diff --git a/command/lock.go b/command/lock.go
index 72f4ec5830..a31046226b 100644
--- a/command/lock.go
+++ b/command/lock.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package command
 
 import (
-	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path"
@@ -12,7 +11,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/api"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/command/agent"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -37,54 +35,42 @@ const (
 // LockCommand is a Command implementation that is used to setup
 // a "lock" which manages lock acquisition and invokes a sub-process
 type LockCommand struct {
+	Meta
+
 	ShutdownCh <-chan struct{}
-	Ui         cli.Ui
 
 	child     *os.Process
 	childLock sync.Mutex
-	verbose   bool
+
+	limit        int
+	monitorRetry int
+	name         string
+	passStdin    bool
+	timeout      time.Duration
+	verbose      bool
 }
 
 func (c *LockCommand) Help() string {
 	helpText := `
 Usage: consul lock [options] prefix child...
 
-  Acquires a lock or semaphore at a given path, and invokes a child
-  process when successful. The child process can assume the lock is
-  held while it executes. If the lock is lost or communication is
-  disrupted the child process will be sent a SIGTERM signal and given
-  time to gracefully exit. After the grace period expires the process
-  will be hard terminated.
+  Acquires a lock or semaphore at a given path, and invokes a child process
+  when successful. The child process can assume the lock is held while it
+  executes. If the lock is lost or communication is disrupted the child
+  process will be sent a SIGTERM signal and given time to gracefully exit.
+  After the grace period expires the process will be hard terminated.
 
-  For Consul agents on Windows, the child process is always hard
-  terminated with a SIGKILL, since Windows has no POSIX compatible
-  notion for SIGTERM.
+  For Consul agents on Windows, the child process is always hard terminated
+  with a SIGKILL, since Windows has no POSIX compatible notion for SIGTERM.
 
-  When -n=1, only a single lock holder or leader exists providing
-  mutual exclusion. Setting a higher value switches to a semaphore
-  allowing multiple holders to coordinate.
+  When -n=1, only a single lock holder or leader exists providing mutual
+  exclusion. Setting a higher value switches to a semaphore allowing multiple
+  holders to coordinate.
 
   The prefix provided must have write privileges.
 
-Options:
+` + c.Meta.Help()
 
-  -http-addr=127.0.0.1:8500  HTTP address of the Consul agent.
-  -n=1                       Maximum number of allowed lock holders. If this
-                             value is one, it operates as a lock, otherwise
-                             a semaphore is used.
-  -name=""                   Optional name to associate with lock session.
-  -token=""                  ACL token to use. Defaults to that of agent.
-  -pass-stdin                Pass stdin to child process.
-  -try=timeout               Attempt to acquire the lock up to the given
-                             timeout (eg. "15s").
-  -monitor-retry=n           Retry up to n times if Consul returns a 500 error
-                             while monitoring the lock. This allows riding out brief
-                             periods of unavailability without causing leader
-                             elections, but increases the amount of time required
-                             to detect a lost lock in some cases. Defaults to 3,
-                             with a 1s wait between retries. Set to 0 to disable.
-  -verbose                   Enables verbose output
-`
 	return strings.TrimSpace(helpText)
 }
 
@@ -93,40 +79,49 @@ func (c *LockCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 	return c.run(args, &lu)
 }
 
