diff --git a/agent/config/runtime_test.go b/agent/config/runtime_test.go
index bd6f2bdf1c..efc22568af 100644
--- a/agent/config/runtime_test.go
+++ b/agent/config/runtime_test.go
@@ -4173,7 +4173,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 					"bootstrap": [
 						{
 							"kind": "mesh",
-							"name": "mesh",
 							"meta" : {
 								"foo": "bar",
 								"gir": "zim"
@@ -4190,7 +4189,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 				config_entries {
 				  bootstrap {
 					kind = "mesh"
-					name = "mesh"
 					meta {
 						"foo" = "bar"
 						"gir" = "zim"
@@ -4206,8 +4204,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 			rt.DataDir = dataDir
 			rt.ConfigEntryBootstrap = []structs.ConfigEntry{
 				&structs.MeshConfigEntry{
-					Kind: structs.MeshConfig,
-					Name: structs.MeshConfigMesh,
 					Meta: map[string]string{
 						"foo": "bar",
 						"gir": "zim",
@@ -4228,7 +4224,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 					"bootstrap": [
 						{
 							"Kind": "mesh",
-							"Name": "mesh",
 							"Meta" : {
 								"foo": "bar",
 								"gir": "zim"
@@ -4245,7 +4240,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 				config_entries {
 				  bootstrap {
 					Kind = "mesh"
-					Name = "mesh"
 					Meta {
 						"foo" = "bar"
 						"gir" = "zim"
@@ -4261,8 +4255,6 @@ func TestLoad_IntegrationWithFlags(t *testing.T) {
 			rt.DataDir = dataDir
 			rt.ConfigEntryBootstrap = []structs.ConfigEntry{
 				&structs.MeshConfigEntry{
-					Kind: structs.MeshConfig,
-					Name: structs.MeshConfigMesh,
 					Meta: map[string]string{
 						"foo": "bar",
 						"gir": "zim",
diff --git a/agent/config_endpoint_test.go b/agent/config_endpoint_test.go
index ec18747e0d..13ff251d85 100644
--- a/agent/config_endpoint_test.go
+++ b/agent/config_endpoint_test.go
@@ -7,10 +7,11 @@ import (
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/agent/structs"
-	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/testrpc"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/agent/structs"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/testrpc"
 )
 
 func TestConfig_Get(t *testing.T) {
@@ -48,6 +49,18 @@ func TestConfig_Get(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			Datacenter: "dc1",
+			Entry: &structs.MeshConfigEntry{
+				TransparentProxy: structs.TransparentProxyMeshConfig{
+					CatalogDestinationsOnly: true,
+				},
+				Meta: map[string]string{
+					"key1": "value1",
+					"key2": "value2",
+				},
+			},
+		},
 	}
 	for _, req := range reqs {
 		out := false
@@ -95,6 +108,37 @@ func TestConfig_Get(t *testing.T) {
 		_, err := a.srv.Config(resp, req)
 		require.Error(t, errors.New("Must provide either a kind or both kind and name"), err)
 	})
+	t.Run("get the single mesh config", func(t *testing.T) {
+		req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "/v1/config/mesh/mesh", nil)
+		resp := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		obj, err := a.srv.Config(resp, req)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		ce, ok := obj.(*structs.MeshConfigEntry)
+		require.True(t, ok, "wrong type %T", obj)
+		// Set indexes to expected values for assertions
+		ce.CreateIndex = 12
+		ce.ModifyIndex = 13
+
+		out, err := a.srv.marshalJSON(req, obj)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		expected := `
+{
+	"Kind": "mesh",
+	"TransparentProxy": {
+		"CatalogDestinationsOnly": true
+	},
+	"Meta":{
+		"key1": "value1",
+		"key2": "value2"
+	},
+	"CreateIndex": 12,
+	"ModifyIndex": 13
+}
+`
+		require.JSONEq(t, expected, string(out))
+	})
 }
 
