diff --git a/src/Orchard/Commands/CommandHostAgent.cs b/src/Orchard/Commands/CommandHostAgent.cs
index 128401562..cf06a0ec5 100644
--- a/src/Orchard/Commands/CommandHostAgent.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard/Commands/CommandHostAgent.cs
@@ -16,21 +16,67 @@ namespace Orchard.Commands {
     /// executing a single command.
     /// </summary>
     public class CommandHostAgent {
+        private IContainer _hostContainer;
+
         public int RunSingleCommand(TextReader input, TextWriter output, string tenant, string[] args, Dictionary<string,string> switches) {
+                int result = StartHost(input, output);
+                if (result != 0)
+                    return result;
+
+                result = RunCommand(input, output, tenant, args, switches);
+                if (result != 0)
+                    return result;
+
+                return StopHost(input, output);
+        }
+
+        public int StartHost(TextReader input, TextWriter output) {
             try {
-                var hostContainer = OrchardStarter.CreateHostContainer(MvcSingletons);
-                var host = hostContainer.Resolve<IOrchardHost>();
+                _hostContainer = OrchardStarter.CreateHostContainer(MvcSingletons);
+
+                var host = _hostContainer.Resolve<IOrchardHost>();
                 host.Initialize();
+                return 0;
+            }
+            catch (Exception e) {
+                for (; e != null; e = e.InnerException) {
+                    output.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.Message);
+                    output.WriteLine("{0}", e.StackTrace);
+                }
+                return 5;
+            }
+        }
+
+
+        public int StopHost(TextReader input, TextWriter output) {
+            try {
+                //
+                _hostContainer.Dispose();
+                _hostContainer = null;
+                return 0;
+            }
+            catch (Exception e) {
+                for (; e != null; e = e.InnerException) {
+                    output.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.Message);
+                    output.WriteLine("{0}", e.StackTrace);
+                }
+                return 5;
+            }
+        }
+
+        public int RunCommand(TextReader input, TextWriter output, string tenant, string[] args, Dictionary<string, string> switches) {
+            try {
+                var host = _hostContainer.Resolve<IOrchardHost>();
 
                 // Find tenant (or default)
                 tenant = tenant ?? "default";
-                var tenantManager = hostContainer.Resolve<IShellSettingsManager>();
+                var tenantManager = _hostContainer.Resolve<IShellSettingsManager>();
                 var tenantSettings = tenantManager.LoadSettings().Single(s => String.Equals(s.Name, tenant, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase));
 
                 // Disptach command execution to ICommandManager
                 using (var env = host.CreateStandaloneEnvironment(tenantSettings)) {
                     var parameters = new CommandParameters {
-                        Arguments = args, 
+                        Arguments = args,
                         Switches = switches,
                         Input = input,
                         Output = output
@@ -41,7 +87,7 @@ namespace Orchard.Commands {
                 return 0;
             }
             catch (Exception e) {
-                for(; e != null; e = e.InnerException) {
+                for (; e != null; e = e.InnerException) {
                     output.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.Message);
                     output.WriteLine("{0}", e.StackTrace);
                 }
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/Host/CommandHost.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/Host/CommandHost.cs
index 52ef04877..5d3268db4 100644
--- a/src/Tools/Orchard/Host/CommandHost.cs
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/Host/CommandHost.cs
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Web.Hosting;
+using Orchard.Parameters;
+using Orchard.ResponseFiles;
 
 namespace Orchard.Host {
     class CommandHost : MarshalByRefObject, IRegisteredObject {
@@ -18,7 +21,7 @@ namespace Orchard.Host {
             //TODO
         }
 
-        public int RunCommand(TextReader input, TextWriter output, OrchardParameters args) {
+        public int RunCommand(TextReader input, TextWriter output, Logger logger, OrchardParameters args) {
             var agent = Activator.CreateInstance("Orchard.Framework", "Orchard.Commands.CommandHostAgent").Unwrap();
             int result = (int)agent.GetType().GetMethod("RunSingleCommand").Invoke(agent, new object[] { 
                 input,
@@ -29,5 +32,34 @@ namespace Orchard.Host {
 
