diff --git a/cpanm b/cpanm
index 7fc69ee2a..77751d950 100755
--- a/cpanm
+++ b/cpanm
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ sub new {
         perl => $^X,
         argv => undef,
         hooks => {},
+        plugins => [],
         @_,
     }, $class;
 }
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@ sub parse_options {
         'V|version' => sub { $self->{action} = 'version' },
         'perl'      => \$self->{perl},
         'recent'    => sub { $self->{action} = 'show_recent' },
+        'list-plugins' => sub { $self->{action} = 'list_plugins' },
         'installdeps' => \$self->{installdeps},
         'interactive' => \$self->{interactive},
         'i|install' => sub { $self->{cmd} = 'install' },
@@ -201,13 +203,19 @@ sub load_plugin {
 
     $self->chat("Loading plugin $file\n");
 
+    my $plugin = { name => $name, file => $file };
+    my @attr   = qw( name description author version api_version synopsis );
+    my $dsl    = join "\n", map "sub $_ { \$plugin->{$_} = shift }", @attr;
+
     (my $package = $file) =~ s/[^a-zA-Z0-9_]/_/g;
     my $code = do { open my $io, "<$file"; local $/; <$io> };
     eval "package App::cpanplus::plugin::$package;\n".
-        "use strict;\n" .
+        "use strict;\n$dsl\n" .
         "sub hook { \$self->hook('$name', \@_) };\n$code";
 
     $self->diag("! Loading plugin $file faield: $@") if $@;
+
+    push @{$self->{plugins}}, $plugin;
 }
 
 sub hook {
@@ -376,6 +384,16 @@ sub show_recent {
     return 1;
 }
 
+sub list_plugins {
+    my $self = shift;
+
+    for my $plugin (@{$self->{plugins}}) {
+        print "$plugin->{name} - $plugin->{description}\n";
+    }
+
+    return 1;
+}
+
 sub self_upgrade {
     my $self = shift;
     $self->{argv} = [ 'App::cpanminus' ];
diff --git a/plugins/bundle b/plugins/bundle
index 776d9ddfe..b2c5070c7 100644
--- a/plugins/bundle
+++ b/plugins/bundle
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: bundle - grab dependencies from Bundle::
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'bundle';
+description 'dependencies from Bundle::';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 hook find_deps => sub {
     my $args = shift;
diff --git a/plugins/cp562an b/plugins/cp562an
index bca9371e5..c7f0ba901 100644
--- a/plugins/cp562an
+++ b/plugins/cp562an
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
-# XXX This does not work
-# NAME: cp562an - Use CP5.6.2AN (or other similar) mirrors
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'cp562an';
+description 'Use CP5.6.2AN (or other similar) mirrors';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $mirror_base = 'http://cp__WHAT__an.barnyard.co.uk/';
 
diff --git a/plugins/cpandb b/plugins/cpandb
index 83620699a..3217e3b5c 100644
--- a/plugins/cpandb
+++ b/plugins/cpandb
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: cpandb - query CPAN DB rather than scraping search.cpan.org
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'cpandb';
+description 'query CPAN DB rather than scraping search.cpan.org';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 # This is a proof-of-concept plugin:
 # DO NOT USE THIS PLUGIN - the server hardcoded here is not frequently updated
diff --git a/plugins/cpanfresh b/plugins/cpanfresh
index 9bdfa6375..19ef853e6 100644
--- a/plugins/cpanfresh
+++ b/plugins/cpanfresh
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: cpanfresh - Fetch the latest release from http://friendfeed.com/cpan
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'cpanfresh';
+description 'Fetch the latest release from http://friendfeed.com/cpan';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $entries;
 