 func TestConfig_Delete(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/agent/consul/config_endpoint.go b/agent/consul/config_endpoint.go
index 9704b30b11..51a919675d 100644
--- a/agent/consul/config_endpoint.go
+++ b/agent/consul/config_endpoint.go
@@ -162,8 +162,10 @@ func (c *ConfigEntry) List(args *structs.ConfigEntryQuery, reply *structs.Indexe
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if args.Kind != "" && !structs.ValidateConfigEntryKind(args.Kind) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid config entry kind: %s", args.Kind)
+	if args.Kind != "" {
+		if _, err := structs.MakeConfigEntry(args.Kind, ""); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("invalid config entry kind: %s", args.Kind)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return c.srv.blockingQuery(
diff --git a/agent/consul/fsm/snapshot_oss_test.go b/agent/consul/fsm/snapshot_oss_test.go
index 99de8ebc9a..cb05399870 100644
--- a/agent/consul/fsm/snapshot_oss_test.go
+++ b/agent/consul/fsm/snapshot_oss_test.go
@@ -428,8 +428,6 @@ func TestFSM_SnapshotRestore_OSS(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// mesh config entry
 	meshConfig := &structs.MeshConfigEntry{
-		Kind: structs.MeshConfig,
-		Name: structs.MeshConfigMesh,
 		TransparentProxy: structs.TransparentProxyMeshConfig{
 			CatalogDestinationsOnly: true,
 		},
diff --git a/agent/proxycfg/state_test.go b/agent/proxycfg/state_test.go
index f22558330b..021b4465d2 100644
--- a/agent/proxycfg/state_test.go
+++ b/agent/proxycfg/state_test.go
@@ -1674,8 +1674,6 @@ func TestState_WatchesAndUpdates(t *testing.T) {
 							CorrelationID: meshConfigEntryID,
 							Result: &structs.ConfigEntryResponse{
 								Entry: &structs.MeshConfigEntry{
-									Kind:             structs.MeshConfig,
-									Name:             structs.MeshConfigMesh,
 									TransparentProxy: structs.TransparentProxyMeshConfig{},
 								},
 							},
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry.go b/agent/structs/config_entry.go
index afa5f34fc1..3f7145ee2b 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry.go
@@ -529,27 +529,12 @@ func MakeConfigEntry(kind, name string) (ConfigEntry, error) {
 	case ServiceIntentions:
 		return &ServiceIntentionsConfigEntry{Name: name}, nil
 	case MeshConfig:
-		return &MeshConfigEntry{Name: name}, nil
+		return &MeshConfigEntry{}, nil
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid config entry kind: %s", kind)
 	}
 }
 
-func ValidateConfigEntryKind(kind string) bool {
-	switch kind {
-	case ServiceDefaults, ProxyDefaults:
-		return true
-	case ServiceRouter, ServiceSplitter, ServiceResolver:
-		return true
-	case IngressGateway, TerminatingGateway:
-		return true
-	case ServiceIntentions:
-		return true
-	default:
-		return false
-	}
-}
-
 // ConfigEntryQuery is used when requesting info about a config entry.
 type ConfigEntryQuery struct {
 	Kind       string
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry_mesh.go b/agent/structs/config_entry_mesh.go
index 8e7688a06c..33792b381b 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry_mesh.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry_mesh.go
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
 package structs
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/acl"
 )
 
 type MeshConfigEntry struct {
-	Kind string
-	Name string
-
 	// TransparentProxy contains cluster-wide options pertaining to TPROXY mode
 	// when enabled.
 	TransparentProxy TransparentProxyMeshConfig `alias:"transparent_proxy"`
@@ -36,7 +34,7 @@ func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetName() string {
 		return ""
 	}
 
-	return e.Name
+	return MeshConfigMesh
 }
 
 func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetMeta() map[string]string {
@@ -51,11 +49,7 @@ func (e *MeshConfigEntry) Normalize() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("config entry is nil")
 	}
 
-	e.Kind = MeshConfig
-	e.Name = MeshConfigMesh
-
 	e.EnterpriseMeta.Normalize()
-
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -63,11 +57,6 @@ func (e *MeshConfigEntry) Validate() error {
 	if e == nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("config entry is nil")
 	}
-
-	if e.Name != MeshConfigMesh {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid name (%q), only %q is supported", e.Name, MeshConfigMesh)
-	}
-
 	if err := validateConfigEntryMeta(e.Meta); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -100,3 +89,19 @@ func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetEnterpriseMeta() *EnterpriseMeta {
 
 	return &e.EnterpriseMeta
 }
+
+// MarshalJSON adds the Kind field so that the JSON can be decoded back into the
+// correct type.
+// This method is implemented on the structs type (as apposed to the api type)
+// because that is what the API currently uses to return a response.
+func (e *MeshConfigEntry) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
+	type Alias MeshConfigEntry
+	source := &struct {
+		Kind string
+		*Alias
+	}{
+		Kind:  MeshConfig,
+		Alias: (*Alias)(e),
+	}
+	return json.Marshal(source)
+}
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry_oss.go b/agent/structs/config_entry_oss.go
index a3ca07c1b8..9773643dde 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry_oss.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry_oss.go
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ func validateUnusedKeys(unused []string) error {
 	for _, k := range unused {
 		switch {
 		case k == "CreateIndex" || k == "ModifyIndex":
+		case k == "kind" || k == "Kind":
+			// The kind field is used to determine the target, but doesn't need
+			// to exist on the target.
 		case strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(k), "namespace"):
 			err = multierror.Append(err, fmt.Errorf("invalid config key %q, namespaces are a consul enterprise feature", k))
 		default:
diff --git a/agent/structs/config_entry_test.go b/agent/structs/config_entry_test.go
index 38c10deb0b..cace510bb4 100644
--- a/agent/structs/config_entry_test.go
+++ b/agent/structs/config_entry_test.go
@@ -1310,7 +1310,6 @@ func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "mesh",
 			snake: `
 				kind = "mesh"
-				name = "mesh"
 				meta {
 					"foo" = "bar"
 					"gir" = "zim"
@@ -1321,7 +1320,6 @@ func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			`,
 			camel: `
 				Kind = "mesh"
-				Name = "mesh"
 				Meta {
 					"foo" = "bar"
 					"gir" = "zim"
@@ -1331,8 +1329,6 @@ func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 				}
 			`,
 			expect: &MeshConfigEntry{
-				Kind: MeshConfig,
-				Name: MeshConfigMesh,
 				Meta: map[string]string{
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim",
diff --git a/agent/xds/listeners_test.go b/agent/xds/listeners_test.go
index c3404a59c0..fa3e36979d 100644
--- a/agent/xds/listeners_test.go
+++ b/agent/xds/listeners_test.go
@@ -550,8 +550,6 @@ func TestListenersFromSnapshot(t *testing.T) {
 
