diff --git a/Documentation/user/imd.rst b/Documentation/user/imd.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e0251d644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/user/imd.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+
+.. _imd:
+
+Image MetaData (IMD)
+====================
+
+barebox images can be enriched with metadata. This is useful to get information
+the board an image is compiled for and which barebox version an image contains.
+
+There are predefined tags for:
+
+- The build timestamp
+- The barebox release version
+- The model (board) the image is compiled for
+- The toplevel device tree compatible properties the image can handle
+
+Additionally there is a generic key/value tag to add information which does not
+fit into the above categories, for example the memory size for boards which come
+with different memory sizes which can't be automatically detected.
+
+The informations can be extracted with the ``bareboximd`` tool which lives under
+``scripts/`` in the barebox sourcecode. If enabled it is compiled for the compile
+host and also for the target architecture. barebox itself has the :ref:`command_imd`
+command to extract the informations. Here is an example output of the tool called
+without additional options::
+
+  # imd barebox-phytec-pbab01dl-1gib.img
+  build: #890 Wed Jul 30 16:15:24 CEST 2014
+  release: 2014.07.0-00167-ge6632a9-dirty
+  parameter: memsize=1024
+  of_compatible: phytec,imx6x-pbab01 phytec,imx6dl-pfla02 fsl,imx6dl
+  model: Phytec phyFLEX-i.MX6 Duallite Carrier-Board
+
+Single informations can be extracted with the ``-t <type>`` option::
+
+  # imd barebox-phytec-pbab01dl-1gib.img -t release
+  2014.07.0-00167-ge6632a9-dirty
+
+Since the barebox hush does not have output redirection the barebox too has the
+``-s <var>`` option to assign the output to a variable for later evaluation.
+
+Limitations
+-----------
+
+The IMD tags are generated in the barebox binary before a SoC specific image is
+generated. Some SoCs encrypt or otherwise manipulate the images in a way that the
+IMD information is lost. The IMD mechanism does not work on these SoCs. A known
+example is the Freescale i.MX28.
+
+IMD and barebox_update
+----------------------
+
+The IMD informations could well be used to check if an image is suitable for updating
+barebox for a particular board. Support for such a check is planned but not yet implemented.
diff --git a/Documentation/user/updating.rst b/Documentation/user/updating.rst
index 2a963b620..6a1a73348 100644
--- a/Documentation/user/updating.rst
+++ b/Documentation/user/updating.rst
@@ -27,3 +27,6 @@ barebox has been started from is registered as default (marked with a ``*``)::
 available for your board. It is recommended to implement it, but you can also
 update barebox manually using :ref:`command_erase` and :ref:`command_cp`
 commands. The exact commands are board specific.
+
+**NOTE** barebox images can be enriched with metadata which can be used to check
+if a given image is suitable for updating barebox, see :ref:`imd`.
diff --git a/Documentation/user/user-manual.rst b/Documentation/user/user-manual.rst
index 0eac0aadc..3d68bbb9a 100644
--- a/Documentation/user/user-manual.rst
+++ b/Documentation/user/user-manual.rst
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ Contents:
    hush
    defaultenv-2
    updating
+   imd
    devicetree
    pbl
    multi-image
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9m10ihd/hw_version.c b/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9m10ihd/hw_version.c
index 8e729013c..96fb02d80 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9m10ihd/hw_version.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9m10ihd/hw_version.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <asm/armlinux.h>
 #include <of.h>
 
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9x5ek/hw_version.c b/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9x5ek/hw_version.c
index 2da4e5ed8..37eb1f80c 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9x5ek/hw_version.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/at91sam9x5ek/hw_version.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <asm/armlinux.h>
 #include <of.h>
 
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/crystalfontz-cfa10036/hwdetect.c b/arch/arm/boards/crystalfontz-cfa10036/hwdetect.c
index e28dd49fa..c94cb355e 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/crystalfontz-cfa10036/hwdetect.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/crystalfontz-cfa10036/hwdetect.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <globalvar.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <magicvar.h>
 
 #include <asm/armlinux.h>
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/freescale-mx53-qsb/lowlevel.c b/arch/arm/boards/freescale-mx53-qsb/lowlevel.c
index 51b9ef8db..7d1c1d5b2 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/freescale-mx53-qsb/lowlevel.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/freescale-mx53-qsb/lowlevel.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include <mach/esdctl.h>
 #include <asm/barebox-arm-head.h>
 #include <asm/barebox-arm.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
 
 extern char __dtb_imx53_qsb_start[];
 
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/phytec-phyflex-imx6/lowlevel.c b/arch/arm/boards/phytec-phyflex-imx6/lowlevel.c
index 55aae0095..1d08f0561 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/phytec-phyflex-imx6/lowlevel.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/phytec-phyflex-imx6/lowlevel.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <sizes.h>
 #include <io.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
 #include <asm/barebox-arm-head.h>
 #include <asm/barebox-arm.h>
 #include <asm/sections.h>
@@ -57,6 +58,11 @@ extern char __dtb_imx6q_phytec_pbab01_start[];
 extern char __dtb_imx6dl_phytec_pbab01_start[];
 extern char __dtb_imx6s_phytec_pbab01_start[];
 
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(phyflex_mx6_memsize_512M, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=512", 0);
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(phyflex_mx6_memsize_1G, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=1024", 0);
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(phyflex_mx6_memsize_2G, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=2048", 0);
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(phyflex_mx6_memsize_4G, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=4096", 0);
+
 ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01_1gib, r0, r1, r2)
 {
 	void *fdt;
@@ -65,6 +71,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01_1gib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0x00920000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(phyflex_mx6_memsize_1G);
+
 	if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DEBUG_LL))
 		setup_uart();
 
@@ -81,6 +89,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01_2gib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0x00920000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(phyflex_mx6_memsize_2G);
+
 	if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_DEBUG_LL))
 		setup_uart();
 
@@ -97,6 +107,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01_4gib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0x00920000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(phyflex_mx6_memsize_4G);
+
 	fdt = __dtb_imx6q_phytec_pbab01_start - get_runtime_offset();
 
 	barebox_arm_entry(0x10000000, 0xEFFFFFF8, fdt);
@@ -110,6 +122,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01dl_1gib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0x00920000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(phyflex_mx6_memsize_1G);
+
 	fdt = __dtb_imx6dl_phytec_pbab01_start - get_runtime_offset();
 
 	barebox_arm_entry(0x10000000, SZ_1G, fdt);
@@ -123,6 +137,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_phytec_pbab01s_512mb, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0x00920000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(phyflex_mx6_memsize_512M);
+
 	fdt = __dtb_imx6s_phytec_pbab01_start - get_runtime_offset();
 
 	barebox_arm_entry(0x10000000, SZ_512M, fdt);
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/sama5d3xek/hw_version.c b/arch/arm/boards/sama5d3xek/hw_version.c
index 450eb9f8a..c809c3774 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/sama5d3xek/hw_version.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/sama5d3xek/hw_version.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <asm/armlinux.h>
 #include <of.h>
 
diff --git a/arch/arm/boards/tqma53/lowlevel.c b/arch/arm/boards/tqma53/lowlevel.c
index 0a6722800..cd8721255 100644
--- a/arch/arm/boards/tqma53/lowlevel.c
+++ b/arch/arm/boards/tqma53/lowlevel.c
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <asm/barebox-arm-head.h>
 #include <asm/barebox-arm.h>
 #include <mach/imx5.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
 
 extern char __dtb_imx53_mba53_start[];
 
@@ -34,6 +35,8 @@ static void __noreturn start_imx53_tqma53_common(void *fdt)
 	imx53_barebox_entry(fdt);
 }
 
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(tqma53_memsize_512M, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=512", 0);
+
 ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_imx53_mba53_512mib, r0, r1, r2)
 {
 	void *fdt;
@@ -42,6 +45,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_imx53_mba53_512mib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0xf8020000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(tqma53_memsize_512M);
+
 	imx53_init_lowlevel_early(800);
 
 	fdt = __dtb_imx53_mba53_start - get_runtime_offset();
@@ -49,6 +54,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_imx53_mba53_512mib, r0, r1, r2)
 	start_imx53_tqma53_common(fdt);
 }
 
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(tqma53_memsize_1G, IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER, "memsize=1024", 0);
+
 ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_imx53_mba53_1gib, r0, r1, r2)
 {
 	void *fdt;
@@ -57,6 +64,8 @@ ENTRY_FUNCTION(start_imx53_mba53_1gib, r0, r1, r2)
 
 	arm_setup_stack(0xf8020000 - 8);
 
