diff --git a/api/dao/containerutil.py b/api/dao/containerutil.py
index 50feaf9dc..e7198a990 100644
--- a/api/dao/containerutil.py
+++ b/api/dao/containerutil.py
@@ -239,6 +239,15 @@ def from_dictionary(cls, d):
             name = d['name']
         )
 
+    def get_file(self):
+        container = super(FileReference, self).get()
+
+        for file in container['files']:
+            if file['name'] == self.name:
+                return file
+
+        raise Exception('No such file {} on {} {} in database'.format(self.name, self.type, self.id))
+
 
 def create_filereference_from_dictionary(d):
     return FileReference.from_dictionary(d)
diff --git a/api/jobs/handlers.py b/api/jobs/handlers.py
index ca1a0ab23..1f324b4bf 100644
--- a/api/jobs/handlers.py
+++ b/api/jobs/handlers.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 API request handlers for the jobs module
 """
 import bson
-import json
 import os
 import StringIO
 from jsonschema import ValidationError
@@ -14,6 +13,7 @@
 from ..dao.containerstorage import ProjectStorage, AcquisitionStorage
 from ..dao.containerutil import create_filereference_from_dictionary, create_containerreference_from_dictionary, create_containerreference_from_filereference, ContainerReference
 from ..web import base
+from ..web.encoder import pseudo_consistent_json_encode
 from ..validators import InputValidationException
 from .. import config
 from . import batch
@@ -300,6 +300,48 @@ def add(self):
             self.abort(400, 'Gear marked as invalid, will not run!')
         validate_gear_config(gear, config_)
 
+        # Config options are stored on the job object under the "config" key
+        config_ = {
+            'config': config_,
+            'inputs': { }
+        }
+
+        # Implementation notes: with regard to sending the gear file information, we have two options:
+        #
+        # 1) Send the file object as it existed when you enqueued the job
+        # 2) Send the file object as it existed when the job was started
+        #
+        # Option #2 is possibly more convenient - it's more up to date - but the only file modifications after a job is enqueued would be from
+        #
+        # A) a gear finishing, and updating the file object
+        # B) a user editing the file object
+        #
+        # You can count on neither occurring before a job starts, because the queue is not globally FIFO.
+        # So option #2 is potentially more convenient, but unintuitive and prone to user confusion.
+
+
+        for x in inputs:
+            if gear['gear']['inputs'][x]['base'] == 'file':
+
+                obj = inputs[x].get_file()
+                cr = create_containerreference_from_filereference(inputs[x])
+
+                # Whitelist file fields passed to gear to those that are scientific-relevant
+                whitelisted_keys = ['info', 'tags', 'measurements', 'mimetype', 'type', 'modality', 'size']
+                obj_projection = { key: obj[key] for key in whitelisted_keys }
+
+                config_['inputs'][x] = {
+                    'base': 'file',
+                    'hierarchy': cr.__dict__,
+                    'location': {
+                        'name': obj['name'],
+                        'path': '/flywheel/v0/input/' + x + '/' + obj['name'],
+                    },
+                    'object': obj_projection,
+                }
+            else:
+                self.abort(500, 'Non-file input base type')
+
         gear_name = gear['gear']['name']
 
         if gear_name not in tags:
@@ -361,12 +403,22 @@ def get_config(self, _id):
         if c is None:
             c = {}
 
+        # Serve config as formatted json file
         self.response.headers['Content-Type'] = 'application/octet-stream'
         self.response.headers['Content-Disposition'] = 'attachment; filename="config.json"'
 
-        # Serve config as formatted json file
-        encoded = json.dumps({"config": c}, sort_keys=True, indent=4, separators=(',', ': ')) + '\n'
-        self.response.app_iter = StringIO.StringIO(encoded)
+        # Detect if config is old- or new-style.
+        # TODO: remove this logic with a DB upgrade, ref database.py's reserved upgrade section.
+
+        if c.get('config') is not None and c.get('inputs') is not None:
+            # New behavior
+            encoded = pseudo_consistent_json_encode(c)
+            self.response.app_iter = StringIO.StringIO(encoded)
+        else:
+            # Legacy behavior
+            encoded = pseudo_consistent_json_encode({"config": c})
+            self.response.app_iter = StringIO.StringIO(encoded)
+
 
     @require_login
     def put(self, _id):
diff --git a/api/jobs/jobs.py b/api/jobs/jobs.py
index 13319204e..015ec1672 100644
--- a/api/jobs/jobs.py
+++ b/api/jobs/jobs.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import bson
 import copy
 import datetime
+import string
 
 from ..types import Origin
 from ..dao.containerutil import create_filereference_from_dictionary, create_containerreference_from_dictionary, create_containerreference_from_filereference
@@ -113,11 +114,9 @@ def intention_equals(self, other_job):
             self.inputs == other_job.inputs and
             self.destination == other_job.destination
         ):
-            config.log.debug('the jobs {} and {} are equal.'.format(self.map, other_job.map))
             return True
 
         else:
-            config.log.debug('the jobs {} and {} are NOT equal.'.format(self.map, other_job.map))
             return False
 
