diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f3d871bb9ca..b961501b79e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Ansible Changes By Release
 ###Major Changes:
 
 * added facility for modules to send back 'diff' for display when ansible is called with --diff, updated several modules to return this info
+* added ansible-console tool, a REPL shell that allows running adhoc tasks against a chosen inventory (based on  https://github.com/dominis/ansible-shell )
 
 ####New Modules:
 * aws: ec2_vol_facts
diff --git a/bin/ansible-console b/bin/ansible-console
new file mode 120000
index 00000000000..cabb1f519aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/ansible-console
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+ansible
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/ansible.cfg b/examples/ansible.cfg
index 48628441fb0..6c265e9bf28 100644
--- a/examples/ansible.cfg
+++ b/examples/ansible.cfg
@@ -279,6 +279,7 @@
 #special_context_filesystems=nfs,vboxsf,fuse,ramfs
 
 [colors]
+#higlight = white
 #verbose = blue
 #warn = bright purple
 #error = red
diff --git a/lib/ansible/cli/console.py b/lib/ansible/cli/console.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2c96917f367
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ansible/cli/console.py
@@ -0,0 +1,444 @@
+# (c) 2014, Nandor Sivok <dominis@haxor.hu>
+# (c) 2016, Redhat Inc
+#
+# ansible-shell is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# ansible-shell is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with Ansible.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+########################################################
+# ansible-console is an interactive REPL shell for ansible
+# with built-in tab completion for all the documented modules
+#
+# Available commands:
+#  cd - change host/group (you can use host patterns eg.: app*.dc*:!app01*)
+#  list - list available hosts in the current path
+#  forks - change fork
+#  become - become
+#  ! - forces shell module instead of the ansible module (!yum update -y)
+
+import atexit
+import cmd
+import getpass
+import readline
+import os
+import sys
+
+from ansible import constants as C
+from ansible.cli import CLI
+from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleOptionsError
+
+from ansible.executor.task_queue_manager import TaskQueueManager
+from ansible.inventory import Inventory
+from ansible.parsing.dataloader import DataLoader
+from ansible.parsing.splitter import parse_kv
+from ansible.playbook.play import Play
+from ansible.vars import VariableManager
+from ansible.utils import module_docs
+from ansible.utils.color import stringc
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_unicode, to_str
+from ansible.plugins import module_loader
+
+
+try:
+    from __main__ import display
+except ImportError:
+    from ansible.utils.display import Display
+    display = Display()
+
+
+class ConsoleCLI(CLI, cmd.Cmd):
+
+    modules = []
+
+    def __init__(self, args):
+
+        super(ConsoleCLI, self).__init__(args)
+
+        self.intro = 'Welcome to the ansible console.\nType help or ? to list commands.\n'
+
+        self.groups = []
+        self.hosts = []
+        self.pattern = None
+        self.variable_manager = None
+        self.loader = None
+        self.passwords = dict()
+
+        self.modules = None
+        cmd.Cmd.__init__(self)
+
+    def parse(self):
+        self.parser = CLI.base_parser(
+            usage='%prog <host-pattern> [options]',
+            runas_opts=True,
+            inventory_opts=True,
+            connect_opts=True,
+            check_opts=True,
+            vault_opts=True,
+            fork_opts=True,
+            module_opts=True,
+        )
+
+        # options unique to shell
+        self.parser.add_option('--step', dest='step', action='store_true',
+            help="one-step-at-a-time: confirm each task before running")
+
+        self.parser.set_defaults(cwd='*')
+        self.options, self.args = self.parser.parse_args(self.args[1:])
+
+        display.verbosity = self.options.verbosity
+        self.validate_conflicts(runas_opts=True, vault_opts=True, fork_opts=True)
+
+        return True
+
+    def get_names(self):
+        return dir(self)
+
+    def cmdloop(self):
+        try:
+            cmd.Cmd.cmdloop(self)
+        except KeyboardInterrupt:
+            self.do_exit(self)
+
+    def set_prompt(self):
+        login_user = self.options.remote_user or getpass.getuser()