 				snap.ConnectProxy.MeshConfigSet = true
 				snap.ConnectProxy.MeshConfig = &structs.MeshConfigEntry{
-					Kind: structs.MeshConfig,
-					Name: structs.MeshConfigMesh,
 					TransparentProxy: structs.TransparentProxyMeshConfig{
 						CatalogDestinationsOnly: true,
 					},
diff --git a/api/config_entry.go b/api/config_entry.go
index 6ae23be898..5047d07a5b 100644
--- a/api/config_entry.go
+++ b/api/config_entry.go
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ func makeConfigEntry(kind, name string) (ConfigEntry, error) {
 	case ServiceIntentions:
 		return &ServiceIntentionsConfigEntry{Kind: kind, Name: name}, nil
 	case MeshConfig:
-		return &MeshConfigEntry{Kind: kind, Name: name}, nil
+		return &MeshConfigEntry{}, nil
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid config entry kind: %s", kind)
 	}
diff --git a/api/config_entry_cluster.go b/api/config_entry_cluster.go
index 057059f8aa..48fcc44fcf 100644
--- a/api/config_entry_cluster.go
+++ b/api/config_entry_cluster.go
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 package api
 
+import "encoding/json"
+
 type MeshConfigEntry struct {
-	Kind             string
-	Name             string
 	Namespace        string                     `json:",omitempty"`
 	TransparentProxy TransparentProxyMeshConfig `alias:"transparent_proxy"`
 	Meta             map[string]string          `json:",omitempty"`
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ type TransparentProxyMeshConfig struct {
 }
 
 func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetKind() string {
-	return e.Kind
+	return MeshConfig
 }
 
 func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetName() string {
-	return e.Name
+	return MeshConfigMesh
 }
 
 func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetNamespace() string {
@@ -37,3 +37,17 @@ func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetCreateIndex() uint64 {
 func (e *MeshConfigEntry) GetModifyIndex() uint64 {
 	return e.ModifyIndex
 }
+
+// MarshalJSON adds the Kind field so that the JSON can be decoded back into the
+// correct type.
+func (e *MeshConfigEntry) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
+	type Alias MeshConfigEntry
+	source := &struct {
+		Kind string
+		*Alias
+	}{
+		Kind:  MeshConfig,
+		Alias: (*Alias)(e),
+	}
+	return json.Marshal(source)
+}
diff --git a/api/config_entry_test.go b/api/config_entry_test.go
index 4bf5e23681..85ee5c4364 100644
--- a/api/config_entry_test.go
+++ b/api/config_entry_test.go
@@ -196,6 +196,64 @@ func TestAPI_ConfigEntries(t *testing.T) {
 		_, _, err = config_entries.Get(ServiceDefaults, "foo", nil)
 		require.Error(t, err)
 	})
+
+	t.Run("Mesh", func(t *testing.T) {
+		mesh := &MeshConfigEntry{
+			TransparentProxy: TransparentProxyMeshConfig{CatalogDestinationsOnly: true},
+			Meta: map[string]string{
+				"foo": "bar",
+				"gir": "zim",
+			},
+		}
+		ce := c.ConfigEntries()
+
+		runStep(t, "set and get", func(t *testing.T) {
+			_, wm, err := ce.Set(mesh, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, wm)
+			require.NotEqual(t, 0, wm.RequestTime)
+
+			entry, qm, err := ce.Get(MeshConfig, MeshConfigMesh, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, qm)
+			require.NotEqual(t, 0, qm.RequestTime)
+
+			result, ok := entry.(*MeshConfigEntry)
+			require.True(t, ok)
+
+			// ignore indexes
+			result.CreateIndex = 0
+			result.ModifyIndex = 0
+			require.Equal(t, mesh, result)
+		})
+
+		runStep(t, "list", func(t *testing.T) {
+			entries, qm, err := ce.List(MeshConfig, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, qm)
+			require.NotEqual(t, 0, qm.RequestTime)
+			require.Len(t, entries, 1)
+		})
+
+		runStep(t, "delete", func(t *testing.T) {
+			wm, err := ce.Delete(MeshConfig, MeshConfigMesh, nil)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, wm)
+			require.NotEqual(t, 0, wm.RequestTime)
+
+			// verify deletion
+			_, _, err = ce.Get(MeshConfig, MeshConfigMesh, nil)
+			require.Error(t, err)
+		})
+	})
+
+}
+
+func runStep(t *testing.T, name string, fn func(t *testing.T)) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if !t.Run(name, fn) {
+		t.FailNow()
+	}
 }
 