+	IMD_USED(tqma53_memsize_1G);
+
 	imx53_init_lowlevel_early(800);
 
 	fdt = __dtb_imx53_mba53_start - get_runtime_offset();
diff --git a/arch/arm/dts/Makefile b/arch/arm/dts/Makefile
index 18e451988..fac2b273c 100644
--- a/arch/arm/dts/Makefile
+++ b/arch/arm/dts/Makefile
@@ -1,95 +1,47 @@
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_AM33XX) += \
-	am335x-bone.dtb \
-	am335x-boneblack.dtb \
-	am335x-bone-common.dtb \
-	am335x-phytec-phycore.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_IMX25) += imx25-karo-tx25.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_IMX27) += imx27-phytec-phycard-s-rdk-bb.dtb \
-	imx27-phytec-phycore-rdk.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_IMX51) += imx51-babbage.dtb \
-	imx51-genesi-efika-sb.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_IMX53) += imx53-mba53.dtb \
-	imx53-qsb.dtb \
-	imx53-qsrb.dtb \
-	imx53-voipac-bsb.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_IMX6) += imx6q-gk802.dtb \
-	imx6dl-dfi-fs700-m60-6s.dtb \
-	imx6q-dfi-fs700-m60-6q.dtb \
-	imx6q-dmo-edmqmx6.dtb \
-	imx6q-sabrelite.dtb \
-	imx6dl-sabrelite.dtb \
-	imx6q-sabresd.dtb \
-	imx6dl-mba6x.dtb \
-	imx6q-mba6x.dtb \
-	imx6dl-phytec-pbab01.dtb \
-	imx6q-phytec-pbab01.dtb \
-	imx6s-phytec-pbab01.dtb \
-	imx6dl-hummingboard.dtb \
-	imx6q-guf-santaro.dtb \
-	imx6q-nitrogen6x.dtb \
-	imx6dl-nitrogen6x.dtb \
-	imx6q-udoo.dtb \
-	imx6q-var-custom.dtb \
-	imx6s-riotboard.dtb \
-	imx6q-phytec-pbaa03.dtb \
-	imx6q-embedsky-e9.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_ROCKCHIP) += rk3188-radxarock.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_SOCFPGA) += socfpga_cyclone5_sockit.dtb \
-	socfpga_cyclone5_socrates.dtb
-dtb-$(CONFIG_ARCH_TEGRA) += \
-	tegra20-colibri-iris.dtb \
-	tegra20-paz00.dtb \
-	tegra30-beaver.dtb \
-	tegra124-jetson-tk1.dtb
-
 BUILTIN_DTB := $(patsubst "%",%,$(CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB_NAME))
-obj-$(CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB) += $(BUILTIN_DTB).dtb.o
+obj-dtb-$(CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB) += $(BUILTIN_DTB).dtb.o
 
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_BEAGLEBONE) += am335x-bone.dtb.o am335x-boneblack.dtb.o am335x-bone-common.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_DFI_FS700_M60) += imx6q-dfi-fs700-m60-6q.dtb.o imx6dl-dfi-fs700-m60-6s.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_EFIKA_MX_SMARTBOOK) += imx51-genesi-efika-sb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_EMBEDSKY_E9) += imx6q-embedsky-e9.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_EMBEST_RIOTBOARD) += imx6s-riotboard.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX51_PDK) += imx51-babbage.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX53_LOCO) += imx53-qsb.dtb.o imx53-qsrb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX53_VMX53) += imx53-voipac-bsb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_GK802) += imx6q-gk802.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_GLOBALSCALE_GURUPLUG) += kirkwood-guruplug-server-plus-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_GLOBALSCALE_MIRABOX) += armada-370-mirabox-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_GUF_SANTARO) += imx6q-guf-santaro.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_MARVELL_ARMADA_XP_GP) += armada-xp-gp-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_NITROGEN6X) += imx6q-nitrogen6x.dtb.o imx6dl-nitrogen6x.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_NVIDIA_BEAVER) += tegra30-beaver.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_NVIDIA_JETSON) += tegra124-jetson-tk1.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCA100) += imx27-phytec-phycard-s-rdk-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCAAXL3) += imx6q-phytec-pbaa03.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCM038) += imx27-phytec-phycore-rdk.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCM051) += am335x-phytec-phycore.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PHYTEC_PFLA02) += imx6s-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o imx6dl-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o imx6q-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_PLATHOME_OPENBLOCKS_AX3) += armada-xp-openblocks-ax3-4-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_RADXA_ROCK) += rk3188-radxarock.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_REALQ7) += imx6q-dmo-edmqmx6.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SABRELITE) += imx6q-sabrelite.dtb.o imx6dl-sabrelite.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SABRESD) += imx6q-sabresd.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOCFPGA_EBV_SOCRATES) += socfpga_cyclone5_socrates.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOCFPGA_TERASIC_SOCKIT) += socfpga_cyclone5_sockit.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOLIDRUN_CUBOX) += dove-cubox-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOLIDRUN_MICROSOM) += imx6dl-hummingboard.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_TORADEX_COLIBRI_T20) += tegra20-colibri-iris.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_TOSHIBA_AC100) += tegra20-paz00.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_TQMA53) += imx53-mba53.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_TQMA6X) += imx6dl-mba6x.dtb.o imx6q-mba6x.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_TX25) += imx25-karo-tx25.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_UDOO) += imx6q-udoo.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_USI_TOPKICK) += kirkwood-topkick-bb.dtb.o
-pbl-$(CONFIG_MACH_VARISCITE_MX6) += imx6q-var-custom.dtb.o
+# just to build a built-in.o. Otherwise compilation fails when no devicetree is
+# created.
+obj-y += empty.o
 
-.SECONDARY: $(obj)/$(BUILTIN_DTB).dtb.S
-.SECONDARY: $(patsubst %,$(obj)/%.S,$(dtb-y))
-
-targets += dtbs
-targets += $(dtb-y)
-
-extra-y += $(dtb-y)
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_BEAGLEBONE) += am335x-bone.dtb.o am335x-boneblack.dtb.o am335x-bone-common.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_DFI_FS700_M60) += imx6q-dfi-fs700-m60-6q.dtb.o imx6dl-dfi-fs700-m60-6s.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_EFIKA_MX_SMARTBOOK) += imx51-genesi-efika-sb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_EMBEST_RIOTBOARD) += imx6s-riotboard.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_EMBEDSKY_E9) += imx6q-embedsky-e9.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX51_PDK) += imx51-babbage.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX53_LOCO) += imx53-qsb.dtb.o imx53-qsrb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_FREESCALE_MX53_VMX53) += imx53-voipac-bsb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_GK802) += imx6q-gk802.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_GLOBALSCALE_GURUPLUG) += kirkwood-guruplug-server-plus-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_GLOBALSCALE_MIRABOX) += armada-370-mirabox-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_GUF_SANTARO) += imx6q-guf-santaro.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_MARVELL_ARMADA_XP_GP) += armada-xp-gp-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_NITROGEN6X) += imx6q-nitrogen6x.dtb.o imx6dl-nitrogen6x.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_NVIDIA_BEAVER) += tegra30-beaver.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_NVIDIA_JETSON) += tegra124-jetson-tk1.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCA100) += imx27-phytec-phycard-s-rdk-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCAAXL3) += imx6q-phytec-pbaa03.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCM038) += imx27-phytec-phycore-rdk.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PCM051) += am335x-phytec-phycore.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PHYTEC_PFLA02) += imx6s-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o imx6dl-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o imx6q-phytec-pbab01.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_PLATHOME_OPENBLOCKS_AX3) += armada-xp-openblocks-ax3-4-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_RADXA_ROCK) += rk3188-radxarock.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_REALQ7) += imx6q-dmo-edmqmx6.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SABRELITE) += imx6q-sabrelite.dtb.o imx6dl-sabrelite.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SABRESD) += imx6q-sabresd.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOCFPGA_EBV_SOCRATES) += socfpga_cyclone5_socrates.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOCFPGA_TERASIC_SOCKIT) += socfpga_cyclone5_sockit.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOLIDRUN_CUBOX) += dove-cubox-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_SOLIDRUN_MICROSOM) += imx6dl-hummingboard.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_TORADEX_COLIBRI_T20) += tegra20-colibri-iris.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_TOSHIBA_AC100) += tegra20-paz00.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_TQMA53) += imx53-mba53.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_TQMA6X) += imx6dl-mba6x.dtb.o imx6q-mba6x.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_TX25) += imx25-karo-tx25.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_UDOO) += imx6q-udoo.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_USI_TOPKICK) += kirkwood-topkick-bb.dtb.o
+pbl-dtb-$(CONFIG_MACH_VARISCITE_MX6) += imx6q-var-custom.dtb.o
 
 clean-files := *.dtb *.dtb.S .*.dtc .*.pre .*.dts
diff --git a/arch/arm/dts/empty.c b/arch/arm/dts/empty.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d141224cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/arch/arm/dts/empty.c
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+static inline void empty(void)
+{
+}
diff --git a/arch/arm/lib/barebox.lds.S b/arch/arm/lib/barebox.lds.S
index d9588736f..bb0354ae2 100644
--- a/arch/arm/lib/barebox.lds.S
+++ b/arch/arm/lib/barebox.lds.S
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ SECTIONS
 	. = ALIGN(4);
 	.data : { *(.data*) }
 
+	.barebox_imd : { BAREBOX_IMD }
+
 	. = .;
 	__barebox_cmd_start = .;
 	.barebox_cmd : { BAREBOX_CMDS }
diff --git a/arch/arm/lib/bootm.c b/arch/arm/lib/bootm.c
index ffd56edfd..baf0946a4 100644
--- a/arch/arm/lib/bootm.c
+++ b/arch/arm/lib/bootm.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <image.h>
 #include <init.h>
 #include <fs.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <linux/list.h>
 #include <xfuncs.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
diff --git a/arch/arm/lib/pbl.lds.S b/arch/arm/lib/pbl.lds.S
index 76184a0ee..9afee2964 100644
--- a/arch/arm/lib/pbl.lds.S
+++ b/arch/arm/lib/pbl.lds.S
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ SECTIONS
 	. = ALIGN(4);
 	.rodata : { *(.rodata*) }
 
+	.barebox_imd : { BAREBOX_IMD }
+
 	_etext = .;			/* End of text and rodata section */
 
