diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index fdddc763..16a95f01 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ var Liftoff = require('liftoff');
 var tildify = require('tildify');
 var interpret = require('interpret');
 var v8flags = require('v8flags');
+var merge = require('lodash.merge');
+var sortBy = require('lodash.sortby');
+var isString = require('lodash.isstring');
 var findRange = require('semver-greatest-satisfied-range');
 var exit = require('./lib/shared/exit');
 var cliOptions = require('./lib/shared/cliOptions');
@@ -34,6 +37,18 @@ var cli = new Liftoff({
   completions: completion,
   extensions: interpret.jsVariants,
   v8flags: v8flags,
+  configFiles: {
+    '.gulp': {
+      home: {
+        path: '~',
+        extensions: interpret.extensions,
+      },
+      cwd: {
+        path: '.',
+        extensions: interpret.extensions,
+      },
+    },
+  },
 });
 
 var usage =
@@ -82,6 +97,12 @@ module.exports = run;
 
 // The actual logic
 function handleArguments(env) {
+
+  var configFilePaths = sortBy(env.configFiles['.gulp'], ['home', 'cwd']);
+  configFilePaths.filter(isString).forEach(function(filePath) {
+    merge(opts, require(filePath));
+  });
+
   if (opts.help) {
     console.log(parser.help());
     exit(0);
diff --git a/lib/versioned/^3.7.0/index.js b/lib/versioned/^3.7.0/index.js
index 58fc9727..4879095e 100644
--- a/lib/versioned/^3.7.0/index.js
+++ b/lib/versioned/^3.7.0/index.js
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ var chalk = require('chalk');
 var log = require('gulplog');
 var stdout = require('mute-stdout');
 var tildify = require('tildify');
+var isString = require('lodash.isstring');
 
 var taskTree = require('./taskTree');
 var logTasks = require('../../shared/log/tasks');
@@ -38,7 +39,11 @@ function execute(opts, env) {
     }
     if (opts.tasks) {
       var tree = taskTree(gulpInst.tasks);
-      tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      }
       return logTasks(tree, opts.depth, function(task) {
         return gulpInst.tasks[task].fn;
       });
diff --git a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.1/index.js b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.1/index.js
index 0d942a8e..1eb91b06 100644
--- a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.1/index.js
+++ b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.1/index.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ var log = require('gulplog');
 var chalk = require('chalk');
 var stdout = require('mute-stdout');
 var tildify = require('tildify');
+var isString = require('lodash.isstring');
 
 var exit = require('../../shared/exit');
 
@@ -42,10 +43,13 @@ function execute(opts, env) {
       return logTasksSimple(gulpInst.tree());
     }
     if (opts.tasks) {
-      var tree = {
-        label: 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath)),
-        nodes: gulpInst.tree({ deep: true }),
-      };
+      var tree = {};
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      }
+      tree.nodes = gulpInst.tree({ deep: true });
       return logTasks(tree, opts.depth, function(taskname) {
         return gulpInst.task(taskname);
       });
diff --git a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.2/index.js b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.2/index.js
index d7430c75..63c85b49 100644
--- a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.2/index.js
+++ b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0-alpha.2/index.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ var log = require('gulplog');
 var chalk = require('chalk');
 var stdout = require('mute-stdout');
 var tildify = require('tildify');
+var isString = require('lodash.isstring');
 
 var exit = require('../../shared/exit');
 
@@ -48,13 +49,21 @@ function execute(opts, env) {
     }
     if (opts.tasks) {
       tree = gulpInst.tree({ deep: true });
-      tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      }
 
       return logTasks(tree, opts.depth, getTask(gulpInst));
     }
     if (opts.tasksJson) {
       tree = gulpInst.tree({ deep: true });
-      tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + tildify(env.configPath);
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + tildify(env.configPath);
+      }
 
       var output = JSON.stringify(tree);
 
diff --git a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0/index.js b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0/index.js
index b3146801..d434827c 100644
--- a/lib/versioned/^4.0.0/index.js
+++ b/lib/versioned/^4.0.0/index.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ var log = require('gulplog');
 var chalk = require('chalk');
 var stdout = require('mute-stdout');
 var tildify = require('tildify');
+var isString = require('lodash.isstring');
 
 var exit = require('../../shared/exit');
 
