diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 79276f887..9c3deda90 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@ windows: prepare-windows build-windows
 
 # Only run the build (no dependency grabbing)
 build:
-	go install -ldflags \
-		"-X main.version=$(VERSION) -X main.commit=$(COMMIT) -X main.branch=$(BRANCH)" ./...
+	go install -ldflags "-X main.version=$(VERSION) -X main.commit=$(COMMIT) -X main.branch=$(BRANCH)" ./...
 
 build-windows:
 	GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 go build -o telegraf.exe -ldflags \
diff --git a/cmd/telegraf/telegraf.go b/cmd/telegraf/telegraf.go
index 16f7845d0..ea364ecb4 100644
--- a/cmd/telegraf/telegraf.go
+++ b/cmd/telegraf/telegraf.go
@@ -6,19 +6,27 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+	"path"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"plugin"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/agent"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/internal/config"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/logger"
-	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/aggregators/all"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/aggregators"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/inputs"
-	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/inputs/all"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/processors"
+
+	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/aggregators/all"
+	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/inputs/all"
 	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/outputs/all"
 	_ "github.com/influxdata/telegraf/plugins/processors/all"
+
 	"github.com/kardianos/service"
 )
 
@@ -50,23 +58,29 @@ var fUsage = flag.String("usage", "",
 	"print usage for a plugin, ie, 'telegraf -usage mysql'")
 var fService = flag.String("service", "",
 	"operate on the service")
+var fPlugins = flag.String("external-plugins", "",
+	"path to directory containing external plugins")
 
 // Telegraf version, populated linker.
 //   ie, -ldflags "-X main.version=`git describe --always --tags`"
 var (
-	version string
-	commit  string
-	branch  string
+	version   string
+	commit    string
+	branch    string
+	goversion string
 )
 
 func init() {
-	// If commit or branch are not set, make that clear.
+	if version == "" {
+		version = "unknown"
+	}
 	if commit == "" {
 		commit = "unknown"
 	}
 	if branch == "" {
 		branch = "unknown"
 	}
+	goversion = runtime.Version() + " " + runtime.GOOS + "/" + runtime.GOARCH
 }
 
 const usage = `Telegraf, The plugin-driven server agent for collecting and reporting metrics.
@@ -83,6 +97,9 @@ The commands & flags are:
   --config <file>     configuration file to load
   --test              gather metrics once, print them to stdout, and exit
   --config-directory  directory containing additional *.conf files
+  --external-plugins  directory containing *.so files, this directory will be
+                        searched recursively. Any Plugin found will be loaded
+                        and namespaced.
   --input-filter      filter the input plugins to enable, separator is :
   --output-filter     filter the output plugins to enable, separator is :
   --usage             print usage for a plugin, ie, 'telegraf --usage mysql'
@@ -188,7 +205,8 @@ func reloadLoop(
 			}
 		}()
 
