diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Config.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Config.scala
index b9fd333982a..91d5e657733 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Config.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Config.scala
@@ -116,14 +116,14 @@ class Config(requiredProperties: Map[String, String], optionalProperties: Set[St
    */
   protected def getProperties(): scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String] = {
     val required = scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String]() ++= requiredProperties
-    Config.readPropertiesFromEnvironment(required, env)
+    Config.readPropertiesFromSystemAndEnv(required, env)
 
     // for optional value, assign them a default from the required properties list
     // to prevent loss of a default value on a required property that may not otherwise be defined
     val optional = scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String]() ++= optionalProperties.map { k =>
       k -> required.getOrElse(k, null)
     }
-    Config.readPropertiesFromEnvironment(optional, env)
+    Config.readPropertiesFromSystemAndEnv(optional, env)
 
     required ++ optional
   }
@@ -133,13 +133,15 @@ class Config(requiredProperties: Map[String, String], optionalProperties: Set[St
  * Singleton object which provides global methods to manage configuration.
  */
 object Config {
+  val prefix = "whisk-config."
 
   /**
    * Reads a Map of key-value pairs from the environment -- store them in the
    * mutable properties object.
    */
-  def readPropertiesFromEnvironment(properties: scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String], env: Map[String, String])(
-    implicit logging: Logging) = {
+  def readPropertiesFromSystemAndEnv(properties: scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String],
+                                     env: Map[String, String])(implicit logging: Logging) = {
+    readPropertiesFromSystem(properties)
     for (p <- properties.keys) {
       val envp = p.replace('.', '_').toUpperCase
       val envv = env.get(envp)
@@ -150,6 +152,16 @@ object Config {
     }
   }
 
+  def readPropertiesFromSystem(properties: scala.collection.mutable.Map[String, String])(implicit logging: Logging) = {
+    for (p <- properties.keys) {
+      val sysv = Option(System.getProperty(prefix + p))
+      if (sysv.isDefined) {
+        logging.info(this, s"system set value for $p")
+        properties += p -> sysv.get.trim
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   /**
    * Checks that the properties object defines all the required properties.
    *
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Logging.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Logging.scala
index e27d043da24..01c97542451 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Logging.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/common/Logging.scala
@@ -95,10 +95,12 @@ class AkkaLogging(loggingAdapter: LoggingAdapter) extends Logging {
       val logmsg: String = message // generates the message
       if (logmsg.nonEmpty) { // log it only if its not empty
         val name = if (from.isInstanceOf[String]) from else Logging.getCleanSimpleClassName(from.getClass)
-        loggingAdapter.log(loglevel, s"[$id] [$name] $logmsg")
+        loggingAdapter.log(loglevel, format(id, name.toString, logmsg))
       }
     }
   }
+
+  protected def format(id: TransactionId, name: String, logmsg: String) = s"[$id] [$name] $logmsg"
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/WhiskConfig.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/WhiskConfig.scala
index 4a0fb4f20a5..62830337301 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/WhiskConfig.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/WhiskConfig.scala
@@ -49,10 +49,14 @@ class WhiskConfig(requiredProperties: Map[String, String],
    */
   override protected def getProperties() = {
     val properties = super.getProperties()
-    WhiskConfig.readPropertiesFromFile(properties, Option(propertiesFile) getOrElse (WhiskConfig.whiskPropertiesFile))
+    if (!disableReadFromFile()) {
+      WhiskConfig.readPropertiesFromFile(properties, Option(propertiesFile) getOrElse (WhiskConfig.whiskPropertiesFile))
+    }
     properties
   }
 
+  private def disableReadFromFile() = java.lang.Boolean.getBoolean(WhiskConfig.disableWhiskPropsFileRead)
+
   val servicePort = this(WhiskConfig.servicePort)
   val dockerEndpoint = this(WhiskConfig.dockerEndpoint)
   val dockerPort = this(WhiskConfig.dockerPort)
@@ -85,6 +89,7 @@ class WhiskConfig(requiredProperties: Map[String, String],
 }
 
 object WhiskConfig {
+  val disableWhiskPropsFileRead = Config.prefix + "disable.whisks.props.file.read"
 
   /**
    * Reads a key from system environment as if it was part of WhiskConfig.
@@ -170,7 +175,7 @@ object WhiskConfig {
   val kafkaHostList = "kafka.hosts"
   val zookeeperHostList = "zookeeper.hosts"
 
-  private val edgeHostApiPort = "edge.host.apiport"
+  val edgeHostApiPort = "edge.host.apiport"
 
   val invokerHostsList = "invoker.hosts"
   val dbHostsList = "db.hostsList"
@@ -217,6 +222,7 @@ object ConfigKeys {
   val docker = "whisk.docker"
   val dockerClient = s"$docker.client"
   val dockerContainerFactory = s"$docker.container-factory"
+  val standaloneDockerContainerFactory = s"$docker.standalone.container-factory"
   val runc = "whisk.runc"
   val runcTimeouts = s"$runc.timeouts"
 
@@ -255,4 +261,6 @@ object ConfigKeys {
 
   val metrics = "whisk.metrics"
   val featureFlags = "whisk.feature-flags"
+
+  val whiskConfig = "whisk.config"
 }
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/Container.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/Container.scala
index 1da3e2f2c35..45662c29038 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/Container.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/Container.scala
@@ -82,6 +82,8 @@ trait Container {
   protected var containerHttpMaxConcurrent: Int = 1
   protected var containerHttpTimeout: FiniteDuration = 60.seconds
 
+  def containerId: ContainerId = id
+
   /** Stops the container from consuming CPU cycles. NOT thread-safe - caller must synchronize. */
   def suspend()(implicit transid: TransactionId): Future[Unit] = {
     //close connection first, then close connection pool
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/StoreUtils.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/StoreUtils.scala
index 2c168d4a971..1300a4c92bf 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/StoreUtils.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/StoreUtils.scala
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import akka.stream.SinkShape
 import akka.stream.scaladsl.{Broadcast, Flow, GraphDSL, Keep, Sink}
 import akka.util.ByteString
 import spray.json.DefaultJsonProtocol._
-import spray.json.{JsObject, RootJsonFormat}
+import spray.json.{JsObject, JsValue, RootJsonFormat}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{Logging, StartMarker, TransactionId}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.{DocInfo, DocRevision, DocumentReader, WhiskDocument}
 
@@ -97,6 +97,21 @@ private[database] object StoreUtils {
     s"$encodedAlgoName-$digest"
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Transforms a json object by adding and removing fields
+   *
+   * @param json base json object to transform
+   * @param fieldsToAdd list of fields to add. If the value provided is `None` then it would be ignored
+   * @param fieldsToRemove list of field names to remove
+   * @return transformed json
+   */
+  def transform(json: JsObject,
+                fieldsToAdd: Seq[(String, Option[JsValue])],
+                fieldsToRemove: Seq[String] = Seq.empty): JsObject = {
+    val fields = json.fields ++ fieldsToAdd.flatMap(f => f._2.map((f._1, _))) -- fieldsToRemove
+    JsObject(fields)
+  }
+
   private def combineResult[T](digest: Future[String], length: Future[Long], upload: Future[T])(
     implicit ec: ExecutionContext) = {
     for {
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBArtifactStore.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBArtifactStore.scala
index c635092e63a..1ddc8b8ff3a 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBArtifactStore.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBArtifactStore.scala
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import com.microsoft.azure.cosmosdb.internal.Constants.Properties
 import com.microsoft.azure.cosmosdb.rx.AsyncDocumentClient
 import kamon.metric.MeasurementUnit
 import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{LogMarkerToken, Logging, LoggingMarkers, MetricEmitter, Scheduler, TransactionId}
-import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.StoreUtils.{checkDocHasRevision, deserialize, reportFailure}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.StoreUtils._
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database._
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.cosmosdb.CosmosDBArtifactStoreProvider.DocumentClientRef
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.cosmosdb.CosmosDBConstants._
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBUtil.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBUtil.scala
index 2953cd8eef9..fbe1b49b673 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBUtil.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/cosmosdb/CosmosDBUtil.scala
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ package org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.cosmosdb
 
 import com.microsoft.azure.cosmosdb.internal.Constants.Properties.{AGGREGATE, E_TAG, ID, SELF_LINK}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.cosmosdb.CosmosDBConstants._
-import spray.json.{JsObject, JsString, JsValue}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.StoreUtils.transform
+import spray.json.{JsObject, JsString}
 
 import scala.collection.immutable.Iterable
 
@@ -124,21 +125,6 @@ private[cosmosdb] trait CosmosDBUtil {
     transform(stripInternalFields(js), fieldsToAdd, Seq.empty)
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Transforms a json object by adding and removing fields
-   *
-   * @param json base json object to transform
-   * @param fieldsToAdd list of fields to add. If the value provided is `None` then it would be ignored
-   * @param fieldsToRemove list of field names to remove
-   * @return transformed json
-   */
-  def transform(json: JsObject,
-                fieldsToAdd: Seq[(String, Option[JsValue])],
-                fieldsToRemove: Seq[String] = Seq.empty): JsObject = {
-    val fields = json.fields ++ fieldsToAdd.flatMap(f => f._2.map((f._1, _))) -- fieldsToRemove
-    JsObject(fields)
-  }
-
   private def stripInternalFields(js: JsObject) = {
     //Strip out all field name starting with '_' which are considered as db specific internal fields
     JsObject(js.fields.filter { case (k, _) => !k.startsWith("_") && k != cid })
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStore.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStore.scala
index 049bcbe0de0..4e9c096c455 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStore.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStore.scala
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@
 