 	. = ALIGN(4);
diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-at91/boot_test_cmd.c b/arch/arm/mach-at91/boot_test_cmd.c
index 66c598b7c..4fd1998ad 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-at91/boot_test_cmd.c
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-at91/boot_test_cmd.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <command.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-omap/omap_generic.c b/arch/arm/mach-omap/omap_generic.c
index 060c59277..334cf8db5 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-omap/omap_generic.c
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-omap/omap_generic.c
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include <io.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
 #include <mach/gpmc.h>
 #include <mach/generic.h>
diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-omap/xload.c b/arch/arm/mach-omap/xload.c
index a30945010..e9d7bbb2e 100644
--- a/arch/arm/mach-omap/xload.c
+++ b/arch/arm/mach-omap/xload.c
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <init.h>
 #include <driver.h>
 #include <linux/mtd/mtd.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <sizes.h>
diff --git a/arch/blackfin/boards/ipe337/cmd_alternate.c b/arch/blackfin/boards/ipe337/cmd_alternate.c
index 992d27484..b332cfb05 100644
--- a/arch/blackfin/boards/ipe337/cmd_alternate.c
+++ b/arch/blackfin/boards/ipe337/cmd_alternate.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <command.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <fs.h>
diff --git a/arch/mips/configs/qemu-malta_defconfig b/arch/mips/configs/qemu-malta_defconfig
index 6ee302df0..5a1ca3682 100644
--- a/arch/mips/configs/qemu-malta_defconfig
+++ b/arch/mips/configs/qemu-malta_defconfig
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ CONFIG_POLLER=y
 CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO=y
 CONFIG_LONGHELP=y
 CONFIG_CMD_IOMEM=y
+CONFIG_CMD_IMD=y
 CONFIG_CMD_MEMINFO=y
 CONFIG_CMD_BOOTM_SHOW_TYPE=y
 CONFIG_CMD_GO=y
diff --git a/arch/mips/dts/Makefile b/arch/mips/dts/Makefile
index 7ccb2f811..6d6c9a3ce 100644
--- a/arch/mips/dts/Makefile
+++ b/arch/mips/dts/Makefile
@@ -2,14 +2,4 @@
 BUILTIN_DTB := $(patsubst "%",%,$(CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB_NAME))
 obj-$(CONFIG_BUILTIN_DTB) += $(BUILTIN_DTB).dtb.o
 
-dtb-y += ${BUILTIN_DTB}.dtb
-
-.SECONDARY: $(obj)/$(BUILTIN_DTB).dtb.S
-.SECONDARY: $(patsubst %,$(obj)/%.S,$(dtb-y))
-
-targets += dtbs
-targets += $(dtb-y)
-
-extra-y += $(dtb-y)
-
 clean-files := *.dtb *.dtb.S
diff --git a/arch/mips/lib/barebox.lds.S b/arch/mips/lib/barebox.lds.S
index 4ee4252b6..c690e7197 100644
--- a/arch/mips/lib/barebox.lds.S
+++ b/arch/mips/lib/barebox.lds.S
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ SECTIONS
 	. = ALIGN(4);
 	.data : { *(.data*) }
 
+	.barebox_imd : { BAREBOX_IMD }
+
 	. = ALIGN(4);
 	.got : { *(.got*) }
 
diff --git a/arch/mips/lib/bootm.c b/arch/mips/lib/bootm.c
index 3d6a4ce64..0e03aa9bc 100644
--- a/arch/mips/lib/bootm.c
+++ b/arch/mips/lib/bootm.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include <boot.h>
 #include <common.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <init.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <errno.h>
diff --git a/arch/mips/pbl/zbarebox.lds.S b/arch/mips/pbl/zbarebox.lds.S
index 3a26942b4..a883fdb2d 100644
--- a/arch/mips/pbl/zbarebox.lds.S
+++ b/arch/mips/pbl/zbarebox.lds.S
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ SECTIONS
 	. = ALIGN(4);
 	.rodata : { *(.rodata*) }
 
+	.barebox_imd : { BAREBOX_IMD }
+
 	_etext = .;			/* End of text and rodata section */
 
 	. = ALIGN(4);
diff --git a/commands/Kconfig b/commands/Kconfig
index b03f74a82..71cd1ee99 100644
--- a/commands/Kconfig
+++ b/commands/Kconfig
@@ -148,6 +148,15 @@ config CMD_IOMEM
 	  Show information about iomem/ioport usage. Pendant to
 	  'cat /proc/iomem' and 'cat /proc/ioports' under Linux.
 
+config CMD_IMD
+	tristate
+	prompt "imd"
+	select IMD
+	help
+	  barebox images can have metadata in them which contains information
+	  like the barebox version and the build time. Say yes here to get the
+	  imd command which can extract that information from images.
+
 config CMD_MEMINFO
 	tristate
 	prompt "meminfo"
diff --git a/commands/Makefile b/commands/Makefile
index d42aca5c0..44741360e 100644
--- a/commands/Makefile
+++ b/commands/Makefile
@@ -100,3 +100,4 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_CMD_MENUTREE)	+= menutree.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_CMD_2048)		+= 2048.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_CMD_REGULATOR)	+= regulator.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_CMD_LSPCI)		+= lspci.o
+obj-$(CONFIG_CMD_IMD)		+= imd.o
diff --git a/commands/barebox-update.c b/commands/barebox-update.c
index a24dc3ef4..92e0efab6 100644
--- a/commands/barebox-update.c
+++ b/commands/barebox-update.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
  */
 #include <common.h>
 #include <command.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <errno.h>
diff --git a/commands/cp.c b/commands/cp.c
index 1a5675405..af7a3d4dc 100644
--- a/commands/cp.c
+++ b/commands/cp.c
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <libgen.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 /**
  * @param[in] argc Argument count from command line
diff --git a/commands/crc.c b/commands/crc.c
index 7c2936c23..9b6a3e2a4 100644
--- a/commands/crc.c
+++ b/commands/crc.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <environment.h>
 
 static int crc_from_file(const char* file, ulong *crc)
diff --git a/commands/edit.c b/commands/edit.c
index 98af58357..b28e2b92a 100644
--- a/commands/edit.c
+++ b/commands/edit.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <linux/ctype.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <readkey.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <xfuncs.h>
diff --git a/commands/exec.c b/commands/exec.c
index 635f65eeb..7c8934f13 100644
--- a/commands/exec.c
+++ b/commands/exec.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <xfuncs.h>
 
diff --git a/commands/imd.c b/commands/imd.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f1a22cef9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commands/imd.c
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/*
+ * (C) Copyright 2014 Sascha Hauer, Pengutronix
+ *
+ * See file CREDITS for list of people who contributed to this
+ * project.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ */
+
+#include <common.h>
+#include <command.h>
+#include <complete.h>
+#include <environment.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
+
+int imd_command_setenv(const char *variable_name, const char *value)
+{
+	return setenv(variable_name, value);
+}
+
+static int do_imd(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = imd_command(argc, argv);
+
+	if (ret == -ENOSYS)
+		return COMMAND_ERROR_USAGE;
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_START(imd)
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("extract metadata from barebox binary")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("Options:")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_OPT ("-t <type>", "only show information of <type>")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_OPT ("-n <no>", "for tags with multiple strings only show string <no>")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_OPT ("-s VARNAME",  "set variable VARNAME instead of showing information")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("Without options all information available is printed. Valid types are:")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_TEXT("release, build, model, of_compatible")
+BAREBOX_CMD_HELP_END
+
+BAREBOX_CMD_START(imd)
+	.cmd = do_imd,
+	BAREBOX_CMD_DESC("extract metadata from barebox binary")
+	BAREBOX_CMD_OPTS("[nst] FILE")
+	BAREBOX_CMD_GROUP(CMD_GRP_INFO)
+	BAREBOX_CMD_HELP(cmd_imd_help)
+BAREBOX_CMD_END
diff --git a/commands/insmod.c b/commands/insmod.c
index 176437ee7..735dde022 100644
--- a/commands/insmod.c
+++ b/commands/insmod.c
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #include <module.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fs.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 
 static int do_insmod(int argc, char *argv[])
diff --git a/commands/linux16.c b/commands/linux16.c
index 594efc7dc..bb678bdb8 100644
--- a/commands/linux16.c
+++ b/commands/linux16.c
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include <environment.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <boot.h>
diff --git a/commands/of_dump.c b/commands/of_dump.c
index cafde07b7..315dbbae8 100644
--- a/commands/of_dump.c
+++ b/commands/of_dump.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <common.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <fdt.h>
 #include <of.h>
 #include <command.h>
diff --git a/commands/oftree.c b/commands/oftree.c
index 49976bc02..8a47c0be5 100644
--- a/commands/oftree.c
+++ b/commands/oftree.c
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <environment.h>
 #include <fdt.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <of.h>
 #include <command.h>
 #include <fs.h>
diff --git a/commands/readf.c b/commands/readf.c
index c8cc574f3..8dd5a2b55 100644
--- a/commands/readf.c
+++ b/commands/readf.c
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #include <common.h>
 #include <command.h>
 #include <fs.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
 #include <linux/ctype.h>
diff --git a/commands/tftp.c b/commands/tftp.c
index 62b9424cf..8a3b54138 100644
--- a/commands/tftp.c
+++ b/commands/tftp.c
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <net.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 #define TFTP_MOUNT_PATH	"/.tftp_tmp_path"
 
diff --git a/commands/ubiformat.c b/commands/ubiformat.c
index 443d645a5..df0b801da 100644
--- a/commands/ubiformat.c
+++ b/commands/ubiformat.c
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <ioctl.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <linux/mtd/mtd.h>
 #include <linux/kernel.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
diff --git a/commands/uimage.c b/commands/uimage.c
index 33523d7e5..7c2dca41e 100644
--- a/commands/uimage.c
+++ b/commands/uimage.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 static int uimage_fd;
 
diff --git a/common/Kconfig b/common/Kconfig
index 8b361260c..d3f980164 100644
--- a/common/Kconfig
+++ b/common/Kconfig
@@ -465,6 +465,13 @@ config BLSPEC
 	  on a device and it allows the Operating System to install / update
 	  kernels.
 
