diff --git a/cmd/sonobuoy/app/gen_plugin.go b/cmd/sonobuoy/app/gen_plugin.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 30eea9e1f..000000000
--- a/cmd/sonobuoy/app/gen_plugin.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,127 +0,0 @@
-/*
-Copyright 2018 Heptio 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.
-*/
-
-package app
-
-import (
-	"crypto/ecdsa"
-	"crypto/elliptic"
-	"crypto/rand"
-	"crypto/tls"
-	"crypto/x509"
-	"fmt"
-	"math/big"
-	"os"
-
-	"github.com/heptio/sonobuoy/pkg/config"
-	"github.com/heptio/sonobuoy/pkg/errlog"
-	"github.com/heptio/sonobuoy/pkg/plugin"
-	"github.com/heptio/sonobuoy/pkg/plugin/loader"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-)
-
-const (
-	placeholderHostname = "<hostname>"
-)
-
-// GenPluginConfig are the input options for running
-type GenPluginConfig struct {
-	Paths             []string
-	PluginName        string
-	ImagePullSecrets  string
-	CustomAnnotations map[string]string
-}
-
-var genPluginOpts GenPluginConfig
-
-func NewCmdGenPlugin() *cobra.Command {
-	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:    "plugin",
-		Short:  "Generates the manifest Sonobuoy uses to run a worker for the given plugin",
-		Run:    genPluginManifest,
-		Hidden: true,
-		Args:   cobra.ExactArgs(1),
-	}
-
-	cmd.PersistentFlags().StringArrayVarP(
-		&genPluginOpts.Paths, "paths", "p", []string{".", "./examples/plugins.d/"},
-		"the paths to search for the plugins in. Defaults to . and ./plugins.d/",
-	)
-	cmd.Flags().StringVar(
-		&genPluginOpts.ImagePullSecrets, "image-pull-secrets", "",
-		"the value for imagePullSecrets on the worker containers",
-	)
-	return cmd
-}
-
-func genPluginManifest(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
-	genPluginOpts.PluginName = args[0]
-	code := 0
-	manifest, err := generatePluginManifest(genPluginOpts)
-	if err == nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%s\n", manifest)
-	} else {
-		errlog.LogError(errors.Wrap(err, "error attempting to generate sonobuoy manifest"))
-		code = 1
-	}
-	os.Exit(code)
-}
-
-func generatePluginManifest(cfg GenPluginConfig) ([]byte, error) {
-	plugins, err := loader.LoadAllPlugins(
-		config.DefaultNamespace,
-		config.DefaultImage,
-		"Always",
-		cfg.ImagePullSecrets,
-		cfg.CustomAnnotations,
-		cfg.Paths,
-		[]plugin.Selection{{Name: cfg.PluginName}},
-	)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	if len(plugins) != 1 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("expected 1 plugin, got %v", len(plugins))
-	}
-
-	cert, err := genCert()
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return plugins[0].FillTemplate(placeholderHostname, cert)
-}
-
-func genCert() (*tls.Certificate, error) {
-	privKey, err := ecdsa.GenerateKey(elliptic.P256(), rand.Reader)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "couldn't generate private key")
-	}
-	tmpl := &x509.Certificate{
-		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(0),
-	}
-	certDER, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, tmpl, tmpl, &privKey.PublicKey, privKey)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "couldn't create certificate")
-	}
-
-	return &tls.Certificate{
-		Certificate: [][]byte{certDER},
-		PrivateKey:  privKey,
-	}, nil
-}
diff --git a/cmd/sonobuoy/app/root.go b/cmd/sonobuoy/app/root.go
index 201d5dff4..9d78ca22b 100644
--- a/cmd/sonobuoy/app/root.go
+++ b/cmd/sonobuoy/app/root.go
@@ -45,13 +45,11 @@ func NewSonobuoyCommand() *cobra.Command {
 	cmds.AddCommand(gen)
 
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdLogs())
-	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdGenPlugin())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdVersion())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdStatus())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdWorker())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdRetrieve())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdRun())
-	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdGenPlugin())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdImages())
 	cmds.AddCommand(NewCmdResults())