+        self.selected = self.inventory.list_hosts(self.options.cwd)
+        prompt = "%s@%s (%d)[f:%s]" % (login_user, self.options.cwd, len(self.selected), self.options.forks)
+        if self.options.become and self.options.become_user in [None, 'root']:
+            prompt += "# "
+            color = C.COLOR_ERROR
+        else:
+            prompt += "$ "
+            color = C.COLOR_HIGHLIGHT
+        self.prompt = stringc(prompt, color)
+
+    def list_modules(self):
+        modules = set()
+        if self.options.module_path is not None:
+            for i in self.options.module_path.split(os.pathsep):
+                module_loader.add_directory(i)
+
+        module_paths = module_loader._get_paths()
+        for path in module_paths:
+            if path is not None:
+                modules.update(self._find_modules_in_path(path))
+        return modules
+
+    def _find_modules_in_path(self, path):
+
+        if os.path.isdir(path):
+            for module in os.listdir(path):
+                if module.startswith('.'):
+                    continue
+                elif os.path.isdir(module):
+                    self._find_modules_in_path(module)
+                elif module.startswith('__'):
+                    continue
+                elif any(module.endswith(x) for x in C.BLACKLIST_EXTS):
+                    continue
+                elif module in C.IGNORE_FILES:
+                    continue
+                elif module.startswith('_'):
+                    fullpath = '/'.join([path,module])
+                    if os.path.islink(fullpath): # avoids aliases
+                        continue
+                    module = module.replace('_', '', 1)
+
+                module = os.path.splitext(module)[0] # removes the extension
+                yield module
+
+    def default(self, arg, forceshell=False):
+        """ actually runs modules """
+        if arg.startswith("#"):
+            return False
+
+        if not self.options.cwd:
+            display.error("No host found")
+            return False
+
+        if arg.split()[0] in self.modules:
+            module = arg.split()[0]
+            module_args = ' '.join(arg.split()[1:])
+        else:
+            module = 'shell'
+            module_args = arg
+
+        if forceshell is True:
+            module = 'shell'
+            module_args = arg
+
+        self.options.module_name = module
+
+        result = None
+        try:
+            play_ds = dict(
+                name = "Ansible Shell",
+                hosts = self.options.cwd,
+                gather_facts = 'no',
+                #tasks = [ dict(action=dict(module=module, args=parse_kv(module_args)), async=self.options.async, poll=self.options.poll_interval) ]
+                tasks = [ dict(action=dict(module=module, args=parse_kv(module_args)))]
+            )
+            play = Play().load(play_ds, variable_manager=self.variable_manager, loader=self.loader)
+        except Exception as e:
+            display.error(u"Unable to build command: %s" % to_unicode(e))
+            return False
+
+        try:
+            cb = 'minimal' #FIXME: make callbacks configurable
+            # now create a task queue manager to execute the play
+            self._tqm = None
+            try:
+                self._tqm = TaskQueueManager(
+                        inventory=self.inventory,
+                        variable_manager=self.variable_manager,
+                        loader=self.loader,
+                        options=self.options,
+                        passwords=self.passwords,
+                        stdout_callback=cb,
+                        run_additional_callbacks=C.DEFAULT_LOAD_CALLBACK_PLUGINS,
+                        run_tree=False,
+                    )
+
+                result = self._tqm.run(play)
+            finally:
+                if self._tqm:
+                    self._tqm.cleanup()
+
+            if result is None:
+                display.error("No hosts found")
+                return False
+        except KeyboardInterrupt:
+            display.error('User interrupted execution')
+            return False
+        except Exception as e:
+            display.error(to_unicode(e))
+            #FIXME: add traceback in very very verbose mode
+            return False
+
+    def emptyline(self):
+        return
+
+    def do_shell(self, arg):
+        """
+        You can run shell commands through the shell module.