+config IMD
+	bool "barebox metadata support"
+
+config IMD_TARGET
+	bool "build bareboximd target tool"
+	depends on IMD
+
 config KERNEL_INSTALL_TARGET
 	bool
 	depends on !SANDBOX
diff --git a/common/Makefile b/common/Makefile
index 4220e1512..ddd7db257 100644
--- a/common/Makefile
+++ b/common/Makefile
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_UIMAGE)		+= image.o uimage.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_MENUTREE)		+= menutree.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_EFI_GUID)		+= efi-guid.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_EFI_DEVICEPATH)	+= efi-devicepath.o
+lwl-$(CONFIG_IMD)		+= imd-barebox.o
+obj-$(CONFIG_IMD)		+= imd.o
 
 quiet_cmd_pwd_h = PWDH    $@
 ifdef CONFIG_PASSWORD
diff --git a/common/blspec.c b/common/blspec.c
index 9314eeab0..a4adc48da 100644
--- a/common/blspec.c
+++ b/common/blspec.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <block.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
 #include <init.h>
 #include <boot.h>
diff --git a/common/bootm.c b/common/bootm.c
index 71390cb84..447c9b624 100644
--- a/common/bootm.c
+++ b/common/bootm.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <memory.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <globalvar.h>
 #include <init.h>
 
diff --git a/common/hush.c b/common/hush.c
index 6be43cf8e..09d9326c8 100644
--- a/common/hush.c
+++ b/common/hush.c
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@
 #include <libbb.h>
 #include <glob.h>
 #include <getopt.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
 #include <magicvar.h>
 #include <linux/list.h>
diff --git a/common/imd-barebox.c b/common/imd-barebox.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e9cd37d83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/imd-barebox.c
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#include <common.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
+#include <generated/compile.h>
+#include <generated/utsrelease.h>
+
+/*
+ * Mark a imd entry as used so that the linker cannot
+ * throw it away.
+ */
+void imd_used(const void *used)
+{
+}
+
+struct imd_header imd_start_header
+__BAREBOX_IMD_SECTION(.barebox_imd_start) = {
+	.type = cpu_to_le32(IMD_TYPE_START),
+};
+
+struct imd_header imd_end_header
+__BAREBOX_IMD_SECTION(.barebox_imd_end) = {
+	.type = cpu_to_le32(IMD_TYPE_END),
+};
+
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(imd_build_tag, IMD_TYPE_BUILD, UTS_VERSION, 1);
+BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(imd_release_tag, IMD_TYPE_RELEASE, UTS_RELEASE, 1);
diff --git a/common/imd.c b/common/imd.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2c837d6f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/common/imd.c
@@ -0,0 +1,322 @@
+/*
+ * (C) Copyright 2014 Sascha Hauer, Pengutronix
+ *
+ * See file CREDITS for list of people who contributed to this
+ * project.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ */
+#ifdef __BAREBOX__
+#include <common.h>
+#include <image-metadata.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
+#include <getopt.h>
+#include <malloc.h>
+#include <fs.h>
+#endif
+
+/*
+ * imd_next - return a pointer to the next metadata field.
+ * @imd		The current metadata field
+ */
+struct imd_header *imd_next(struct imd_header *imd)
+{
+	int length;
+
+	length = imd_read_length(imd);
+	length = ALIGN(length, 4);
+	length += 8;
+
+	return (void *)imd + length;
+}
+
+struct imd_header *imd_find_type(struct imd_header *imd, uint32_t type)
+{
+	imd_for_each(imd, imd)
+		if (imd_read_type(imd) == type)
+			return imd;
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static int imd_next_validate(void *buf, int bufsize, int start_ofs)
+{
+	int length, size;
+	struct imd_header *imd = buf + start_ofs;
+
+	size = bufsize - start_ofs;
+
+	if (size < 8) {
+		debug("trunkated tag at offset %dd\n", start_ofs);
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	length = imd_read_length(imd);
+	length = ALIGN(length, 4);
+	length += 8;
+
+	if (size < length) {
+		debug("tag at offset %d with size %d exceeds bufsize %d\n",
+				start_ofs, size, bufsize);
+		return -EINVAL;
+	}
+
+	debug("tag at offset %d has length %d\n", start_ofs, length);
+
+	return length;
+}
+
+static int imd_validate_tags(void *buf, int bufsize, int start_ofs)
+{
+	int ret;
+	struct imd_header *imd = buf + start_ofs;
+
+	while (1) {
+		uint32_t type;
+
+		ret = imd_next_validate(buf, bufsize, start_ofs);
+		if (ret < 0) {
+			debug("Invalid tag at offset %d\n", start_ofs);
+			return -EINVAL;
+		}
+
+		imd = (void *)imd + ret;
+		start_ofs += ret;
+
+		type = imd_read_type(imd);
+
+		if (!imd_type_valid(type)) {
+			debug("Invalid: tag: 0x%08x\n", type);
+			return -EINVAL;
+		}
+
+		if (type == IMD_TYPE_END)
+			return 0;
+	}
+}
+
+/*
+ * imd_search_validate - find valid metadata in a buffer
+ * @buf		the buffer
+ * @size	buffer size
+ * @start	The returned pointer to the metadata
+ *
+ * This iterates over a buffer and searches for metadata. The metadata
+ * is checked for consistency (length fields not exceeding buffer and
+ * presence of end header) and returned in @start. The returned pointer
+ * is only valid when 0 is returned. The returned data may be unaligned.
+ */
+static int imd_search_validate(void *buf, int size, struct imd_header **start)
+{
+	int start_ofs = 0;
+	int i, ret;
+
+	for (i = start_ofs; i < size - 32; i++) {
+		uint32_t type;
+
+		type = imd_read_le32(buf + i);
+
+		if (type != IMD_TYPE_START)
+			continue;
+
+		debug("Start tag found at offset %d\n", i);
+
+		ret = imd_validate_tags(buf, size, i);
+		if (!ret) {
+			*start = buf + i;
+			return 0;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return -EINVAL;
+}
+
+struct imd_type_names {
+	uint32_t type;
+	const char *name;
+};
+
+static struct imd_type_names imd_types[] = {
+	{
+		.type = IMD_TYPE_RELEASE,
+		.name = "release",
+	}, {
+		.type = IMD_TYPE_BUILD,
+		.name = "build",
+	}, {
+		.type = IMD_TYPE_MODEL,
+		.name = "model",
+	}, {
+		.type = IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER,
+		.name = "parameter",
+	}, {
+		.type = IMD_TYPE_OF_COMPATIBLE,
+		.name = "of_compatible",
+	},
+};
+
+static const char *imd_type_to_name(uint32_t type)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(imd_types); i++)
+		if (imd_types[i].type == type)
+			return imd_types[i].name;
+
+	return "unknown";
+}
+
+static uint32_t imd_name_to_type(const char *name)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(imd_types); i++)
+		if (!strcmp(imd_types[i].name, name))
+			return imd_types[i].type;
+
+	return IMD_TYPE_INVALID;
+}
+
+static char *imd_string_data(struct imd_entry_string *imd_string, int index)
+{
+	int i, total = 0, l = 0;
+	int len = imd_read_length(&imd_string->header);
+	char *p = imd_string->data;
+
+	for (i = 0; total < len; total += l, p += l) {
+		l = strlen(p) + 1;
+		if (i++ == index)
+			return p;
+	}
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static char *imd_concat_strings(struct imd_entry_string *imd_string)
+{
+	int i, len = imd_read_length(&imd_string->header);
+	char *str;
+
+	str = malloc(len);
+	if (!str)
+		return NULL;
+
+	memcpy(str, imd_string->data, len);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < len - 1; i++)
+		if (str[i] == 0)
+			str[i] = ' ';
+
+	return str;
+}
+
+int imd_command_verbose;
+
+int imd_command(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	int ret, opt, strno = -1;
+	void *buf;
+	size_t size;
+	uint32_t type = IMD_TYPE_INVALID;
+	struct imd_header *imd_start, *imd;
+	const char *filename;
+	const char *variable_name = NULL;
+	char *str;
+
+	imd_command_verbose = 0;
+
+	while ((opt = getopt(argc, argv, "vt:s:n:")) > 0) {
+		switch(opt) {
+		case 't':
+			type = imd_name_to_type(optarg);
+			if (type == IMD_TYPE_INVALID) {
+				fprintf(stderr, "no such type: %s\n", optarg);
+				return -ENOSYS;
+			}
+			break;
+		case 's':
+			variable_name = optarg;
+			break;
+		case 'v':
+			imd_command_verbose = 1;
+			break;
+		case 'n':
+			strno = simple_strtoul(optarg, NULL, 0);
+			break;
+		default:
+			return -ENOSYS;
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (optind == argc) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "No image given\n");
+		return -ENOSYS;
+	}
+
+	filename = argv[optind];
+
+	ret = read_file_2(filename, &size, &buf, 0x100000);
+	if (ret && ret != -EFBIG)
+		return -errno;
+
+	ret = imd_search_validate(buf, size, &imd_start);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	if (type == IMD_TYPE_INVALID) {
+		imd_for_each(imd_start, imd) {
+			uint32_t type = imd_read_type(imd);
+
+			if (imd_is_string(type)) {
+				struct imd_entry_string *imd_string =
+					(struct imd_entry_string *)imd;
+
+				str = imd_concat_strings(imd_string);
+
+				printf("%s: %s\n", imd_type_to_name(type), str);
+			} else {
+				debug("Unknown tag 0x%08x\n", type);
+			}
+		}
+	} else {
+		imd = imd_find_type(imd_start, type);
+		if (!imd) {
+			debug("No tag of type 0x%08x found\n", type);
+			return -ENODATA;
+		}
+
+		if (imd_is_string(type)) {
+			struct imd_entry_string *imd_string =
+				(struct imd_entry_string *)imd;
+
+			if (strno >= 0)
+				str = imd_string_data(imd_string, strno);
+			else
+				str = imd_concat_strings(imd_string);
+
+			if (!str)
+				return -ENODATA;
+
+			if (variable_name)
+				imd_command_setenv(variable_name, str);
+			else
+				printf("%s\n", str);
+
+			if (strno < 0)
+				free(str);
+		} else {
+			printf("tag 0x%08x present\n", type);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return 0;
+}
diff --git a/common/menutree.c b/common/menutree.c
index 814512d7b..97e628de8 100644
--- a/common/menutree.c
+++ b/common/menutree.c
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include <glob.h>
 #include <menu.h>
 #include <fs.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 #include <linux/stat.h>
 
