diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index 2f7c9b5cf19..b60dddaf72b 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,9 +1,27 @@
+# Copyright 2019 Atalaya Tech, 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 README.md
-graft docs
+include LICENSE
+
+# include ".cfg" files
+graft bentoml/config
 
 # Don't include examples, tests directory
 prune examples
 prune tests
+prune docs
 
 # Patterns to exclude from any directory
 global-exclude *~
@@ -11,3 +29,4 @@ global-exclude *.pyc
 global-exclude *.pyo
 global-exclude .git
 global-exclude .ipynb_checkpoints
+global-exclude __pycache__
diff --git a/bentoml/__init__.py b/bentoml/__init__.py
index 860db73a52e..6566ee4ed3e 100644
--- a/bentoml/__init__.py
+++ b/bentoml/__init__.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 from bentoml import handlers
+from bentoml.config import config
 from bentoml.version import __version__
 
 from bentoml.service import (
@@ -32,12 +33,13 @@
 __all__ = [
     "__version__",
     "api",
+    "artifacts",
+    "config",
     "env",
     "ver",
-    "artifacts",
-    "BentoService",
     "save",
     "load",
     "handlers",
     "metrics",
+    "BentoService",
 ]
diff --git a/bentoml/archive/loader.py b/bentoml/archive/loader.py
index 861b99d7626..e57ae7cf807 100644
--- a/bentoml/archive/loader.py
+++ b/bentoml/archive/loader.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 import tempfile
 
 from bentoml.utils.s3 import is_s3_url, download_from_s3
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 from bentoml.archive.config import BentoArchiveConfig
 
 
diff --git a/bentoml/archive/py_module_utils.py b/bentoml/archive/py_module_utils.py
index 29ea9f9a69d..57ad3f01061 100644
--- a/bentoml/archive/py_module_utils.py
+++ b/bentoml/archive/py_module_utils.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 from six import string_types, iteritems
 
 from bentoml.utils import Path
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 
 
 def _get_module_src_file(module):
diff --git a/bentoml/cli/__init__.py b/bentoml/cli/__init__.py
index c7e6cf67cf9..b73d8532abc 100644
--- a/bentoml/cli/__init__.py
+++ b/bentoml/cli/__init__.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 from bentoml.cli.click_utils import DefaultCommandGroup, conditional_argument
 from bentoml.deployment.serverless import ServerlessDeployment
 from bentoml.deployment.sagemaker import SagemakerDeployment
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 
 SERVERLESS_PLATFORMS = ["aws-lambda", "aws-lambda-py2", "gcp-function"]
 