-// run exposes the underlying lock for testing.
 func (c *LockCommand) run(args []string, lu **LockUnlock) int {
 	var childDone chan struct{}
-	var name, token string
-	var limit int
-	var passStdin bool
-	var try string
-	var retry int
-	cmdFlags := flag.NewFlagSet("watch", flag.ContinueOnError)
-	cmdFlags.Usage = func() { c.Ui.Output(c.Help()) }
-	cmdFlags.IntVar(&limit, "n", 1, "")
-	cmdFlags.StringVar(&name, "name", "", "")
-	cmdFlags.StringVar(&token, "token", "", "")
-	cmdFlags.BoolVar(&passStdin, "pass-stdin", false, "")
-	cmdFlags.StringVar(&try, "try", "", "")
-	cmdFlags.IntVar(&retry, "monitor-retry", defaultMonitorRetry, "")
-	cmdFlags.BoolVar(&c.verbose, "verbose", false, "")
-	httpAddr := HTTPAddrFlag(cmdFlags)
-	if err := cmdFlags.Parse(args); err != nil {
+
+	f := c.Meta.NewFlagSet(c)
+	f.IntVar(&c.limit, "limit", 1,
+		"Optional limit on the number of concurrent lock holders. The underlying "+
+			"implementation switches from a lock to a semaphore when the value is "+
+			"greater than 1. The default value is 1.")
+	f.IntVar(&c.monitorRetry, "monitor-retry", defaultMonitorRetry,
+		"Number of times to retry Consul returns a 500 error while monitoring "+
+			"the lock. This allows riding out brief periods of unavailability "+
+			"without causing leader elections, but increases the amount of time "+
+			"required to detect a lost lock in some cases. The default value is 3, "+
+			"with a 1s wait between retries. Set this value to 0 to disable retires.")
+	f.StringVar(&c.name, "name", "",
+		"Optional name to associate with the lock session. It not provided, one "+
+			"is generated based on the provided child command.")
+	f.BoolVar(&c.passStdin, "pass-stdin", false,
+		"Pass stdin to the child process.")
+	f.DurationVar(&c.timeout, "timeout", 0,
+		"Maximum amount of time to wait to acquire the lock, specified as a "+
+			"timestamp like \"1s\" or \"3h\". The default value is 0.")
+	f.BoolVar(&c.verbose, "verbose", false,
+		"Enable verbose (debugging) output.")
+
+	// Deprecations
+	f.DurationVar(&c.timeout, "try", 0,
+		"DEPRECATED. Use -timeout instead.")
+
+	if err := c.Meta.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Check the limit
-	if limit <= 0 {
+	if c.limit <= 0 {
 		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Lock holder limit must be positive"))
 		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Verify the prefix and child are provided
-	extra := cmdFlags.Args()
+	extra := f.Args()
 	if len(extra) < 2 {
 		c.Ui.Error("Key prefix and child command must be specified")
-		c.Ui.Error("")
-		c.Ui.Error(c.Help())
 		return 1
 	}
 	prefix := extra[0]
@@ -134,40 +129,21 @@ func (c *LockCommand) run(args []string, lu **LockUnlock) int {
 	script := strings.Join(extra[1:], " ")
 
 	// Calculate a session name if none provided
-	if name == "" {
-		name = fmt.Sprintf("Consul lock for '%s' at '%s'", script, prefix)
+	if c.name == "" {
+		c.name = fmt.Sprintf("Consul lock for '%s' at '%s'", script, prefix)
 	}
 
-	// Verify the duration if given.
-	oneshot := false
-	var wait time.Duration
-	if try != "" {
-		var err error
-		wait, err = time.ParseDuration(try)
-		if err != nil {
-			c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error parsing try timeout: %s", err))
-			return 1
-		}
-
-		if wait <= 0 {
-			c.Ui.Error("Try timeout must be positive")
-			return 1
-		}
-
-		oneshot = true
-	}
+	// Calculate oneshot
+	oneshot := c.timeout > 0
 
 	// Check the retry parameter
-	if retry < 0 {
+	if c.monitorRetry < 0 {
 		c.Ui.Error("Number for 'monitor-retry' must be >= 0")
 		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Create and test the HTTP client
-	conf := api.DefaultConfig()
-	conf.Address = *httpAddr
-	conf.Token = token
-	client, err := api.NewClient(conf)
+	client, err := c.Meta.HTTPClient()
 	if err != nil {
 		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error connecting to Consul agent: %s", err))
 		return 1
@@ -179,10 +155,10 @@ func (c *LockCommand) run(args []string, lu **LockUnlock) int {
 	}
 
 	// Setup the lock or semaphore
-	if limit == 1 {
-		*lu, err = c.setupLock(client, prefix, name, oneshot, wait, retry)
+	if c.limit == 1 {
+		*lu, err = c.setupLock(client, prefix, c.name, oneshot, c.timeout, c.monitorRetry)
 	} else {
-		*lu, err = c.setupSemaphore(client, limit, prefix, name, oneshot, wait, retry)
+		*lu, err = c.setupSemaphore(client, c.limit, prefix, c.name, oneshot, c.timeout, c.monitorRetry)
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Lock setup failed: %s", err))
@@ -214,7 +190,7 @@ func (c *LockCommand) run(args []string, lu **LockUnlock) int {
 	// Start the child process
 	childDone = make(chan struct{})
 	go func() {
-		if err := c.startChild(script, childDone, passStdin); err != nil {
+		if err := c.startChild(script, childDone, c.passStdin); err != nil {
 			c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("%s", err))
 		}
 	}()
diff --git a/command/lock_test.go b/command/lock_test.go
index 34c859a51f..4d38003869 100644
--- a/command/lock_test.go
+++ b/command/lock_test.go
@@ -12,13 +12,22 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
 )
 