 package org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.memory
 
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8
+
 import akka.actor.ActorSystem
 import akka.http.scaladsl.model.{ContentType, Uri}
 import akka.stream.ActorMaterializer
 import akka.stream.scaladsl.{Sink, Source}
 import akka.util.ByteString
-import pureconfig.loadConfigOrThrow
-import spray.json.{DefaultJsonProtocol, DeserializationException, JsObject, JsString, RootJsonFormat}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{Logging, LoggingMarkers, TransactionId}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.ConfigKeys
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.StoreUtils._
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.Attachments.Attached
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity._
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.size._
 import org.apache.openwhisk.http.Messages
+import pureconfig.loadConfigOrThrow
+import spray.json.{DefaultJsonProtocol, DeserializationException, JsObject, JsString, RootJsonFormat}
 
 import scala.collection.concurrent.TrieMap
 import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
@@ -39,6 +41,7 @@ import scala.reflect.ClassTag
 import scala.util.{Failure, Success, Try}
 
 object MemoryArtifactStoreProvider extends ArtifactStoreProvider {
+  private val stores = new TrieMap[String, MemoryArtifactStore[_]]()
   override def makeStore[D <: DocumentSerializer: ClassTag](useBatching: Boolean)(
     implicit jsonFormat: RootJsonFormat[D],
     docReader: DocumentReader,
@@ -58,9 +61,12 @@ object MemoryArtifactStoreProvider extends ArtifactStoreProvider {
     val classTag = implicitly[ClassTag[D]]
     val (dbName, handler, viewMapper) = handlerAndMapper(classTag)
     val inliningConfig = loadConfigOrThrow[InliningConfig](ConfigKeys.db)
-    new MemoryArtifactStore(dbName, handler, viewMapper, inliningConfig, attachmentStore)
+    val storeFactory = () => new MemoryArtifactStore(dbName, handler, viewMapper, inliningConfig, attachmentStore)
+    stores.getOrElseUpdate(dbName, storeFactory.apply()).asInstanceOf[ArtifactStore[D]]
   }
 
+  def purgeAll(): Unit = stores.clear()
+
   private def handlerAndMapper[D](entityType: ClassTag[D])(
     implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem,
     logging: Logging,
@@ -96,6 +102,8 @@ class MemoryArtifactStore[DocumentAbstraction <: DocumentSerializer](dbName: Str
     with DocumentProvider
     with AttachmentSupport[DocumentAbstraction] {
 
+  logging.info(this, s"Created MemoryStore for [$dbName]")
+
   override protected[core] implicit val executionContext: ExecutionContext = system.dispatcher
 
   private val artifacts = new TrieMap[String, Artifact]
@@ -110,22 +118,25 @@ class MemoryArtifactStore[DocumentAbstraction <: DocumentSerializer](dbName: Str
     val id = asJson.fields(_id).convertTo[String].trim
     require(!id.isEmpty, "document id must be defined")
 
-    val rev: Int = getRevision(asJson)
-    val docinfoStr = s"id: $id, rev: $rev"
+    val (oldRev, newRev) = computeRevision(asJson)
+    val docinfoStr = s"id: $id, rev: ${oldRev.getOrElse("null")}"
     val start = transid.started(this, LoggingMarkers.DATABASE_SAVE, s"[PUT] '$dbName' saving document: '$docinfoStr'")
 
-    val existing = Artifact(id, rev, asJson)
-    val updated = existing.incrementRev()
+    val updated = Artifact(id, newRev, asJson)
     val t = Try[DocInfo] {
-      if (rev == 0) {
-        artifacts.putIfAbsent(id, updated) match {
-          case Some(_) => throw DocumentConflictException("conflict on 'put'")
-          case None    => updated.docInfo
-        }
-      } else if (artifacts.replace(id, existing, updated)) {
-        updated.docInfo
-      } else {
-        throw DocumentConflictException("conflict on 'put'")
+      oldRev match {
+        case Some(rev) =>
+          val existing = Artifact(id, rev, asJson)
+          if (artifacts.replace(id, existing, updated)) {
+            updated.docInfo
+          } else {
+            throw DocumentConflictException("conflict on 'put'")
+          }
+        case None =>
+          artifacts.putIfAbsent(id, updated) match {
+            case Some(_) => throw DocumentConflictException("conflict on 'put'")
+            case None    => updated.docInfo
+          }
       }
     }
 
@@ -285,7 +296,6 @@ class MemoryArtifactStore[DocumentAbstraction <: DocumentSerializer](dbName: Str
   }
 
   override def shutdown(): Unit = {
-    artifacts.clear()
     attachmentStore.shutdown()
   }
 
@@ -308,38 +318,34 @@ class MemoryArtifactStore[DocumentAbstraction <: DocumentSerializer](dbName: Str
     reportFailure(f, start, failure => s"[GET] '$dbName' internal error, doc: '$id', failure: '${failure.getMessage}'")
   }
 
-  private def getRevision(asJson: JsObject) = {
-    asJson.fields.get(_rev) match {
-      case Some(JsString(r)) => r.toInt
-      case _                 => 0
+  private def computeRevision(js: JsObject): (Option[String], String) = {
+    js.fields.get(_rev) match {
+      case Some(JsString(r)) => (Some(r), digest(js))
+      case _                 => (None, digest(js))
     }
   }
 
+  private def digest(js: JsObject) = {
+    val jsWithoutRev = transform(js, Seq.empty, Seq(_rev))
+    val md = emptyDigest()
+    encodeDigest(md.digest(jsWithoutRev.compactPrint.getBytes(UTF_8)))
+  }
+
   //Use curried case class to allow equals support only for id and rev
   //This allows us to implement atomic replace and remove which check
   //for id,rev equality only
-  private case class Artifact(id: String, rev: Int)(val doc: JsObject, val computed: JsObject) {
-    def incrementRev(): Artifact = {
-      val (newRev, updatedDoc) = incrementAndGet()
-      copy(rev = newRev)(updatedDoc, computed) //With Couch attachments are lost post update
-    }
-
+  private case class Artifact(id: String, rev: String)(val doc: JsObject, val computed: JsObject) {
     def docInfo = DocInfo(DocId(id), DocRevision(rev.toString))
-
-    private def incrementAndGet() = {
-      val newRev = rev + 1
-      val updatedDoc = JsObject(doc.fields + (_rev -> JsString(newRev.toString)))
-      (newRev, updatedDoc)
-    }
   }
 
   private object Artifact {
-    def apply(id: String, rev: Int, doc: JsObject): Artifact = {
-      Artifact(id, rev)(doc, documentHandler.computedFields(doc))
+    def apply(id: String, rev: String, doc: JsObject): Artifact = {
+      val docWithRev = transform(doc, Seq((_rev, Some(JsString(rev)))))
+      Artifact(id, rev)(docWithRev, documentHandler.computedFields(doc))
     }
 
     def apply(info: DocInfo): Artifact = {
-      Artifact(info.id.id, info.rev.rev.toInt)(JsObject.empty, JsObject.empty)
+      Artifact(info.id.id, info.rev.rev)(JsObject.empty, JsObject.empty)
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/http/BasicHttpService.scala b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/http/BasicHttpService.scala
index e734d7ab943..9e9d96557ef 100644
--- a/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/http/BasicHttpService.scala
+++ b/common/scala/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/http/BasicHttpService.scala
@@ -167,11 +167,11 @@ object BasicHttpService {
   /**
    * Starts an HTTP(S) route handler on given port and registers a shutdown hook.
    */
-  def startHttpService(route: Route, port: Int, config: Option[HttpsConfig] = None)(
+  def startHttpService(route: Route, port: Int, config: Option[HttpsConfig] = None, interface: String = "0.0.0.0")(
     implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem,
     materializer: ActorMaterializer): Unit = {
     val connectionContext = config.map(Https.connectionContext(_)).getOrElse(HttpConnectionContext)
-    val httpBinding = Http().bindAndHandle(route, "0.0.0.0", port, connectionContext = connectionContext)
+    val httpBinding = Http().bindAndHandle(route, interface, port, connectionContext = connectionContext)
     addShutdownHook(httpBinding)
   }
 
diff --git a/core/controller/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/core/controller/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index a8040207b1a..55322dec201 100644
--- a/core/controller/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/core/controller/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -29,5 +29,6 @@ whisk {
   }
   controller {
     protocol: http
+    interface: "0.0.0.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/controller/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/controller/Controller.scala b/core/controller/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/controller/Controller.scala
index 44a70998890..88e97130911 100644
--- a/core/controller/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/controller/Controller.scala
+++ b/core/controller/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/controller/Controller.scala
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ class Controller(val instance: ControllerInstanceId,
 object Controller {
 
   protected val protocol = loadConfigOrThrow[String]("whisk.controller.protocol")
+  protected val interface = loadConfigOrThrow[String]("whisk.controller.interface")
 