 func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
@@ -1141,7 +1199,6 @@ func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			body: `
 			{
 				"Kind": "mesh",
-				"Name": "mesh",
 				"Meta" : {
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim"
@@ -1152,8 +1209,6 @@ func TestDecodeConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			`,
 			expect: &MeshConfigEntry{
-				Kind: "mesh",
-				Name: "mesh",
 				Meta: map[string]string{
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim",
diff --git a/command/config/write/config_write.go b/command/config/write/config_write.go
index e150b40af9..c7b3a72fd4 100644
--- a/command/config/write/config_write.go
+++ b/command/config/write/config_write.go
@@ -6,13 +6,14 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
+
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/api"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/command/flags"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/command/helpers"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/lib/decode"
-	"github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
 )
 
 func New(ui cli.Ui) *cmd {
@@ -155,6 +156,12 @@ func newDecodeConfigEntry(raw map[string]interface{}) (api.ConfigEntry, error) {
 	}
 
 	for _, k := range md.Unused {
+		switch k {
+		case "kind", "Kind":
+			// The kind field is used to determine the target, but doesn't need
+			// to exist on the target.
+			continue
+		}
 		err = multierror.Append(err, fmt.Errorf("invalid config key %q", k))
 	}
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/command/config/write/config_write_test.go b/command/config/write/config_write_test.go
index ee122f2b38..20f20af43e 100644
--- a/command/config/write/config_write_test.go
+++ b/command/config/write/config_write_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package write
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	"io"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -113,6 +114,36 @@ func TestConfigWrite(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NotEqual(t, 0, code)
 		require.NotEmpty(t, ui.ErrorWriter.String())
 	})
+
+	t.Run("mesh config entry", func(t *testing.T) {
+		stdin := new(bytes.Buffer)
+		stdin.WriteString(`
+kind = "mesh"
+meta {
+	"foo" = "bar"
+	"gir" = "zim"
+}
+transparent_proxy {
+	catalog_destinations_only = true
+}
+`)
+
+		ui := cli.NewMockUi()
+		c := New(ui)
+		c.testStdin = stdin
+
+		code := c.Run([]string{"-http-addr=" + a.HTTPAddr(), "-"})
+		require.Empty(t, ui.ErrorWriter.String())
+		require.Contains(t, ui.OutputWriter.String(),
+			`Config entry written: mesh/mesh`)
+		require.Equal(t, 0, code)
+
+		entry, _, err := client.ConfigEntries().Get(api.MeshConfig, api.MeshConfigMesh, nil)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		proxy, ok := entry.(*api.MeshConfigEntry)
+		require.True(t, ok)
+		require.Equal(t, map[string]string{"foo": "bar", "gir": "zim"}, proxy.Meta)
+	})
 }
 
 // TestParseConfigEntry is the 'api' mirror image of
@@ -2627,7 +2658,6 @@ func TestParseConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			name: "mesh",
 			snake: `
 				kind = "mesh"
-				name = "mesh"
 				meta {
 					"foo" = "bar"
 					"gir" = "zim"
@@ -2638,7 +2668,6 @@ func TestParseConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			`,
 			camel: `
 				Kind = "mesh"
-				Name = "mesh"
 				Meta {
 					"foo" = "bar"
 					"gir" = "zim"
@@ -2650,7 +2679,6 @@ func TestParseConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			snakeJSON: `
 			{
 				"kind": "mesh",
-				"name": "mesh",
 				"meta" : {
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim"
@@ -2663,7 +2691,6 @@ func TestParseConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			camelJSON: `
 			{
 				"Kind": "mesh",
-				"Name": "mesh",
 				"Meta" : {
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim"
@@ -2674,8 +2701,6 @@ func TestParseConfigEntry(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			`,
 			expect: &api.MeshConfigEntry{
-				Kind: api.MeshConfig,
-				Name: api.MeshConfigMesh,
 				Meta: map[string]string{
 					"foo": "bar",
 					"gir": "zim",