diff --git a/common/uimage.c b/common/uimage.c
index 4ef09682c..a7011a762 100644
--- a/common/uimage.c
+++ b/common/uimage.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include <malloc.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <uncompress.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <fs.h>
diff --git a/drivers/usb/gadget/dfu.c b/drivers/usb/gadget/dfu.c
index d0f2155e4..bc5ee9c7d 100644
--- a/drivers/usb/gadget/dfu.c
+++ b/drivers/usb/gadget/dfu.c
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include <linux/list.h>
 #include <usb/gadget.h>
 #include <linux/stat.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <usb/ch9.h>
 #include <usb/dfu.h>
 #include <config.h>
diff --git a/fs/fs.c b/fs/fs.c
index dd410b731..fd3d35358 100644
--- a/fs/fs.c
+++ b/fs/fs.c
@@ -34,78 +34,6 @@
 #include <libgen.h>
 #include <block.h>
 
-void *read_file(const char *filename, size_t *size)
-{
-	int fd;
-	struct stat s;
-	void *buf = NULL;
-	const char *tmpfile = "/.read_file_tmp";
-	int ret;
-
-again:
-	if (stat(filename, &s))
-		return NULL;
-
-	if (s.st_size == FILESIZE_MAX) {
-		ret = copy_file(filename, tmpfile, 0);
-		if (ret)
-			return NULL;
-		filename = tmpfile;
-		goto again;
-	}
-
-	buf = xzalloc(s.st_size + 1);
-
-	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
-	if (fd < 0)
-		goto err_out;
-
-	ret = read_full(fd, buf, s.st_size);
-	if (ret < 0)
-		goto err_out1;
-
-	close(fd);
-
-	if (size)
-		*size = s.st_size;
-
-	if (filename == tmpfile)
-		unlink(tmpfile);
-
-	return buf;
-
-err_out1:
-	close(fd);
-err_out:
-	free(buf);
-
-	if (filename == tmpfile)
-		unlink(tmpfile);
-
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(read_file);
-
-int write_file(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t size)
-{
-	int fd, ret;
-
-	fd = open(filename, O_WRONLY | O_TRUNC | O_CREAT);
-	if (fd < 0)
-		return fd;
-
-	ret = write_full(fd, buf, size);
-
-	close(fd);
-
-	if (ret < 0)
-		return ret;
-
-	return 0;
-}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(write_file);
-
 char *mkmodestr(unsigned long mode, char *str)
 {
 	static const char *l = "xwr";
diff --git a/fs/uimagefs.c b/fs/uimagefs.c
index 6547b7cb7..63931c2d7 100644
--- a/fs/uimagefs.c
+++ b/fs/uimagefs.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include <uimagefs.h>
 #include <libbb.h>
 #include <rtc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 static bool uimagefs_is_data_file(struct uimagefs_handle_data *d)
 {
diff --git a/include/asm-generic/barebox.lds.h b/include/asm-generic/barebox.lds.h
index 5dabda3fb..66abff30f 100644
--- a/include/asm-generic/barebox.lds.h
+++ b/include/asm-generic/barebox.lds.h
@@ -53,6 +53,12 @@
 	KEEP(*(.dtb.rodata.*));			\
 	__dtb_end = .;
 
+#define BAREBOX_IMD				\
+	KEEP(*(.barebox_imd_start))		\
+	KEEP(*(.barebox_imd_1*))		\
+	*(.barebox_imd_0*)			\
+	KEEP(*(.barebox_imd_end))
+
 #if defined(CONFIG_ARCH_BAREBOX_MAX_BARE_INIT_SIZE) && \
 CONFIG_ARCH_BAREBOX_MAX_BARE_INIT_SIZE < CONFIG_BAREBOX_MAX_BARE_INIT_SIZE
 #define MAX_BARE_INIT_SIZE CONFIG_ARCH_BAREBOX_MAX_BARE_INIT_SIZE
diff --git a/include/fs.h b/include/fs.h
index 073641c74..b2541a4ee 100644
--- a/include/fs.h
+++ b/include/fs.h
@@ -163,20 +163,6 @@ int ls(const char *path, ulong flags);
 
 char *mkmodestr(unsigned long mode, char *str);
 
-/*
- * Read a file into memory. Memory is allocated with malloc and must
- * be freed with free() afterwards. This function allocates one
- * byte more than actually needed and sets this to zero, so that
- * it can be used for text files.
- * If size is nonzero it s set to the file size.
- */
-void *read_file(const char *filename, size_t *size);
-
-/*
- * Write a buffer to a file. This file is newly created.
- */
-int write_file(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t size);
-
 /*
  * This function turns 'path' into an absolute path and removes all occurrences
  * of "..", "." and double slashes. The returned string must be freed wit free().
diff --git a/include/image-metadata.h b/include/image-metadata.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..34dae5ce3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/image-metadata.h
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+#ifndef __INCLUDE_IMAGE_METADTA_H
+#define __INCLUDE_IMAGE_METADTA_H
+
+/*
+ * barebox Image MetaData (IMD)
+ *
+ * IMD is a mechanism to store metadata in barebox images. With IMD
+ * it's possible to extract the release, the build timestamp and the
+ * board type from a barebox image.
+ *
+ * Since there is no fixed place in the image suitable for all SoC image
+ * types the metadata can be stored anywhere in the image and is found
+ * by iterating over the image. The metadata starts with a start header
+ * and ends with an end header. All tags in between carry the payload.
+ *
+ * Make sure source files containing IMD data are compiled with lwl-y so
+ * that the tags end up in the PBL if one exists and in the regular image
+ * without PBL.
+ *
+ * The following types exist:
+ */
+#define IMD_TYPE_START		0x640c0001
+#define IMD_TYPE_RELEASE	0x640c8002 /* The barebox release aka UTS_RELEASE */
+#define IMD_TYPE_BUILD		0x640c8003 /* build number and timestamp (UTS_VERSION) */
+#define IMD_TYPE_MODEL		0x640c8004 /* The board name this image is for */
+#define IMD_TYPE_OF_COMPATIBLE	0x640c8005 /* the device tree compatible string */
+#define IMD_TYPE_PARAMETER	0x640c8006 /* A generic parameter. Use key=value as data */
+#define IMD_TYPE_END		0x640c7fff
+#define IMD_TYPE_INVALID	0xffffffff
+
+/*
+ * The IMD header. All data is stored in little endian format in the image.
+ * The next header starts at the next 4 byte boundary after the data.
+ */
+struct imd_header {
+	uint32_t type;		/* One of IMD_TYPE_* above */
+	uint32_t datalength;	/* Length of the data (exluding the header) */
+};
+
+/*
+ * A IMD string. Set bit 15 of the IMD_TYPE to indicate the data is printable
+ * as string.
+ */
+struct imd_entry_string {
+	struct imd_header header;
+	char data[];
+};
+
+static inline int imd_is_string(uint32_t type)
+{
+	return (type & 0x8000) ? 1 : 0;
+}
+
+static inline int imd_type_valid(uint32_t type)
+{
+	return (type & 0xffff0000) == 0x640c0000;
+}
+
+struct imd_header *imd_next(struct imd_header *imd);
+
+#define imd_for_each(start, imd) \
+	for (imd = imd_next(start); imd_read_type(imd) != IMD_TYPE_END; imd = imd_next(imd))
+
+static inline uint32_t imd_read_le32(void *_ptr)
+{
+	uint8_t *ptr = _ptr;
+
+	return ptr[0] | (ptr[1] << 8) | (ptr[2] << 16) | (ptr[3] << 24);
+}
+
+static inline uint32_t imd_read_type(struct imd_header *imd)
+{
+	return imd_read_le32(&imd->type);
+}
+
+static inline uint32_t imd_read_length(struct imd_header *imd)
+{
+	return imd_read_le32(&imd->datalength);
+}
+
+struct imd_header *imd_find_type(struct imd_header *imd, uint32_t type);
+
+extern int imd_command_verbose;
+int imd_command_setenv(const char *variable_name, const char *value);
+int imd_command(int argc, char *argv[]);
+
+#ifdef __BAREBOX__
+
+#include <linux/stringify.h>
+
+#define __BAREBOX_IMD_SECTION(_section) \
+	__attribute__ ((unused,section (__stringify(_section)))) \
+	__attribute__((aligned(4)))
+
+#define BAREBOX_IMD_TAG_STRING(_name, _type, _string, _keep_if_unused)			\
+	const struct imd_entry_string __barebox_imd_##_name				\
+	__BAREBOX_IMD_SECTION(.barebox_imd_ ## _keep_if_unused ## _ ## _name) = {	\
+		.header.type = cpu_to_le32(_type),					\
+		.header.datalength = cpu_to_le32(sizeof(_string)),			\
+		.data = _string,							\
+	}
+
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_IMD
+void imd_used(const void *);
+#else
+static inline void imd_used(const void *unused)
+{
+}
+#endif
+
+#define IMD_USED(_name) \
+	imd_used(&__barebox_imd_##_name)
+
+#endif /* __BAREBOX__ */
+
+#endif /* __INCLUDE_IMAGE_METADTA_H */
diff --git a/include/libbb.h b/include/libbb.h
index 2fe710c36..a362bd32d 100644
--- a/include/libbb.h
+++ b/include/libbb.h
@@ -26,15 +26,8 @@ int recursive_action(const char *fileName, unsigned flags,
 