@@ -48,13 +49,21 @@ function execute(opts, env) {
     }
     if (opts.tasks) {
       tree = gulpInst.tree({ deep: true });
-      tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + chalk.magenta(tildify(env.configPath));
+      }
 
       return logTasks(tree, opts.depth, getTask(gulpInst));
     }
     if (opts.tasksJson) {
       tree = gulpInst.tree({ deep: true });
-      tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + tildify(env.configPath);
+      if (opts.description && isString(opts.description)) {
+        tree.label = opts.description;
+      } else {
+        tree.label = 'Tasks for ' + tildify(env.configPath);
+      }
 
       var output = JSON.stringify(tree);
 
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index ff5f257a..226846cf 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -36,10 +36,11 @@
     "fancy-log": "^1.1.0",
     "gulplog": "^1.0.0",
     "interpret": "^1.0.0",
-    "liftoff": "^2.1.0",
+    "liftoff": "^2.3.0",
     "lodash.isfunction": "^3.0.8",
     "lodash.isplainobject": "^4.0.4",
     "lodash.isstring": "^4.0.1",
+    "lodash.merge": "^4.5.1",
     "lodash.sortby": "^4.5.0",
     "matchdep": "^1.0.0",
     "mute-stdout": "^1.0.0",
diff --git a/test/config.js b/test/config.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1a42a8fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/config.js
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
+var expect = require('code').expect;
+var path = require('path');
+var fs = require('fs');
+
+var skipLines = require('./tools/skip-lines');
+var eraseTime = require('./tools/erase-time');
+var runner = require('./tools/run-gulp');
+
+var fixturesDir = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures', 'config');
+var expectedDir = path.join(__dirname, 'expected', 'config');
+
+lab.experiment('gulp configuration', function() {
+
+  lab.test('Should configure with a .gulp.* file in cwd',
+  function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .basedir(fixturesDir)
+      .chdir('foo/bar')
+      .gulp('--tasks')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(path.join(expectedDir, 'output0.txt'),
+        'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(stdout);
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done(err);
+    }
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should configure with a .gulp.* file in cwd found up',
+  function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .basedir(fixturesDir)
+      .chdir('foo/bar/baz')
+      .gulp('--tasks')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(path.join(expectedDir, 'output0.txt'),
+        'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(skipLines(stdout, 1));
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done(err);
+    }
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should configure with a .gulp.* file in cwd by --cwd',
+  function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .basedir(fixturesDir)
+      .chdir('qux')
+      .gulp('--tasks', '--gulpfile ../foo/bar/gulpfile.js', '--cwd .')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(path.join(expectedDir, 'output1.txt'),
+        'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(stdout);
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done(err);
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/expected/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt b/test/expected/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt
similarity index 96%
rename from test/expected/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt
rename to test/expected/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt
index 5545c810..22de5a7f 100644
--- a/test/expected/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt
+++ b/test/expected/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-gulp-cli/test
+gulp-cli/test/fixtures
 ├─┬ default
 │ └─┬ <series>
 │   ├── task1
diff --git a/test/expected/config/output0.txt b/test/expected/config/output0.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0ce27694
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/expected/config/output0.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Description by .gulp.json in directory foo/bar
+└── default
diff --git a/test/expected/config/output1.txt b/test/expected/config/output1.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ad72767c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/expected/config/output1.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+description by .gulp.js in directory qux
+└── default
diff --git a/test/expected/flags-tasks-json.json b/test/expected/flags-tasks-json.json
index f98bdd98..d22a0e65 100644
--- a/test/expected/flags-tasks-json.json
+++ b/test/expected/flags-tasks-json.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-{"label":"Tasks for {{path}}","nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test2","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test3","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"described","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test4","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"errorFunction","type":"function","nodes":[]},{"label":"anon","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"default","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test3","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"described","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]}]}
+{"label":"gulp-cli/test/fixtures/gulpfiles","nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test2","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test3","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"described","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test4","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"errorFunction","type":"function","nodes":[]},{"label":"anon","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"default","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"test1","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"test3","type":"task","nodes":[{"label":"<series>","type":"function","branch":true,"nodes":[{"label":"described","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]},{"label":"noop","type":"function","nodes":[]}]}]}]}
diff --git a/test/expected/flags-tasks.txt b/test/expected/flags-tasks.txt
index 6413c332..cdfe8041 100644
--- a/test/expected/flags-tasks.txt
+++ b/test/expected/flags-tasks.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-gulp-cli/test
+gulp-cli/test/fixtures/gulpfiles
 ├─┬ default
 │ └─┬ <series>
 │   ├─┬ test1
diff --git a/test/expected/tasks-as-exports.txt b/test/expected/tasks-as-exports.txt
index e8214270..8c825148 100644
--- a/test/expected/tasks-as-exports.txt
+++ b/test/expected/tasks-as-exports.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-gulp-cli/test
+gulp-cli/test/fixtures/gulpfiles
 ├── build
 ├── clean
 └─┬ dist
diff --git a/test/expected/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.txt b/test/expected/with-desc-and-flags.txt
similarity index 97%
rename from test/expected/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.txt
rename to test/expected/with-desc-and-flags.txt
index 3c76e6d7..6d65313d 100644
--- a/test/expected/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.txt
+++ b/test/expected/with-desc-and-flags.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-gulp-cli/test
+gulp-cli/test/fixtures
 ├─┬ build         Build all the things!
 │ │ --dev         …un-minified
 │ │ --production  …compressed into single bundle
diff --git a/test/exports-as-tasks.js b/test/exports-as-tasks.js
index 96533ad5..46601f05 100644
--- a/test/exports-as-tasks.js
+++ b/test/exports-as-tasks.js
@@ -1,26 +1,31 @@
 'use strict';
 
