diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index a23e18aec..31246ce8e 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 test/.env
 *~
 *.received.*
+*.swp
 
 website/.bundle
 website/vendor
diff --git a/builder/lxc/artifact.go b/builder/lxc/artifact.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a53f70e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/artifact.go
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+)
+
+type Artifact struct {
+	dir string
+	f   []string
+}
+
+func (*Artifact) BuilderId() string {
+	return BuilderId
+}
+
+func (a *Artifact) Files() []string {
+	return a.f
+}
+
+func (*Artifact) Id() string {
+	return "VM"
+}
+
+func (a *Artifact) String() string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("VM files in directory: %s", a.dir)
+}
+
+func (a *Artifact) State(name string) interface{} {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (a *Artifact) Destroy() error {
+	return os.RemoveAll(a.dir)
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/builder.go b/builder/lxc/builder.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..31770b740
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/builder.go
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/common"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/template/interpolate"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+// The unique ID for this builder
+const BuilderId = "ustream.lxc"
+
+type wrappedCommandTemplate struct {
+	Command string
+}
+
+type Builder struct {
+	config *Config
+	runner multistep.Runner
+}
+
+func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) ([]string, error) {
+	c, errs := NewConfig(raws...)
+	if errs != nil {
+		return nil, errs
+	}
+	b.config = c
+
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packer.Artifact, error) {
+	wrappedCommand := func(command string) (string, error) {
+		b.config.ctx.Data = &wrappedCommandTemplate{Command: command}
+		return interpolate.Render(b.config.CommandWrapper, &b.config.ctx)
+	}
+
+	steps := []multistep.Step{
+		new(stepPrepareOutputDir),
+		new(stepLxcCreate),
+		&StepWaitInit{
+			WaitTimeout: b.config.InitTimeout,
+		},
+		new(StepProvision),
+		new(stepExport),
+	}
+
+	// Setup the state bag
+	state := new(multistep.BasicStateBag)
+	state.Put("config", b.config)
+	state.Put("cache", cache)
+	state.Put("hook", hook)
+	state.Put("ui", ui)
+	state.Put("wrappedCommand", CommandWrapper(wrappedCommand))
+
+	// Run
+	b.runner = common.NewRunnerWithPauseFn(steps, b.config.PackerConfig, ui, state)
+	b.runner.Run(state)
+
+	// If there was an error, return that
+	if rawErr, ok := state.GetOk("error"); ok {
+		return nil, rawErr.(error)
+	}
+
+	// Compile the artifact list
+	files := make([]string, 0, 5)
+	visit := func(path string, info os.FileInfo, err error) error {
+		if !info.IsDir() {
+			files = append(files, path)
+		}
+
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err := filepath.Walk(b.config.OutputDir, visit); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	artifact := &Artifact{
+		dir: b.config.OutputDir,
+		f:   files,
+	}
+
+	return artifact, nil
+}
+
+func (b *Builder) Cancel() {
+	if b.runner != nil {
+		log.Println("Cancelling the step runner...")
+		b.runner.Cancel()
+	}
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/builder_test.go b/builder/lxc/builder_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4eeb27594
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/builder_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+)
+
+func testConfig() map[string]interface{} {
+	return map[string]interface{}{
+		"config_file":               "builder_test.go",
+		"template_name":             "debian",
+		"template_environment_vars": "SUITE=jessie",
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuilder_Foo(t *testing.T) {
+	if os.Getenv("PACKER_ACC") == "" {
+		t.Skip("This test is only run with PACKER_ACC=1")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuilderPrepare_ConfigFile(t *testing.T) {
+	var b Builder
+	// Good
+	config := testConfig()
+	warnings, err := b.Prepare(config)
+	if len(warnings) > 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", warnings)
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("should not have error: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Bad, missing config file
+	config = testConfig()
+	delete(config, "config_file")
+	b = Builder{}
+	warnings, err = b.Prepare(config)
+	if len(warnings) > 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", warnings)
+	}
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("should have error")
+	}
+
+}
+
+func TestBuilder_ImplementsBuilder(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = &Builder{}
+	if _, ok := raw.(packer.Builder); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Builder should be a builder")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/command.go b/builder/lxc/command.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..af81cff83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/command.go
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"os/exec"
+)
+
+// CommandWrapper is a type that given a command, will possibly modify that
+// command in-flight. This might return an error.
+type CommandWrapper func(string) (string, error)
+
+// ShellCommand takes a command string and returns an *exec.Cmd to execute
+// it within the context of a shell (/bin/sh).