   // requiredProperties is a Map whose keys define properties that must be bound to
   // a value, and whose values are default values.   A null value in the Map means there is
@@ -207,10 +208,14 @@ object Controller {
       "runtimes" -> runtimes.toJson)
 
   def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
-    ConfigMXBean.register()
-    Kamon.loadReportersFromConfig()
     implicit val actorSystem = ActorSystem("controller-actor-system")
     implicit val logger = new AkkaLogging(akka.event.Logging.getLogger(actorSystem, this))
+    start(args)
+  }
+
+  def start(args: Array[String])(implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem, logger: Logging): Unit = {
+    ConfigMXBean.register()
+    Kamon.loadReportersFromConfig()
 
     // Prepare Kamon shutdown
     CoordinatedShutdown(actorSystem).addTask(CoordinatedShutdown.PhaseActorSystemTerminate, "shutdownKamon") { () =>
@@ -263,7 +268,9 @@ object Controller {
         val httpsConfig =
           if (Controller.protocol == "https") Some(loadConfigOrThrow[HttpsConfig]("whisk.controller.https")) else None
 
-        BasicHttpService.startHttpService(controller.route, port, httpsConfig)(actorSystem, controller.materializer)
+        BasicHttpService.startHttpService(controller.route, port, httpsConfig, interface)(
+          actorSystem,
+          controller.materializer)
 
       case Failure(t) =>
         abort(s"Invalid runtimes manifest: $t")
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/resources/application.conf b/core/invoker/src/main/resources/application.conf
index 938af2a604c..4f362094cf9 100644
--- a/core/invoker/src/main/resources/application.conf
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/resources/application.conf
@@ -51,6 +51,11 @@ whisk {
     use-runc: true
   }
 
+  docker.standalone.container-factory {
+    #If enabled then pull would also be attempted for standard OpenWhisk images under`openwhisk` prefix
+    pull-standard-images: false
+  }
+
   container-pool {
     user-memory: 1024 m
     concurrent-peek-factor: 0.5 #factor used to limit message peeking: 0 < factor <= 1.0 - larger number improves concurrent processing, but increases risk of message loss during invoker crash
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerCliLogStore.scala b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerCliLogStore.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..89f6a8f2bca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerCliLogStore.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.docker
+
+import java.time.Instant
+
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{AkkaLogging, Logging, TransactionId}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.Container.ACTIVATION_LOG_SENTINEL
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.logging.{DockerToActivationLogStore, LogStore, LogStoreProvider}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.{Container, ContainerId}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.{ActivationLogs, ExecutableWhiskAction, Identity, WhiskActivation}
+
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
+
+/**
+ * Docker based log store implementation which fetches logs via cli command.
+ * This mode is inefficient and is only provided for running in developer modes
+ */
+object DockerCliLogStoreProvider extends LogStoreProvider {
+  override def instance(actorSystem: ActorSystem): LogStore = {
+    //Logger is currently not passed implicitly to LogStoreProvider. So create one explicitly
+    implicit val logger = new AkkaLogging(akka.event.Logging.getLogger(actorSystem, this))
+    new DockerCliLogStore(actorSystem)
+  }
+}
+
+class DockerCliLogStore(system: ActorSystem)(implicit log: Logging) extends DockerToActivationLogStore(system) {
+  private val client = new ExtendedDockerClient()(system.dispatcher)(log, system)
+  override def collectLogs(transid: TransactionId,
+                           user: Identity,
+                           activation: WhiskActivation,
+                           container: Container,
+                           action: ExecutableWhiskAction): Future[ActivationLogs] = {
+    client
+      .collectLogs(container.containerId, activation.start, activation.end)(transid)
+      .map(logs => ActivationLogs(logs.linesIterator.takeWhile(!_.contains(ACTIVATION_LOG_SENTINEL)).toVector))
+  }
+}
+
+class ExtendedDockerClient(dockerHost: Option[String] = None)(executionContext: ExecutionContext)(implicit log: Logging,
+                                                                                                  as: ActorSystem)
+    extends DockerClientWithFileAccess(dockerHost)(executionContext)
+    with DockerApiWithFileAccess
+    with WindowsDockerClient {
+
+  implicit private val ec: ExecutionContext = executionContext
+  private val waitForLogs: FiniteDuration = 2.seconds
+  private val logTimeSpanMargin = 1.second
+
+  def collectLogs(id: ContainerId, since: Instant, untill: Instant)(implicit transid: TransactionId): Future[String] = {
+    //Add a slight buffer to account for delay writes of logs
+    val end = untill.plusSeconds(logTimeSpanMargin.toSeconds)
+    runCmd(
+      Seq(
+        "logs",
+        id.asString,
+        "--since",
+        since.getEpochSecond.toString,
+        "--until",
+        end.getEpochSecond.toString,
+        "--timestamps"),
+      waitForLogs)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerClient.scala b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerClient.scala
index d204258c247..fbf9d6e85ff 100644
--- a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerClient.scala
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerClient.scala
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class DockerClient(dockerHost: Option[String] = None,
   // Determines how to run docker. Failure to find a Docker binary implies
   // a failure to initialize this instance of DockerClient.
   protected val dockerCmd: Seq[String] = {
-    val alternatives = List("/usr/bin/docker", "/usr/local/bin/docker")
+    val alternatives = List("/usr/bin/docker", "/usr/local/bin/docker") ++ executableAlternatives
 
     val dockerBin = Try {
       alternatives.find(a => Files.isExecutable(Paths.get(a))).get
@@ -99,6 +99,8 @@ class DockerClient(dockerHost: Option[String] = None,
     Seq(dockerBin) ++ host
   }
 