 var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
-var code = require('code');
+var expect = require('code').expect;
 var fs = require('fs');
-var child = require('child_process');
+var path = require('path');
+var skipLines = require('./tools/skip-lines');
+var eraseTime = require('./tools/erase-time');
+var runner = require('./tools/run-gulp');
 
-var output = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/expected/tasks-as-exports.txt', 'utf8').replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)/gm,'\n');
+var expectedDir = path.join(__dirname, 'expected');
 
 // Long timeout is required because parse time is slow
 lab.experiment('exports as tasks', { timeout: 0 }, function() {
 
   lab.test('prints the task list', function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .gulp('--tasks',
+        '--gulpfile ./fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-exports.babel.js')
+      .run(cb);
 
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks --gulpfile "./test/fixtures/gulpfile-exports.babel.js"', function(err, stdout) {
-      code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Tasks for');
-      stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('Tasks for')[1].split('\n');
-      var outputArray = output.split('\n');
-      for (var i = 0; i < stdout.length; i++) {
-        code.expect(stdout[i]).to.contain(outputArray[i]);
-      }
-      done(err);
-    });
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var filepath = path.join(expectedDir, 'tasks-as-exports.txt');
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(filepath, 'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(skipLines(stdout, 2));
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done();
+    }
   });
 
 });
diff --git a/test/fixtures/.gulp.json b/test/fixtures/.gulp.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6aad6e7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/.gulp.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "description" : "gulp-cli/test/fixtures"
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/.gulp.json b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/.gulp.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..186db419
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/.gulp.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "description": "Description by .gulp.json in directory foo/bar"
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/baz/.gulp.babel.js b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/baz/.gulp.babel.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4e6e98c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/baz/.gulp.babel.js
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+// jscs:disable
+
+exports.description = 'DESCRIPTION BY .gulp.babel.js in directory foo/bar/baz'
diff --git a/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/gulpfile.js b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/gulpfile.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..42466b03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/config/foo/bar/gulpfile.js
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var gulp = require('gulp');
+
+gulp.task('default', function(done) {
+  done();
+});
diff --git a/test/fixtures/config/qux/.gulp.js b/test/fixtures/config/qux/.gulp.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5af0785a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/config/qux/.gulp.js
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = {
+  description: 'description by .gulp.js in directory qux',
+};
diff --git a/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/.gulp.json b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/.gulp.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..65158fad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/.gulp.json
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  "description" : "gulp-cli/test/fixtures/gulpfiles"
+}
diff --git a/test/fixtures/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js
diff --git a/test/fixtures/gulpfile-2.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-2.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/gulpfile-2.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-2.js
diff --git a/test/fixtures/gulpfile-3.8.10.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-3.8.10.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/gulpfile-3.8.10.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-3.8.10.js
diff --git a/test/fixtures/gulpfile-exports.babel.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-exports.babel.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/gulpfile-exports.babel.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-exports.babel.js