+func testLockCommand(t *testing.T) (*cli.MockUi, *LockCommand) {
+	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
+	return ui, &LockCommand{
+		Meta: Meta{
+			Ui:    ui,
+			Flags: FlagSetHTTP,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func TestLockCommand_implements(t *testing.T) {
 	var _ cli.Command = &LockCommand{}
 }
 
 func argFail(t *testing.T, args []string, expected string) {
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	if code := c.Run(args); code != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected return code 1, got %d", code)
 	}
@@ -40,8 +49,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_Run(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -63,8 +71,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_Try_Lock(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "-try=10s", "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -95,8 +102,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_Try_Semaphore(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "-n=3", "-try=10s", "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -127,8 +133,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_MonitorRetry_Lock_Default(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -160,8 +165,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_MonitorRetry_Semaphore_Default(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "-n=3", "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -193,8 +197,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_MonitorRetry_Lock_Arg(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "-monitor-retry=9", "test/prefix", touchCmd}
@@ -226,8 +229,7 @@ func TestLockCommand_MonitorRetry_Semaphore_Arg(t *testing.T) {
 	defer a1.Shutdown()
 	waitForLeader(t, a1.httpAddr)
 
-	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
-	c := &LockCommand{Ui: ui}
+	ui, c := testLockCommand(t)
 	filePath := filepath.Join(a1.dir, "test_touch")
 	touchCmd := fmt.Sprintf("touch '%s'", filePath)
 	args := []string{"-http-addr=" + a1.httpAddr, "-n=3", "-monitor-retry=9", "test/prefix", touchCmd}
diff --git a/command/meta.go b/command/meta.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..51fbc83d17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/command/meta.go
@@ -0,0 +1,247 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/hashicorp/consul/api"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
+	text "github.com/tonnerre/golang-text"
+)
+
+// maxLineLength is the maximum width of any line.
+const maxLineLength int = 72
+
+// FlagSetFlags is an enum to define what flags are present in the
+// default FlagSet returned.
+type FlagSetFlags uint
+
+const (
+	FlagSetNone FlagSetFlags = iota << 1
+	FlagSetHTTP FlagSetFlags = iota << 1
+	FlagSetRPC  FlagSetFlags = iota << 1
+)
+
+type Meta struct {
+	Ui    cli.Ui
+	Flags FlagSetFlags
+
+	flagSet *flag.FlagSet
+
+	// These are the options which correspond to the HTTP API options
+	httpAddr   string
+	datacenter string
+	token      string
+	stale      bool
+
+	rpcAddr string
+}
+
+// HTTPClient returns a client with the parsed flags. It panics if the command
+// does not accept HTTP flags or if the flags have not been parsed.
+func (m *Meta) HTTPClient() (*api.Client, error) {
+	if !m.hasHTTP() {
+		panic("no http flags defined")
+	}
+	if !m.flagSet.Parsed() {
+		panic("flags have not been parsed")
+	}
+
+	return api.NewClient(&api.Config{
+		Datacenter: m.datacenter,
+		Address:    m.httpAddr,
+		Token:      m.token,
+	})
+}
+
+// httpFlags is the list of flags that apply to HTTP connections.
+func (m *Meta) httpFlags(f *flag.FlagSet) *flag.FlagSet {
+	if f == nil {
+		f = flag.NewFlagSet("", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	}
+
+	f.StringVar(&m.datacenter, "datacenter", "",
+		"Name of the datacenter to query. If unspecified, this will default to "+
+			"the datacenter of the queried agent.")
+	f.StringVar(&m.httpAddr, "http-addr", "",
+		"Address and port to the Consul HTTP agent. The value can be an IP "+
+			"address or DNS address, but it must also include the port. This can "+
+			"also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. The "+
+			"default value is 127.0.0.1:8500.")
+	f.StringVar(&m.token, "token", "",
+		"ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the "+
+			"CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will "+
+			"default to the token of the Consul agent at the HTTP address.")
+	f.BoolVar(&m.stale, "stale", false,
+		"Permit any Consul server (non-leader) to respond to this request. This "+
+			"allows for lower latency and higher throughput, but can result in "+
+			"stale data. This option has no effect on non-read operations. The "+
+			"default value is false.")
+
+	return f
+}
+
+// RPCClient returns a client with the parsed flags. It panics if the command