+
+        eg.:
+        shell ps uax | grep java | wc -l
+        shell killall python
+        shell halt -n
+
+        You can use the ! to force the shell module. eg.:
+        !ps aux | grep java | wc -l
+        """
+        self.default(arg, True)
+
+    def do_forks(self, arg):
+        """Set the number of forks"""
+        if not arg:
+            display.display('Usage: forks <number>')
+            return
+        self.options.forks = int(arg)
+        self.set_prompt()
+
+    do_serial = do_forks
+
+    def do_verbosity(self, arg):
+        """Set verbosity level"""
+        if not arg:
+            display.display('Usage: verbosity <number>')
+        else:
+            display.verbosity = int(arg)
+            display.v('verbosity level set to %s' % arg)
+
+    def do_cd(self, arg):
+        """
+            Change active host/group. You can use hosts patterns as well eg.:
+            cd webservers
+            cd webservers:dbservers
+            cd webservers:!phoenix
+            cd webservers:&staging
+            cd webservers:dbservers:&staging:!phoenix
+        """
+        if not arg:
+            self.options.cwd = '*'
+        elif arg == '..':
+            try:
+                self.options.cwd = self.inventory.groups_for_host(self.options.cwd)[1].name
+            except Exception:
+                self.options.cwd = ''
+        elif arg in '/*':
+            self.options.cwd = 'all'
+        elif self.inventory.get_hosts(arg):
+            self.options.cwd = arg
+        else:
+            display.display("no host matched")
+
+        self.set_prompt()
+
+    def do_list(self, arg):
+        """List the hosts in the current group"""
+        if arg == 'groups':
+            for group in self.groups:
+                display.display(group)
+        else:
+            for host in self.selected:
+                display.display(host.name)
+
+    def do_become(self, arg):
+        """Toggle whether plays run with become"""
+        if arg:
+            self.options.become_user = arg
+            display.v("become changed to %s" % self.options.become)
+            self.set_prompt()
+        else:
+            display.display("Please specify become value, e.g. `become yes`")
+
+    def do_remote_user(self, arg):
+        """Given a username, set the remote user plays are run by"""
+        if arg:
+            self.options.remote_user = arg
+            self.set_prompt()
+        else:
+            display.display("Please specify a remote user, e.g. `remote_user root`")
+
+    def do_become_user(self, arg):
+        """Given a username, set the user that plays are run by when using become"""
+        if arg:
+            self.options.become_user = arg
+        else:
+            display.display("Please specify a user, e.g. `become_user jenkins`")
+            display.v("Current user is %s" % self.options.become_user)
+        self.set_prompt()
+
+    def do_become_method(self, arg):
+        """Given a become_method, set the privilege escalation method when using become"""
+        if arg:
+            self.options.become_method = arg
+            display.v("become_method changed to %s" % self.options.become_method)
+        else:
+            display.display("Please specify a become_method, e.g. `become_method su`")
+
+    def do_exit(self, args):
+        """Exits from the console"""
+        sys.stdout.write('\n')
+        return -1
+
+    do_EOF = do_exit
+
+    def helpdefault(self, module_name):
+        if module_name in self.modules:
+            in_path = module_loader.find_plugin(module_name)
+            if in_path:
+                oc, a, _ = module_docs.get_docstring(in_path)
+                if oc:
+                    display.display(oc['short_description'])
+                    display.display('Parameters:')
+                    for opt in oc['options'].keys():
+                        display.display('  ' + stringc(opt, C.COLOR_HIGHLIGHT) + ' ' + oc['options'][opt]['description'][0])
+                else:
+                    display.error('No documentation found for %s.' % module_name)
+            else:
+                display.error('%s is not a valid command, use ? to list all valid commands.' % module_name)
+
+    def complete_cd(self, text, line, begidx, endidx):
+        mline = line.partition(' ')[2]
+        offs = len(mline) - len(text)
+
+        if self.options.cwd in ('all','*','\\'):
+            completions = self.hosts + self.groups