+func ShellCommand(command string) *exec.Cmd {
+	return exec.Command("/bin/sh", "-c", command)
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/communicator.go b/builder/lxc/communicator.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8d9765979
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/communicator.go
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"io"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+type LxcAttachCommunicator struct {
+	RootFs        string
+	ContainerName string
+	CmdWrapper    CommandWrapper
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) Start(cmd *packer.RemoteCmd) error {
+	localCmd, err := c.Execute(cmd.Command)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	localCmd.Stdin = cmd.Stdin
+	localCmd.Stdout = cmd.Stdout
+	localCmd.Stderr = cmd.Stderr
+	if err := localCmd.Start(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	go func() {
+		exitStatus := 0
+		if err := localCmd.Wait(); err != nil {
+			if exitErr, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok {
+				exitStatus = 1
+
+				// There is no process-independent way to get the REAL
+				// exit status so we just try to go deeper.
+				if status, ok := exitErr.Sys().(syscall.WaitStatus); ok {
+					exitStatus = status.ExitStatus()
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		log.Printf(
+			"lxc-attach execution exited with '%d': '%s'",
+			exitStatus, cmd.Command)
+		cmd.SetExited(exitStatus)
+	}()
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) Upload(dst string, r io.Reader, fi *os.FileInfo) error {
+	dst = filepath.Join(c.RootFs, dst)
+	log.Printf("Uploading to rootfs: %s", dst)
+	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "packer-lxc-attach")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("Error uploading file to rootfs: %s", err)
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tf.Name())
+	io.Copy(tf, r)
+
+	cpCmd, err := c.CmdWrapper(fmt.Sprintf("sudo cp %s %s", tf.Name(), dst))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("Running copy command: %s", dst)
+
+	return ShellCommand(cpCmd).Run()
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) UploadDir(dst string, src string, exclude []string) error {
+	// TODO: remove any file copied if it appears in `exclude`
+	dest := filepath.Join(c.RootFs, dst)
+	log.Printf("Uploading directory '%s' to rootfs '%s'", src, dest)
+	cpCmd, err := c.CmdWrapper(fmt.Sprintf("sudo cp -R %s/. %s", src, dest))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return ShellCommand(cpCmd).Run()
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) Download(src string, w io.Writer) error {
+	src = filepath.Join(c.RootFs, src)
+	log.Printf("Downloading from rootfs dir: %s", src)
+	f, err := os.Open(src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	if _, err := io.Copy(w, f); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) DownloadDir(src string, dst string, exclude []string) error {
+	return fmt.Errorf("DownloadDir is not implemented for lxc")
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) Execute(commandString string) (*exec.Cmd, error) {
+	log.Printf("Executing with lxc-attach in container: %s %s %s", c.ContainerName, c.RootFs, commandString)
+	command, err := c.CmdWrapper(
+		fmt.Sprintf("sudo lxc-attach --name %s -- /bin/sh -c \"%s\"", c.ContainerName, commandString))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	localCmd := ShellCommand(command)
+	log.Printf("Executing lxc-attach: %s %#v", localCmd.Path, localCmd.Args)
+
+	return localCmd, nil
+}
+
+func (c *LxcAttachCommunicator) CheckInit() (string, error) {
+	log.Printf("Debug runlevel exec")
+	localCmd, err := c.Execute("/sbin/runlevel")
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	pr, _ := localCmd.StdoutPipe()
+	if err = localCmd.Start(); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	output, err := ioutil.ReadAll(pr)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	err = localCmd.Wait()
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return strings.TrimSpace(string(output)), nil
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/communicator_test.go b/builder/lxc/communicator_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..854ba6680
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/communicator_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestCommunicator_ImplementsCommunicator(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = &LxcAttachCommunicator{}
+	if _, ok := raw.(packer.Communicator); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("Communicator should be a communicator")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/config.go b/builder/lxc/config.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3c28d4fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/config.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/common"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/helper/config"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/template/interpolate"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
+	"os"
+	"time"
+)
+
+type Config struct {
+	common.PackerConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+	ConfigFile          string   `mapstructure:"config_file"`
