diff --git a/watch/funcs.go b/watch/funcs.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7593a468fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/watch/funcs.go
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+package watch
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/armon/consul-api"
+)
+
+// watchFactory is a function that can create a new WatchFunc
+// from a parameter configuration
+type watchFactory func(params map[string][]string) (WatchFunc, error)
+
+// watchFuncFactory maps each type to a factory function
+var watchFuncFactory map[string]watchFactory
+
+func init() {
+	watchFuncFactory = map[string]watchFactory{
+		"key": keyWatch,
+	}
+}
+
+// keyWatch is used to return a key watching function
+func keyWatch(params map[string][]string) (WatchFunc, error) {
+	keys := params["key"]
+	delete(params, "key")
+	if len(keys) != 1 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Must specify a single key to watch")
+	}
+	key := keys[0]
+
+	fn := func(p *WatchPlan) (uint64, interface{}, error) {
+		kv := p.client.KV()
+		opts := consulapi.QueryOptions{WaitIndex: p.lastIndex}
+		pair, meta, err := kv.Get(key, &opts)
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, nil, err
+		}
+		return meta.LastIndex, pair, err
+	}
+	return fn, nil
+}
diff --git a/watch/plan.go b/watch/plan.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a43849fc30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/watch/plan.go
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+package watch
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"reflect"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/armon/consul-api"
+)
+
+const (
+	// retryInterval is the base retry value
+	retryInterval = 5 * time.Second
+
+	// maximum back off time, this is to prevent
+	// exponential runaway
+	maxBackoffTime = 180 * time.Second
+)
+
+// Run is used to run a watch plan
+func (p *WatchPlan) Run(address string) error {
+	// Setup the client
+	p.address = address
+	conf := consulapi.DefaultConfig()
+	conf.Address = address
+	conf.Datacenter = p.Datacenter
+	// TODO: conf.Token = p.Token
+	client, err := consulapi.NewClient(conf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to connect to agent: %v", err)
+	}
+	p.client = client
+
+	// Loop until we are canceled
+	failures := 0
+	for !p.shouldStop() {
+		// Invoke the handler
+		index, result, err := p.Func(p)
+
+		// Check if we should terminate since the function
+		// could have blocked for a while
+		if p.shouldStop() {
+			break
+		}
+
+		// Handle an error in the watch function
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("consul.watch: Watch '%s' errored: %v", p.Query, err)
+
+			// Perform an exponential backoff
+			failures++
+			retry := retryInterval * time.Duration(failures*failures)
+			if retry > maxBackoffTime {
+				retry = maxBackoffTime
+			}
+			select {
+			case <-time.After(retry):
+				continue
+			case <-p.stopCh:
+				return nil
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Clear the failures
+		failures = 0
+
+		// If the index is unchanged do nothing
+		if index == p.lastIndex {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// Update the index, look for change
+		p.lastIndex = index
+		if reflect.DeepEqual(p.lastResult, result) {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// Handle the updated result
+		p.lastResult = result
+		p.Handler(index, result)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Stop is used to stop running the watch plan
+func (p *WatchPlan) Stop() {
+	p.stopLock.Lock()
+	defer p.stopLock.Unlock()
+	if p.stop {
+		return
+	}
+	p.stop = true
+	close(p.stopCh)
+}
+
+func (p *WatchPlan) shouldStop() bool {
+	select {
+	case <-p.stopCh:
+		return true
+	default:
+		return false
+	}
+}
diff --git a/watch/plan_test.go b/watch/plan_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..99cae3df53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/watch/plan_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package watch
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func init() {
+	watchFuncFactory["noop"] = noopWatch
+}
+
+func noopWatch(params map[string][]string) (WatchFunc, error) {
+	fn := func(p *WatchPlan) (uint64, interface{}, error) {
+		idx := p.lastIndex + 1
+		return idx, idx, nil
+	}
+	return fn, nil
+}
+
+func TestRun_Stop(t *testing.T) {
+	plan, err := Parse("type:noop")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+	}
+	var expect uint64 = 1
+	plan.Handler = func(idx uint64, val interface{}) {
+		if idx != expect {
+			t.Fatalf("Bad: %d %d", expect, idx)
+		}
+		if val != expect {
+			t.Fatalf("Bad: %d %d", expect, val)
+		}
+		expect++
+	}
+
+	time.AfterFunc(10*time.Millisecond, func() {
+		plan.Stop()
+	})
+
+	err = plan.Run("127.0.0.1:8500")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if expect == 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %d", expect)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/watch/watch.go b/watch/watch.go
index c2785bfe1f..9d88f9a35d 100644
--- a/watch/watch.go
+++ b/watch/watch.go
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ package watch
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/armon/consul-api"
 )
 
 // WatchPlan is the parsed version of a watch specification. A watch provides
@@ -10,11 +13,29 @@ import (
 // This view is watched for changes and a handler is invoked to take any
 // appropriate actions.
 type WatchPlan struct {
+	Query      string
 	Datacenter string
 	Token      string
 	Type       string
+	Func       WatchFunc
+	Handler    HandlerFunc
+
+	address    string
+	client     *consulapi.Client
+	lastIndex  uint64
+	lastResult interface{}
+
+	stop     bool
+	stopCh   chan struct{}
+	stopLock sync.Mutex
 }
 
+// WatchFunc is used to watch for a diff
+type WatchFunc func(*WatchPlan) (uint64, interface{}, error)
+
+// HandlerFunc is used to handle new data
+type HandlerFunc func(uint64, interface{})
+
 // Parse takes a watch query and compiles it into a WatchPlan or an error
 func Parse(query string) (*WatchPlan, error) {
 	tokens, err := tokenize(query)
@@ -22,21 +43,48 @@ func Parse(query string) (*WatchPlan, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to parse: %v", err)
 	}
 	params := collapse(tokens)
-	plan := &WatchPlan{}
+	plan := &WatchPlan{
+		Query:  query,
+		stopCh: make(chan struct{}),
+	}
 
-	if err := assignValue(params, "type", &plan.Type); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	if plan.Type == "" {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Watch type must be specified")
-	}
+	// Parse the generic parameters
 	if err := assignValue(params, "datacenter", &plan.Datacenter); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if err := assignValue(params, "token", &plan.Token); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	if err := assignValue(params, "type", &plan.Type); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 
+	// Ensure there is a watch type
+	if plan.Type == "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Watch type must be specified")
+	}
+
+	// Look for a factory function
+	factory := watchFuncFactory[plan.Type]
+	if factory == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Unsupported watch type: %s", plan.Type)
+	}
+
+	// Get the watch func
+	fn, err := factory(params)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	plan.Func = fn
+
+	// Ensure all parameters are consumed
+	if len(params) != 0 {
+		var bad []string
+		for key := range params {
+			bad = append(bad, key)
+		}
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Invalid parameters: %v", bad)
+	}
 	return plan, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/watch/watch_test.go b/watch/watch_test.go
index 35dc6151eb..121da7378c 100644
--- a/watch/watch_test.go
+++ b/watch/watch_test.go
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func TestCollapse(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestParseBasic(t *testing.T) {
-	p, err := Parse("type:key datacenter:dc2 token:12345")
+	p, err := Parse("type:key datacenter:dc2 token:12345 key:foo")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %v", err)
 	}