diff --git a/pkg/api/meta/restmapper_test.go b/pkg/api/meta/restmapper_test.go
index 450d3cc20f..31df35b76b 100644
--- a/pkg/api/meta/restmapper_test.go
+++ b/pkg/api/meta/restmapper_test.go
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ import (
 
 type fakeCodec struct{}
 
+var _ runtime.Decoder = fakeCodec{}
+
 func (fakeCodec) Encode(runtime.Object) ([]byte, error) {
 	return []byte{}, nil
 }
@@ -40,7 +42,7 @@ func (fakeCodec) Decode([]byte) (runtime.Object, error) {
 	return nil, nil
 }
 
-func (fakeCodec) DecodeToVersion([]byte, string) (runtime.Object, error) {
+func (fakeCodec) DecodeToVersion([]byte, unversioned.GroupVersion) (runtime.Object, error) {
 	return nil, nil
 }
 
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ func (fakeCodec) DecodeInto([]byte, runtime.Object) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (fakeCodec) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind([]byte, runtime.Object, string, string) error {
+func (fakeCodec) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind([]byte, runtime.Object, unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/api/unversioned/group_version.go b/pkg/api/unversioned/group_version.go
index 82826b4ba2..18f1ba63bf 100644
--- a/pkg/api/unversioned/group_version.go
+++ b/pkg/api/unversioned/group_version.go
@@ -52,6 +52,11 @@ type GroupVersion struct {
 // String puts "group" and "version" into a single "group/version" string. For the legacy v1
 // it returns "v1".
 func (gv GroupVersion) String() string {
+	// special case the internal apiVersion for kube
+	if len(gv.Group) == 0 && len(gv.Version) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+
 	// special case of "v1" for backward compatibility
 	if gv.Group == "" && gv.Version == "v1" {
 		return gv.Version
@@ -63,6 +68,11 @@ func (gv GroupVersion) String() string {
 // ParseGroupVersion turns "group/version" string into a GroupVersion struct. It reports error
 // if it cannot parse the string.
 func ParseGroupVersion(gv string) (GroupVersion, error) {
+	// this can be the internal version for kube
+	if (len(gv) == 0) || (gv == "/") {
+		return GroupVersion{}, nil
+	}
+
 	s := strings.Split(gv, "/")
 	// "v1" is the only special case. Otherwise GroupVersion is expected to contain
 	// one "/" dividing the string into two parts.
diff --git a/pkg/apiserver/resthandler.go b/pkg/apiserver/resthandler.go
index 334519661a..1246bc22a1 100644
--- a/pkg/apiserver/resthandler.go
+++ b/pkg/apiserver/resthandler.go
@@ -343,7 +343,8 @@ func createHandler(r rest.NamedCreater, scope RequestScope, typer runtime.Object
 		}
 
 		obj := r.New()
-		if err := scope.Codec.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(body, obj, scope.APIVersion, scope.Kind); err != nil {
+		// TODO this cleans up with proper typing
+		if err := scope.Codec.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(body, obj, unversioned.ParseGroupVersionOrDie(scope.APIVersion).WithKind(scope.Kind)); err != nil {
 			err = transformDecodeError(typer, err, obj, body)
 			errorJSON(err, scope.Codec, w)
 			return
@@ -576,7 +577,7 @@ func UpdateResource(r rest.Updater, scope RequestScope, typer runtime.ObjectType
 		}
 
 		obj := r.New()
-		if err := scope.Codec.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(body, obj, scope.APIVersion, scope.Kind); err != nil {
+		if err := scope.Codec.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(body, obj, unversioned.ParseGroupVersionOrDie(scope.APIVersion).WithKind(scope.Kind)); err != nil {
 			err = transformDecodeError(typer, err, obj, body)
 			errorJSON(err, scope.Codec, w)
 			return
diff --git a/pkg/conversion/decode.go b/pkg/conversion/decode.go
index d799cfffb8..8d9801559d 100644
--- a/pkg/conversion/decode.go
+++ b/pkg/conversion/decode.go
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 
 	"github.com/ugorji/go/codec"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
 )
 
