diff --git a/cmd/kubelet/kubelet.go b/cmd/kubelet/kubelet.go
index 036fe3da17..45922774e7 100644
--- a/cmd/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/cmd/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ var (
 	allowPrivileged       = flag.Bool("allow_privileged", false, "If true, allow containers to request privileged mode. [default=false]")
 	registryPullQPS       = flag.Float64("registry_qps", 0.0, "If > 0, limit registry pull QPS to this value.  If 0, unlimited. [default=0.0]")
 	registryBurst         = flag.Int("registry_burst", 10, "Maximum size of a bursty pulls, temporarily allows pulls to burst to this number, while still not exceeding registry_qps.  Only used if --registry_qps > 0")
+	runonce               = flag.Bool("runonce", false, "If true, exit after spawning pods from local manifests or remote urls. Exclusive with --etcd_servers and --enable-server")
 )
 
 func init() {
@@ -106,6 +107,17 @@ func main() {
 
 	verflag.PrintAndExitIfRequested()
 
+	if *runonce {
+		exclusiveFlag := "invalid option: --runonce and %s are mutually exclusive"
+		if len(etcdServerList) > 0 {
+			glog.Fatalf(exclusiveFlag, "--etcd_servers")
+		}
+		if *enableServer {
+			glog.Infof("--runonce is set, disabling server")
+			*enableServer = false
+		}
+	}
+
 	etcd.SetLogger(util.NewLogger("etcd "))
 
 	capabilities.Initialize(capabilities.Capabilities{
@@ -128,7 +140,9 @@ func main() {
 		glog.Fatal("Invalid root directory path.")
 	}
 	*rootDirectory = path.Clean(*rootDirectory)
-	os.MkdirAll(*rootDirectory, 0750)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(*rootDirectory, 0750); err != nil {
+		glog.Warningf("Error creating root directory: %v", err)
+	}
 
 	// source of all configuration
 	cfg := kconfig.NewPodConfig(kconfig.PodConfigNotificationSnapshotAndUpdates)
@@ -171,6 +185,14 @@ func main() {
 	health.AddHealthChecker(health.NewHTTPHealthChecker(&http.Client{}))
 	health.AddHealthChecker(&health.TCPHealthChecker{})
 
+	// process pods and exit.
+	if *runonce {
+		if _, err := k.RunOnce(cfg.Updates()); err != nil {
+			glog.Fatalf("--runonce failed: %v", err)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+
 	// start the kubelet
 	go util.Forever(func() { k.Run(cfg.Updates()) }, 0)
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index e210038368..039be7b890 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -634,9 +634,8 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) SyncPods(pods []Pod) error {
 	}
 
 	// Check for any containers that need starting
-	for i := range pods {
-		pod := &pods[i]
-		podFullName := GetPodFullName(pod)
+	for _, pod := range pods {
+		podFullName := GetPodFullName(&pod)
 		uuid := pod.Manifest.UUID
 
 		// Add all containers (including net) to the map.
@@ -647,7 +646,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) SyncPods(pods []Pod) error {
 
 		// Run the sync in an async manifest worker.
 		kl.podWorkers.Run(podFullName, func() {
-			err := kl.syncPod(pod, dockerContainers)
+			err := kl.syncPod(&pod, dockerContainers)
 			if err != nil {
 				glog.Errorf("Error syncing pod: %v skipping.", err)
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/runonce.go b/pkg/kubelet/runonce.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f1f48d25b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/runonce.go
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2014 Google Inc. All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package kubelet
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/api"
+	"github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/dockertools"
+	"github.com/golang/glog"
+)
+
+const (
+	RunOnceManifestDelay     = 1 * time.Second
+	RunOnceMaxRetries        = 1
+	RunOnceRetryDelay        = 1 * time.Second
+	RunOnceRetryDelayBackoff = 2
+)
+
+type RunPodResult struct {
+	Pod  *Pod
+	Info api.PodInfo
+	Err  error
+}
+
+// RunOnce polls from one configuration update and run the associated pods.
+func (kl *Kubelet) RunOnce(updates <-chan PodUpdate) ([]RunPodResult, error) {
+	select {
+	case u := <-updates:
+		glog.Infof("processing manifest with %d pods", len(u.Pods))
+		result, err := kl.runOnce(u.Pods)
+		glog.Infof("finished processing %d pods", len(u.Pods))
+		return result, err
+	case <-time.After(RunOnceManifestDelay):
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no pod manifest update after %v", RunOnceManifestDelay)
+	}
+}
+
+// runOnce runs a given set of pods and returns their status.
+func (kl *Kubelet) runOnce(pods []Pod) (results []RunPodResult, err error) {
+	if kl.dockerPuller == nil {
+		kl.dockerPuller = dockertools.NewDockerPuller(kl.dockerClient, kl.pullQPS, kl.pullBurst)
+	}
+	pods = filterHostPortConflicts(pods)
+
+	ch := make(chan RunPodResult)
+	for _, pod := range pods {
+		go func() {
+			info, err := kl.runPod(pod)
+			ch <- RunPodResult{&pod, info, err}
+		}()
+	}
+
+	glog.Infof("waiting for %d pods", len(pods))
+	failedPods := []string{}
+	for i := 0; i < len(pods); i++ {
+		res := <-ch
+		results = append(results, res)
+		if res.Err != nil {
+			glog.Infof("failed to start pod %q: %v", res.Pod.Name, res.Err)
+			failedPods = append(failedPods, res.Pod.Name)
+		} else {
+			glog.Infof("started pod %q: %#v", res.Pod.Name, res.Info)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(failedPods) > 0 {
+		return results, fmt.Errorf("error running pods: %v", failedPods)
+	}
+	glog.Infof("%d pods started", len(pods))
+	return results, err
+}
+
+// Run a single pod and wait until all containers are running.
+func (kl *Kubelet) runPod(pod Pod) (api.PodInfo, error) {
+	dockerContainers, err := dockertools.GetKubeletDockerContainers(kl.dockerClient, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to get kubelet docker containers: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	delay := RunOnceRetryDelay
+	for i := 0; i < RunOnceMaxRetries; i++ {
+		err := kl.syncPod(&pod, dockerContainers)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error syncing pod: %v", err)
+		}
+		info, err := kl.GetPodInfo(GetPodFullName(&pod), pod.Manifest.UUID)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error getting pod info: %v", err)
+		}
+		if podInfo(info).isRunning() {
+			return info, nil
+		}
+		glog.Infof("pod %q containers not running, waiting for %v", pod.Name, delay)
+		<-time.After(delay)
+		delay *= RunOnceRetryDelayBackoff
+	}
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf("timeout error: pod %q containers not running after %d retries", pod.Name, RunOnceMaxRetries)
+}
+
+// Alias PodInfo for internal usage.
+type podInfo api.PodInfo
+
+// Check if all containers of a pod are running.
+func (info podInfo) isRunning() bool {
+	for _, container := range info {
+		if container.State.Running == nil {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}