+  protected def executableAlternatives: List[String] = List.empty
+
   // Invoke docker CLI to determine client version.
   // If the docker client version cannot be determined, an exception will be thrown and instance initialization will fail.
   // Rationale: if we cannot invoke `docker version` successfully, it is unlikely subsequent `docker` invocations will succeed.
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerContainerFactory.scala b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerContainerFactory.scala
index 9035d964539..94e5119bf0c 100644
--- a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerContainerFactory.scala
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerContainerFactory.scala
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class DockerContainerFactory(instance: InvokerInstanceId,
                              parameters: Map[String, Set[String]],
                              containerArgsConfig: ContainerArgsConfig =
                                loadConfigOrThrow[ContainerArgsConfig](ConfigKeys.containerArgs),
-                             runtimesRegistryConfig: RuntimesRegistryConfig =
+                             protected val runtimesRegistryConfig: RuntimesRegistryConfig =
                                loadConfigOrThrow[RuntimesRegistryConfig](ConfigKeys.runtimesRegistry),
                              dockerContainerFactoryConfig: DockerContainerFactoryConfig =
                                loadConfigOrThrow[DockerContainerFactoryConfig](ConfigKeys.dockerContainerFactory))(
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerForMacContainerFactory.scala b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerForMacContainerFactory.scala
index fb7bc2e9b81..97d265c43a0 100644
--- a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerForMacContainerFactory.scala
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/DockerForMacContainerFactory.scala
@@ -64,12 +64,17 @@ class DockerForMacClient(dockerHost: Option[String] = None)(executionContext: Ex
   override def inspectIPAddress(id: ContainerId, network: String)(
     implicit transid: TransactionId): Future[ContainerAddress] = {
     super
-      .runCmd(
-        Seq("inspect", "--format", """{{(index (index .NetworkSettings.Ports "8080/tcp") 0).HostPort}}""", id.asString),
-        10.seconds)
+      .runCmd(Seq("inspect", "--format", inspectCommand, id.asString), 10.seconds)
       .flatMap {
         case "<no value>" => Future.failed(new NoSuchElementException)
         case stdout       => Future.successful(ContainerAddress("localhost", stdout.toInt))
       }
   }
+
+  def inspectCommand: String = """{{(index (index .NetworkSettings.Ports "8080/tcp") 0).HostPort}}"""
+
+  //Pause unpause is causing issue on non Linux setups. So disable by default
+  override def pause(id: ContainerId)(implicit transid: TransactionId): Future[Unit] = Future.successful(())
+
+  override def unpause(id: ContainerId)(implicit transid: TransactionId): Future[Unit] = Future.successful(())
 }
diff --git a/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/StandaloneDockerContainerFactory.scala b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/StandaloneDockerContainerFactory.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..60df1b8ee03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/invoker/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/docker/StandaloneDockerContainerFactory.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.docker
+
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.SystemUtils
+import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{Logging, TransactionId}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.{ConfigKeys, WhiskConfig}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.{Container, ContainerFactory, ContainerFactoryProvider}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.{ByteSize, ExecManifest, InvokerInstanceId}
+import pureconfig.{loadConfig, loadConfigOrThrow}
+
+import scala.collection.concurrent.TrieMap
+import scala.concurrent.{ExecutionContext, Future}
+
+object StandaloneDockerContainerFactoryProvider extends ContainerFactoryProvider {
+  override def instance(actorSystem: ActorSystem,
+                        logging: Logging,
+                        config: WhiskConfig,
+                        instanceId: InvokerInstanceId,
+                        parameters: Map[String, Set[String]]): ContainerFactory = {
+    val client =
+      if (SystemUtils.IS_OS_MAC) new DockerForMacClient()(actorSystem.dispatcher)(logging, actorSystem)
+      else if (SystemUtils.IS_OS_WINDOWS) new DockerForWindowsClient()(actorSystem.dispatcher)(logging, actorSystem)
+      else new DockerClientWithFileAccess()(actorSystem.dispatcher)(logging, actorSystem)
+
+    new StandaloneDockerContainerFactory(instanceId, parameters)(
+      actorSystem,
+      actorSystem.dispatcher,
+      logging,
+      client,
+      new RuncClient()(actorSystem.dispatcher)(logging, actorSystem))
+  }
+}
+
+case class StandaloneDockerConfig(pullStandardImages: Boolean)
+
+class StandaloneDockerContainerFactory(instance: InvokerInstanceId, parameters: Map[String, Set[String]])(
+  implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem,
+  ec: ExecutionContext,
+  logging: Logging,
+  docker: DockerApiWithFileAccess,
+  runc: RuncApi)
+    extends DockerContainerFactory(instance, parameters) {
+  private val pulledImages = new TrieMap[String, Boolean]()
+  private val factoryConfig = loadConfigOrThrow[StandaloneDockerConfig](ConfigKeys.standaloneDockerContainerFactory)
+
+  override def createContainer(tid: TransactionId,
+                               name: String,
+                               actionImage: ExecManifest.ImageName,
+                               userProvidedImage: Boolean,
+                               memory: ByteSize,
+                               cpuShares: Int)(implicit config: WhiskConfig, logging: Logging): Future[Container] = {
+
+    //For standalone server usage we would also want to pull the OpenWhisk provided image so as to ensure if
+    //local setup does not have the image then it pulls it down
+    //For standard usage its expected that standard images have already been pulled in.
+    val imageName = actionImage.localImageName(runtimesRegistryConfig.url)
+    val pulled =
+      if (!userProvidedImage
+          && factoryConfig.pullStandardImages
+          && !pulledImages.contains(imageName)
+          && actionImage.prefix.contains("openwhisk")) {
+        docker.pull(imageName)(tid).map { _ =>
+          logging.info(this, s"Pulled OpenWhisk provided image $imageName")
+          pulledImages.put(imageName, true)
+          true
+        }
+      } else Future.successful(true)
+
+    pulled.flatMap(_ => super.createContainer(tid, name, actionImage, userProvidedImage, memory, cpuShares))
+  }
+
+  override def init(): Unit = {
+    logging.info(
+      this,
+      s"Standalone docker container factory config pullStandardImages: ${factoryConfig.pullStandardImages}")
+    super.init()
+  }
+}
+
+trait WindowsDockerClient {
+  self: DockerClient =>
+
+  override protected def executableAlternatives: List[String] = {
+    val executable = loadConfig[String]("whisk.docker.executable").map(Some(_)).getOrElse(None)
+    List(Some("C:\\Program Files\\Docker\\Docker\\resources\\bin\\docker.exe"), executable).flatten
+  }
+}
+
+class DockerForWindowsClient(dockerHost: Option[String] = None)(executionContext: ExecutionContext)(
+  implicit log: Logging,
+  as: ActorSystem)
+    extends DockerForMacClient(dockerHost)(executionContext)
+    with WindowsDockerClient {
+  //Due to some Docker + Windows + Go parsing quirks need to add double quotes around whole command
+  //See https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/27592#issuecomment-255227097
+  override def inspectCommand: String = "\"{{(index (index .NetworkSettings.Ports \\\"8080/tcp\\\") 0).HostPort}}\""
+}
diff --git a/core/standalone/README.md b/core/standalone/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..831f276e4d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+<!--
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+#
+-->
+
+# OpenWhisk Standalone Server
+
+OpenWhisk standalone server is meant to run a simple OpenWhisk server for local development and test purposes. It can be
+executed as a normal java application from command line.
+
+```bash
+java -jar openwhisk-standalone.jar
+```
+
+This should start the OpenWhisk server on port 3233 by default. Once the server is started then [configure the cli][1]
+and then try out the [samples][2].
+
+This server by default uses a memory based store and does not depend on any other external service like Kafka and CouchDB.
+It only needs Docker and Java to for running.
+
+Few key points related to it
+
+* Uses in memory store. Once the server is stopped all changes would be lost
+* Bootstraps the `guest` and `whisk.system` with default keys
+* Supports running on MacOS, Linux and Windows (experimental) setup
+* Can be customized to use any other storage like CouchDB
+
+
+### Build
+
+To build this standalone server run
+
+```bash
+$ ./gradlew :core:standalone:build
+```
+
+This would create the runnable jar in `bin/` directory. If you directly want to run the
+server then you can use following command
+
+```bash
+$ ./gradlew :core:standalone:bootRun
+```
+
+To pass argument to the run command use
+
+```bash
+$ ./gradlew :core:standalone:bootRun --args='-m runtimes.json'
+```
+
+###  Usage
+
+OpenWhisk standalone server support various launch options
+
+```
+$ java -jar openwhisk-standalone.jar -h
+
+
+       /\   \    / _ \ _ __   ___ _ __ | |  | | |__ (_)___| | __
+  /\  /__\   \  | | | | '_ \ / _ \ '_ \| |  | | '_ \| / __| |/ /
+ /  \____ \  /  | |_| | |_) |  __/ | | | |/\| | | | | \__ \   <
+ \   \  /  \/    \___/| .__/ \___|_| |_|__/\__|_| |_|_|___/_|\_\
+  \___\/ tm           |_|
+
+  -c, --config-file  <arg>      application.conf which overrides the default
+                                standalone.conf
+      --disable-color-logging   Disables colored logging
+  -m, --manifest  <arg>         Manifest json defining the supported runtimes
+  -p, --port  <arg>             Server port
+  -v, --verbose
+  -h, --help                    Show help message
+      --version                 Show version of this program
+
+OpenWhisk standalone server
+```
+
+Sections below would illustrate some of the supported options
+
+To change the default config you can provide a custom `application.conf` file via `-c` option. The application conf file
+must always include the default `standalone.conf`
+
+```hocon
+include classpath("standalone.conf")
+
+whisk {
+  //Custom config
+}
+```
+
+Then pass this config file
+
+```bash
+java -jar openwhisk-standalone.jar -c custom.conf
+```
+
+#### Adding custom namespaces
+
+If you need to register custom namespaces (aka users) then you can pass them via config file like below
+
+```hocon
+include classpath("standalone.conf")
+
+whisk {
+  users {
+    whisk-test = "cafebabe-cafe-babe-cafe-babecafebabe:007zO3xZCLrMN6v2BKK1dXYFpXlPkccOFqm12CdAsMgRU4VrNZ9lyGVCGuMDGIwP"
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Then pass this config file via `-c` option. You can check the users created from log
+
+```
+[2019-06-21T19:52:02.923Z] [INFO] [#tid_userBootstrap] [StandaloneOpenWhisk] Created user [guest]
+[2019-06-21T19:52:03.008Z] [INFO] [#tid_userBootstrap] [StandaloneOpenWhisk] Created user [whisk.system]
+[2019-06-21T19:52:03.094Z] [INFO] [#tid_userBootstrap] [StandaloneOpenWhisk] Created user [whisk.test]
+```
+
+#### Using custom runtimes
+
+To use custom runtime pass the runtime manifest via `-m` option
+
+```json
+{
+  "runtimes": {
+    "ruby": [
+      {
+        "kind": "ruby:2.5",
+        "default": true,
+        "deprecated": false,
+        "attached": {
+          "attachmentName": "codefile",
+          "attachmentType": "text/plain"
+        },
+        "image": {
+          "prefix": "openwhisk",
