diff --git a/Framework/CMakeLists.txt b/Framework/CMakeLists.txt
index 972ff87fce..e58873987d 100644
--- a/Framework/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Framework/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -137,7 +137,8 @@ set(EXE_SRCS
   src/runLocationCalculator.cxx
   src/runMergerCalculator.cxx
   src/runUploadRootObjects.cxx
-  src/runFileMerger.cxx)
+  src/runFileMerger.cxx
+  src/runMetadataUpdater.cxx)
 
 set(EXE_NAMES
   o2-qc-run-producer
@@ -153,7 +154,8 @@ set(EXE_NAMES
   o2-qc-location-calculator
   o2-qc-merger-calculator
   o2-qc-upload-root-objects
-  o2-qc-file-merger)
+  o2-qc-file-merger
+  o2-qc-metadata-updater)
 
 # These were the original names before the convention changed. We will get rid
 # of them but for the time being we want to create symlinks to avoid confusion.
@@ -172,7 +174,8 @@ set(EXE_OLD_NAMES
   o2-qc-location-calculator
   o2-qc-merger-calculator
   o2-qc-upload-root-objects
-  o2-qc-file-merger)
+  o2-qc-file-merger
+  o2-qc-metadata-updater)
 
 # As per https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35765106/symbolic-links-cmake
 macro(install_symlink filepath sympath)
diff --git a/Framework/src/CcdbDatabase.cxx b/Framework/src/CcdbDatabase.cxx
index 65884ecfac..3a12682561 100644
--- a/Framework/src/CcdbDatabase.cxx
+++ b/Framework/src/CcdbDatabase.cxx
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@
 #include <sstream>
 #include <unordered_set>
 // boost
-#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
 #include <boost/property_tree/json_parser.hpp>
 #include <boost/property_tree/ptree.hpp>
 #include <boost/foreach.hpp>
diff --git a/Framework/src/runMetadataUpdater.cxx b/Framework/src/runMetadataUpdater.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4804cd3595
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Framework/src/runMetadataUpdater.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+// Copyright 2019-2020 CERN and copyright holders of ALICE O2.
+// See https://alice-o2.web.cern.ch/copyright for details of the copyright holders.
+// All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
+//
+// This software is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public
+// License v3 (GPL Version 3), copied verbatim in the file "COPYING".
+//
+// In applying this license CERN does not waive the privileges and immunities
+// granted to it by virtue of its status as an Intergovernmental Organization
+// or submit itself to any jurisdiction.
+
+///
+/// \file    runMetadataUpdater.cxx
+/// \author  Barthelemy von Haller
+///
+/// \brief Easily update the metadata of an object in the QCDB or add new metadata if it does not exist yet.
+///
+/// Example: o2-qc-metadata-updater --url ccdb-test.cern.ch:8080 --path Test/pid61065/Test --pair something,else --id 8b9728fe-486b-11ec-afda-2001171b226b --pair key1,value1
+///
+/// Note: commas can be escaped if they must be part of the key: "my,key" --> "my\\,key". Note that it needs double escaping.
+///       commas don't have to escaped in the value.
+
+#include <CCDB/CcdbApi.h>
+#include <CCDB/CCDBTimeStampUtils.h>
+#include <iostream>
+#include <vector>
+#include <boost/program_options.hpp>
+#include <boost/algorithm/algorithm.hpp>
+#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
+
+namespace bpo = boost::program_options;
+using namespace std;
+
+int main(int argc, const char* argv[])
+{
+  try {
+    bpo::options_description desc{ "Options" };
+    desc.add_options()("help,h", "Help screen")("url,u", bpo::value<std::string>()->required(), "URL to the QCDB")("path,p", bpo::value<std::string>()->required(), "Path to the object to update")("timestamp,t", bpo::value<long>()->default_value(o2::ccdb::getCurrentTimestamp()), "Timestamp to select the object")("id", bpo::value<std::string>()->default_value(""), "Id of the object to select")("pair", bpo::value<vector<string>>()->required(), "Key-value pair to update the metadata (e.g. --pair \"1,oil\", can be added multiple times)");
+
+    bpo::variables_map vm;
+    store(parse_command_line(argc, argv, desc), vm);
+    notify(vm);
+
+    if (vm.count("help")) {
+      std::cout << desc << std::endl;
+      return 0;
+    }
+
+    const auto url = vm["url"].as<string>();
+    const auto path = vm["path"].as<string>();
+    const auto timestamp = vm["timestamp"].as<long>();
+    const auto id = vm["id"].as<string>();
+    const auto pairs = vm["pair"].as<vector<string>>();
+
+    // prepare the key value map, take into account escaped commas
+    map<string, string> metadata;
+    for (auto p : pairs) {
+      size_t hit = -1; // on purpose ... don't worry
+      do {             // make sure we ignore the escaped commas
+        hit = p.find(',', hit + 1);
+      } while (hit != string::npos && hit > 0 && p.at(hit - 1) == '\\');
+      if (hit == string::npos) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      metadata[p.substr(0, hit)] = p.substr(hit + 1);
+    }
+    if (metadata.empty()) {
+      cout << "No proper pairs found, aborting." << endl;
+      return -1;
+    }
+
+    std::cout << "PARAMETERS" << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "url................" << url << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "path,.............." << path << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "timestamp.........." << timestamp << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "id................." << id << std::endl;
+    std::cout << "pairs" << std::endl;
+    for (auto m : metadata) {
+      std::cout << "   |........" << m.first << " -> " << m.second << endl;
+    }
+    std::cout << std::endl;
+
+    o2::ccdb::CcdbApi api;
+    api.init(url);
+    api.updateMetadata(path, metadata, timestamp, id);
+
+    return 0;
+  } catch (const bpo::error& ex) {
+    std::cerr << "Exception caught: " << ex.what() << std::endl;
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+// -0.378347x + 2782.30
\ No newline at end of file