+	OutputDir           string   `mapstructure:"output_directory"`
+	ContainerName       string   `mapstructure:"container_name"`
+	CommandWrapper      string   `mapstructure:"command_wrapper"`
+	RawInitTimeout      string   `mapstructure:"init_timeout"`
+	Name                string   `mapstructure:"template_name"`
+	Parameters          []string `mapstructure:"template_parameters"`
+	EnvVars             []string `mapstructure:"template_environment_vars"`
+	TargetRunlevel      int      `mapstructure:"target_runlevel"`
+	InitTimeout         time.Duration
+
+	ctx interpolate.Context
+}
+
+func NewConfig(raws ...interface{}) (*Config, error) {
+	var c Config
+
+	var md mapstructure.Metadata
+	err := config.Decode(&c, &config.DecodeOpts{
+		Metadata:    &md,
+		Interpolate: true,
+	}, raws...)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Accumulate any errors
+	var errs *packer.MultiError
+
+	if c.OutputDir == "" {
+		c.OutputDir = fmt.Sprintf("output-%s", c.PackerBuildName)
+	}
+
+	if c.ContainerName == "" {
+		c.ContainerName = fmt.Sprintf("packer-%s", c.PackerBuildName)
+	}
+
+	if c.TargetRunlevel == 0 {
+		c.TargetRunlevel = 3
+	}
+
+	if c.CommandWrapper == "" {
+		c.CommandWrapper = "{{.Command}}"
+	}
+
+	if c.RawInitTimeout == "" {
+		c.RawInitTimeout = "20s"
+	}
+
+	c.InitTimeout, err = time.ParseDuration(c.RawInitTimeout)
+	if err != nil {
+		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing init_timeout: %s", err))
+	}
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(c.ConfigFile); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, fmt.Errorf("LXC Config file appears to be missing: %s", c.ConfigFile))
+	}
+
+	if errs != nil && len(errs.Errors) > 0 {
+		return nil, errs
+	}
+
+	return &c, nil
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/step_export.go b/builder/lxc/step_export.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..59e4b79e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/step_export.go
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"io"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+type stepExport struct{}
+
+func (s *stepExport) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+	name := config.ContainerName
+
+	containerDir := fmt.Sprintf("/var/lib/lxc/%s", name)
+	outputPath := filepath.Join(config.OutputDir, "rootfs.tar.gz")
+	configFilePath := filepath.Join(config.OutputDir, "lxc-config")
+
+	configFile, err := os.Create(configFilePath)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error creating config file: %s", err)
+		state.Put("error", err)
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
+	originalConfigFile, err := os.Open(config.ConfigFile)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error opening config file: %s", err)
+		state.Put("error", err)
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
+	_, err = io.Copy(configFile, originalConfigFile)
+
+	commands := make([][]string, 4)
+	commands[0] = []string{
+		"lxc-stop", "--name", name,
+	}
+	commands[1] = []string{
+		"tar", "-C", containerDir, "--numeric-owner", "--anchored", "--exclude=./rootfs/dev/log", "-czf", outputPath, "./rootfs",
+	}
+	commands[2] = []string{
+		"chmod", "+x", configFilePath,
+	}
+	commands[3] = []string{
+		"sh", "-c", "chown $USER:`id -gn` " + filepath.Join(config.OutputDir, "*"),
+	}
+
+	ui.Say("Exporting container...")
+	for _, command := range commands {
+		err := s.SudoCommand(command...)
+		if err != nil {
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Error exporting container: %s", err)
+			state.Put("error", err)
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
+	}
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (s *stepExport) Cleanup(state multistep.StateBag) {}
+
+func (s *stepExport) SudoCommand(args ...string) error {
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+
+	log.Printf("Executing sudo command: %#v", args)
+	cmd := exec.Command("sudo", args...)
+	cmd.Stdout = &stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
+	err := cmd.Run()
+
+	stdoutString := strings.TrimSpace(stdout.String())
+	stderrString := strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String())
+
+	if _, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok {
+		err = fmt.Errorf("Sudo command error: %s", stderrString)
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("stdout: %s", stdoutString)
+	log.Printf("stderr: %s", stderrString)
+
+	return err
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/step_lxc_create.go b/builder/lxc/step_lxc_create.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a98926ffa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/step_lxc_create.go
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"log"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+type stepLxcCreate struct{}
+
+func (s *stepLxcCreate) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+	name := config.ContainerName
+
+	// TODO: read from env
+	lxc_dir := "/var/lib/lxc"
+	rootfs := filepath.Join(lxc_dir, name, "rootfs")
+
+	if config.PackerForce {
+		s.Cleanup(state)
+	}
+
+	commands := make([][]string, 3)
+	commands[0] = append(config.EnvVars, []string{"lxc-create", "-n", name, "-t", config.Name, "--"}...)
+	commands[0] = append(commands[0], config.Parameters...)