+          "name": "action-ruby-v2.5",
+          "tag": "latest"
+        }
+      }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+The pass this file at launch time
+
+```bash
+java -jar openwhisk-standalone.jar -m custom-runtime.json
+```
+
+You can then see the runtime config reflect in `http://localhost:3233`
+
+#### Using CouchDB
+
+If you need to connect to CouchDB or any other supported artifact store then you can pass the required config
+
+```hocon
+include classpath("standalone.conf")
+
+whisk {
+  couchdb {
+    protocol = "http"
+    host = "172.17.0.1"
+    port = "5984"
+    username = "whisk_admin"
+    password = "some_passw0rd"
+    provider = "CouchDB"
+    databases {
+      WhiskAuth = "whisk_local_subjects"
+      WhiskEntity = "whisk_local_whisks"
+      WhiskActivation = "whisk_local_activations"
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Then pass this config file via `-c` option.
+
+[1]: https://github.com/apache/incubator-openwhisk/blob/master/docs/cli.md
+[2]: https://github.com/apache/incubator-openwhisk/blob/master/docs/samples.md
diff --git a/core/standalone/build.gradle b/core/standalone/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..06b55260c42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+ */
+
+plugins {
+    id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.1.6.RELEASE'
+    id "com.gorylenko.gradle-git-properties" version "2.0.0"
+    id 'scala'
+}
+
+apply plugin: 'org.scoverage'
+apply plugin: 'maven'
+
+project.archivesBaseName = "openwhisk-standalone"
+
+repositories {
+    mavenCentral()
+}
+
+processResources {
+    from(new File(project.rootProject.projectDir, "ansible/files/runtimes.json")) {
+        into(".")
+    }
+}
+
+task copyBootJarToBin(type:Copy){
+    from ("${buildDir}/libs")
+    into file("${project.rootProject.projectDir}/bin")
+    rename("${project.archivesBaseName}-${version}.jar", "${project.archivesBaseName}.jar")
+}
+
+bootJar {
+    mainClassName = 'org.apache.openwhisk.standalone.StandaloneOpenWhisk'
+    finalizedBy copyBootJarToBin
+}
+
+dependencies {
+    compile project(':core:controller')
+    compile project(':tools:admin')
+    compile 'org.rogach:scallop_2.12:3.3.1'
+    scoverage gradle.scoverage.deps
+}
+
diff --git a/core/standalone/src/main/resources/logback-standalone.xml b/core/standalone/src/main/resources/logback-standalone.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4121b7e9571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/src/main/resources/logback-standalone.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!--
+  ~ Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+  ~ contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+  ~ this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+  ~ The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+  ~ (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+  ~ the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+  ~
+  ~     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+  ~
+  ~ Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+  ~ distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+  ~ WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+  ~ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+  ~ limitations under the License.
+  -->
+
+<configuration>
+    <jmxConfigurator></jmxConfigurator>
+    <appender name="console" class="ch.qos.logback.core.ConsoleAppender">
+        <encoder>
+            <pattern>[%d{yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSS'Z'}] %highlight([%p]) %msg%n</pattern>
+        </encoder>
+    </appender>
+
+    <!-- Apache HttpClient -->
+    <logger name="org.apache.http" level="ERROR" />
+
+    <!-- Kafka -->
+    <logger name="org.apache.kafka" level="ERROR" />
+
+    <root level="${logback.log.level:-INFO}">
+        <appender-ref ref="console" />
+    </root>
+</configuration>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/standalone/src/main/resources/standalone.conf b/core/standalone/src/main/resources/standalone.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e3a89ad4251
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/src/main/resources/standalone.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+# contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+# this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+# The ASF licenses this file to You 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.
+#
+
+include classpath("application.conf")
+
+kamon {
+  reporters = []
+}
+
+whisk {
+  metrics {
+    kamon-enabled = true
+    kamon-tags-enabled = true
+    prometheus-enabled = true
+  }
+
+  spi {
+    ArtifactStoreProvider = "org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.memory.MemoryArtifactStoreProvider"
+    MessagingProvider = "org.apache.openwhisk.connector.lean.LeanMessagingProvider"
+    LoadBalancerProvider = "org.apache.openwhisk.core.loadBalancer.LeanBalancer"
+  }
+
+  info {
+    build-no = "standalone"
+    date = "???"
+  }
+
+  config {
+    controller-instances = 1
+    limits-actions-sequence-maxLength = 50
+    limits-triggers-fires-perMinute = 60
+    limits-actions-invokes-perMinute = 60
+    limits-actions-invokes-concurrent = 30
+  }
+
+  controller {
+    protocol: http
+
+    # Bound only to localhost by default for better security
+    interface: localhost
+  }
+
+  # Default set of users which are bootstrapped upon start
+  users {
+    whisk-system = "789c46b1-71f6-4ed5-8c54-816aa4f8c502:abczO3xZCLrMN6v2BKK1dXYFpXlPkccOFqm12CdAsMgRU4VrNZ9lyGVCGuMDGIwP"
+    guest = "23bc46b1-71f6-4ed5-8c54-816aa4f8c502:123zO3xZCLrMN6v2BKK1dXYFpXlPkccOFqm12CdAsMgRU4VrNZ9lyGVCGuMDGIwP"
+  }
+
+  docker {
+    # Path to docker executuable. Generally its /var/lib/docker
+    # executable =
+    standalone.container-factory {
+      #If enabled then pull would also be attempted for standard OpenWhisk images under`openwhisk` prefix
+      pull-standard-images: true
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/LogbackConfigurator.scala b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/LogbackConfigurator.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e84a4a32c46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/LogbackConfigurator.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.standalone
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8
+
+import akka.event.LoggingAdapter
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.joran.JoranConfigurator
+import ch.qos.logback.classic.{Level, LoggerContext}
+import ch.qos.logback.core.joran.spi.JoranException
+import ch.qos.logback.core.util.StatusPrinter
+import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils
+import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{AkkaLogging, TransactionId}
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory
+
+import scala.io.AnsiColor
+import scala.util.Try
+
+/**
+ * Resets the Logback config if logging is configure via non standard file
+ */
+object LogbackConfigurator {
+
+  def initLogging(conf: Conf): Unit = {
+    val ctx = LoggerFactory.getILoggerFactory.asInstanceOf[LoggerContext]
+    ctx.getLogger(org.slf4j.Logger.ROOT_LOGGER_NAME).setLevel(toLevel(conf.verbose()))
+  }
+
+  private def toLevel(v: Int) = {
+    v match {
+      case 0 => Level.INFO
+      case 1 => Level.DEBUG
+      case _ => Level.ALL
+    }
+  }
+
+  def configureLogbackFromResource(resourceName: String): Unit = {
+    Try(configureLogback(IOUtils.resourceToString("/" + resourceName, UTF_8))).failed.foreach(t =>
+      println(s"Could not load resource $resourceName- ${t.getMessage}"))
+  }
+
+  private def configureLogback(fileContent: String): Unit = {
+    val context = LoggerFactory.getILoggerFactory.asInstanceOf[LoggerContext]
+
+    try {
+      val configurator = new JoranConfigurator
+      configurator.setContext(context)
+      // Call context.reset() to clear any previous configuration, e.g. default
+      // configuration. For multi-step configuration, omit calling context.reset().
+      context.reset()
+      val is = new ByteArrayInputStream(fileContent.getBytes(UTF_8))
+      configurator.doConfigure(is)
+    } catch {
+      case _: JoranException =>
+      // StatusPrinter will handle this
+    }
+    StatusPrinter.printInCaseOfErrorsOrWarnings(context)
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Similar to AkkaLogging but with color support
+ */
+class ColoredAkkaLogging(loggingAdapter: LoggingAdapter) extends AkkaLogging(loggingAdapter) with AnsiColor {
+  import ColorOutput.clr
+
+  override protected def format(id: TransactionId, name: String, logmsg: String) =
+    s"[${clr(id.toString, BOLD, true)}] [${clr(name.toString, CYAN, true)}] $logmsg"
+}
+
+object ColorOutput extends AnsiColor {
+  def clr(s: String, code: String, clrEnabled: Boolean) = if (clrEnabled) s"$code$s$RESET" else s
+}
diff --git a/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/PreFlightChecks.scala b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/PreFlightChecks.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f3a82d3336a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/PreFlightChecks.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.standalone
+
+import com.typesafe.config.{Config, ConfigFactory}
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils
+import org.apache.openwhisk.standalone.StandaloneOpenWhisk.usersConfigKey
+import pureconfig.loadConfigOrThrow
+
+import scala.io.AnsiColor
+import scala.sys.process._
+import scala.util.Try
+
+case class PreFlightChecks(conf: Conf) extends AnsiColor {
+  import ColorOutput.clr
+  private val noopLogger = ProcessLogger(_ => ())
+  private val clrEnabled = conf.colorEnabled
+  private val separator = "=" * 80
+  private val pass = st("OK")
+  private val failed = st("FAILURE")
+  private val warn = st("WARN")
+  private val cliDownloadUrl = "https://s.apache.org/openwhisk-cli-download"
+  private val dockerUrl = "https://docs.docker.com/install/"
+
+  def run(): Unit = {
+    println(separator)
+    println("Running pre flight checks ...")
+    println()
+    checkForDocker()
+    checkForWsk()
+    println()
+    println(separator)
+  }
+
+  def checkForDocker() = {
+    val dockerExistsResult = Try("docker --version".!(noopLogger)).getOrElse(-1)
+    if (dockerExistsResult != 0) {
+      println(s"$failed 'docker' cli not found.")
+      println(s"\t Install docker from $dockerUrl")
+    } else {
+      println(s"$pass 'docker' cli found. $dockerVersion")
+      checkDockerIsRunning()
+      //Other things we can possibly check for
+      //1. add check for minimal supported docker version
+      //2. should we also run `docker run hello-world` to see if we can execute docker run command
+      //This command takes 2-4 secs. So running it by default for every run should be avoided
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def dockerVersion = version("docker --version '{{.Client.Version}}'")
+
+  private def version(cmd: String) = Try(cmd !! (noopLogger)).map(v => s"(${v.trim})").getOrElse("")
+
+  private def checkDockerIsRunning(): Unit = {
+    val dockerInfoResult = Try("docker info".!(noopLogger)).getOrElse(-1)
+    if (dockerInfoResult != 0) {
+      println(s"$failed 'docker' not found to be running. Failed to run 'docker info'")
+    } else {
+      println(s"$pass 'docker' is running.")
+    }
+  }
+
+  def checkForWsk(): Unit = {
+    val wskExistsResult = Try("wsk property get --cliversion".!(noopLogger)).getOrElse(-1)
+    if (wskExistsResult != 0) {
+      println(s"$failed 'wsk' cli not found.")
+      println(s"\tDownload the cli from $cliDownloadUrl")
+    } else {
+      println(s"$pass 'wsk' cli found. $wskCliVersion")
+      checkWskProps()
+    }
+  }
+
+  def checkWskProps(): Unit = {
+    val users = loadConfigOrThrow[Map[String, String]](loadConfig(), usersConfigKey)
+
+    val configuredAuth = "wsk property get --auth".!!.trim
+    val apihost = "wsk property get --apihost".!!.trim
+
+    val requiredHostValue = s"http://localhost:${conf.port()}"