diff --git a/test/fixtures/gulpfile.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/gulpfile.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile.js
diff --git a/test/fixtures/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.js b/test/fixtures/gulpfiles/with-desc-and-flags.js
similarity index 100%
rename from test/fixtures/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.js
rename to test/fixtures/gulpfiles/with-desc-and-flags.js
diff --git a/test/flags-continue.js b/test/flags-continue.js
index 7b7eb6cb..3288fbb1 100644
--- a/test/flags-continue.js
+++ b/test/flags-continue.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ var child = require('child_process');
 lab.experiment('flag: --continue', function() {
 
   lab.test('continues execution when flag is set', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js test4 --continue --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js test4 --continue --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
       code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Starting \'errorFunction\'');
       code.expect(stderr).to.contain('\'errorFunction\' errored after');
       stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('\n');
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ lab.experiment('flag: --continue', function() {
   });
 
   lab.test('stops execution when flag is not set', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js test4 --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js test4 --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
       code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Starting \'errorFunction\'');
       code.expect(stderr).to.contain('\'errorFunction\' errored after');
       code.expect(stdout[4]).to.not.contain('Starting \'anon\'');
diff --git a/test/flags-gulpfile.js b/test/flags-gulpfile.js
index 8c45e9ff..5142bf75 100644
--- a/test/flags-gulpfile.js
+++ b/test/flags-gulpfile.js
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ var child = require('child_process');
 lab.experiment('flag: --gulpfile', function() {
 
   lab.test('Manually set path of gulpfile', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --gulpfile "./test/fixtures/gulpfile-2.js"', function(err, stdout) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --gulpfile "./test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-2.js"', function(err, stdout) {
       stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('\n');
-      code.expect(stdout[1]).to.contain('test/fixtures/gulpfile-2.js');
+      code.expect(stdout[1]).to.contain('test/fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile-2.js');
       code.expect(stdout[5]).to.contain('Finished \'default\'');
       done(err);
     });
diff --git a/test/flags-help.js b/test/flags-help.js
index edf91a50..fe9b4ed1 100644
--- a/test/flags-help.js
+++ b/test/flags-help.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ var outfile = path.resolve(__dirname, 'output/flags-help.out');
 
 var output = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/expected/flags-help.txt', 'utf8').replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)\s?/gm,'\n');
 
-lab.experiment('flag: help', function() {
+lab.experiment('flag: --help', function() {
 
   lab.before(function(done) {
     fs.mkdirpSync(path.resolve(__dirname, 'output'));
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ lab.experiment('flag: help', function() {
   });
 
   lab.test('shows help using --help', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --help --cwd ./test/fixtures > ' + outfile, function(err) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --help --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles > ' + outfile, function(err) {
       var stdout = fs.readFileSync(outfile, { encoding: 'utf8' });
       code.expect(stdout.replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)\s?/gm,'\n')).to.equals(output);
       done(err);
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ lab.experiment('flag: help', function() {
   });
 
   lab.test('shows help using short --h', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --h --cwd ./test/fixtures > ' + outfile, function(err) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --h --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles > ' + outfile, function(err) {
       var stdout = fs.readFileSync(outfile, { encoding: 'utf8' });
       code.expect(stdout.replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)\s?/gm,'\n')).to.equals(output);
       done(err);
diff --git a/test/flags-require.js b/test/flags-require.js
index c62aad6e..1017bcf6 100644
--- a/test/flags-require.js
+++ b/test/flags-require.js
@@ -7,15 +7,15 @@ var child = require('child_process');
 