 char * safe_strncpy(char *dst, const char *src, size_t size);
 
-int copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst, int verbose);
-
 int process_escape_sequence(const char *source, char *dest, int destlen);
 
 char *simple_itoa(unsigned int i);
 
-int write_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size);
-int read_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size);
-
-char *read_file_line(const char *fmt, ...);
-
 #endif /* __LIBBB_H */
diff --git a/include/libfile.h b/include/libfile.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4a25a9153
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/libfile.h
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#ifndef __LIBFILE_H
+#define __LIBFILE_H
+
+int write_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size);
+int read_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size);
+
+char *read_file_line(const char *fmt, ...);
+
+void *read_file(const char *filename, size_t *size);
+
+int read_file_2(const char *filename, size_t *size, void **outbuf,
+		loff_t max_size);
+
+int write_file(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t size);
+
+int copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst, int verbose);
+
+#endif /* __LIBFILE_H */
diff --git a/lib/Makefile b/lib/Makefile
index 48c953d67..a75653fb4 100644
--- a/lib/Makefile
+++ b/lib/Makefile
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_GLOB)		+= fnmatch.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_GENERIC_FIND_NEXT_BIT) += find_next_bit.o
 obj-y			+= glob.o
 obj-y			+= notifier.o
-obj-y			+= copy_file.o
 obj-y			+= random.o
 obj-y			+= lzo/
 obj-$(CONFIG_LZ4_DECOMPRESS) += lz4/
@@ -45,3 +44,4 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_XYMODEM)	+= xymodem.o
 obj-y			+= unlink-recursive.o
 obj-$(CONFIG_STMP_DEVICE) += stmp-device.o
 obj-y			+= wchar.o
+obj-y			+= libfile.o
diff --git a/lib/bootstrap/disk.c b/lib/bootstrap/disk.c
index 527e43089..1e9fbd834 100644
--- a/lib/bootstrap/disk.c
+++ b/lib/bootstrap/disk.c
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 #include <sizes.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 #include <bootstrap.h>
 
 void* bootstrap_read_disk(char *dev, char *fstype)
diff --git a/lib/copy_file.c b/lib/copy_file.c
deleted file mode 100644
index fdd0cacb4..000000000
--- a/lib/copy_file.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,86 +0,0 @@
-#include <common.h>
-#include <fs.h>
-#include <fcntl.h>
-#include <errno.h>
-#include <malloc.h>
-#include <libbb.h>
-#include <progress.h>
-
-/**
- * @param[in] src FIXME
- * @param[out] dst FIXME
- * @param[in] verbose FIXME
- */
-int copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst, int verbose)
-{
-	char *rw_buf = NULL;
-	int srcfd = 0, dstfd = 0;
-	int r, w;
-	int ret = 1;
-	void *buf;
-	int total = 0;
-	struct stat statbuf;
-
-	rw_buf = xmalloc(RW_BUF_SIZE);
-
-	srcfd = open(src, O_RDONLY);
-	if (srcfd < 0) {
-		printf("could not open %s: %s\n", src, errno_str());
-		goto out;
-	}
-
-	dstfd = open(dst, O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC);
-	if (dstfd < 0) {
-		printf("could not open %s: %s\n", dst, errno_str());
-		goto out;
-	}
-
-	if (verbose) {
-		if (stat(src, &statbuf) < 0)
-			statbuf.st_size = 0;
-
-		init_progression_bar(statbuf.st_size);
-	}
-
-	while(1) {
-		r = read(srcfd, rw_buf, RW_BUF_SIZE);
-		if (r < 0) {
-			perror("read");
-			goto out;
-		}
-		if (!r)
-			break;
-
-		buf = rw_buf;
-		while (r) {
-			w = write(dstfd, buf, r);
-			if (w < 0) {
-				perror("write");
-				goto out;
-			}
-			buf += w;
-			r -= w;
-			total += w;
-		}
-
-		if (verbose) {
-			if (statbuf.st_size && statbuf.st_size != FILESIZE_MAX)
-				show_progress(total);
-			else
-				show_progress(total / 16384);
-		}
-	}
-
-	ret = 0;
-out:
-	if (verbose)
-		putchar('\n');
-
-	free(rw_buf);
-	if (srcfd > 0)
-		close(srcfd);
-	if (dstfd > 0)
-		close(dstfd);
-
-	return ret;
-}
diff --git a/lib/gui/image_renderer.c b/lib/gui/image_renderer.c
index 8047961e9..dd29389ba 100644
--- a/lib/gui/image_renderer.c
+++ b/lib/gui/image_renderer.c
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fs.h>
 #include <malloc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
 
 static LIST_HEAD(image_renderers);
 