             return result;
         }
+
+        public int RunCommands(TextReader input, TextWriter output, Logger logger, IEnumerable<ResponseLine> responseLines) {
+            var agent = Activator.CreateInstance("Orchard.Framework", "Orchard.Commands.CommandHostAgent").Unwrap();
+
+            int result = (int)agent.GetType().GetMethod("StartHost").Invoke(agent, new object[] { input, output });
+            if (result != 0)
+                return result;
+
+            foreach (var line in responseLines) {
+                logger.LogInfo("{0} ({1}): Running command: {2}", line.Filename, line.LineNumber, line.LineText);
+
+                var args = new OrchardParametersParser().Parse(new CommandParametersParser().Parse(line.Args));
+
+                result = (int)agent.GetType().GetMethod("RunCommand").Invoke(agent, new object[] { 
+                    input,
+                    output,
+                    args.Tenant,
+                    args.Arguments.ToArray(),
+                    args.Switches});
+
+                if (result != 0) {
+                    output.WriteLine("{0} ({1}): Command returned error ({2})", line.Filename, line.LineNumber, result);
+                    return result;
+                }
+            }
+
+            result = (int)agent.GetType().GetMethod("StopHost").Invoke(agent, new object[] { input, output });
+            return result;
+        }
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/Logger.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/Logger.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a5b685d47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/Logger.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+using System;
+using System.IO;
+
+namespace Orchard {
+    public class Logger : MarshalByRefObject {
+        private readonly bool _verbose;
+        private readonly TextWriter _output;
+
+        public Logger(bool verbose, TextWriter output) {
+            _verbose = verbose;
+            _output = output;
+        }
+
+        public void LogInfo(string format, params object[] args) {
+            if (_verbose) {
+                _output.Write("{0}: ", DateTime.Now);
+                _output.WriteLine(format, args);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/Orchard.csproj b/src/Tools/Orchard/Orchard.csproj
index 9a41e2e3b..dbc04e18d 100644
--- a/src/Tools/Orchard/Orchard.csproj
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/Orchard.csproj
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
     <Reference Include="System.Xml" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <ItemGroup>
+    <Compile Include="Logger.cs" />
     <Compile Include="OrchardHost.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Parameters\ICommandParametersParser.cs" />
     <Compile Include="IOrchardParametersParser.cs" />
@@ -59,6 +60,8 @@
     <Compile Include="Program.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Parameters\CommandSwitch.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="ResponseFiles\ResponseFiles.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="ResponseFiles\ResponseFileReader.cs" />
   </ItemGroup>
   <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
   <!-- To modify your build process, add your task inside one of the targets below and uncomment it. 
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardHost.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardHost.cs
index 69cb88dec..9368c6766 100644
--- a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardHost.cs
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardHost.cs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ namespace Orchard {
         private readonly TextWriter _output;
         private readonly string[] _args;
         private OrchardParameters _arguments;
+        private Logger _logger;
 
         public OrchardHost(TextReader input, TextWriter output, string[] args) {
             _input = input;
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ namespace Orchard {
                 _output.WriteLine("Error:");
                 for (; e != null; e = e.InnerException) {
                     _output.WriteLine("  {0}", e.Message);
-                    if (Verbose) {
+                    if (_logger != null) {
                         _output.WriteLine("   Stacktrace:");
                         _output.WriteLine("{0}", e.StackTrace);
                         _output.WriteLine();
@@ -45,7 +46,25 @@ namespace Orchard {
 
         private int DoRun() {
             _arguments = new OrchardParametersParser().Parse(new CommandParametersParser().Parse(_args));
-            if (!_arguments.Arguments.Any() || _arguments.Switches.ContainsKey("?")) {
+            _logger = new Logger(_arguments.Verbose, _output);
+
+            // Perform some argument validation and display usage if something is incorrect
+            bool showHelp = _arguments.Switches.ContainsKey("?");
+            if (!showHelp) {
+                showHelp = (!_arguments.Arguments.Any() && !_arguments.ResponseFiles.Any());
+                if (showHelp) {
+                    _output.WriteLine("Incorrect syntax: A command or a response file must be specified");
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (!showHelp) {
+                showHelp = (_arguments.Arguments.Any() && _arguments.ResponseFiles.Any());
+                if (showHelp) {
+                    _output.WriteLine("Incorrect syntax: Response files cannot be used in conjunction with commands");
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (showHelp) {
                 return GeneralHelp();
             }
 
@@ -65,17 +84,28 @@ namespace Orchard {
             var host = (CommandHost)CreateWorkerAppDomainWithHost(_arguments.VirtualPath, orchardDirectory.FullName, typeof(CommandHost));
 
             LogInfo("Executing command in ASP.NET AppDomain...");
-            var result = host.RunCommand(_input, _output, _arguments);
+            var result = Execute(host);
             LogInfo("Return code for command: {0}", result);
 
             return result;
         }
 
+        private int Execute(CommandHost host) {
+            if (_arguments.ResponseFiles.Any()) {
+                var responseLines = new ResponseFiles.ResponseFiles().ReadFiles(_arguments.ResponseFiles);
+                return host.RunCommands(_input, _output, _logger, responseLines.ToArray());
+            }
+            else {
+                return host.RunCommand(_input, _output, _logger, _arguments);
+            }
+        }
+
         private int GeneralHelp() {
             _output.WriteLine("Executes Orchard commands from a Orchard installation directory.");
             _output.WriteLine("");
             _output.WriteLine("Usage:");
             _output.WriteLine("   orchard.exe command [arg1] ... [argn] [/switch1[:value1]] ... [/switchn[:valuen]]");
+            _output.WriteLine("   orchard.exe @response-file1 ... [@response-filen] [/switch1[:value1]] ... [/switchn[:valuen]]");
             _output.WriteLine("");
             _output.WriteLine("   command");
             _output.WriteLine("       Specify the command to execute");
@@ -87,6 +117,10 @@ namespace Orchard {
             _output.WriteLine("       Specify switches to apply to the command. Available switches generally ");
             _output.WriteLine("       depend on the command executed, with the exception of a few built-in ones.");
             _output.WriteLine("");
+            _output.WriteLine("   [@response-file1] ... [@response-filen]");
+            _output.WriteLine("       Specify one or more response files to be used for reading commands and switches.");
+            _output.WriteLine("       A response file is a text file that contains one line per command to execute.");
+            _output.WriteLine("");
             _output.WriteLine("   Built-in commands");
             _output.WriteLine("   =================");
             _output.WriteLine("");
@@ -119,10 +153,8 @@ namespace Orchard {
         }
 