+
+    //We can use -o option to get raw value. However as its a recent addition
+    //using a lazy approach where we check if output ends with one of the configured auth keys or
+    val matchedAuth = users.find { case (_, auth) => configuredAuth.endsWith(auth) }
+    val hostMatched = apihost.endsWith(requiredHostValue)
+
+    if (matchedAuth.isDefined && hostMatched) {
+      println(s"$pass 'wsk' configured for namespace [${matchedAuth.get._1}].")
+      println(s"$pass 'wsk' configured to connect to $requiredHostValue.")
+    } else {
+      val guestUser = users.find { case (ns, _) => ns == "guest" }
+      //Only if guest user is found suggest wsk command to use that. Otherwise user is using a non default setup
+      //which may not be used for wsk based access like for tests
+      guestUser match {
+        case Some((ns, guestAuth)) =>
+          println(s"$warn Configure wsk via below command to connect to this server as [$ns]")
+          println()
+          println(clr(s"wsk property set --apihost '$requiredHostValue' --auth '$guestAuth'", MAGENTA, clrEnabled))
+        case None =>
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def wskCliVersion = version("wsk property get --cliversion -o raw")
+
+  private def loadConfig(): Config = {
+    conf.configFile.toOption match {
+      case Some(f) =>
+        require(f.exists(), s"Config file $f does not exist")
+        ConfigFactory.parseFile(f)
+      case None =>
+        ConfigFactory.parseResources("standalone.conf")
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def st(level: String) = {
+    val maxLength = "FAILURE".length
+    val (msg, code) = level match {
+      case "OK"   => (StringUtils.center("OK", maxLength), GREEN)
+      case "WARN" => (StringUtils.center("WARN", maxLength), MAGENTA)
+      case _      => ("FAILURE", RED)
+    }
+    s"[${clr(msg, code, clrEnabled)}]"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneOpenWhisk.scala b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneOpenWhisk.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ff0de5195e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/standalone/src/main/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneOpenWhisk.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.standalone
+
+import java.io.{ByteArrayInputStream, File}
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8
+import java.util.Properties
+
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+import akka.event.slf4j.SLF4JLogging
+import akka.stream.ActorMaterializer
+import org.apache.commons.io.{FileUtils, IOUtils}
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.SystemUtils
+import org.apache.openwhisk.common.{AkkaLogging, Config, Logging, TransactionId}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.cli.WhiskAdmin
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.controller.Controller
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.{ConfigKeys, WhiskConfig}
+import org.apache.openwhisk.standalone.ColorOutput.clr
+import org.rogach.scallop.ScallopConf
+import pureconfig.loadConfigOrThrow
+
+import scala.collection.JavaConverters._
+import scala.concurrent.Await
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+import scala.io.AnsiColor
+import scala.util.Try
+
+class Conf(arguments: Seq[String]) extends ScallopConf(arguments) {
+  banner(StandaloneOpenWhisk.banner)
+  footer("\nOpenWhisk standalone server")
+  StandaloneOpenWhisk.gitInfo.foreach(g => version(s"Git Commit - ${g.commitId}"))
+
+  this.printedName = "openwhisk"
+  val configFile =
+    opt[File](descr = "application.conf which overrides the default standalone.conf", validate = _.canRead)
+  val manifest = opt[File](descr = "Manifest json defining the supported runtimes", validate = _.canRead)
+  val port = opt[Int](descr = "Server port", default = Some(3233))
+
+  val verbose = tally()
+  val disableColorLogging = opt[Boolean](descr = "Disables colored logging", noshort = true)
+
+  verify()
+
+  val colorEnabled = !disableColorLogging()
+}
+
+case class GitInfo(commitId: String, commitTime: String)
+
+object StandaloneOpenWhisk extends SLF4JLogging {
+  val usersConfigKey = "whisk.users"
+
+  val banner =
+    """
+      |        ____      ___                   _    _ _     _     _
+      |       /\   \    / _ \ _ __   ___ _ __ | |  | | |__ (_)___| | __
+      |  /\  /__\   \  | | | | '_ \ / _ \ '_ \| |  | | '_ \| / __| |/ /
+      | /  \____ \  /  | |_| | |_) |  __/ | | | |/\| | | | | \__ \   <
+      | \   \  /  \/    \___/| .__/ \___|_| |_|__/\__|_| |_|_|___/_|\_\
+      |  \___\/ tm           |_|
+    """.stripMargin
+
+  val defaultRuntime = """{
+     |  "runtimes": {
+     |    "nodejs": [
+     |      {
+     |        "kind": "nodejs:10",
+     |        "default": true,
+     |        "image": {
+     |          "prefix": "openwhisk",
+     |          "name": "action-nodejs-v10",
+     |          "tag": "latest"
+     |        },
+     |        "deprecated": false,
+     |        "attached": {
+     |          "attachmentName": "codefile",
+     |          "attachmentType": "text/plain"
+     |        },
+     |        "stemCells": [
+     |          {
+     |            "count": 1,
+     |            "memory": "256 MB"
+     |          }
+     |        ]
+     |      }
+     |    ]
+     |  }
+     |}
+     |""".stripMargin
+
+  val gitInfo: Option[GitInfo] = loadGitInfo()
+
+  def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
+    val conf = new Conf(args)
+
+    printBanner(conf)
+    PreFlightChecks(conf).run()
+
+    configureLogging(conf)
+    initialize(conf)
+    //Create actor system only after initializing the config
+    implicit val actorSystem = ActorSystem("standalone-actor-system")
+    implicit val materializer = ActorMaterializer.create(actorSystem)
+    implicit val logger: Logging = createLogging(actorSystem, conf)
+
+    startServer()
+  }
+
+  def initialize(conf: Conf): Unit = {
+    configureBuildInfo()
+    configureServerPort(conf)
+    configureOSSpecificOpts()
+    initConfigLocation(conf)
+    configureRuntimeManifest(conf)
+    loadWhiskConfig()
+  }
+
+  def startServer()(implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem, materializer: ActorMaterializer, logging: Logging): Unit = {
+    bootstrapUsers()
+    startController()
+  }
+
+  private def configureServerPort(conf: Conf) = {
+    val port = conf.port()
+    log.info(s"Starting OpenWhisk standalone on port $port")
+    System.setProperty(WhiskConfig.disableWhiskPropsFileRead, "true")
+    setConfigProp(WhiskConfig.servicePort, port.toString)
+    setConfigProp(WhiskConfig.wskApiPort, port.toString)
+    setConfigProp(WhiskConfig.wskApiProtocol, "http")
+    setConfigProp(WhiskConfig.wskApiHostname, localHostName)
+  }
+
+  private def initConfigLocation(conf: Conf): Unit = {
+    conf.configFile.toOption match {
+      case Some(f) =>
+        require(f.exists(), s"Config file $f does not exist")
+        System.setProperty("config.file", f.getAbsolutePath)
+      case None =>
+        System.setProperty("config.resource", "standalone.conf")
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def configKey(k: String): String = Config.prefix + k.replace('-', '.')
+
+  private def loadWhiskConfig(): Unit = {
+    val config = loadConfigOrThrow[Map[String, String]](ConfigKeys.whiskConfig)
+    config.foreach { case (k, v) => setConfigProp(k, v) }
+  }
+
+  private def configureRuntimeManifest(conf: Conf): Unit = {
+    val manifest = conf.manifest.toOption match {
+      case Some(file) =>
+        FileUtils.readFileToString(file, UTF_8)
+      case None => {
+        //Fallback to a default runtime in case resource not found. Say while running from IDE
+        Try(IOUtils.resourceToString("/runtimes.json", UTF_8)).getOrElse(defaultRuntime)
+      }
+    }
+    setConfigProp(WhiskConfig.runtimesManifest, manifest)
+  }
+
+  private def setConfigProp(key: String, value: String): Unit = {
+    setSysProp(configKey(key), value)
+  }
+
+  private def startController()(implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem, logger: Logging): Unit = {
+    Controller.start(Array("standalone"))
+  }
+
+  private def bootstrapUsers()(implicit actorSystem: ActorSystem,
+                               materializer: ActorMaterializer,
+                               logging: Logging): Unit = {
+    val users = loadConfigOrThrow[Map[String, String]](usersConfigKey)
+    implicit val userTid: TransactionId = TransactionId("userBootstrap")
+    users.foreach {
+      case (name, key) =>
+        val subject = name.replace('-', '.')
+        val conf = new org.apache.openwhisk.core.cli.Conf(Seq("user", "create", "--auth", key, subject))
+        val admin = WhiskAdmin(conf)
+        Await.ready(admin.executeCommand(), 60.seconds)
+        logging.info(this, s"Created user [$subject]")
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def configureOSSpecificOpts(): Unit = {
+    setSysProp(
+      "whisk.spi.ContainerFactoryProvider",
+      "org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.docker.StandaloneDockerContainerFactoryProvider")
+
+    //Disable runc by default to keep things stable
+    setSysProp("whisk.docker.container-factory.use-runc", "False")
+
+    //Use cli based log store for all setups as its more stable to use
+    // and does not require root user access
+    setSysProp("whisk.spi.LogStoreProvider", "org.apache.openwhisk.core.containerpool.docker.DockerCliLogStoreProvider")
+  }
+
+  private def localHostName = {
+    //For connecting back to controller on container host following name needs to be used
+    // on Windows and Mac
+    // https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/networking/#use-cases-and-workarounds
+    if (SystemUtils.IS_OS_MAC || SystemUtils.IS_OS_WINDOWS)
+      "host.docker.internal"
+    else "localhost"
+  }
+
+  private def loadGitInfo() = {
+    val info = loadPropResource("git.properties")
+    for {
+      commit <- info.get("git.commit.id.abbrev")
+      time <- info.get("git.commit.time")
+    } yield GitInfo(commit, time)
+  }
+
+  private def printBanner(conf: Conf) = {
+    val bannerTxt = clr(banner, AnsiColor.CYAN, conf.colorEnabled)
+    println(bannerTxt)
+    gitInfo.foreach(g => println(s"Git Commit: ${g.commitId}, Build Date: ${g.commitTime}"))
+  }
+
+  private def configureBuildInfo(): Unit = {
+    gitInfo.foreach { g =>
+      setSysProp("whisk.info.build-no", g.commitId)
+      setSysProp("whisk.info.date", g.commitTime)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def setSysProp(key: String, value: String): Unit = {
+    Option(System.getProperty(key)) match {
+      case Some(x) if x != value =>
+        log.info(s"Founding existing value for system property '$key'- Going to set '$value' , found '$x'")
+      case _ =>
+        System.setProperty(key, value)
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def loadPropResource(name: String): Map[String, String] = {
+    Try {
+      val propString = IOUtils.resourceToString("/" + name, UTF_8)
+      val props = new Properties()
+      props.load(new ByteArrayInputStream(propString.getBytes(UTF_8)))
+      props.asScala.toMap
+    }.getOrElse(Map.empty)
+  }
+
+  private def configureLogging(conf: Conf): Unit = {
+    if (System.getProperty("logback.configurationFile") == null && !conf.disableColorLogging()) {
+      LogbackConfigurator.configureLogbackFromResource("logback-standalone.xml")
+    }
+    LogbackConfigurator.initLogging(conf)
+  }
+
+  private def createLogging(actorSystem: ActorSystem, conf: Conf): Logging = {
+    val adapter = akka.event.Logging.getLogger(actorSystem, this)
+    if (conf.disableColorLogging())
+      new AkkaLogging(adapter)
+    else
+      new ColoredAkkaLogging(adapter)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/settings.gradle b/settings.gradle
index d4ebf0bf63c..40c59bbca9b 100644
--- a/settings.gradle
+++ b/settings.gradle
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ include 'common:scala'
 