diff --git a/lib/libbb.c b/lib/libbb.c
index dd42e662b..239611c27 100644
--- a/lib/libbb.c
+++ b/lib/libbb.c
@@ -126,96 +126,3 @@ char *simple_itoa(unsigned int i)
 	return p + 1;
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(simple_itoa);
-
-/*
- * write_full - write to filedescriptor
- *
- * Like write, but guarantees to write the full buffer out, else
- * it returns with an error.
- */
-int write_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size)
-{
-	size_t insize = size;
-	int now;
-
-	while (size) {
-		now = write(fd, buf, size);
-		if (now <= 0)
-			return now;
-		size -= now;
-		buf += now;
-	}
-
-	return insize;
-}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(write_full);
-
-/*
- * read_full - read from filedescriptor
- *
- * Like read, but this function only returns less bytes than
- * requested when the end of file is reached.
- */
-int read_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size)
-{
-	size_t insize = size;
-	int now;
-	int total = 0;
-
-	while (size) {
-		now = read(fd, buf, size);
-		if (now == 0)
-			return total;
-		if (now < 0)
-			return now;
-		total += now;
-		size -= now;
-		buf += now;
-	}
-
-	return insize;
-}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL(read_full);
-
-/*
- * read_file_line - read a line from a file
- *
- * Used to compose a filename from a printf format and to read a line from this
- * file. All leading and trailing whitespaces (including line endings) are
- * removed. The returned buffer must be freed with free(). This function is
- * supposed for reading variable like content into a buffer, so files > 1024
- * bytes are ignored.
- */
-char *read_file_line(const char *fmt, ...)
-{
-	va_list args;
-	char *filename;
-	char *buf, *line = NULL;
-	size_t size;
-	int ret;
-	struct stat s;
-
-	va_start(args, fmt);
-	filename = vasprintf(fmt, args);
-	va_end(args);
-
-	ret = stat(filename, &s);
-	if (ret)
-		goto out;
-
-	if (s.st_size > 1024)
-		goto out;
-
-	buf = read_file(filename, &size);
-	if (!buf)
-		goto out;
-
-	line = strim(buf);
-
-	line = xstrdup(line);
-	free(buf);
-out:
-	free(filename);
-	return line;
-}
-EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(read_file_line);
diff --git a/lib/libfile.c b/lib/libfile.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c6fb6d715
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/libfile.c
@@ -0,0 +1,331 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2014 Sascha Hauer <s.hauer@pengutronix.de>, Pengutronix
+ *
+ * See file CREDITS for list of people who contributed to this
+ * project.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ */
+#include <common.h>
+#include <fs.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <malloc.h>
+#include <libfile.h>
+#include <progress.h>
+#include <linux/stat.h>
+
+/*
+ * write_full - write to filedescriptor
+ *
+ * Like write, but guarantees to write the full buffer out, else
+ * it returns with an error.
+ */
+int write_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+	size_t insize = size;
+	int now;
+
+	while (size) {
+		now = write(fd, buf, size);
+		if (now <= 0)
+			return now;
+		size -= now;
+		buf += now;
+	}
+
+	return insize;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(write_full);
+
+/*
+ * read_full - read from filedescriptor
+ *
+ * Like read, but this function only returns less bytes than
+ * requested when the end of file is reached.
+ */
+int read_full(int fd, void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+	size_t insize = size;
+	int now;
+	int total = 0;
+
+	while (size) {
+		now = read(fd, buf, size);
+		if (now == 0)
+			return total;
+		if (now < 0)
+			return now;
+		total += now;
+		size -= now;
+		buf += now;
+	}
+
+	return insize;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(read_full);
+
+/*
+ * read_file_line - read a line from a file
+ *
+ * Used to compose a filename from a printf format and to read a line from this
+ * file. All leading and trailing whitespaces (including line endings) are
+ * removed. The returned buffer must be freed with free(). This function is
+ * supposed for reading variable like content into a buffer, so files > 1024
+ * bytes are ignored.
+ */
+char *read_file_line(const char *fmt, ...)
+{
+	va_list args;
+	char *filename;
+	char *buf, *line = NULL;
+	size_t size;
+	int ret;
+	struct stat s;
+
+	va_start(args, fmt);
+	filename = vasprintf(fmt, args);
+	va_end(args);
+
+	ret = stat(filename, &s);
+	if (ret)
+		goto out;
+
+	if (s.st_size > 1024)
+		goto out;
+
+	buf = read_file(filename, &size);
+	if (!buf)
+		goto out;
+
+	line = strim(buf);
+
+	line = xstrdup(line);
+	free(buf);
+out:
+	free(filename);
+	return line;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(read_file_line);
+
+/**
+ * read_file_2 - read a file to an allocated buffer
+ * @filename:  The filename to read
+ * @size:      After successful return contains the size of the file
+ * @outbuf:    contains a pointer to the file data after successful return
+ * @max_size:  The maximum size to read. Use FILESIZE_MAX for reading files
+ *             of any size.
+ *
+ * This function reads a file to an allocated buffer. At maximum @max_size
+ * bytes are read. The actual read size is returned in @size. -EFBIG is
+ * returned if the file is bigger than @max_size, but the buffer is read
+ * anyway up to @max_size in this case. Free the buffer with free() after
+ * usage.
+ *
+ * Return: 0 for success, or negative error code. -EFBIG is returned
+ * when the file has been bigger than max_size.
+ */
+int read_file_2(const char *filename, size_t *size, void **outbuf,
+		loff_t max_size)
+{
+	int fd;
+	struct stat s;
+	void *buf = NULL;
+	const char *tmpfile = "/.read_file_tmp";
+	int ret;
+	loff_t read_size;
+
+again:
+	ret = stat(filename, &s);
+	if (ret)
+		return ret;
+
+	if (max_size == FILESIZE_MAX)
+		read_size = s.st_size;
+	else
+		read_size = max_size;
+
+	if (read_size == FILESIZE_MAX) {
+		ret = copy_file(filename, tmpfile, 0);
+		if (ret)
+			return ret;
+		filename = tmpfile;
+		goto again;
+	}
+
+	buf = xzalloc(read_size + 1);
+
+	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		goto err_out;
+
+	ret = read_full(fd, buf, read_size);
+	if (ret < 0)
+		goto err_out1;
+
+	close(fd);
+
+	if (size)
+		*size = ret;
+
+	if (filename == tmpfile)
+		unlink(tmpfile);
+
+	*outbuf = buf;
+
+	if (read_size < s.st_size)
+		return -EFBIG;
+	else
+		return 0;
+
+err_out1:
+	close(fd);
+err_out:
+	free(buf);
+
+	if (filename == tmpfile)
+		unlink(tmpfile);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(read_file_2);
+
+/**
+ * read_file - read a file to an allocated buffer
+ * @filename:  The filename to read
+ * @size:      After successful return contains the size of the file
+ *
+ * This function reads a file to an allocated buffer.
+ * Some TFTP servers do not transfer the size of a file. In this case
+ * a the file is first read to a temporary file.
+ *
+ * Return: The buffer conataining the file or NULL on failure
+ */
+void *read_file(const char *filename, size_t *size)
+{
+	int ret;
+	void *buf;
+
+	ret = read_file_2(filename, size, &buf, FILESIZE_MAX);
+	if (!ret)
+		return buf;
+
+	return NULL;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(read_file);
+
+/**
+ * write_file - write a buffer to a file
+ * @filename:    The filename to write
+ * @size:        The size of the buffer
+ *
+ * Return: 0 for success or negative error value
+ */
+int write_file(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+	int fd, ret;
+
+	fd = open(filename, O_WRONLY | O_TRUNC | O_CREAT);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		return fd;
+
+	ret = write_full(fd, buf, size);
+
+	close(fd);
+
+	if (ret < 0)
+		return ret;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(write_file);
+
+/**
+ * copy_file - Copy a file
+ * @src:	The source filename
+ * @dst:	The destination filename
+ * @verbose:	if true, show a progression bar
+ *
+ * Return: 0 for success or negative error code
+ */
+int copy_file(const char *src, const char *dst, int verbose)
+{
+	char *rw_buf = NULL;
+	int srcfd = 0, dstfd = 0;
+	int r, w;
+	int ret = 1;
+	void *buf;
+	int total = 0;
+	struct stat statbuf;
+
+	rw_buf = xmalloc(RW_BUF_SIZE);
+
+	srcfd = open(src, O_RDONLY);
+	if (srcfd < 0) {
+		printf("could not open %s: %s\n", src, errno_str());
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	dstfd = open(dst, O_WRONLY | O_CREAT | O_TRUNC);
+	if (dstfd < 0) {
+		printf("could not open %s: %s\n", dst, errno_str());
+		goto out;
+	}
+
+	if (verbose) {
+		if (stat(src, &statbuf) < 0)
+			statbuf.st_size = 0;
+
+		init_progression_bar(statbuf.st_size);
+	}
+
+	while (1) {
+		r = read(srcfd, rw_buf, RW_BUF_SIZE);
+		if (r < 0) {
+			perror("read");
+			goto out;
+		}
+		if (!r)
+			break;
+
+		buf = rw_buf;
+		while (r) {
+			w = write(dstfd, buf, r);
+			if (w < 0) {
+				perror("write");
+				goto out;
+			}
+			buf += w;
+			r -= w;
+			total += w;
+		}
+
+		if (verbose) {
+			if (statbuf.st_size && statbuf.st_size != FILESIZE_MAX)
+				show_progress(total);
+			else
+				show_progress(total / 16384);
+		}
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+out:
+	if (verbose)
+		putchar('\n');
+
+	free(rw_buf);
+	if (srcfd > 0)
+		close(srcfd);
+	if (dstfd > 0)
+		close(dstfd);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL(copy_file);
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile b/scripts/Makefile
index 9c77680a1..2050ec497 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile
+++ b/scripts/Makefile
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ hostprogs-y                      += fix_size
 hostprogs-y                      += bareboxenv
 hostprogs-y                      += bareboxcrc32
 hostprogs-y                      += kernel-install
+hostprogs-$(CONFIG_IMD)          += bareboximd
 hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS)     += kallsyms
 hostprogs-$(CONFIG_ARCH_MVEBU)   += kwbimage kwboot
 hostprogs-$(CONFIG_ARCH_NETX)    += gen_netx_image
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ subdir-$(CONFIG_ARCH_TEGRA)	+= tegra
 targetprogs-$(CONFIG_BAREBOXENV_TARGET) += bareboxenv-target
 targetprogs-$(CONFIG_KERNEL_INSTALL_TARGET) += kernel-install-target
 targetprogs-$(CONFIG_BAREBOXCRC32_TARGET) += bareboxcrc32-target
+targetprogs-$(CONFIG_IMD_TARGET) += bareboximd-target
 
 # Let clean descend into subdirs
 subdir-	+= basic kconfig setupmbr
diff --git a/scripts/Makefile.lib b/scripts/Makefile.lib
index 08518704f..7d97d573a 100644
--- a/scripts/Makefile.lib
+++ b/scripts/Makefile.lib
@@ -14,6 +14,13 @@ obj-m := $(filter-out $(obj-y),$(obj-m))
 lib-y := $(filter-out $(obj-y), $(sort $(lib-y) $(lib-m)))
 
 
+pbl-y		+= $(pbl-dtb-y)
+obj-y		+= $(obj-dtb-y)
+extra-y		+= $(patsubst %.dtb.o,%.dtb.S,$(obj-dtb-y))
+extra-y		+= $(patsubst %.dtb.o,%.dtb,$(obj-dtb-y))
+extra-y		+= $(patsubst %.dtb.o,%.dtb.S,$(pbl-dtb-y))
+extra-y		+= $(patsubst %.dtb.o,%.dtb,$(pbl-dtb-y))
+
 # Handle objects in subdirs
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # o if we encounter foo/ in $(obj-y), replace it by foo/built-in.o
@@ -203,21 +210,9 @@ cmd_gzip = (cat $(filter-out FORCE,$^) | gzip -n -f -9 > $@) || \
 