 lab.experiment('flag: --require', function() {
   lab.test('requires module before running gulpfile', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --require ./test-module.js --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --require ../test-module.js --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout) {
       stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('\n');
       code.expect(stdout[0]).to.equal('inside test module');
-      code.expect(stdout[1]).to.contain('Requiring external module ./test-module.js');
+      code.expect(stdout[1]).to.contain('Requiring external module ../test-module.js');
       done(err);
     });
   });
   lab.test('errors if module doesn\'t exist', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --require ./null-module.js --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --require ./null-module.js --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout, stderr) {
       stderr = stderr.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('\n');
       code.expect(stderr[0]).to.contain('Failed to load external module ./null-module.js');
       done(err);
diff --git a/test/flags-silent.js b/test/flags-silent.js
index 70b99a05..e97073c4 100644
--- a/test/flags-silent.js
+++ b/test/flags-silent.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ var child = require('child_process');
 lab.experiment('flag: --silent', function() {
 
   lab.test('prints nothing when silent flag is set', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --silent --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --silent --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout) {
       code.expect(stdout).to.equal('');
       done(err);
     });
diff --git a/test/flags-tasks-json.js b/test/flags-tasks-json.js
index 90027ea5..707e181b 100644
--- a/test/flags-tasks-json.js
+++ b/test/flags-tasks-json.js
@@ -1,26 +1,26 @@
 'use strict';
 
+var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
+var expect = require('code').expect;
 var fs = require('fs-extra');
 var path = require('path');
-var tildify = require('tildify');
-var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
-var code = require('code');
+var skipLines = require('./tools/skip-lines');
+var runner = require('./tools/run-gulp');
 
-var child = require('child_process');
-var output = require('./expected/flags-tasks-json.json');
+var expected = require(path.join(__dirname, 'expected/flags-tasks-json.json'));
 
 lab.experiment('flag: --tasks-json', function() {
 
-  var outputString = JSON.stringify(output).replace(/{{path}}/, tildify(path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures/gulpfile.js')).replace(/\\/g, '\\\\'));
-  var expected = JSON.parse(outputString);
-
   lab.test('prints the task list with no args', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks-json --gulpfile "./test/fixtures/gulpfile.js" ', function(err, stdout) {
-      stdout = stdout.split('\n');
-      var parsedJson = JSON.parse(stdout[1]);
-      code.expect(parsedJson).to.deep.equal(expected);
-      done(err);
-    });
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .gulp('--tasks-json --gulpfile ./fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile.js')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      stdout = skipLines(stdout, 1);
+      expect(JSON.parse(stdout)).to.deep.equal(expected);
+      done();
+    }
   });
 
   lab.test('writes the task list to file with path', function(done) {
@@ -29,13 +29,19 @@ lab.experiment('flag: --tasks-json', function() {
         return done(err);
       }
 
-      child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks-json "../output/tasks.json" --gulpfile "./test/fixtures/gulpfile.js" ', function(err) {
+      runner({ verbose: false })
+        .gulp('--tasks-json ../../output/tasks.json',
+          '--gulpfile fixtures/gulpfiles/gulpfile.js')
+        .run(cb);
+
+      function cb(err) {
         var file = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/output/tasks.json', 'utf8');
         var parsedJson = JSON.parse(file);
-        code.expect(parsedJson).to.deep.equal(expected);
+        expect(parsedJson).to.deep.equal(expected);
         fs.removeSync(__dirname + '/output/');
         done(err);
-      });
+      }
     });
   });
+
 });
diff --git a/test/flags-task-simple.js b/test/flags-tasks-simple.js
similarity index 89%
rename from test/flags-task-simple.js
rename to test/flags-tasks-simple.js
index daf6917b..fd0e9bc5 100644
--- a/test/flags-task-simple.js
+++ b/test/flags-tasks-simple.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ var output = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/expected/flags-tasks-simple.txt', 'ut
 lab.experiment('flag: --tasks-simple', function() {
 