 func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersionedObject(data []byte) (obj interface{}, version, kind string, err error) {
@@ -52,7 +54,8 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersionedObject(data []byte) (obj interface{}, version,
 // s.InternalVersion type before being returned. Decode will not decode
 // objects without version set unless InternalVersion is also "".
 func (s *Scheme) Decode(data []byte) (interface{}, error) {
-	return s.DecodeToVersion(data, s.InternalVersion)
+	// TODO this is cleaned up when internal types are fixed
+	return s.DecodeToVersion(data, unversioned.ParseGroupVersionOrDie(s.InternalVersion))
 }
 
 // DecodeToVersion converts a JSON string back into a pointer to an api object.
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ func (s *Scheme) Decode(data []byte) (interface{}, error) {
 // technique. The object will be converted, if necessary, into the versioned
 // type before being returned. Decode will not decode objects without version
 // set unless version is also "".
-func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (interface{}, error) {
+func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, gv unversioned.GroupVersion) (interface{}, error) {
 	obj, sourceVersion, kind, err := s.DecodeToVersionedObject(data)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -71,12 +74,12 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (interface{}, erro
 	}
 
 	// Convert if needed.
-	if version != sourceVersion {
-		objOut, err := s.NewObject(version, kind)
+	if gv.String() != sourceVersion {
+		objOut, err := s.NewObject(gv.String(), kind)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		flags, meta := s.generateConvertMeta(sourceVersion, version, obj)
+		flags, meta := s.generateConvertMeta(sourceVersion, gv.String(), obj)
 		if err := s.converter.Convert(obj, objOut, flags, meta); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -91,7 +94,7 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (interface{}, erro
 // If obj's version doesn't match that in data, an attempt will be made to convert
 // data into obj's version.
 func (s *Scheme) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj interface{}) error {
-	return s.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data, obj, "", "")
+	return s.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data, obj, unversioned.GroupVersionKind{})
 }
 
 // DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind compares the passed in specifiedVersion and
@@ -101,7 +104,7 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj interface{}) error {
 // The function then implements the functionality of DecodeInto.
 // If specifiedVersion and specifiedKind are empty, the function degenerates to
 // DecodeInto.
-func (s *Scheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj interface{}, specifiedVersion, specifiedKind string) error {
+func (s *Scheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj interface{}, gvk unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error {
 	if len(data) == 0 {
 		return errors.New("empty input")
 	}
@@ -110,16 +113,16 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj interface{}
 		return err
 	}
 	if dataVersion == "" {
-		dataVersion = specifiedVersion
+		dataVersion = gvk.GroupVersion().String()
 	}
 	if dataKind == "" {
-		dataKind = specifiedKind
+		dataKind = gvk.Kind
 	}
-	if len(specifiedVersion) > 0 && (dataVersion != specifiedVersion) {
-		return errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("The apiVersion in the data (%s) does not match the specified apiVersion(%s)", dataVersion, specifiedVersion))
+	if (len(gvk.GroupVersion().Group) > 0 || len(gvk.GroupVersion().Version) > 0) && (dataVersion != gvk.GroupVersion().String()) {
+		return errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("The apiVersion in the data (%s) does not match the specified apiVersion(%v)", dataVersion, gvk.GroupVersion()))
 	}
-	if len(specifiedKind) > 0 && (dataKind != specifiedKind) {
-		return errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("The kind in the data (%s) does not match the specified kind(%s)", dataKind, specifiedKind))
+	if len(gvk.Kind) > 0 && (dataKind != gvk.Kind) {
+		return errors.New(fmt.Sprintf("The kind in the data (%s) does not match the specified kind(%v)", dataKind, gvk))
 	}
 
 	objVersion, objKind, err := s.ObjectVersionAndKind(obj)
diff --git a/pkg/conversion/scheme.go b/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
index d0e2864613..2a3013474c 100644
--- a/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
+++ b/pkg/conversion/scheme.go
@@ -158,14 +158,14 @@ func (s *Scheme) KnownTypes(version string) map[string]reflect.Type {
 
