diff --git a/attributes/install.rb b/attributes/install.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8fc4492e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/attributes/install.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+default['chef-client']['version']        = :latest
+default['chef-client']['install_method'] = "omnibus"
diff --git a/attributes/install_omnibus.rb b/attributes/install_omnibus.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d26a41c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/attributes/install_omnibus.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+include_attribute "chef-client::install"
+
+default['chef-client']['omnibus']['version'] = node['chef-client']['version']
+default['chef-client']['omnibus']['prereleases'] = false
+default['chef-client']['omnibus']['nightlies'] = false
+default['chef-client']['omnibus']['package_file'] = nil
+default['chef-client']['omnibus']['package_checksum'] = nil
diff --git a/libraries/omnitruck_client.rb b/libraries/omnitruck_client.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9652a6ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/omnitruck_client.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#
+# Copyright:: Copyright (c) 2012 Opscode, Inc.
+# License:: Apache License, Version 2.0
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+require 'uri'
+
+class OmnitruckClientClient
+
+  attr_reader :platform, :platform_version, :machine_architecture
+
+  def initialize(node)
+    @platform = node['platform_family'] == "rhel" ? "el" : node['platform']
+    @platform_version = node['platform_family'] == "rhel" ? node['platform_version'].to_i : node['platform_version']
+    @machine_architecture = node['kernel']['machine']
+  end
+
+  def package_for_version(version, prerelease=false, nightly=false)
+    url = "http://www.opscode.com/chef/download"
+    url << "?p=#{platform}"
+    url << "&pv=#{platform_version}"
+    url << "&m=#{machine_architecture}"
+    url << "&v=#{version}" if version
+    url << "&prerelease=#{prerelease}"
+    url << "&nightlies=#{nightly}"
+    Chef::Log.info("Omnitruck download-clien request: #{url}")
+    target = redirect_target(url)
+    Chef::Log.info("Downloading chef-client package from: #{target}") if target
+    target
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def redirect_target(url)
+    url = URI.parse(url)
+    http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
+    if url.scheme == "https"
+      http.use_ssl = true
+      http.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE
+    end
+    response = http.get(url.request_uri, {})
+    case response
+    when Net::HTTPRedirection
+      response['location']
+    else
+      nil
+    end
+  end
+
+end
diff --git a/recipes/install.rb b/recipes/install.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..08a7db25
--- /dev/null
+++ b/recipes/install.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#
+# Cookbook Name:: chef-client
+# Recipe:: install
+#
+# Copyright 2010, Opscode, Inc.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+include_recipe "chef-client::install_#{node['chef-client']['install_method']}"
diff --git a/recipes/install_omnibus.rb b/recipes/install_omnibus.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9a732b0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/recipes/install_omnibus.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#
+# Cookbook Name:: chef-client
+# Recipe:: install_omnibus
+#
+# Copyright 2010, Opscode, Inc.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+#
+
+# Acquire the chef-client Omnibus package
+if node['chef-client']['package_file'].nil? || node['chef-client']['package_file'].empty?
+  omnibus_package = OmnitruckClientClient.new(node).package_for_version(node['chef-client']['version'],
+                                                        node['chef-client']['prereleases'],
+                                                        node['chef-client']['nightlies'])
+  unless omnibus_package
+    err_msg = "Could not locate chef-client"
+    err_msg << " pre-release" if node['chef-client']['prereleases']
+    err_msg << " nightly" if node['chef-client']['nightlies']
+    err_msg << " package matching version '#{node['chef-client']['version']}' for node."
+    raise err_msg
+  end
+else
+  omnibus_package = node['chef-client']['package_file']
+end
+
+package_name = ::File.basename(omnibus_package)
+package_local_path = "#{Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]}/#{package_name}"
+
+# omnibus_package is remote (ie a URI) let's download it
+if ::URI.parse(omnibus_package).absolute?
+  remote_file package_local_path do
+    source omnibus_package
+    if node['chef-client']['package_checksum']
+      checksum node['chef-client']['package_checksum'] if node['chef-client']['package_checksum']
+      action :create
+    else
+      action :create_if_missing
+    end
+  end
+# else we assume it's on the local machine
+else
+  package_local_path = omnibus_package
+end
+
+# install the platform package
+package package_name do
+  source package_local_path
+  provider case node["platform_family"]
+           when "debian"; Chef::Provider::Package::Dpkg
+           when "rhel"; Chef::Provider::Package::Rpm
+           else
+            raise RuntimeError("I don't know how to install chef-client packages for platform family '#{node["platform_family"]}'!")
+           end
+  action :install
+end