+// does not accept RPC flags or if the flags have not been parsed.
+func (m *Meta) RPCClient() (*api.Client, error) {
+	if !m.hasRPC() {
+		panic("no rpc flags defined")
+	}
+	if !m.flagSet.Parsed() {
+		panic("flags have not been parsed")
+	}
+
+	// TODO
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+// rpcFlags is the list of flags that apply to RPC connections.
+func (m *Meta) rpcFlags(f *flag.FlagSet) *flag.FlagSet {
+	if f == nil {
+		f = flag.NewFlagSet("", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	}
+
+	f.StringVar(&m.rpcAddr, "rpc-addr", "",
+		"Address and port to the Consul RPC agent. The value can be an IP "+
+			"address or DNS address, but it must also include the port. This can "+
+			"also be specified via the CONSUL_RPC_ADDR environment variable. The "+
+			"default value is 127.0.0.1:8400.")
+
+	return f
+}
+
+// NewFlagSet creates a new flag set for the given command. It automatically
+// generates help output and adds the appropriate API flags.
+func (m *Meta) NewFlagSet(c cli.Command) *flag.FlagSet {
+	f := flag.NewFlagSet("", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	f.Usage = func() { m.Ui.Error(c.Help()) }
+
+	if m.hasHTTP() {
+		m.httpFlags(f)
+	}
+
+	if m.hasRPC() {
+		m.rpcFlags(f)
+	}
+
+	errR, errW := io.Pipe()
+	errScanner := bufio.NewScanner(errR)
+	go func() {
+		for errScanner.Scan() {
+			m.Ui.Error(errScanner.Text())
+		}
+	}()
+	f.SetOutput(errW)
+
+	m.flagSet = f
+
+	return f
+}
+
+// Parse is used to parse the underlying flag set.
+func (m *Meta) Parse(args []string) error {
+	return m.flagSet.Parse(args)
+}
+
+// Help returns the help for this flagSet.
+func (m *Meta) Help() string {
+	return m.helpFlagsFor(m.flagSet)
+}
+
+// hasHTTP returns true if this meta command contains HTTP flags.
+func (m *Meta) hasHTTP() bool {
+	return m.Flags&FlagSetHTTP != 0
+}
+
+// hasRPC returns true if this meta command contains RPC flags.
+func (m *Meta) hasRPC() bool {
+	return m.Flags&FlagSetRPC != 0
+}
+
+// helpFlagsFor visits all flags in the given flag set and prints formatted
+// help output. This function is sad because there's no "merging" of command
+// line flags. We explicitly pull out our "common" options into another section
+// by doing string comparisons :(.
+func (m *Meta) helpFlagsFor(f *flag.FlagSet) string {
+	httpFlags := m.httpFlags(nil)
+	rpcFlags := m.rpcFlags(nil)
+
+	var out bytes.Buffer
+
+	printTitle(&out, "Command Options")
+	f.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
+		// Skip HTTP and RPC flags as they will be grouped separately
+		if flagContains(httpFlags, f) || flagContains(rpcFlags, f) {
+			return
+		}
+		printFlag(&out, f)
+	})
+
+	if m.hasHTTP() {
+		printTitle(&out, "HTTP API Options")
+		httpFlags.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
+			printFlag(&out, f)
+		})
+	}
+
+	if m.hasRPC() {
+		printTitle(&out, "RPC API Options")
+		rpcFlags.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
+			printFlag(&out, f)
+		})
+	}
+
+	return strings.TrimRight(out.String(), "\n")
+}
+
+// printTitle prints a consistently-formatted title to the given writer.
+func printTitle(w io.Writer, s string) {
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\n\n", s)
+}
+
+// printFlag prints a single flag to the given writer.
+func printFlag(w io.Writer, f *flag.Flag) {
+	example, _ := flag.UnquoteUsage(f)
+	if example != "" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "  -%s=<%s>\n", f.Name, example)
+	} else {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "  -%s\n", f.Name)
+	}
+
+	indented := wrapAtLength(f.Usage, 5)
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s\n\n", indented)
+}
+
+// flagContains returns true if the given flag is contained in the given flag
+// set or false otherwise.
+func flagContains(fs *flag.FlagSet, f *flag.Flag) bool {
+	var skip bool
+
+	fs.VisitAll(func(hf *flag.Flag) {
+		if skip {
+			return
+		}
+
+		if f.Name == hf.Name && f.Usage == hf.Usage {
+			skip = true
+			return
+		}
+	})
+
+	return skip
+}
+
+// wrapAtLength wraps the given text at the maxLineLength, taxing into account
+// any provided left padding.
+func wrapAtLength(s string, pad int) string {
+	wrapped := text.Wrap(s, maxLineLength-pad)
+	lines := strings.Split(wrapped, "\n")
+	for i, line := range lines {
+		lines[i] = strings.Repeat(" ", pad) + line
+	}
+	return strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+}
diff --git a/commands.go b/commands.go
index 41f60b3c09..3a3fcfe69a 100644
--- a/commands.go
+++ b/commands.go
@@ -104,7 +104,10 @@ func init() {
 		"lock": func() (cli.Command, error) {
 			return &command.LockCommand{
 				ShutdownCh: makeShutdownCh(),
-				Ui:         ui,
+				Meta: command.Meta{
+					Flags: command.FlagSetHTTP,
+					Ui:    ui,
+				},
 			}, nil
 		},