 // NewObject returns a new object of the given version and name,
 // or an error if it hasn't been registered.
-func (s *Scheme) NewObject(versionName, kind string) (interface{}, error) {
-	if types, ok := s.versionMap[versionName]; ok {
+func (s *Scheme) NewObject(gvString, kind string) (interface{}, error) {
+	if types, ok := s.versionMap[gvString]; ok {
 		if t, ok := types[kind]; ok {
 			return reflect.New(t).Interface(), nil
 		}
-		return nil, &notRegisteredErr{kind: kind, version: versionName}
+		return nil, &notRegisteredErr{kind: kind, version: gvString}
 	}
-	return nil, &notRegisteredErr{kind: kind, version: versionName}
+	return nil, &notRegisteredErr{kind: kind, version: gvString}
 }
 
 // AddConversionFuncs adds functions to the list of conversion functions. The given
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/resource_printer.go b/pkg/kubectl/resource_printer.go
index 42ac2cdf2a..1ff90e3b62 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/resource_printer.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/resource_printer.go
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ func (p *NamePrinter) PrintObj(obj runtime.Object, w io.Writer) error {
 				if err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
-				decodedObj, err := scheme.DecodeToVersion(rawObj, "")
+				decodedObj, err := scheme.DecodeToVersion(rawObj, unversioned.GroupVersion{})
 				if err != nil {
 					return err
 				}
diff --git a/pkg/registry/thirdpartyresourcedata/codec.go b/pkg/registry/thirdpartyresourcedata/codec.go
index 4b31cc6bba..a9de614aae 100644
--- a/pkg/registry/thirdpartyresourcedata/codec.go
+++ b/pkg/registry/thirdpartyresourcedata/codec.go
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) Decode(data []byte) (runtime.Object, error
 	return result, nil
 }
 
-func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (runtime.Object, error) {
+func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, gv unversioned.GroupVersion) (runtime.Object, error) {
 	// TODO: this is hacky, there must be a better way...
 	obj, err := t.Decode(data)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version strin
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return t.delegate.DecodeToVersion(objData, version)
+	return t.delegate.DecodeToVersion(objData, gv)
 }
 
 func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj runtime.Object) error {
@@ -175,14 +175,14 @@ func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj runtime.Object
 	return t.populate(thirdParty, data)
 }
 
-func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj runtime.Object, version, kind string) error {
+func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj runtime.Object, gvk unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error {
 	thirdParty, ok := obj.(*extensions.ThirdPartyResourceData)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unexpected object: %#v", obj)
 	}
 
-	if kind != "ThirdPartyResourceData" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("unexpeceted kind: %s", kind)
+	if gvk.Kind != "ThirdPartyResourceData" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unexpeceted kind: %s", gvk.Kind)
 	}
 
 	var dataObj interface{}
@@ -194,25 +194,25 @@ func (t *thirdPartyResourceDataCodec) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []
 		return fmt.Errorf("unexpcted object: %#v", dataObj)
 	}
 	if kindObj, found := mapObj["kind"]; !found {
-		mapObj["kind"] = kind
+		mapObj["kind"] = gvk.Kind
 	} else {
 		kindStr, ok := kindObj.(string)
 		if !ok {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected object for 'kind': %v", kindObj)
 		}
 		if kindStr != t.kind {
-			return fmt.Errorf("kind doesn't match, expecting: %s, got %s", kind, kindStr)
+			return fmt.Errorf("kind doesn't match, expecting: %s, got %s", gvk.Kind, kindStr)
 		}
 	}
 	if versionObj, found := mapObj["apiVersion"]; !found {
-		mapObj["apiVersion"] = version
+		mapObj["apiVersion"] = gvk.GroupVersion().String()
 	} else {
 		versionStr, ok := versionObj.(string)
 		if !ok {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected object for 'apiVersion': %v", versionObj)
 		}
-		if versionStr != version {
-			return fmt.Errorf("version doesn't match, expecting: %s, got %s", version, versionStr)
+		if versionStr != gvk.GroupVersion().String() {
+			return fmt.Errorf("version doesn't match, expecting: %v, got %s", gvk.GroupVersion(), versionStr)
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/codec.go b/pkg/runtime/codec.go
index 5d06482ea5..d69269e479 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/codec.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/codec.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ type yamlCodec struct {
 