diff --git a/bentoml/config/__init__.py b/bentoml/config/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a31b18726cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bentoml/config/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+# Copyright 2019 Atalaya Tech, 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.
+
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import division
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import os
+import logging
+
+from bentoml.utils import Path
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLConfigException
+from bentoml.config.configparser import BentoConfigParser
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def expand_env_var(env_var):
+    """Expands potentially nested env var by repeatedly applying `expandvars` and
+    `expanduser` until interpolation stops having any effect.
+    """
+    if not env_var:
+        return env_var
+    while True:
+        interpolated = os.path.expanduser(os.path.expandvars(str(env_var)))
+        if interpolated == env_var:
+            return interpolated
+        else:
+            env_var = interpolated
+
+
+BENTOML_HOME = expand_env_var(os.environ.get("BENTOML_HOME", "~/bentoml"))
+try:
+    Path(BENTOML_HOME).mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+except OSError as err:
+    raise BentoMLConfigException(
+        "Error creating bentoml home dir '{}': {}".format(BENTOML_HOME, err.strerror)
+    )
+
+# Default bentoml config comes with the library bentoml/config/default_bentoml.cfg
+DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "default_bentoml.cfg")
+with open(DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE, "rb") as f:
+    DEFAULT_CONFIG = f.read().decode("utf-8")
+
+if "BENTML_CONFIG" in os.environ:
+    # User local config file for customizing bentoml
+    BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE = expand_env_var(os.environ.get("BENTML_CONFIG"))
+else:
+    BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE = os.path.join(BENTOML_HOME, "bentoml.cfg")
+    if not os.path.isfile(BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE):
+        logger.info("Creating new Bentoml config file: %s", BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE)
+        with open(BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE, "w") as f:
+            f.write(DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+
+config = BentoConfigParser(default_config=DEFAULT_CONFIG)
+config.read(BENTOML_CONFIG_FILE)
diff --git a/bentoml/config/configparser.py b/bentoml/config/configparser.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9aa2c267e2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bentoml/config/configparser.py
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+# Copyright 2019 Atalaya Tech, 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.
+
+from __future__ import absolute_import
+from __future__ import division
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import os
+import logging
+from collections import OrderedDict
+
+from configparser import ConfigParser
+
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLConfigException
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class BentoConfigParser(ConfigParser):
+    """ BentoML configuration parser
+
+    :param default_config string - serve as default value when conf key not presented in
+        environment var or user local config file
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, default_config, *args, **kwargs):
+        ConfigParser.__init__(self, *args, **kwargs)
+
+        self.bentoml_defaults = ConfigParser(*args, **kwargs)
+        if default_config is not None:
+            self.bentoml_defaults.read_string(default_config)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _env_var_name(section, key):
+        return "BENTOML__{}__{}".format(section.upper(), key.upper())
+
+    def get(self, section, key, **kwargs):
+        """ A simple hierachical config access, priority order:
+            1. environment var
+            2. user config file
+            3. bentoml default config file
+        """
+        section = str(section).lower()
+        key = str(key).lower()
+
+        env_var = self._env_var_name(section, key)
+        if env_var in os.environ:
+            return os.environ[env_var]
+
+        if ConfigParser.has_option(self, section, key):
+            return ConfigParser.get(self, section, key, **kwargs)
+
+        if self.bentoml_defaults.has_option(section, key):
+            return self.bentoml_defaults.get(section, key, **kwargs)
+        else:
+            raise BentoMLConfigException(
+                "section/key '{}/{}' not found in BentoML config".format(section, key)
+            )
+
+    def as_dict(self, display_source=False):
+        cfg = {}
+
+        def add_config(cfg, source, config):
+            for section in config:
+                cfg.setdefault(section, OrderedDict())
+                for k, val in config.items(section=section, raw=False):
+                    if display_source:
+                        cfg[section][k] = (val, source)
+                    else:
+                        cfg[section][k] = val
+
+        add_config(cfg, "default", self.bentoml_defaults)
+        add_config(cfg, "bentoml.cfg", self)
+
+        for ev in os.environ:
+            if ev.startswith("BENTOML__"):
+                _, section, key = ev.split("__")
+                val = os.environ[ev]
+                if display_source:
+                    val = (val, "env var")
+                cfg.setdefault(section.lower(), OrderedDict()).update(
+                    {key.lower(): val}
+                )
+
+        return cfg
+
+    def __repr__(self):
+        return "<BentoML config: {}>".format(str(self.as_dict()))
diff --git a/bentoml/utils/config.py b/bentoml/config/default_bentoml.cfg
similarity index 62%
rename from bentoml/utils/config.py
rename to bentoml/config/default_bentoml.cfg
index 643636d2a0d..1cb91d9daeb 100644
--- a/bentoml/utils/config.py
+++ b/bentoml/config/default_bentoml.cfg
@@ -12,11 +12,31 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-from __future__ import absolute_import
-from __future__ import division
-from __future__ import print_function
-
-# env var
-# ~/.bentomlrc
-# cli args?
-# user specified global conf
+# This is the default configuration for BentoML. When bentoml is imported, it looks
+# for a configuration file at "$BENTOML_HOME/bentoml.cfg".
+
+[core]
+
+logging_level = INFO
+logging_config_class =
+log_format =
+
+usage_report = true
+
+
+[apiserver]
+default_port = 5000
+enable_metrics = true
+enable_feedback = true
+
+[cli]
+#
+#
+
+[tensorflow]
+#
+#
+
+[pytorch]
+#
+#
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/bentoml/deployment/sagemaker/__init__.py b/bentoml/deployment/sagemaker/__init__.py
index fc7f2d2ce00..c70124198bc 100644
--- a/bentoml/deployment/sagemaker/__init__.py
+++ b/bentoml/deployment/sagemaker/__init__.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 from bentoml.deployment.base_deployment import Deployment
 from bentoml.deployment.utils import generate_bentoml_deployment_snapshot_path
 from bentoml.utils.whichcraft import which
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 from bentoml.deployment.sagemaker.templates import (
     DEFAULT_NGINX_CONFIG,
     DEFAULT_WSGI_PY,
diff --git a/bentoml/deployment/serverless/__init__.py b/bentoml/deployment/serverless/__init__.py
index 0dfded50a64..465c8181b8c 100644
--- a/bentoml/deployment/serverless/__init__.py
+++ b/bentoml/deployment/serverless/__init__.py
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 from bentoml.utils import Path
 from bentoml.utils.tempdir import TempDirectory
 from bentoml.utils.whichcraft import which
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 from bentoml.deployment.base_deployment import Deployment
 from bentoml.deployment.serverless.aws_lambda_template import (
     create_aws_lambda_bundle,
diff --git a/bentoml/deployment/utils.py b/bentoml/deployment/utils.py
index 091a4bb8ce2..42a61a1d94b 100644
--- a/bentoml/deployment/utils.py
+++ b/bentoml/deployment/utils.py
@@ -20,13 +20,12 @@
 