 # Generate an assembly file to wrap the output of the device tree compiler
 quiet_cmd_dt_S_dtb = DTB     $@
-cmd_dt_S_dtb=							\
-(								\
-	echo '\#include <asm-generic/barebox.lds.h>';		\
-	echo '.section .dtb.rodata.$(subst -,_,$(*F)),"a"';	\
-	echo '.balign STRUCT_ALIGNMENT';			\
-	echo '.global __dtb_$(subst -,_,$(*F))_start';		\
-	echo '__dtb_$(subst -,_,$(*F))_start:';			\
-	echo '.incbin "$<" ';					\
-	echo '__dtb_$(subst -,_,$(*F))_end:';			\
-	echo '.global __dtb_$(subst -,_,$(*F))_end';		\
-	echo '.balign STRUCT_ALIGNMENT';			\
-) > $@
-
-$(obj)/%.dtb.S: $(obj)/%.dtb
-	$(call cmd,dt_S_dtb)
+cmd_dt_S_dtb = $(srctree)/scripts/gen-dtb-s $(subst -,_,$(*F)) $< $(CONFIG_IMD) > $@
+$(obj)/%.dtb.S: $(obj)/%.dtb $(srctree)/scripts/gen-dtb-s FORCE
+	$(call if_changed,dt_S_dtb)
 
 quiet_cmd_dtc = DTC     $@
 cmd_dtc = $(CPP) $(dtc_cpp_flags) -x assembler-with-cpp -o $(dtc-tmp) $< ; \
diff --git a/scripts/bareboximd.c b/scripts/bareboximd.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a3622af82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/bareboximd.c
@@ -0,0 +1,161 @@
+/*
+ * (C) Copyright 2014 Sascha Hauer, Pengutronix
+ *
+ * See file CREDITS for list of people who contributed to this
+ * project.
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
+ * the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ */
+
+#define __ALIGN_MASK(x, mask)	(((x) + (mask)) & ~(mask))
+#define ALIGN(x, a)		__ALIGN_MASK(x, (typeof(x))(a) - 1)
+#define ARRAY_SIZE(x) (sizeof(x) / sizeof((x)[0]))
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <asm-generic/errno.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <sys/mman.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
+
+#include "../include/image-metadata.h"
+
+static void debug(const char *fmt, ...)
+{
+	va_list ap;
+
+	if (!imd_command_verbose)
+		return;
+
+	va_start(ap, fmt);
+	vfprintf(stderr, fmt, ap);
+	va_end(ap);
+}
+
+int imd_command_setenv(const char *variable_name, const char *value)
+{
+	fprintf(stderr, "-s option ignored\n");
+
+	return -EINVAL;
+}
+
+static int read_file_2(const char *filename, size_t *size, void **outbuf, loff_t max_size)
+{
+	off_t fsize;
+	ssize_t rsize;
+	int ret, fd;
+	void *buf;
+
+	*size = 0;
+	*outbuf = NULL;
+
+	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open %s: %s\n", filename, strerror(errno));
+		return -errno;
+	}
+
+	fsize = lseek(fd, 0, SEEK_END);
+	if (fsize == -1) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Cannot get size %s: %s\n", filename, strerror(errno));
+		ret = -errno;
+		goto close;
+	}
+
+	if (fsize < max_size)
+		max_size = fsize;
+
+	if (lseek(fd, 0, SEEK_SET) == -1) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Cannot seek to start %s: %s\n", filename, strerror(errno));
+		ret = -errno;
+		goto close;
+	}
+
+	buf = malloc(max_size);
+	if (!buf) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "Cannot allocate memory\n");
+		ret = -ENOMEM;
+		goto close;
+	}
+
+	*outbuf = buf;
+	while (*size < max_size) {
+		rsize = read(fd, buf, max_size-*size);
+		if (rsize == 0) {
+			ret = -EIO;
+			goto free;
+		} else if (rsize < 0) {
+			if (errno == EAGAIN)
+				continue;
+			else {
+				ret = -errno;
+				goto free;
+			}
+		} /* ret > 0 */
+		buf += rsize;
+		*size += rsize;
+	}
+
+	ret = 0;
+	goto close;
+free:
+	*outbuf = NULL;
+	free(buf);
+close:
+	close(fd);
+	return ret;
+}
+
+static unsigned long simple_strtoul(const char *cp, char **endp, unsigned int base)
+{
+	return strtoul(cp, endp, base);
+}
+
+#include "../common/imd.c"
+
+static void usage(const char *prgname)
+{
+	printf(
+"Extract metadata from a barebox image\n"
+"\n"
+"Usage: %s [OPTIONS] FILE\n"
+"Options:\n"
+"-t <type>    only show information of <type>\n"
+"-n <no>      for tags with multiple strings only show string <no>\n"
+"\n"
+"Without options all information available is printed. Valid types are:\n"
+"release, build, model, of_compatible\n",
+	prgname);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+{
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = imd_command(argc, argv);
+	if (ret == -ENOSYS) {
+		usage(argv[0]);
+		exit(1);
+	}
+
+	if (ret)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", strerror(-ret));
+
+	return ret ? 1 : 0;
+}
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/.gitignore b/scripts/dtc/.gitignore
index cdabdc95a..80f6b50fd 100644
--- a/scripts/dtc/.gitignore
+++ b/scripts/dtc/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ dtc
 dtc-lexer.lex.c
 dtc-parser.tab.c
 dtc-parser.tab.h
+fdtget
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/Makefile b/scripts/dtc/Makefile
index 2a48022c4..05973b12a 100644
--- a/scripts/dtc/Makefile
+++ b/scripts/dtc/Makefile
@@ -1,15 +1,20 @@
 # scripts/dtc makefile
 
-hostprogs-y	:= dtc
+hostprogs-y	:= dtc fdtget
 always		:= $(hostprogs-y)
 
 dtc-objs	:= dtc.o flattree.o fstree.o data.o livetree.o treesource.o \
 		   srcpos.o checks.o util.o
 dtc-objs	+= dtc-lexer.lex.o dtc-parser.tab.o
 
+libfdt-objs	= fdt.o fdt_ro.o fdt_strerror.o fdt_wip.o
+libfdt-objs	+= fdt_empty_tree.o fdt_rw.o fdt_sw.o
+
+fdtget-objs	+= fdtget.o $(libfdt-objs) util.o
+
 # Source files need to get at the userspace version of libfdt_env.h to compile
 
-HOSTCFLAGS_DTC := -I$(src) -I$(src)/libfdt
+HOSTCFLAGS_DTC := -I$(src)
 
 HOSTCFLAGS_checks.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 HOSTCFLAGS_data.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
@@ -21,6 +26,15 @@ HOSTCFLAGS_srcpos.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 HOSTCFLAGS_treesource.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 HOSTCFLAGS_util.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_ro.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_strerror.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_wip.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_empty_tree.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_rw.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdt_sw.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+HOSTCFLAGS_fdtget.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
+
 HOSTCFLAGS_dtc-lexer.lex.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 HOSTCFLAGS_dtc-parser.tab.o := $(HOSTCFLAGS_DTC)
 
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt.h b/scripts/dtc/fdt.h
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt.h
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt.h
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_empty_tree.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_empty_tree.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_empty_tree.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_empty_tree.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_ro.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_ro.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_rw.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_rw.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_rw.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_rw.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_strerror.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_strerror.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_strerror.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_strerror.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_sw.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_sw.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_sw.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_sw.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_wip.c b/scripts/dtc/fdt_wip.c
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/fdt_wip.c
rename to scripts/dtc/fdt_wip.c
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt.h b/scripts/dtc/libfdt.h
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt.h
rename to scripts/dtc/libfdt.h
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt_env.h b/scripts/dtc/libfdt_env.h
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt_env.h
rename to scripts/dtc/libfdt_env.h
diff --git a/scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt_internal.h b/scripts/dtc/libfdt_internal.h
similarity index 100%
rename from scripts/dtc/libfdt/libfdt_internal.h
rename to scripts/dtc/libfdt_internal.h
diff --git a/scripts/gen-dtb-s b/scripts/gen-dtb-s
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..434612f36
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gen-dtb-s
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+name=$1
+dtb=$2
+imd=$3
+
+echo "#include <asm-generic/barebox.lds.h>"
+
+le32() {
+	printf ".byte 0x%02x, 0x%02x, 0x%02x, 0x%02x\n" \
+		$(($1 & 0xff))				\
+		$((($1 >> 8) & 0xff))			\
+		$((($1 >> 16) & 0xff))			\
+		$((($1 >> 24) & 0xff))
+}
+
+FDTGET=scripts/dtc/fdtget
+
+if [ "$imd" = "y" ]; then
+	echo ".section .barebox_imd_0.${name},\"a\""
+	echo ".global __imd_${name}_start"
+	echo "__imd_${name}_start:"
+
+	compat=$($FDTGET -d notfound -t bi "$dtb" / compatible | sed "s^ ^,^g")
+	if [ "$compat" != "notfound" ]; then
+
+		compatlen=$($FDTGET -t s "$dtb" / compatible | wc -c)
+		le32 0x640c8005
+		le32 $compatlen
+		echo ".byte " $compat
+		echo ".balign 4"
+	fi
+
+	model=$($FDTGET -d notfound -t bi "$dtb" / model | sed "s^ ^,^g")
+
+	if [ "$model" != "notfound" ]; then
+		modellen=$($FDTGET -t s "$dtb" / model | wc -c)
+		le32 0x640c8004
+		le32 $compatlen
+		echo ".byte " $model
+		echo ".balign 4"
+	fi
+fi
+
+echo ".section .dtb.rodata.${name},\"a\""
+echo ".balign STRUCT_ALIGNMENT"
+echo ".global __dtb_${name}_start"
+echo "__dtb_${name}_start:"
+echo ".incbin \"$dtb\""
+echo "__dtb_${name}_end:"
+echo ".global __dtb_${name}_end"
+echo ".balign STRUCT_ALIGNMENT"
+
+if [ "$imd" = "y" ]; then
+	echo ".word __imd_${name}_start"
+fi