 include 'core:controller'
 include 'core:invoker'
+include 'core:standalone'
 
 include 'tests'
 include 'tests:performance:gatling_tests'
diff --git a/tests/build.gradle b/tests/build.gradle
index efeb83da138..48fc925362e 100644
--- a/tests/build.gradle
+++ b/tests/build.gradle
@@ -36,17 +36,6 @@ install.dependsOn ':tools:admin:install'
 
 project.archivesBaseName = "openwhisk-tests"
 
-tasks.withType(Test) {
-    systemProperties(System.getProperties())
-
-    testLogging {
-        events "passed", "skipped", "failed"
-        showStandardStreams = true
-        exceptionFormat = 'full'
-    }
-    outputs.upToDateWhen { false } // force tests to run every time
-}
-
 def leanExcludes = [
     '**/MaxActionDurationTests*',
     'invokerShoot/**'
@@ -250,6 +239,17 @@ gradle.projectsEvaluated {
     task testCoverage(type: Test) {
         classpath = getScoverageClasspath(project)
     }
+    tasks.withType(Test) {
+        systemProperties(System.getProperties())
+        systemProperty("whisk.server.jar", getStandaloneJarFilePath())
+
+        testLogging {
+            events "passed", "skipped", "failed"
+            showStandardStreams = true
+            exceptionFormat = 'full'
+        }
+        outputs.upToDateWhen { false } // force tests to run every time
+    }
 }
 
 task copyMeasurementFiles() {
@@ -366,3 +366,7 @@ task testSwaggerCodegen(type: GradleBuild) {
     buildFile = "${buildDir}/swagger-code-java/build.gradle"
     tasks = ['build']
 }
+
+def getStandaloneJarFilePath(){
+    project(":core:standalone").jar.archivePath
+}
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/common/FreePortFinder.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/common/FreePortFinder.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0ebd54a97ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/common/FreePortFinder.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 common
+
+import java.net.ServerSocket
+
+/**
+ * Utility to find a free port such that any launched service can be configured to use that.
+ * This helps in ensuring that test do not fail due to conflict with any existing service using a standard port
+ */
+object FreePortFinder {
+
+  def freePort(): Int = {
+    val socket = new ServerSocket(0)
+    try socket.getLocalPort
+    finally if (socket != null) socket.close()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/common/WhiskProperties.java b/tests/src/test/scala/common/WhiskProperties.java
index b53be03d3f5..1d442eb7c19 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/common/WhiskProperties.java
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/common/WhiskProperties.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public class WhiskProperties {
     /**
      * System property key which refers to OpenWhisk Edge Host url
      */
-    private static final String WHISK_SERVER = "whisk.server";
+    public static final String WHISK_SERVER = "whisk.server";
 
     /**
      * System property key which refers to authentication key to be used for testing
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/mesos/test/MesosContainerFactoryTest.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/mesos/test/MesosContainerFactoryTest.scala
index 04577e33b2d..ef0121eaece 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/mesos/test/MesosContainerFactoryTest.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/containerpool/mesos/test/MesosContainerFactoryTest.scala
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ class MesosContainerFactoryTest
   }
 
   override def afterAll(): Unit = {
-    TestKit.shutdownActorSystem(system)
+    TestKit.shutdownActorSystem(system, verifySystemShutdown = true)
     super.afterAll()
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase.scala
index 2d8a1be8a79..8ca2d7c0a51 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase.scala
@@ -39,6 +39,11 @@ trait MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase extends FlatSpec with ArtifactStoreBehavio
     MemoryArtifactStoreProvider.makeArtifactStore[WhiskAuth](getAttachmentStore[WhiskAuth]())
   }
 
+  override protected def beforeAll(): Unit = {
+    MemoryArtifactStoreProvider.purgeAll()
+    super.beforeAll()
+  }
+
   override lazy val entityStore =
     MemoryArtifactStoreProvider.makeArtifactStore[WhiskEntity](getAttachmentStore[WhiskEntity]())(
       classTag[WhiskEntity],
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryAttachmentStoreTests.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryAttachmentStoreTests.scala
index 32c157d8f89..c10395dfb85 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryAttachmentStoreTests.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/memory/MemoryAttachmentStoreTests.scala
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ class MemoryAttachmentStoreTests extends FlatSpec with AttachmentStoreBehaviors
 
   override def storeType: String = "Memory"
 
+  override protected def beforeAll(): Unit = {
+    MemoryArtifactStoreProvider.purgeAll()
+    super.beforeAll()
+  }
+
   override def afterAll(): Unit = {
     super.afterAll()
     val count = store.asInstanceOf[MemoryAttachmentStore].attachmentCount
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/s3/S3AttachmentStoreBehaviorBase.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/s3/S3AttachmentStoreBehaviorBase.scala
index ee9f1fb6af6..9226a4feaf1 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/s3/S3AttachmentStoreBehaviorBase.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/s3/S3AttachmentStoreBehaviorBase.scala
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import akka.stream.ActorMaterializer
 import org.scalatest.FlatSpec
 import org.apache.openwhisk.common.Logging
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.{AttachmentStore, DocumentSerializer}
-import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.memory.MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.memory.{MemoryArtifactStoreBehaviorBase, MemoryArtifactStoreProvider}
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.test.AttachmentStoreBehaviors
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.database.test.behavior.ArtifactStoreAttachmentBehaviors
 import org.apache.openwhisk.core.entity.WhiskEntity
@@ -41,6 +41,11 @@ trait S3AttachmentStoreBehaviorBase
 
   override val prefix = s"attachmentTCK_${Random.alphanumeric.take(4).mkString}"
 