 
@@ -258,7 +257,7 @@ def generate_request(self, gear):
                 'env': {
                     'PATH': '/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin'
                 },
-                'dir': "/flywheel/v0",
+                'dir': '/flywheel/v0',
             },
             'outputs': [
                 {
@@ -278,6 +277,45 @@ def generate_request(self, gear):
             if self.id_ is None:
                 raise Exception('Running a job requires an ID')
 
+            # Detect if config is old- or new-style.
+            # TODO: remove this logic with a DB upgrade, ref database.py's reserved upgrade section.
+
+            # Add config scalars as environment variables
+            if self.config.get('config') is not None and self.config.get('inputs') is not None:
+                # New config behavior
+
+                cf = self.config['config']
+
+                # Whitelist characters that can be used in bash variable names
+                bash_variable_letters = set(string.ascii_letters + string.digits + ' ' + '_')
+
+                for x in cf:
+
+                    if isinstance(cf[x], list) or isinstance(cf[x], dict):
+                        # Current gear spec only allows for scalars!
+                        raise Exception('Non-scalar config value ' + x + ' ' + str(cf[x]))
+                    else:
+
+                        # Strip non-whitelisted characters, set to underscore, and uppercase
+                        config_name = filter(lambda char: char in bash_variable_letters, x)
+                        config_name = config_name.replace(' ', '_').upper()
+
+                        # Don't set nonsensical environment variables
+                        if config_name == '':
+                            print 'The gear config name ' + x + ' has no whitelisted characters!'
+                            continue
+
+                        # Stringify scalar
+                        # Python strings true as "True"; fix
+                        if not isinstance(cf[x], bool):
+                            r['target']['env']['FW_CONFIG_' + config_name] = str(cf[x])
+                        else:
+                            r['target']['env']['FW_CONFIG_' + config_name] = str(cf[x]).lower()
+
+            else:
+                # Old config map.
+                pass
+
             r['inputs'].append({
                 'type': 'scitran',
                 'uri': '/jobs/' + self.id_ + '/config.json',
diff --git a/api/jobs/rules.py b/api/jobs/rules.py
index c543be32c..37e08c13a 100644
--- a/api/jobs/rules.py
+++ b/api/jobs/rules.py
@@ -119,7 +119,6 @@ def eval_rule(rule, file_, container):
     for match in rule.get('any', []):
         if eval_match(match['type'], match['value'], file_, container):
             has_match = True
-            config.log.debug('we found one here')
             break
 
     # If there were matches in the 'any' array and none of them succeeded
@@ -129,7 +128,6 @@ def eval_rule(rule, file_, container):
     # Are there matches in the 'all' set?
     for match in rule.get('all', []):
         if not eval_match(match['type'], match['value'], file_, container):
-            config.log.debug('we didnt fine one here')
             return False
 
     return True
@@ -261,10 +259,8 @@ def get_rules_for_container(db, container):
         result = list(db.project_rules.find({'project_id': str(container['_id'])}))
 
         if not result:
-            log.debug('Container ' + str(container['_id']) + ' found NO rules')
             return []
         else:
-            log.debug('Container ' + str(container['_id']) + ' found ' + str(len(result)) + ' rules')
             return result
 
 def copy_site_rules_for_project(project_id):
diff --git a/api/web/encoder.py b/api/web/encoder.py
index ea0ef629b..81d2da92d 100644
--- a/api/web/encoder.py
+++ b/api/web/encoder.py
@@ -43,3 +43,11 @@ def json_sse_pack(d):
     d['data'] = json.dumps(d['data'], default=custom_json_serializer)
 
     return sse_pack(d)
+
+def pseudo_consistent_json_encode(d):
+    """
+    Some parts of our system rely upon consistently-produced JSON encoding.
+    This implementation is not guaranteed to be consistent, but it's good enough for now.
+    """
+
+    return json.dumps(d, sort_keys=True, indent=4, separators=(',', ': ')) + '\n'
diff --git a/bin/database.py b/bin/database.py
index aa3e64a45..557032e89 100755
--- a/bin/database.py
+++ b/bin/database.py
@@ -1188,6 +1188,32 @@ def upgrade_to_35():
     cursor = config.db.batch.find({})
     process_cursor(cursor, upgrade_to_35_closure)
 