   lab.test('prints the task list in simple format', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks-simple --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks-simple --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout) {
       code.expect(stdout).to.equal(output);
       done(err);
     });
diff --git a/test/flags-tasks.js b/test/flags-tasks.js
index 1ee263e0..0a9d1354 100644
--- a/test/flags-tasks.js
+++ b/test/flags-tasks.js
@@ -1,57 +1,62 @@
 'use strict';
 
 var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
-var code = require('code');
+var expect = require('code').expect;
 var fs = require('fs');
 var path = require('path');
-var child = require('child_process');
+var skipLines = require('./tools/skip-lines');
+var eraseTime = require('./tools/erase-time');
+var runner = require('./tools/run-gulp');
 
-var expectedFiles = [
-  path.join(__dirname, 'expected/flags-tasks.txt'),
-  path.join(__dirname, 'expected/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.txt'),
-  path.join(__dirname, 'expected/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt'),
-];
-
-var outputs = [];
-expectedFiles.forEach(function(file, i) {
-  outputs[i] = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8').replace(/(\r\n|\n|\r)/gm,'\n');
-});
+var expectedDir = path.join(__dirname, 'expected');
 
 lab.experiment('flag: --tasks', function() {
 
   lab.test('prints the task list', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
-      code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Tasks for');
-      stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('Tasks for')[1].split('\n');
-      var outputArray = outputs[0].split('\n');
-      for (var i = 0; i < stdout.length; i++) {
-        code.expect(stdout[i]).to.contain(outputArray[i]);
-      }
-      done(err);
-    });
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .gulp('--tasks --cwd ./fixtures/gulpfiles')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var filepath = path.join(expectedDir, 'flags-tasks.txt');
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(filepath, 'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(skipLines(stdout, 1));
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done();
+    }
   });
 
-  lab.test('prints the task list with description and flags', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks --gulpfile ./test/fixtures/flags-tasks/with-desc-and-flags.js --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
-      code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Tasks for');
-      stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('Tasks for')[1].split('\n');
-      var outputArray = outputs[1].split('\n');
-      for (var i = 0; i < stdout.length; i++) {
-        code.expect(stdout[i]).to.contain(outputArray[i]);
-      }
-      done(err);
-    });
+  lab.test('print the task list with description and flags', function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .gulp('--tasks',
+        '--gulpfile ./fixtures/gulpfiles/with-desc-and-flags.js',
+        '--cwd ./fixtures')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var filepath = path.join(expectedDir, 'with-desc-and-flags.txt');
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(filepath, 'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(skipLines(stdout, 1));
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done();
+    }
   });
 
-  lab.test('prints the task list by gulp.task(s).unwrap and gulp.task(s)', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --tasks --gulpfile ./test/fixtures/flags-tasks/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
-      code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Tasks for');
-      stdout = stdout.replace(/\\/g, '/').split('Tasks for')[1].split('\n');
-      var outputArray = outputs[2].split('\n');
-      for (var i = 0; i < stdout.length; i++) {
-        code.expect(stdout[i]).to.contain(outputArray[i]);
-      }
-      done(err);
-    });
+  lab.test('print the task list by gulp.task(s).unwrap and gulp.task(s)',
+  function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: false })
+      .gulp('--tasks',
+        '--gulpfile ./fixtures/gulpfiles/by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.js',
+        '--cwd ./fixtures')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      var filepath = path.join(expectedDir, 'by-unwrap-and-not-by-unwrap.txt');
+      var expected = fs.readFileSync(filepath, 'utf-8');
+      stdout = eraseTime(skipLines(stdout, 1));
+      expect(stdout).to.equal(expected);
+      done();
+    }
   });
+
 });
diff --git a/test/flags-version.js b/test/flags-version.js
index 952db389..d30cd40d 100644
--- a/test/flags-version.js
+++ b/test/flags-version.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ var gulpVersion = require('gulp/package.json').version;
 lab.experiment('flag: --version', function() {
 