+        else:
+            completions = [x.name for x in self.inventory.list_hosts(self.options.cwd)]
+
+        return [to_str(s)[offs:] for s in completions if to_str(s).startswith(to_str(mline))]
+
+    def completedefault(self, text, line, begidx, endidx):
+        if line.split()[0] in self.modules:
+            mline = line.split(' ')[-1]
+            offs = len(mline) - len(text)
+            completions = self.module_args(line.split()[0])
+
+            return [s[offs:] + '=' for s in completions if s.startswith(mline)]
+
+    def module_args(self, module_name):
+        in_path = module_loader.find_plugin(module_name)
+        oc, a, _ = module_docs.get_docstring(in_path)
+        return oc['options'].keys()
+
+
+    def run(self):
+
+        super(ConsoleCLI, self).run()
+
+        sshpass    = None
+        becomepass = None
+        vault_pass = None
+
+        # hosts
+        if len(self.args) != 1:
+            self.pattern = 'all'
+        else:
+            self.pattern = self.args[0]
+        self.options.cwd = self.pattern
+
+
+        # dynamically add modules as commands
+        self.modules = self.list_modules()
+        for module in self.modules:
+            setattr(self, 'do_' + module, lambda arg, module=module: self.default(module + ' ' + arg))
+            setattr(self, 'help_' + module, lambda module=module: self.helpdefault(module))
+
+        self.normalize_become_options()
+        (sshpass, becomepass) = self.ask_passwords()
+        self.passwords = { 'conn_pass': sshpass, 'become_pass': becomepass }
+
+        self.loader = DataLoader()
+
+        if self.options.vault_password_file:
+            # read vault_pass from a file
+            vault_pass = CLI.read_vault_password_file(self.options.vault_password_file, loader=self.loader)
+            self.loader.set_vault_password(vault_pass)
+        elif self.options.ask_vault_pass:
+            vault_pass = self.ask_vault_passwords()[0]
+            self.loader.set_vault_password(vault_pass)
+
+        self.variable_manager = VariableManager()
+        self.inventory = Inventory(loader=self.loader, variable_manager=self.variable_manager, host_list=self.options.inventory)
+        self.variable_manager.set_inventory(self.inventory)
+
+        if len(self.inventory.list_hosts(self.pattern)) == 0:
+            # Empty inventory
+            display.warning("provided hosts list is empty, only localhost is available")
+
+        self.inventory.subset(self.options.subset)
+        self.groups = self.inventory.list_groups()
+        self.hosts = [x.name for x in self.inventory.list_hosts(self.pattern)]
+
+        # This hack is to work around readline issues on a mac:
+        #  http://stackoverflow.com/a/7116997/541202
+        if 'libedit' in readline.__doc__:
+            readline.parse_and_bind("bind ^I rl_complete")
+        else:
+            readline.parse_and_bind("tab: complete")
+
+        histfile = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser("~"), ".ansible-console_history")
+        try:
+            readline.read_history_file(histfile)
+        except IOError:
+            pass
+
+        atexit.register(readline.write_history_file, histfile)
+        self.set_prompt()
+        self.cmdloop()
+
diff --git a/lib/ansible/constants.py b/lib/ansible/constants.py
index d38dde6eb4e..796073c95bc 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/constants.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/constants.py
@@ -274,6 +274,7 @@ DEFAULT_PASSWORD_CHARS = ascii_letters + digits + ".,:-_"
 STRING_TYPE_FILTERS = get_config(p, 'jinja2', 'dont_type_filters', 'ANSIBLE_STRING_TYPE_FILTERS', ['string', 'to_json', 'to_nice_json', 'to_yaml', 'ppretty', 'json'], islist=True )
 
 # colors
+COLOR_HIGHLIGHT   = get_config(p, 'colors', 'highlight', 'ANSIBLE_COLOR_HIGHLIGHT', 'white')
 COLOR_VERBOSE     = get_config(p, 'colors', 'verbose', 'ANSIBLE_COLOR_VERBOSE', 'blue')
 COLOR_WARN        = get_config(p, 'colors', 'warn', 'ANSIBLE_COLOR_WARN', 'bright purple')
 COLOR_ERROR       = get_config(p, 'colors', 'error', 'ANSIBLE_COLOR_ERROR', 'red')
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f174f979f83..4fa964012de 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ setup(name='ansible',
          'bin/ansible-pull',
          'bin/ansible-doc',
          'bin/ansible-galaxy',
+         'bin/ansible-shell',
          'bin/ansible-vault',
       ],
       data_files=[],