+	// prevent tmp from being cleaned on boot, we put provisioning scripts there
+	// todo: wait for init to finish before moving on to provisioning instead of this
+	commands[1] = []string{"touch", filepath.Join(rootfs, "tmp", ".tmpfs")}
+	commands[2] = []string{"lxc-start", "-d", "--name", name}
+
+	ui.Say("Creating container...")
+	for _, command := range commands {
+		log.Printf("Executing sudo command: %#v", command)
+		err := s.SudoCommand(command...)
+		if err != nil {
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Error creating container: %s", err)
+			state.Put("error", err)
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
+	}
+
+	state.Put("mount_path", rootfs)
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (s *stepLxcCreate) Cleanup(state multistep.StateBag) {
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+	command := []string{
+		"lxc-destroy", "-f", "-n", config.ContainerName,
+	}
+
+	ui.Say("Unregistering and deleting virtual machine...")
+	if err := s.SudoCommand(command...); err != nil {
+		ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error deleting virtual machine: %s", err))
+	}
+}
+
+func (s *stepLxcCreate) SudoCommand(args ...string) error {
+	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+
+	log.Printf("Executing sudo command: %#v", args)
+	cmd := exec.Command("sudo", args...)
+	cmd.Stdout = &stdout
+	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
+	err := cmd.Run()
+
+	stdoutString := strings.TrimSpace(stdout.String())
+	stderrString := strings.TrimSpace(stderr.String())
+
+	if _, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); ok {
+		err = fmt.Errorf("Sudo command error: %s", stderrString)
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("stdout: %s", stdoutString)
+	log.Printf("stderr: %s", stderrString)
+
+	return err
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/step_prepare_output_dir.go b/builder/lxc/step_prepare_output_dir.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..07c6f08b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/step_prepare_output_dir.go
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"time"
+)
+
+type stepPrepareOutputDir struct{}
+
+func (stepPrepareOutputDir) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(config.OutputDir); err == nil && config.PackerForce {
+		ui.Say("Deleting previous output directory...")
+		os.RemoveAll(config.OutputDir)
+	}
+
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(config.OutputDir, 0755); err != nil {
+		state.Put("error", err)
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (stepPrepareOutputDir) Cleanup(state multistep.StateBag) {
+	_, cancelled := state.GetOk(multistep.StateCancelled)
+	_, halted := state.GetOk(multistep.StateHalted)
+
+	if cancelled || halted {
+		config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+		ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+		ui.Say("Deleting output directory...")
+		for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
+			err := os.RemoveAll(config.OutputDir)
+			if err == nil {
+				break
+			}
+
+			log.Printf("Error removing output dir: %s", err)
+			time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/step_provision.go b/builder/lxc/step_provision.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f91eb56ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/step_provision.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"log"
+)
+
+// StepProvision provisions the instance within a chroot.
+type StepProvision struct{}
+
+func (s *StepProvision) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
+	hook := state.Get("hook").(packer.Hook)
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	mountPath := state.Get("mount_path").(string)
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+	wrappedCommand := state.Get("wrappedCommand").(CommandWrapper)
+
+	// Create our communicator
+	comm := &LxcAttachCommunicator{
+		ContainerName: config.ContainerName,
+		RootFs:        mountPath,
+		CmdWrapper:    wrappedCommand,
+	}
+
+	// Provision
+	log.Println("Running the provision hook")
+	if err := hook.Run(packer.HookProvision, ui, comm, nil); err != nil {
+		state.Put("error", err)
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (s *StepProvision) Cleanup(state multistep.StateBag) {}
diff --git a/builder/lxc/step_wait_init.go b/builder/lxc/step_wait_init.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e5d375312
--- /dev/null
+++ b/builder/lxc/step_wait_init.go
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package lxc
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"log"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+type StepWaitInit struct {
+	WaitTimeout time.Duration
+}
+
+func (s *StepWaitInit) Run(state multistep.StateBag) multistep.StepAction {
+	ui := state.Get("ui").(packer.Ui)
+
+	var err error
+
+	cancel := make(chan struct{})
+	waitDone := make(chan bool, 1)
+	go func() {
+		ui.Say("Waiting for container to finish init...")
+		err = s.waitForInit(state, cancel)
+		waitDone <- true
+	}()
+
+	log.Printf("Waiting for container to finish init, up to timeout: %s", s.WaitTimeout)
+	timeout := time.After(s.WaitTimeout)
+WaitLoop:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-waitDone:
+			if err != nil {
+				ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error waiting for container to finish init: %s", err))
+				return multistep.ActionHalt
+			}
+
+			ui.Say("Container finished init!")