 // yamlCodec implements Codec
 var _ Codec = yamlCodec{}
+var _ Decoder = yamlCodec{}
 
 // YAMLDecoder adds YAML decoding support to a codec that supports JSON.
 func YAMLDecoder(codec Codec) Codec {
@@ -75,6 +76,8 @@ type codecWrapper struct {
 	version string
 }
 
+var _ Decoder = &codecWrapper{}
+
 // Encode implements Codec
 func (c *codecWrapper) Encode(obj Object) ([]byte, error) {
 	return c.EncodeToVersion(obj, c.version)
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/interfaces.go b/pkg/runtime/interfaces.go
index c367a4f364..b050a9ad02 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/interfaces.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/interfaces.go
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ package runtime
 import (
 	"io"
 	"net/url"
+
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
 )
 
 // Codec defines methods for serializing and deserializing API objects.
@@ -31,10 +33,10 @@ type Codec interface {
 type Decoder interface {
 	Decode(data []byte) (Object, error)
 	// TODO: Remove this method?
-	DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (Object, error)
+	DecodeToVersion(data []byte, groupVersion unversioned.GroupVersion) (Object, error)
 	DecodeInto(data []byte, obj Object) error
 	// TODO: Remove this method?
-	DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, kind, version string) error
+	DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, groupVersionKind unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error
 
 	DecodeParametersInto(parameters url.Values, obj Object) error
 }
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/scheme.go b/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
index 147c1a26fc..e9268802db 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/scheme.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"reflect"
 
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/conversion"
 )
 
@@ -35,6 +36,8 @@ type Scheme struct {
 	fieldLabelConversionFuncs map[string]map[string]FieldLabelConversionFunc
 }
 
+var _ Decoder = &Scheme{}
+
 // Function to convert a field selector to internal representation.
 type FieldLabelConversionFunc func(label, value string) (internalLabel, internalValue string, err error)
 
@@ -456,8 +459,8 @@ func (s *Scheme) Decode(data []byte) (Object, error) {
 // are set by Encode. Only versioned objects (APIVersion != "") are
 // accepted. The object will be converted into the in-memory versioned type
 // requested before being returned.
-func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (Object, error) {
-	obj, err := s.raw.DecodeToVersion(data, version)
+func (s *Scheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, gv unversioned.GroupVersion) (Object, error) {
+	obj, err := s.raw.DecodeToVersion(data, gv)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -476,8 +479,8 @@ func (s *Scheme) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj Object) error {
 	return s.raw.DecodeInto(data, obj)
 }
 
-func (s *Scheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, version, kind string) error {
-	return s.raw.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data, obj, version, kind)
+func (s *Scheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, gvk unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error {
+	return s.raw.DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data, obj, gvk)
 }
 
 func (s *Scheme) DecodeParametersInto(parameters url.Values, obj Object) error {
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/scheme_test.go b/pkg/runtime/scheme_test.go
index 83f8d4c6e2..401c3cbd30 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/scheme_test.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/scheme_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/conversion"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/runtime"
 )
@@ -43,9 +44,12 @@ func (*InternalSimple) IsAnAPIObject() {}
 func (*ExternalSimple) IsAnAPIObject() {}
 
 func TestScheme(t *testing.T) {
+	internalGVK := unversioned.GroupVersionKind{Group: "test.group", Version: "", Kind: "Simple"}
+	externalGVK := unversioned.GroupVersionKind{Group: "test.group", Version: "externalVersion", Kind: "Simple"}
+
 	scheme := runtime.NewScheme()
-	scheme.AddKnownTypeWithName("", "Simple", &InternalSimple{})
-	scheme.AddKnownTypeWithName("externalVersion", "Simple", &ExternalSimple{})
+	scheme.AddKnownTypeWithName(internalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), internalGVK.Kind, &InternalSimple{})
+	scheme.AddKnownTypeWithName(externalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), externalGVK.Kind, &ExternalSimple{})
 