-		log.Printf("I! Starting Telegraf (version %s)\n", version)
+		log.Printf("I! Starting Telegraf (version %s), Go version: %s\n",
+			version, goversion)
 		log.Printf("I! Loaded outputs: %s", strings.Join(c.OutputNames(), " "))
 		log.Printf("I! Loaded inputs: %s", strings.Join(c.InputNames(), " "))
 		log.Printf("I! Tags enabled: %s", c.ListTags())
@@ -246,10 +264,90 @@ func (p *program) Stop(s service.Service) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// loadExternalPlugins loads external plugins from shared libraries (.so, .dll, etc.)
+// in the specified directory.
+func loadExternalPlugins(rootDir string) error {
+	return filepath.Walk(rootDir, func(pth string, info os.FileInfo, err error) error {
+		// Stop if there was an error.
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		// Ignore directories.
+		if info.IsDir() {
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		// Ignore files that aren't shared libraries.
+		ext := strings.ToLower(path.Ext(pth))
+		if ext != ".so" && ext != ".dll" {
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		// name will be the path to the plugin file beginning at the root
+		// directory, minus the extension.
+		// ie, if the plugin file is /opt/telegraf-plugins/group1/foo.so, name
+		//     will be "group1/foo"
+		name := strings.TrimPrefix(strings.TrimPrefix(pth, rootDir), string(os.PathSeparator))
+		name = strings.TrimSuffix(name, filepath.Ext(pth))
+		name = "external" + string(os.PathSeparator) + name
+
+		// Load plugin.
+		p, err := plugin.Open(pth)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error loading [%s]: %s", pth, err)
+		}
+
+		s, err := p.Lookup("Plugin")
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("ERROR Could not find 'Plugin' symbol in [%s]\n", pth)
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		switch tplugin := s.(type) {
+		case *telegraf.Input:
+			fmt.Printf("Adding external input plugin: %s\n", name)
+			inputs.Add(name, func() telegraf.Input { return *tplugin })
+		case *telegraf.Output:
+			fmt.Printf("Adding external output plugin: %s\n", name)
+			outputs.Add(name, func() telegraf.Output { return *tplugin })
+		case *telegraf.Processor:
+			fmt.Printf("Adding external processor plugin: %s\n", name)
+			processors.Add(name, func() telegraf.Processor { return *tplugin })
+		case *telegraf.Aggregator:
+			fmt.Printf("Adding external aggregator plugin: %s\n", name)
+			aggregators.Add(name, func() telegraf.Aggregator { return *tplugin })
+		default:
+			fmt.Printf("ERROR: 'Plugin' symbol from [%s] is not a telegraf interface, it has type: %T\n", pth, tplugin)
+		}
+
+		return nil
+	})
+}
+
+func printVersion() {
+	fmt.Printf(`Telegraf %s
+  branch:     %s
+  commit:     %s
+  go version: %s
+`, version, branch, commit, goversion)
+}
+
 func main() {
 	flag.Usage = func() { usageExit(0) }
 	flag.Parse()
 	args := flag.Args()
+	// Load external plugins, if requested.
+	if *fPlugins != "" {
+		pluginsDir, err := filepath.Abs(*fPlugins)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err.Error())
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("Loading external plugins from: %s\n", pluginsDir)
+		if err := loadExternalPlugins(*fPlugins); err != nil {
+			log.Fatal(err.Error())
+		}
+	}
 
 	inputFilters, outputFilters := []string{}, []string{}
 	if *fInputFilters != "" {
@@ -270,7 +368,7 @@ func main() {
 	if len(args) > 0 {
 		switch args[0] {
 		case "version":
-			fmt.Printf("Telegraf v%s (git: %s %s)\n", version, branch, commit)
+			printVersion()
 			return
 		case "config":
 			config.PrintSampleConfig(
@@ -298,7 +396,7 @@ func main() {
 		}
 		return
 	case *fVersion:
-		fmt.Printf("Telegraf v%s (git: %s %s)\n", version, branch, commit)
+		printVersion()
 		return
 	case *fSampleConfig:
 		config.PrintSampleConfig(
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 651c4e9ef..0f0e54339 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -39,6 +39,14 @@ var (
 
 	// envVarRe is a regex to find environment variables in the config file
 	envVarRe = regexp.MustCompile(`\$\w+`)
+
+	// addQuoteRe is a regex for finding and adding quotes around / characters
+	// when they are used for distinguishing external plugins.
+	// ie, a ReplaceAll() with this pattern will be used to turn this:
+	//     [[inputs.external/test/example]]
+	//  to
+	//     [[inputs."external/test/example"]]
+	addQuoteRe = regexp.MustCompile(`(\[?\[?inputs|outputs|processors|aggregators)\.(external\/[^.\]]+)`)
 )
 
 // Config specifies the URL/user/password for the database that telegraf
@@ -704,6 +712,9 @@ func parseFile(fpath string) (*ast.Table, error) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// add quotes around external plugin paths.
+	contents = addQuoteRe.ReplaceAll(contents, []byte(`$1."$2"`))
+
 	return toml.Parse(contents)
 }