 from datetime import datetime
 
-from bentoml.utils import Path
+from bentoml import config
 
 
 def generate_bentoml_deployment_snapshot_path(service_name, service_version, platform):
     return os.path.join(
-        str(Path.home()),
-        ".bentoml",
+        config.BENTOML_HOME,
         "deployment-snapshots",
         platform,
         service_name,
diff --git a/bentoml/utils/exceptions.py b/bentoml/exceptions.py
similarity index 91%
rename from bentoml/utils/exceptions.py
rename to bentoml/exceptions.py
index b3247d3215a..e42c4c8c9e9 100644
--- a/bentoml/utils/exceptions.py
+++ b/bentoml/exceptions.py
@@ -22,3 +22,9 @@ class BentoMLException(Exception):
     Base class for all BentoML's errors.
     Each custom exception should be derived from this class
     """
+
+    status_code = 500
+
+
+class BentoMLConfigException(BentoMLException):
+    pass
diff --git a/bentoml/handlers/image_handler.py b/bentoml/handlers/image_handler.py
index ad31d042f9c..229d1e490b4 100644
--- a/bentoml/handlers/image_handler.py
+++ b/bentoml/handlers/image_handler.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 from werkzeug.utils import secure_filename
 from flask import Response
 
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 from bentoml.handlers.base_handlers import BentoHandler, get_output_str
 
 ACCEPTED_CONTENT_TYPES = ["images/png", "images/jpeg", "images/jpg"]
diff --git a/bentoml/server/bento_api_server.py b/bentoml/server/bento_api_server.py
index 3fca2662b97..7f0def46029 100644
--- a/bentoml/server/bento_api_server.py
+++ b/bentoml/server/bento_api_server.py
@@ -24,9 +24,12 @@
 from flask import Flask, jsonify, Response, request
 from prometheus_client import generate_latest, Summary
 
+from bentoml import config
 from bentoml.server.prediction_logger import get_prediction_logger, log_prediction
 from bentoml.server.feedback_logger import get_feedback_logger, log_feedback
 
+conf = config["apiserver"]
+
 CONTENT_TYPE_LATEST = str("text/plain; version=0.0.4; charset=utf-8")
 
 prediction_logger = get_prediction_logger()
@@ -46,22 +49,27 @@ def index_view_func(bento_service):
     """
     The index route for bento model server, it display all avaliable routes
     """
-    # TODO: Generate a html page for user and swagger definitions
     endpoints = {
-        "/feedback": {
-            "description": "Predictions feedback endpoint. Expecting feedback request "
-            "in JSON format and must contain a `request_id` field, which can be "
-            "obtained from any BentoService API response header"
-        },
         "/healthz": {
             "description": "Health check endpoint. Expecting an empty response with"
             "status code 200 when the service is in health state"
-        },
-        "/metrics": {"description": "Prometheus metrics endpoint"},
+        }
     }
+
+    if conf.getboolean("enable_metrics"):
+        endpoints["/metrics"] = {"description": "Prometheus metrics endpoint"}
+
+    if conf.getboolean("enable_feedback"):
+        endpoints["/feedback"] = {
+            "description": "Predictions feedback endpoint. Expecting feedback request "
+            "in JSON format and must contain a `request_id` field, which can be "
+            "obtained from any BentoService API response header"
+        }
+
     for api in bento_service.get_service_apis():
         path = "/{}".format(api.name)
         endpoints[path] = {"description": api.doc}
+
     return jsonify(endpoints)
 
 
@@ -159,10 +167,14 @@ def setup_routes(app, bento_service):
 
     app.add_url_rule("/", "index", partial(index_view_func, bento_service))
     app.add_url_rule("/healthz", "healthz", healthz_view_func)
-    app.add_url_rule(
-        "/feedback", "feedback", feedback_view_func, methods=["POST", "GET"]
-    )
-    app.add_url_rule("/metrics", "metrics", metrics_view_func)
+
+    if conf.getboolean("enable_metrics"):
+        app.add_url_rule("/metrics", "metrics", metrics_view_func)
+
+    if conf.getboolean("enable_feedback"):
+        app.add_url_rule(
+            "/feedback", "feedback", feedback_view_func, methods=["POST", "GET"]
+        )
 
     for api in bento_service.get_service_apis():
         setup_bento_service_api_route(app, bento_service, api)
@@ -177,7 +189,7 @@ class BentoAPIServer:
     request data into a Service API function
     """
 
-    _DEFAULT_PORT = 5000
+    _DEFAULT_PORT = conf.getint("default_port")
 
     def __init__(self, bento_service, port=_DEFAULT_PORT, app_name=None):
         app_name = bento_service.name if app_name is None else app_name
diff --git a/bentoml/server/gunicorn_server.py b/bentoml/server/gunicorn_server.py
index 65397898383..4cc2a9ecefa 100644
--- a/bentoml/server/gunicorn_server.py
+++ b/bentoml/server/gunicorn_server.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 import multiprocessing
 
-import gunicorn.app.base
+from gunicorn.app.base import BaseApplication
 from gunicorn.six import iteritems
 
 
@@ -34,15 +34,13 @@ def get_gunicorn_worker_count():
     return (multiprocessing.cpu_count() // 2) + 1
 
 
-class GunicornApplication(
-    gunicorn.app.base.BaseApplication
-):  # pylint: disable=abstract-method
+class GunicornApplication(BaseApplication):  # pylint: disable=abstract-method
     """
     A custom Gunicorn application.
 