+			break WaitLoop
+		case <-timeout:
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Timeout waiting for container to finish init.")
+			state.Put("error", err)
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			close(cancel)
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		case <-time.After(1 * time.Second):
+			if _, ok := state.GetOk(multistep.StateCancelled); ok {
+				close(cancel)
+				log.Println("Interrupt detected, quitting waiting for container to finish init.")
+				return multistep.ActionHalt
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (s *StepWaitInit) Cleanup(multistep.StateBag) {
+}
+
+func (s *StepWaitInit) waitForInit(state multistep.StateBag, cancel <-chan struct{}) error {
+	config := state.Get("config").(*Config)
+	mountPath := state.Get("mount_path").(string)
+	wrappedCommand := state.Get("wrappedCommand").(CommandWrapper)
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-cancel:
+			log.Println("Cancelled. Exiting loop.")
+			return errors.New("Wait cancelled")
+		case <-time.After(1 * time.Second):
+		}
+
+		comm := &LxcAttachCommunicator{
+			ContainerName: config.ContainerName,
+			RootFs:        mountPath,
+			CmdWrapper:    wrappedCommand,
+		}
+
+		runlevel, _ := comm.CheckInit()
+		currentRunlevel := "unknown"
+		if arr := strings.Split(runlevel, " "); len(arr) >= 2 {
+			currentRunlevel = arr[1]
+		}
+
+		log.Printf("Current runlevel in container: '%s'", runlevel)
+
+		targetRunlevel := fmt.Sprintf("%d", config.TargetRunlevel)
+		if currentRunlevel == targetRunlevel {
+			log.Printf("Container finished init.")
+			break
+		} else if currentRunlevel > targetRunlevel {
+			log.Printf("Expected Runlevel %s, Got Runlevel %s, continuing", targetRunlevel, currentRunlevel)
+			break
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/command/plugin.go b/command/plugin.go
index af2fa2985..cc87e81dc 100644
--- a/command/plugin.go
+++ b/command/plugin.go
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ import (
 	filebuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/file"
 	googlecomputebuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/googlecompute"
 	hypervisobuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/hyperv/iso"
+	lxcbuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/lxc"
+	lxdbuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/lxd"
 	nullbuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/null"
 	oneandonebuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/oneandone"
 	openstackbuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/openstack"
@@ -69,8 +71,6 @@ import (
 	shelllocalprovisioner "github.com/hashicorp/packer/provisioner/shell-local"
 	windowsrestartprovisioner "github.com/hashicorp/packer/provisioner/windows-restart"
 	windowsshellprovisioner "github.com/hashicorp/packer/provisioner/windows-shell"
-
-	lxdbuilder "github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/lxd"
 )
 
 type PluginCommand struct {
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ var Builders = map[string]packer.Builder{
 	"file":                new(filebuilder.Builder),
 	"googlecompute":       new(googlecomputebuilder.Builder),
 	"hyperv-iso":          new(hypervisobuilder.Builder),
+	"lxc":                 new(lxcbuilder.Builder),
 	"lxd":                 new(lxdbuilder.Builder),
 	"null":                new(nullbuilder.Builder),
 	"oneandone":           new(oneandonebuilder.Builder),
diff --git a/plugin/builder-lxc/main.go b/plugin/builder-lxc/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0329b8c8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugin/builder-lxc/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/builder/lxc"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/packer/packer/plugin"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	server, err := plugin.Server()
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+	server.RegisterBuilder(new(lxc.Builder))
+	server.Serve()
+}
diff --git a/test/builder_lxc.bats b/test/builder_lxc.bats
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c29030424
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/builder_lxc.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+#
+# This tests the lxc builder. The teardown function will
+# delete any images in the output-lxc-* folders.