 	// test that scheme is an ObjectTyper
 	var _ runtime.ObjectTyper = scheme
@@ -56,10 +60,10 @@ func TestScheme(t *testing.T) {
 	// Register functions to verify that scope.Meta() gets set correctly.
 	err := scheme.AddConversionFuncs(
 		func(in *InternalSimple, out *ExternalSimple, scope conversion.Scope) error {
-			if e, a := "", scope.Meta().SrcVersion; e != a {
+			if e, a := internalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), scope.Meta().SrcVersion; e != a {
 				t.Errorf("Expected '%v', got '%v'", e, a)
 			}
-			if e, a := "externalVersion", scope.Meta().DestVersion; e != a {
+			if e, a := externalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), scope.Meta().DestVersion; e != a {
 				t.Errorf("Expected '%v', got '%v'", e, a)
 			}
 			scope.Convert(&in.TypeMeta, &out.TypeMeta, 0)
@@ -68,10 +72,10 @@ func TestScheme(t *testing.T) {
 			return nil
 		},
 		func(in *ExternalSimple, out *InternalSimple, scope conversion.Scope) error {
-			if e, a := "externalVersion", scope.Meta().SrcVersion; e != a {
+			if e, a := externalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), scope.Meta().SrcVersion; e != a {
 				t.Errorf("Expected '%v', got '%v'", e, a)
 			}
-			if e, a := "", scope.Meta().DestVersion; e != a {
+			if e, a := internalGVK.GroupVersion().String(), scope.Meta().DestVersion; e != a {
 				t.Errorf("Expected '%v', got '%v'", e, a)
 			}
 			scope.Convert(&in.TypeMeta, &out.TypeMeta, 0)
@@ -93,7 +97,7 @@ func TestScheme(t *testing.T) {
 	obj2, err2 := scheme.Decode(data)
 	obj3 := &InternalSimple{}
 	err3 := scheme.DecodeInto(data, obj3)
-	obj4, err4 := scheme.DecodeToVersion(data, "externalVersion")
+	obj4, err4 := scheme.DecodeToVersion(data, externalGVK.GroupVersion())
 	if err != nil || err2 != nil || err3 != nil || err4 != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failure: '%v' '%v' '%v' '%v'", err, err2, err3, err4)
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/runtime/unstructured.go b/pkg/runtime/unstructured.go
index 3c52423605..92506d4c1d 100644
--- a/pkg/runtime/unstructured.go
+++ b/pkg/runtime/unstructured.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"reflect"
 
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api/unversioned"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/conversion"
 )
 
@@ -31,6 +32,8 @@ var UnstructuredJSONScheme ObjectDecoder = unstructuredJSONScheme{}
 
 type unstructuredJSONScheme struct{}
 
+var _ Decoder = unstructuredJSONScheme{}
+
 // Recognizes returns true for any version or kind that is specified (internal
 // versions are specifically excluded).
 func (unstructuredJSONScheme) Recognizes(version, kind string) bool {
@@ -75,11 +78,11 @@ func (unstructuredJSONScheme) DecodeInto(data []byte, obj Object) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (unstructuredJSONScheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, kind, version string) error {
+func (unstructuredJSONScheme) DecodeIntoWithSpecifiedVersionKind(data []byte, obj Object, gvk unversioned.GroupVersionKind) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (unstructuredJSONScheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, version string) (Object, error) {
+func (unstructuredJSONScheme) DecodeToVersion(data []byte, gv unversioned.GroupVersion) (Object, error) {
 	return nil, nil
 }