         private void LogInfo(string format, params object[] args) {
-            if (Verbose) {
-                _output.Write("{0}: ", DateTime.Now);
-                _output.WriteLine(format, args);
-            }
+            if (_logger != null)
+                _logger.LogInfo(format, args);
         }
 
         private DirectoryInfo GetOrchardDirectory(string directory) {
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParameters.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParameters.cs
index 4889ac17d..29f8df99c 100644
--- a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParameters.cs
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParameters.cs
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ namespace Orchard {
         public string VirtualPath { get; set; }
         public string WorkingDirectory { get; set; }
         public string Tenant { get; set; }
-        public IEnumerable<string> Arguments { get; set; }
+        public IList<string> Arguments { get; set; }
+        public IList<string> ResponseFiles { get; set; }
         public IDictionary<string, string> Switches { get; set; }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParametersParser.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParametersParser.cs
index 587149791..1dca13a99 100644
--- a/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParametersParser.cs
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/OrchardParametersParser.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
 using Orchard.Parameters;
 
 namespace Orchard {
@@ -7,11 +8,28 @@ namespace Orchard {
         public OrchardParameters Parse(CommandParameters parameters) {
 
             var result = new OrchardParameters {
-                Arguments = parameters.Arguments,
+                Arguments = new List<string>(),
+                ResponseFiles = new List<string>(),
                 Switches = new Dictionary<string, string>()
             };
 
+            foreach (var arg in parameters.Arguments) {
+                // @response-file
+                if (arg[0] == '@') {
+                    var filename = arg.Substring(1);
+                    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(filename)) {
+                        throw new ArgumentException("Incorrect syntax: response file name can not be empty");
+                    }
+                    result.ResponseFiles.Add(filename);
+                }
+                // regular argument
+                else {
+                    result.Arguments.Add(arg);
+                }
+            }
+
             foreach (var sw in parameters.Switches) {
+                // Built-in switches
                 switch (sw.Key.ToLowerInvariant()) {
                     case "wd":
                     case "workingdirectory":
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFileReader.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFileReader.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4209e065e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFileReader.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+
+namespace Orchard.ResponseFiles {
+    public class ResponseLine : MarshalByRefObject {
+        public string Filename { get; set; }
+        public string LineText { get; set; }
+        public int LineNumber { get; set; }
+        public string[] Args { get; set; }
+    }
+
+    public class ResponseFileReader {
+        public IEnumerable<ResponseLine> ReadLines(string filename) {
+            using (var reader = File.OpenText(filename)) {
+                for (int i = 0; ; i++) {
+                    string lineText = reader.ReadLine();
+                    if (lineText == null)
+                        yield break;
+
+                    yield return new ResponseLine {
+                        Filename = filename,
+                        LineText = lineText,
+                        LineNumber = i,
+                        Args = SplitArgs(lineText).ToArray()
+                    };
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        private IEnumerable<string> SplitArgs(string text) {
+            var sb = new StringBuilder();
+            bool inString = false;
+            foreach (char ch in text) {
+                switch(ch){
+                    case '"':
+                        if (inString) {
+                            inString = false;
+                            yield return sb.ToString();
+                            sb.Length = 0;
+                        }
+                        else {
+                            inString = true;
+                            sb.Length = 0;
+                        }
+                        break;
+
+                    case ' ':
+                    case '\t':
+                        if (sb.Length > 0) {
+                            yield return sb.ToString();
+                            sb.Length = 0;
+                        }
+                        break;
+
+                    default:
+                        sb.Append(ch);
+                        break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            // If there was anything accumulated
+            if (sb.Length > 0) {
+                yield return sb.ToString();
+                sb.Length = 0;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFiles.cs b/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFiles.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c2636a5a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Tools/Orchard/ResponseFiles/ResponseFiles.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Text;
+
+namespace Orchard.ResponseFiles {
+    public class ResponseFiles {
+        public IEnumerable<ResponseLine> ReadFiles(IEnumerable<string> filenames) {
+            foreach (var filename in filenames) {
+                foreach(var line in new ResponseFileReader().ReadLines(filename))
+                {
+                    yield return line;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}