+
+#load test_helper
+#fixtures builder-lxc
+FIXTURE_ROOT="$BATS_TEST_DIRNAME/fixtures/builder-lxc"
+
+# Required parameters
+command -v lxc-create >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+    echo "'lxc-create' must be installed via the lxc (or lxc1 for ubuntu >=16.04) package" >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+teardown() {
+    rm -rf output-lxc-*
+}
+
+@test "lxc: build centos minimal.json" {
+    run packer build -var template_name=centos  $FIXTURE_ROOT/minimal.json
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-centos/rootfs.tar.gz ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-centos/lxc-config ]
+}
+
+
+@test "lxc: build trusty minimal.json" {
+    run packer build -var template_name=ubuntu -var template_parameters="SUITE=trusty" $FIXTURE_ROOT/minimal.json
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-ubuntu/rootfs.tar.gz ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-ubuntu/lxc-config ]
+}
+
+@test "lxc: build debian minimal.json" {
+    run packer build -var template_name=debian -var template_parameters="SUITE=jessie" $FIXTURE_ROOT/minimal.json
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-debian/rootfs.tar.gz ]
+    [ -f output-lxc-debian/lxc-config ]
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/builder-lxc/minimal.json b/test/fixtures/builder-lxc/minimal.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5bf7998fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/builder-lxc/minimal.json
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  "variables": {
+    "template_name": "debian",
+    "template_parameters": "SUITE=jessie"
+  },
+  "builders": [
+    {
+      "type": "lxc",
+      "name": "lxc-{{user `template_name`}}",
+      "template_name": "{{user `template_name`}}",
+      "config_file": "/usr/share/lxc/config/{{user `template_name`}}.common.conf",
+      "template_environment_vars": [ "{{user `template_parameters`}}" ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/website/source/docs/builders/lxc.html.md b/website/source/docs/builders/lxc.html.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0dc207a9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/website/source/docs/builders/lxc.html.md
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+---
+description: |
+    The `lxc` Packer builder builds containers for lxc1. The builder starts an LXC
+    container, runs provisioners within this container, then exports the container
+    as a tar.gz of the root file system.
+layout: docs
+page_title: LXC Builder
+...
+
+# LXC Builder
+
+Type: `lxc`
+
+The `lxc` Packer builder builds containers for lxc1. The builder starts an LXC
+container, runs provisioners within this container, then exports the container
+as a tar.gz of the root file system.
+
+The LXC builder requires a modern linux kernel and the `lxc` or `lxc1` package.
+This builder does not work with LXD.
+
+Note to build Centos images on a Debian family host, you will need the `yum` package installed.
+
+Some provisioners such as `ansible-local` get confused when running in a container of a different family.
+E.G. it will attempt to use `apt-get` to install packages, when running in a Centos container if the parent OS is Debian based.
+
+## Basic Example
+
+Below is a fully functioning example. 
+
+``` {.javascript}
+{
+  "builders": [
+    {
+      "type": "lxc",
+      "name": "lxc-trusty",
+      "config_file": "/tmp/lxc/config",
+      "template_name": "ubuntu",
+      "template_environment_vars": [
+        "SUITE=trusty"
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "lxc",
+      "name": "lxc-xenial",
+      "config_file": "/tmp/lxc/config",
+      "template_name": "ubuntu",
+      "template_environment_vars": [
+        "SUITE=xenial"
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "lxc",
+      "name": "lxc-jessie",
+      "config_file": "/tmp/lxc/config",
+      "template_name": "debian",
+      "template_environment_vars": [
+        "SUITE=jessie"
+      ]
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "lxc",
+      "name": "lxc-centos-7-x64",
+      "config_file": "/tmp/lxc/config",
+      "template_name": "centos",
+      "template_parameters": [
+        "-R","7",
+        "-a","x86_64"
+       ]
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+## Configuration Reference
+
+### Required:
+
+-  `config_file` (string) - The path to the lxc configuration file.
+
+-  `template_name` (string) - The LXC template name to use.
+
+-  `template_environment_vars` (array of strings) - Environmental variables to use to build the template with.
+
+### Optional:
+
+-  `target_runlevel` (int) - The minimum run level to wait for the container to reach. Note some distributions (Ubuntu) simulate run levels and may report 5 rather than 3.
+
+-  `output_directory` (string) - The directory in which to save the exported tar.gz. Defaults to `output-<BuildName>` in the current directory.
+
+-  `container_name` (string) - The name of the LXC container. Usually stored in `/var/lib/lxc/containers/<container_name>`. Defaults to `packer-<BuildName>`.
+
+-  `command_wrapper` (string) - Allows you to specify a wrapper command, such as `ssh` so you can execute packer builds on a remote host. Defaults to Empty.
+
+-  `init_timeout` (string) - The timeout in seconds to wait for the the container to start. Defaults to 20 seconds.
+
+-  `template_parameters` (array of strings) - Options to pass to the given `lxc-template` command, usually located in `/usr/share/lxc/templates/lxc-<template_name>``. Note: This gets passed as ARGV to the template command. Ensure you have an array of strings, as a single string with spaces probably won't work. Defaults to `[]`.
+