diff --git a/cmd/server.go b/cmd/server.go
index 9b5821aa2..bdb27ab81 100644
--- a/cmd/server.go
+++ b/cmd/server.go
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
 	"runtime/pprof"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	flag "github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 
 	"github.com/pilosa/pilosa/server"
@@ -24,22 +26,22 @@ var serveCmd = &cobra.Command{
 It will load existing data from the configured
 directory, and start listening client connections
 on the configured port.`,
-	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+		setupViper(cmd.Flags())
+		fmt.Println(viper.AllSettings())
 		serve.Server.Handler.Version = Version
 		fmt.Fprintf(serve.Stderr, "Pilosa %s, build time %s\n", Version, BuildTime)
 
 		// Parse command line arguments.
 		if err := serve.SetupConfig(args); err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintln(serve.Stderr, err)
-			os.Exit(2)
+			return err
 		}
 
 		// Start CPU profiling.
 		if serve.CPUProfile != "" {
 			f, err := os.Create(serve.CPUProfile)
 			if err != nil {
-				fmt.Fprintf(serve.Stderr, "create cpu profile: %v", err)
-				os.Exit(1)
+				return fmt.Errorf("create cpu profile: %v", err)
 			}
 			defer f.Close()
 
@@ -54,8 +56,7 @@ on the configured port.`,
 
 		// Execute the program.
 		if err := serve.Run(); err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintln(serve.Stderr, err)
-			os.Exit(1)
+			return err
 		}
 
 		// First SIGKILL causes server to shut down gracefully.
@@ -68,22 +69,50 @@ on the configured port.`,
 		go func() { <-c; os.Exit(1) }()
 
 		if err := serve.Close(); err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintln(serve.Stderr, err)
-			os.Exit(1)
+			return err
 		}
-
+		return nil
 	},
 }
 
 func init() {
-	serveCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&serve.ConfigPath, "config", "c", "", "Configuration file to read from")
-	serveCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&serve.CPUProfile, "cpuprofile", "", "", "Where to store CPU profile")
-	serveCmd.Flags().DurationVarP(&serve.CPUTime, "cputime", "", 30*time.Second, "CPU profile duration")
+	flags := serveCmd.Flags()
 
-	err := viper.BindPFlags(serveCmd.Flags())
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf("Error binding server flags: %v", err)
-	}
+	flags.StringVarP(&serve.ConfigPath, "config", "c", "", "Configuration file to read from")
+	flags.StringVarP(&serve.CPUProfile, "cpu-profile", "", "", "Where to store CPU profile")
+	flags.DurationVarP(&serve.CPUTime, "cpu-time", "", 30*time.Second, "CPU profile duration")
 
 	RootCmd.AddCommand(serveCmd)
 }
+
+func setupViper(flags *flag.FlagSet) {
+	// add cmd line flag def to viper
+	err := viper.BindPFlags(flags)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Fatalf("Error binding server flags: %v", err)
+	}
+	// add env to viper
+	viper.SetEnvPrefix("PILOSA")
+	viper.SetEnvKeyReplacer(strings.NewReplacer("-", "_"))
+	viper.AutomaticEnv()
+
+	c := viper.GetString("config")
+
+	// add config file to viper
+	if c != "" {
+		viper.AddConfigPath(c)
+		err := viper.ReadInConfig()
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Couldn't read config from '%s'", c)
+		}
+	}
+	flags.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
+		log.Printf("Now visiting: %v with value '%s'", f.Name, f.Value)
+		value := viper.GetString(f.Name)
+		log.Printf("Setting to value: '%v'", value)
+		err := f.Value.Set(value)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Error setting %s to '%s': %v", f.Name, value, err)
+		}
+	})
+}