.environ.get('__cdist_remote_out_dir', "/var/lib/cdist")
-        self.remote_exec = os.environ.setdefault('__remote_exec', "ssh -o User=root -q")
-        self.remote_copy = os.environ.setdefault('__remote_copy', "scp -o User=root -q")
+        self.remote_copy = remote_copy
+        self.remote_exec = remote_exec
+
+        os.environ['__remote_copy'] = self.remote_copy
+        os.environ['__remote_exec'] = self.remote_exec
+
         self.remote = remote.Remote(self.target_host, self.remote_base_path,
             self.remote_exec, self.remote_copy)
 
diff --git a/lib/cdist/exec/remote.py b/lib/cdist/exec/remote.py
index fb90939d..487beea3 100644
--- a/lib/cdist/exec/remote.py
+++ b/lib/cdist/exec/remote.py
@@ -77,12 +77,7 @@ class Remote(object):
         self.log.debug("Remote transfer: %s -> %s", source, destination)
         self.rmdir(destination)
         command = self._copy.split()
-        # support rsync by appending a "/" to the source if it's a directory
-        if os.path.isdir(source):
-           command.extend(["-r", source + "/", self.target_host + ":" + destination])
-        else:
-           command.extend(["-r", source, self.target_host + ":" + destination])
-
+        command.extend(["-r", source, self.target_host + ":" + destination])
         self._run_command(command)
 
     def run_script(self, script, env=None, return_output=False):
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/chroot/copy b/other/examples/remote/chroot/copy
index 528a5faf..8f8cb680 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/chroot/copy
+++ b/other/examples/remote/chroot/copy
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 # to a remote target host.
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_copy="/path/to/this/script /path/to/your/chroot" cdist config target-id
+#  cdist config --remote-copy "/path/to/this/script /path/to/your/chroot" target-id
 #
 
 log() {
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/chroot/exec b/other/examples/remote/chroot/exec
index 19e76b0e..4637f918 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/chroot/exec
+++ b/other/examples/remote/chroot/exec
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 # on a remote target host.
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_exec="/path/to/this/script /path/to/your/chroot" cdist config target-id
+#  cdist config --remote-exec "/path/to/this/script /path/to/your/chroot" target-id
 #
 
 log() {
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/rsync/copy b/other/examples/remote/rsync/copy
index f6b93c5c..76217caf 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/rsync/copy
+++ b/other/examples/remote/rsync/copy
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 #
 # 2012 Matt Coddington (mcoddington at gmail.com)
+# 2012 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
 #
 # This file is part of cdist.
 #
@@ -24,7 +25,25 @@
 # at /etc/passwd~cdist.
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_copy="/path/to/this/script" cdist config target_host
+#  cdist config --remote-copy /path/to/this/script target_host
 #
 
+# For rsync to do the right thing, the source has to end with "/" if it is
+# a directory. The below preprocessor loop takes care of that.
+
+# second last argument is the source
+source_index=$(($#-1))
+index=0
+for arg in $@; do
+   if [ $index -eq 0 ]; then
+      # reset $@
+      set --
+   fi
+   index=$((index+=1))
+   if [ $index -eq $source_index -a -d "$arg" ]; then
+      arg="${arg%/}/"
+   fi
+   set -- "$@" "$arg"
+done
+
 rsync --backup --suffix=~cdist -e 'ssh -o User=root' $@
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/schroot-uri b/other/examples/remote/schroot-uri
index a23277ec..5b50a195 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/schroot-uri
+++ b/other/examples/remote/schroot-uri
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh -e
 #
-# 2011 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
+# 2012 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
 #
 # This file is part of cdist.
 #
@@ -21,8 +21,10 @@
 # __remote_{exec,copy} script to run cdist against a schroot target uri
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_exec="/path/to/this/script exec" cdist config target_uri
-#  __remote_copy="/path/to/this/script copy" cdist config target_uri
+#  cdist config \
+#     --remote-exec "/path/to/this/script exec" \
+#     --remote-copy "/path/to/this/script copy" \
+#     target_uri
 #
 # # target_uri examples:
 # schroot:///chroot-name
@@ -49,7 +51,8 @@ my_name="${0##*/}"
 mode="$1"; shift
 
 log() {
-   echo "$@" | logger -t "cdist-$my_name-$mode"
+   # uncomment me for debugging
+   #echo "$@" | logger -t "cdist-$my_name-$mode"
    :
 }
 
@@ -109,6 +112,9 @@ else
    copy_prefix="cp"
    copy_destination_prefix=""
 fi
+log "exec_prefix: $exec_prefix"
+log "copy_prefix: $copy_prefix"
+log "copy_destination_prefix: $copy_destination_prefix"
 
 case "$mode" in
    exec)
@@ -118,8 +124,9 @@ case "$mode" in
    ;;
    copy)
       # get directory for given chroot_name
-      schroot_directory="$($exec_prefix schroot $chroot_name --config | awk -F = '/directory=/ {print $2}')"
+      schroot_directory="$($exec_prefix schroot -c $schroot_name --config | awk -F = '/directory=/ {print $2}')"
       [ -n "$schroot_directory" ] || die "Failed to retreive schroot directory for schroot: $schroot_name"
+      log "schroot_directory: $schroot_directory"
       # prefix destination with chroot
       code="$copy_prefix $(echo "$@" | sed "s|$uri:|${copy_destination_prefix}${schroot_directory}|g")"
    ;;
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/schroot/copy b/other/examples/remote/schroot/copy
index 3587a4f2..d995055e 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/schroot/copy
+++ b/other/examples/remote/schroot/copy
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 # __remote_copy script to run cdist against a chroot on the target host over ssh.
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_copy="/path/to/this/script schroot-chroot-name" cdist config target_host
+#  cdist config --remote-copy "/path/to/this/script schroot-chroot-name" target_host
 #
 
 log() {
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ chroot_name="$1"; shift
 target_host="$__target_host"
 
 # get directory for given chroot_name
-chroot="$(ssh -o User=root -q $target_host schroot $chroot_name --config | awk -F = '/directory=/ {print $2}')"
+chroot="$(ssh -o User=root -q $target_host schroot -c $chroot_name --config | awk -F = '/directory=/ {print $2}')"
 
 # prefix destination with chroot
 code="$(echo "$@" | sed "s|$target_host:|$target_host:$chroot|g")"
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/schroot/exec b/other/examples/remote/schroot/exec
index 5b561de0..2510fd22 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/schroot/exec
+++ b/other/examples/remote/schroot/exec
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 # __remote_exec script to run cdist against a chroot on the target host over ssh.
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_exec="/path/to/this/script schroot-chroot-name" cdist config target_host
+#  cdist config --remote-exec "/path/to/this/script schroot-chroot-name" target_host
 #
 
 log() {
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/ssh/copy b/other/examples/remote/ssh/copy
index 0ecd8c52..5b0ed324 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/ssh/copy
+++ b/other/examples/remote/ssh/copy
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 # same as cdist default
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_copy="/path/to/this/script" cdist config target_host
+#  cdist config --remote-copy "/path/to/this/script" target_host
 #
 
 #echo "$@" | logger -t "cdist-ssh-copy"
diff --git a/other/examples/remote/ssh/exec b/other/examples/remote/ssh/exec
index b597a47f..2875c3fc 100755
--- a/other/examples/remote/ssh/exec
+++ b/other/examples/remote/ssh/exec
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 # same as cdist default
 #
 # Usage:
-#  __remote_exec="/path/to/this/script" cdist config target_host
+#  cdist config --remote-exec "/path/to/this/script" target_host
 #
 
 #echo "$@" | logger -t "cdist-ssh-exec"