   lab.test('prints the version of CLI and local gulp', function(done) {
-    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --version --cwd ./test/fixtures', function(err, stdout) {
+    child.exec('node ' + __dirname + '/../bin/gulp.js --version --cwd ./test/fixtures/gulpfiles', function(err, stdout) {
       code.expect(stdout).to.contain('CLI version ' + cliVersion);
       code.expect(stdout).to.contain('Local version ' + gulpVersion);
       done(err);
diff --git a/test/tools/erase-time.js b/test/tools/erase-time.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..444c4412
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/erase-time.js
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = function(text) {
+  return ('\n' + text).replace(/(\r\n|\r|\n)\[[0-9:]{8}\] /g, '\n').slice(1);
+};
diff --git a/test/tools/run-gulp.js b/test/tools/run-gulp.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1354a114
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/run-gulp.js
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var child = require('child_process');
+var path = require('path');
+var os = require('os');
+
+
+var cmdsep = '; ';
+var escapeBs = path.join;
+
+if (os.platform() === 'win32') {
+  cmdsep = ' & ';
+  escapeBs = function() {
+    var pth = path.join.apply(path, arguments);
+    return pth.replace(/\\/g, '\\\\');
+  };
+}
+
+
+var regexpInsEol = new RegExp(cmdsep, 'g');
+
+function insertEol(cmd) {
+  return cmd.replace(regexpInsEol, cmdsep + '\n');
+}
+
+
+var gulpPath = path.join(__dirname, '../../bin/gulp.js');
+
+module.exports = function(opt) {
+  opt = opt || {};
+  var inst = {};
+  inst.basedir = basedirFn;
+  inst.chdir = chdirFn;
+  inst.gulp = gulpFn;
+  inst._command = '';
+  inst._verbose = !!opt.verbose;
+  inst._basedir = path.join(__dirname, '..'); // Test directory
+  return inst;
+
+  function basedirFn(dir) {
+    inst._basedir = dir;
+    return {
+      chdir: chdirFn,
+      gulp: gulpFn,
+    };
+  }
+
+  function chdirFn(dir) {
+    inst._command = 'cd ' + escapeBs(dir);
+    return { gulp: gulpFn };
+  }
+
+  function gulpFn(/*...args*/) {
+    if (inst._command) {
+      inst._command += cmdsep;
+    }
+    inst._command += 'node ' + escapeBs(gulpPath);
+    for (var i = 0, n = arguments.length; i < n; i++) {
+      inst._command += ' ' + arguments[i];
+    }
+    return { run: runFn };
+  }
+
+  function runFn(cb) {
+    var cmd = '';
+    if (inst._basedir) {
+      cmd += 'cd ' + escapeBs(path.resolve(inst._basedir)) + cmdsep;
+    }
+    cmd += inst._command;
+
+    if (!inst._verbose) {
+      child.exec(cmd, cb);
+      inst._command = '';
+      return;
+    }
+
+    console.log('---- command');
+    console.log(insertEol(cmd));
+    child.exec(cmd, function(err, stdout, stderr) {
+      console.log('---- error');
+      console.log(err);
+      console.log('---- stdout');
+      console.log(stdout);
+      console.log('---- stderr');
+      console.log(stderr);
+      console.log('----.');
+      cb(err, stdout, stderr);
+      inst._command = '';
+    });
+  }
+};
diff --git a/test/tools/skip-lines.js b/test/tools/skip-lines.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..83171784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/skip-lines.js
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = function(text, nskip) {
+  text = text.replace(/(\r\n|\r|\n)/gm, '\n');
+  for (var i = 0; i < nskip; i++) {
+    var index = text.indexOf('\n');
+    if (index < 0) {
+      return '';
+    }
+    text = text.slice(index + 1);
+  }
+  return text;
+};
diff --git a/test/tools/test/erase-time-test.js b/test/tools/test/erase-time-test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5b1883c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/test/erase-time-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var eraseTime = require('../erase-time');
+
+var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
+var expect = require('code').expect;
+
+lab.experiment('erase time', function() {
+
+  lab.test('an empty string', function(done) {
+    expect(eraseTime('')).to.equals('');
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('a string with no time', function(done) {
+    expect(eraseTime(' foo \n bar \n baz ')).to.equals(' foo \n bar \n baz ');