     Usage::
 
-        >>> import GunicornApplication
+        >>> from bentoml.server.gunicorn_server import GunicornApplication
         >>>
         >>> gunicorn_app = GunicornApplication(app, 5000, 2)
         >>> gunicorn_app.run()
diff --git a/bentoml/service.py b/bentoml/service.py
index b08947c0d49..a5e526b4001 100644
--- a/bentoml/service.py
+++ b/bentoml/service.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 from six import add_metaclass
 from abc import abstractmethod, ABCMeta
 
-from bentoml.utils.exceptions import BentoMLException
+from bentoml.exceptions import BentoMLException
 from bentoml.service_env import BentoServiceEnv
 from bentoml.artifact import ArtifactCollection
 from bentoml.utils import isidentifier
diff --git a/examples/deploy-with-sagemaker/README.md b/examples/deploy-with-sagemaker/README.md
index fdbac5b6dee..cdd655e4ea7 100644
--- a/examples/deploy-with-sagemaker/README.md
+++ b/examples/deploy-with-sagemaker/README.md
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ After you invoke the command, BentoML will first generated a snapshot of this mo
 
 After you invoke deploy command, BentoML will perform serveal operations for SageMaker deployment.
 
-First, BentoML will generate snapshot of this deployment in your local file system.  The default snapshot location is `~/.bentoml/deployments`.
+First, BentoML will generate snapshot of this deployment in your local file system.  The default snapshot location is `~/bentoml/deployments`.
 It will place the snapshot in the format of `platform/model_archive_name/model_archive_version/timestamp`
 
 ![ScreenShot](./file-struc.png)
@@ -85,4 +85,4 @@ Delete a SageMaker deployment is as easy as deploying it.
 
 ```bash
 bentoml delete-deployment /ARCHIVED_PATH --platform=aws-sagemaker --region=AWS_REGION
-```
\ No newline at end of file
+```
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 08858ffb5f6..c1d42117e5f 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import os
-import sys
 import imp
 import setuptools
 
@@ -40,17 +39,7 @@
     "requests",
     "packaging",
     "docker",
-]
-
-dev_requires = [
-    "pylint==2.3.1",
-    "flake8",
-    "pytest==4.6.0",
-    "tox-conda==0.2.0",
-    "twine",
-    "black",
-    "setuptools",
-    "gitpython>=2.0.2",
+    "configparser",
 ]
 
 cv2 = ["opencv-python"]
@@ -59,18 +48,28 @@
 api_server = ["gunicorn", "prometheus_client", "Werkzeug"]
 
 optional_requires = api_server + cv2 + pytorch + tensorflow
-dev_all = install_requires + dev_requires + optional_requires
 
 tests_require = [
-    "pytest==4.6.0",
+    "pytest==4.1.0",
+    "pytest-cov==2.7.1",
     "snapshottest==0.5.0",
     "mock==2.0.0",
-    "tox==3.8.4",
-    "pytest-cov==2.7.1",
-    "coverage",
+    "tox==3.12.1",
+    "coverage>=4.4",
     "codecov",
-]
-tests_require += cv2
+] + cv2
+
+dev_requires = [
+    "pylint==2.3.1",
+    "flake8",
+    "tox-conda==0.2.0",
+    "twine",
+    "black",
+    "setuptools",
+    "gitpython>=2.0.2",
+] + tests_require
+
+dev_all = install_requires + dev_requires + optional_requires
 
 extras_require = {
     "all": dev_all,
@@ -87,7 +86,8 @@
     version=__version__,
     author="atalaya.io",
     author_email="contact@atalaya.io",
-    description="BentoML: Package and Deploy Your Machine Learning Models",
+    description="An open framework for building, shipping and running machine learning "
+    "services",
     long_description=long_description,
     long_description_content_type="text/markdown",
     install_requires=install_requires,
@@ -112,4 +112,5 @@
         "Source Code": "https://github.com/bentoml/BentoML",
         "Gitter Chat Room": "https://gitter.im/bentoml/BentoML",
     },
+    include_package_data=True,  # Required for '.cfg' files under bentoml/config
 )