+
+
+
+###
+### BEGIN RESERVED UPGRADE SECTION
+###
+
+# Due to performance concerns with database upgrades, some upgrade implementations might be postposed.
+# The team contract is that if you write an upgrade touch one of the tables mentioned below, you MUST also implement any reserved upgrades.
+# This way, we can bundle changes together that need large cursor iterations and save multi-hour upgrade times.
+
+
+## Jobs table
+
+# The old job.config format was a set of keys, which was manually placed on a "config": key when fetched.
+# Now, it's a { "config": , "inputs": } map, with the old values being placed under the "config": key when stored.
+# Move the keys accordingly so that legacy logic can be removed.
+#
+# Ref: JobHandler.get_config, Job.generate_request
+
+
+###
+### END RESERVED UPGRADE SECTION
+###
+
+
 def upgrade_schema(force_from = None):
     """
     Upgrades db to the current schema version
diff --git a/bin/install-ubuntu.sh b/bin/install-ubuntu.sh
index 238b9b7d8..4165328eb 100755
--- a/bin/install-ubuntu.sh
+++ b/bin/install-ubuntu.sh
@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@ sudo apt-get install -y \
     libpcre3-dev \
     git
 
-pip install -U pip
+sudo pip install -U pip
 
-pip install -r requirements.txt
+sudo pip install -r requirements.txt
diff --git a/test/bin/setup-integration-tests-ubuntu.sh b/test/bin/setup-integration-tests-ubuntu.sh
index 19ce0a13a..c384ac0ee 100755
--- a/test/bin/setup-integration-tests-ubuntu.sh
+++ b/test/bin/setup-integration-tests-ubuntu.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ set -e
 unset CDPATH
 cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )/../.."
 
-pip install -U -r "test/integration_tests/requirements-integration-test.txt"
+sudo pip install -U -r "test/integration_tests/requirements-integration-test.txt"
 
 NODE_URL="https://nodejs.org/dist/v6.4.0/node-v6.4.0-linux-x64.tar.gz"
 
diff --git a/test/integration_tests/python/conftest.py b/test/integration_tests/python/conftest.py
index 88a9c6a63..581ebcbc8 100644
--- a/test/integration_tests/python/conftest.py
+++ b/test/integration_tests/python/conftest.py
@@ -266,7 +266,15 @@ def create(self, resource, **kwargs):
 
         # add missing gear when creating job
         if resource == 'job' and 'gear_id' not in payload:
-            payload['gear_id'] = self.get_or_create('gear')
+
+            # create file inputs for each job input on gear
+            gear_inputs = {}
+            for i in payload.get('inputs', {}).keys():
+                gear_inputs[i] = {'base': 'file'}
+
+            gear_doc = _default_payload['gear']['gear']
+            gear_doc['inputs'] = gear_inputs
+            payload['gear_id'] = self.create('gear', gear=gear_doc)
 
         # put together the create url to post to
         create_url = '/' + resource + 's'
diff --git a/test/integration_tests/python/test_jobs.py b/test/integration_tests/python/test_jobs.py
index e5e410d1a..c6212bb77 100644
--- a/test/integration_tests/python/test_jobs.py
+++ b/test/integration_tests/python/test_jobs.py
@@ -20,12 +20,19 @@ def test_jobs_access(as_user):
     assert r.status_code == 403
 
 
-def test_jobs(data_builder, as_user, as_admin, as_root, api_db):
-    gear = data_builder.create_gear()
+def test_jobs(data_builder, default_payload, as_user, as_admin, as_root, api_db, file_form):
+    gear_doc = default_payload['gear']['gear']
+    gear_doc['inputs'] = {
+        'dicom': {
+            'base': 'file'
+        }
+    }
+    gear = data_builder.create_gear(gear=gear_doc)
     invalid_gear = data_builder.create_gear(gear={'custom': {'flywheel': {'invalid': True}}})
     project = data_builder.create_project()
     session = data_builder.create_session()
     acquisition = data_builder.create_acquisition()
+    assert as_admin.post('/acquisitions/' + acquisition + '/files', files=file_form('test.zip')).ok
 
     job_data = {
         'gear_id': gear,
diff --git a/test/integration_tests/python/test_uploads.py b/test/integration_tests/python/test_uploads.py
index 04b4d4f31..394644165 100644
--- a/test/integration_tests/python/test_uploads.py
+++ b/test/integration_tests/python/test_uploads.py
@@ -497,8 +497,11 @@ def test_acquisition_engine_upload(data_builder, file_form, as_root):
     project = data_builder.create_project()
     session = data_builder.create_session()
     acquisition = data_builder.create_acquisition()
+    assert as_root.post('/acquisitions/' + acquisition + '/files', files=file_form('test.txt')).ok
+
+
     job = data_builder.create_job(inputs={
-        'test': {'type': 'acquisition', 'id': acquisition, 'name': 'test'}
+        'test': {'type': 'acquisition', 'id': acquisition, 'name': 'test.txt'}
     })
 
     metadata = {
@@ -569,8 +572,8 @@ def test_acquisition_engine_upload(data_builder, file_form, as_root):
     m_timestamp = dateutil.parser.parse(metadata['acquisition']['timestamp'])
     assert a_timestamp == m_timestamp
 
-    for f in a['files']:
-        mf = find_file_in_array(f['name'], metadata['acquisition']['files'])
+    for mf in metadata['acquisition']['files']:
+        f = find_file_in_array(mf['name'], a['files'])
         assert mf is not None
         assert f['type'] == mf['type']
         assert f['info'] == mf['info']