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('a string with time', function(done) {
+    expect(eraseTime('[10:20:30]  foo \n[10:20:30]  bar \n[10:20:30]  baz '))
+      .to.equals(' foo \n bar \n baz ');
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('a string with time and various eol', function(done) {
+    expect(eraseTime('[10:20:30]  foo \r\n[10:20:30]  bar \r[10:20:30]  baz '))
+      .to.equals(' foo \n bar \n baz ');
+    done();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/tools/test/gulpfile.js b/test/tools/test/gulpfile.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dc13a5a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/test/gulpfile.js
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var gulp = require('gulp');
+
+function fn1(done) {
+  done();
+}
+
+function fn2(done) {
+  done();
+}
+
+gulp.task('task1', fn1);
+gulp.task('task2', fn2);
+gulp.task('default', gulp.series('task1', 'task2'));
diff --git a/test/tools/test/run-gulp-test.js b/test/tools/test/run-gulp-test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b8b5432a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/test/run-gulp-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
+var expect = require('code').expect;
+var path = require('path');
+
+var runner = require('../run-gulp');
+
+lab.experiment('run gulp', { timeout: 0 }, function() {
+
+  lab.test('Should not share properties', function(done) {
+    var r1 = runner();
+    var r2 = runner();
+
+    r2._verbose = !r1._verbose;
+    r2._basedir = __dirname;
+    r2._command = 'xxxx';
+
+    expect(r1._verbose).not.to.equal(r2._verbose);
+    expect(r1._basedir).not.to.equal(r2._basedir);
+    expect(r1._command).not.to.equal(r2._command);
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should run gulp (verbose)', function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: true })
+      .basedir(path.join(__dirname, '..'))
+      .chdir('test')
+      .gulp('--tasks-simple')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      expect(stdout).to.equal('task1\ntask2\ndefault\n');
+      done();
+    }
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should run gulp --cwd (verbose)', function(done) {
+    runner({ verbose: true })
+      .gulp('--tasks-simple --cwd tools/test')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      expect(stdout).to.equal('task1\ntask2\ndefault\n');
+      done();
+    }
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should run gulp', function(done) {
+    runner()
+      .chdir('tools/test')
+      .gulp('--tasks-simple')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      expect(stdout).to.equal('task1\ntask2\ndefault\n');
+      done();
+    }
+  });
+
+  lab.test('Should run gulp --cwd', function(done) {
+    runner()
+      .gulp('--tasks-simple --cwd tools/test')
+      .run(cb);
+
+    function cb(err, stdout) {
+      expect(stdout).to.equal('task1\ntask2\ndefault\n');
+      done();
+    }
+  });
+
+});
+
diff --git a/test/tools/test/skip-line-test.js b/test/tools/test/skip-line-test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3ba5074f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tools/test/skip-line-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+'use strict';
+
+var skipLines = require('../skip-lines');
+
+var lab = exports.lab = require('lab').script();
+var expect = require('code').expect;
+
+lab.experiment('skip lines', function() {
+
+  lab.test('an empty string', function(done) {
+    expect(skipLines('', 0)).to.equal('');
+    expect(skipLines('', 1)).to.equal('');
+    expect(skipLines('', 2)).to.equal('');
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('an string which has single line', function(done) {
+    expect(skipLines('single line', 0)).to.equal('single line');
+    expect(skipLines('single line', 1)).to.equal('');
+    expect(skipLines('single line', 2)).to.equal('');
+    done();
+  });
+
+  lab.test('an string which has multiple lines', function(done) {
+    expect(skipLines('foo\nbar\nbaz', 0)).to.equal('foo\nbar\nbaz');
+    expect(skipLines('foo\nbar\nbaz', 1)).to.equal('bar\nbaz');
+    expect(skipLines('foo\nbar\nbaz', 2)).to.equal('baz');
+    done();
+  });
+
+});