diff --git a/plugins/dist_ini b/plugins/dist_ini
index 8af0b441b..0a42c3987 100644
--- a/plugins/dist_ini
+++ b/plugins/dist_ini
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: dist_ini - Find depdencies and extract META info from dist.ini
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'dist_ini';
+description 'Find depdencies and extract META info from dist.ini';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 # This is a proof of concept and not really useful since most
 # distributions heavily use Dist::Zilla's feature to mangle docs,
diff --git a/plugins/fast_syncing_mirrors b/plugins/fast_syncing_mirrors
index d25fbeea1..914ff5bf3 100644
--- a/plugins/fast_syncing_mirrors
+++ b/plugins/fast_syncing_mirrors
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: fast_syncing_mirrors - Use fast-syncing PAUSE mirrors
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'fast_syncing_mirrors';
+description 'Use fast-syncing PAUSE mirrors';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 hook configure_mirrors => sub {
     my $args = shift;
diff --git a/plugins/git_site_perl b/plugins/git_site_perl
index 865605156..9aea9d412 100644
--- a/plugins/git_site_perl
+++ b/plugins/git_site_perl
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-# NAME: git_site_perl - Hooks to keep site_perl in git
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'git_site_perl';
+description 'Hooks to keep site_perl in git';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
 
 use Config;
 use Cwd;
diff --git a/plugins/github b/plugins/github
index 5449c8394..b41877bb9 100644
--- a/plugins/github
+++ b/plugins/github
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
-# NAME: github - Install distributions from github
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
-# SYNOPSIS: cpanm github:miyagawa/Plack
+name        'github';
+description 'Install distributions from github';
+synopsis    'cpanm github:miyagawa/Plack';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 hook locate_dist => sub {
     my $args = shift;
diff --git a/plugins/gitpan b/plugins/gitpan
index 080d754d7..46b653ea7 100644
--- a/plugins/gitpan
+++ b/plugins/gitpan
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
-# NAME: gitpan - Install modules from gitpan
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
-# SYNOPSIS: cpanm gitpan:CGI-1.22
+name        'gitpan';
+description 'Install modules from gitpan';
+synopsis    'cpanm gitpan:CGI-1.22';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 hook locate_dist => sub {
     my $args = shift;
diff --git a/plugins/growl b/plugins/growl
index 874371a07..3b155b126 100644
--- a/plugins/growl
+++ b/plugins/growl
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: growl - Growl notifications
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'growl';
+description 'Growl notifications';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $growlnotify;
 
diff --git a/plugins/minicpan b/plugins/minicpan
index 6b5991475..b239513ec 100644
--- a/plugins/minicpan
+++ b/plugins/minicpan
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: minicpan - fallback to local minicpan when a dist is not found
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'minicpan';
+description 'fallback to local minicpan when a dist is not found';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $minicpan_rc   = File::Spec->catfile($ENV{HOME}, ".minicpanrc");
 my $minicpan_home = find_home($minicpan_rc) || File::Spec->catfile($ENV{HOME}, "minicpan");
diff --git a/plugins/p5i b/plugins/p5i
index 54179f304..9e9588df4 100644
--- a/plugins/p5i
+++ b/plugins/p5i
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: p5i - Support .p5i file
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'p5i';
+description 'Support .p5i file';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 hook locate_dist => sub {
     my $args = shift;
diff --git a/plugins/query_mirror b/plugins/query_mirror
index 9780e8e82..cface731d 100644
--- a/plugins/query_mirror
+++ b/plugins/query_mirror
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: query_mirror - mst's hack to get redirects by module name on CPAN mirrors
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'query_mirror';
+description "mst's hack to get redirects by module name on CPAN mirrors"
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $mirror = "http://cpan.shadowcatprojects.net";
 
diff --git a/plugins/verify_signature b/plugins/verify_signature
index 48d02311e..0bd4cc06d 100644
--- a/plugins/verify_signature
+++ b/plugins/verify_signature
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
-# NAME: verify_signature - Verify SIGNATURE before installing
-# AUTHOR: Tatsuhiko Miyagawa
+name        'verify_signature';
+description 'Verify SIGNATURE before installing';
+author      'Tatsuhiko Miyagawa';
+
+api_version 0.1;
 
 my $cpansign;