+  override protected def beforeAll(): Unit = {
+    MemoryArtifactStoreProvider.purgeAll()
+    super.beforeAll()
+  }
+
   override def getAttachmentStore[D <: DocumentSerializer: ClassTag](): AttachmentStore =
     makeS3Store[D]()
 
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/test/behavior/ArtifactStoreCRUDBehaviors.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/test/behavior/ArtifactStoreCRUDBehaviors.scala
index 83f5d6a29c0..bbd232bbc97 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/test/behavior/ArtifactStoreCRUDBehaviors.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/core/database/test/behavior/ArtifactStoreCRUDBehaviors.scala
@@ -48,6 +48,20 @@ trait ArtifactStoreCRUDBehaviors extends ArtifactStoreBehaviorBase {
     doc2.rev.empty shouldBe false
   }
 
+  it should "put delete and then recreate document with same id with different rev" in {
+    implicit val tid: TransactionId = transid()
+    val auth = newAuth()
+    val doc = put(authStore, auth)
+
+    delete(authStore, doc) shouldBe true
+
+    val auth2 = auth.copy(namespaces = Set(wskNS("foo1")))
+    val doc2 = put(authStore, auth2)
+
+    doc2.rev should not be doc.rev
+    doc2.rev.empty shouldBe false
+  }
+
   it should "throw DocumentConflictException when updated with old revision" in {
     implicit val tid: TransactionId = transid()
     val auth = newAuth()
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerFixture.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerFixture.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..df07b271e73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerFixture.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.standalone
+
+import java.io.File
+import java.net.URI
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8
+
+import com.google.common.base.Stopwatch
+import common.WhiskProperties.WHISK_SERVER
+import common.{FreePortFinder, StreamLogging, WhiskProperties}
+import io.restassured.RestAssured
+import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.SystemUtils
+import org.apache.openwhisk.core.WhiskConfig
+import org.apache.openwhisk.utils.retry
+import org.scalatest.{BeforeAndAfterAll, Pending, Suite, TestSuite}
+
+import scala.concurrent.duration._
+import scala.sys.process._
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
+
+trait StandaloneServerFixture extends TestSuite with BeforeAndAfterAll with StreamLogging {
+  self: Suite =>
+
+  private val jarPathProp = "whisk.server.jar"
+  private var manifestFile: Option[File] = None
+  private var serverProcess: Process = _
+  protected val serverPort: Int = FreePortFinder.freePort()
+  protected var serverUrl: String = System.getProperty(WHISK_SERVER, s"http://localhost:$serverPort/")
+  private val disablePullConfig = "whisk.docker.standalone.container-factory.pull-standard-images"
+  private var serverStartedForTest = false
+
+  //Following tests always fail on Mac but pass when standalone server is running on Linux
+  //It looks related to how networking works on Mac for Docker container
+  //For now ignoring there failure
+  private val ignoredTestsOnMac = Set(
+    "Wsk Action REST should create, and invoke an action that utilizes a docker container",
+    "Wsk Action REST should create, and invoke an action that utilizes dockerskeleton with native zip",
+    "Wsk Action REST should create and invoke a blocking action resulting in an application error response",
+    "Wsk Action REST should create an action, and invoke an action that returns an empty JSON object")
+
+  override def beforeAll(): Unit = {
+    val serverUrlViaSysProp = Option(System.getProperty(WHISK_SERVER))
+    serverUrlViaSysProp match {
+      case Some(u) =>
+        serverUrl = u
+        println(s"Connecting to existing server at $serverUrl")
+      case None =>
+        System.setProperty(WHISK_SERVER, serverUrl)
+        //TODO avoid starting the server if url whisk.server property is predefined
+        super.beforeAll()
+        println(s"Running standalone server from ${standaloneServerJar.getAbsolutePath}")
+        manifestFile = getRuntimeManifest()
+        val args = Seq(
+          Seq(
+            "java",
+            s"-D$disablePullConfig=false",
+            "-jar",
+            standaloneServerJar.getAbsolutePath,
+            "--disable-color-logging"),
+          Seq("-p", serverPort.toString),
+          manifestFile.map(f => Seq("-m", f.getAbsolutePath)).getOrElse(Seq.empty)).flatten
+
+        serverProcess = args.run(ProcessLogger(s => printstream.println(s)))
+        val w = waitForServerToStart()
+        serverStartedForTest = true
+        println(s"Started test server at $serverUrl in [$w]")
+    }
+  }
+
+  override def afterAll(): Unit = {
+    super.afterAll()
+    if (serverStartedForTest) {
+      System.clearProperty(WHISK_SERVER)
+      manifestFile.foreach(FileUtils.deleteQuietly)
+      serverProcess.destroy()
+    }
+  }
+
+  override def withFixture(test: NoArgTest) = {
+    val outcome = super.withFixture(test)
+    if (outcome.isFailed) {
+      println(logLines.mkString("\n"))
+    }
+    stream.reset()
+    val result = if (outcome.isFailed && SystemUtils.IS_OS_MAC && ignoredTestsOnMac.contains(test.name)) {
+      println(s"Ignoring known failed test for Mac [${test.name}]")
+      Pending
+    } else outcome
+    result
+  }
+
+  def waitForServerToStart(): Stopwatch = {
+    val w = Stopwatch.createStarted()
+    try {
+      retry({
+        println(s"Waiting for OpenWhisk server to start since $w")
+        val response = RestAssured.get(new URI(serverUrl))
+        require(response.statusCode() == 200)
+      }, 30, Some(1.second))
+    } catch {
+      case NonFatal(e) =>
+        println(logLines.mkString("\n"))
+        throw e
+    }
+    w
+  }
+
+  private def getRuntimeManifest(): Option[File] = {
+    Option(WhiskProperties.getProperty(WhiskConfig.runtimesManifest)).map { json =>
+      val f = newFile()
+      FileUtils.write(f, json, UTF_8)
+      f
+    }
+  }
+
+  private def newFile(): File = File.createTempFile("whisktest", null, null)
+
+  private def standaloneServerJar: File = {
+    Option(System.getProperty(jarPathProp)) match {
+      case Some(p) =>
+        val jarFile = new File(p)
+        assert(
+          jarFile.canRead,
+          s"OpenWhisk standalone server jar file [$p] specified via system property [$jarPathProp] not found")
+        jarFile
+      case None =>
+        fail(s"No jar file specified via system property [$jarPathProp]")
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerTests.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerTests.scala
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..725033c2a7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/org/apache/openwhisk/standalone/StandaloneServerTests.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ * The ASF licenses this file to You 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 org.apache.openwhisk.standalone
+
+import common.WskProps
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith
+import org.scalatest.junit.JUnitRunner
+import system.basic.WskRestBasicTests
+
+@RunWith(classOf[JUnitRunner])
+class StandaloneServerTests extends WskRestBasicTests with StandaloneServerFixture {
+  override implicit val wskprops = WskProps().copy(apihost = serverUrl)
+}
diff --git a/tests/src/test/scala/system/basic/WskRestBasicTests.scala b/tests/src/test/scala/system/basic/WskRestBasicTests.scala
index 2155e7ad5d1..134808928ca 100644
--- a/tests/src/test/scala/system/basic/WskRestBasicTests.scala
+++ b/tests/src/test/scala/system/basic/WskRestBasicTests.scala
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ import org.apache.openwhisk.http.Messages
 @RunWith(classOf[JUnitRunner])
 class WskRestBasicTests extends TestHelpers with WskTestHelpers with WskActorSystem {
 
-  implicit val wskprops = WskProps()
+  implicit def wskprops: WskProps = WskProps()
   val wsk = new WskRestOperations
 
   val defaultAction: Some[String] = Some(TestUtils.getTestActionFilename("hello.js"))
diff --git a/tools/build/redo b/tools/build/redo
index cb81b269ef8..05344098d92 100755
--- a/tools/build/redo
+++ b/tools/build/redo
@@ -311,7 +311,13 @@ Components = [
                   'run units tests',
                   yaml = False,
                   tasks = 'testUnit',
-                  gradle = 'tests')
+                  gradle = 'tests'),
+
+    makeComponent('standalone',
+                  'run standalone server',
+                  yaml = False,
+                  tasks = 'bootRun',
+                  gradle = 'core:standalone')
 ]
 
 def getComponent(component):
diff --git a/tools/travis/distDocker.sh b/tools/travis/distDocker.sh
index 7f40d0b3026..a6022fd45d2 100755
--- a/tools/travis/distDocker.sh
+++ b/tools/travis/distDocker.sh
@@ -29,5 +29,6 @@ TERM=dumb ./gradlew distDocker -PdockerImagePrefix=testing $GRADLE_PROJS_SKIP
 
 TERM=dumb ./gradlew :core:controller:distDockerCoverage -PdockerImagePrefix=testing
 TERM=dumb ./gradlew :core:invoker:distDockerCoverage -PdockerImagePrefix=testing
+TERM=dumb ./gradlew :core:standalone:build
 
 echo "Time taken for ${0##*/} is $SECONDS secs"