diff --git a/documentation/tools/update-documentation-conf b/documentation/tools/update-documentation-conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3f8d280093
--- /dev/null
+++ b/documentation/tools/update-documentation-conf
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python
+
+# documentation.conf update script
+#
+# Author: Paul Eggleton <paul.eggleton@linux.intel.com>
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2015 Intel Corporation
+#
+# 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.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+# 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+
+
+import sys
+import os
+import argparse
+import re
+from lxml import etree
+import logging
+
+def logger_create(name):
+    logger = logging.getLogger(name)
+    loggerhandler = logging.StreamHandler()
+    loggerhandler.setFormatter(logging.Formatter("%(levelname)s: %(message)s"))
+    logger.addHandler(loggerhandler)
+    logger.setLevel(logging.INFO)
+    return logger
+logger = logger_create('docconfupdater')
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="documentation.conf updater")
+    parser.add_argument('basepath', help='Path to OE-Core base directory')
+    parser.add_argument('-q', '--quiet', help='Print only warnings/errors', action='store_true')
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    if args.quiet:
+        logger.setLevel(logging.WARN)
+
+    if not os.path.isdir(args.basepath):
+        logger.error('Specified base path %s not found')
+        return 1
+
+    doc_conf = os.path.join(args.basepath, 'meta', 'conf', 'documentation.conf')
+    if not os.path.exists(doc_conf):
+        logger.error('Unable to find %s' % doc_conf)
+        return 1
+
+    allowed_flags = ['doc']
+    flag_re = re.compile(r'\[(.+?)\]')
+
+    infos = {}
+    tree = etree.parse('ref-manual/ref-variables.xml')
+    root = tree.getroot()
+    for glossary in root.findall('glossary'):
+        for glossdiv in glossary.findall('glossdiv'):
+            for glossentry in glossdiv.findall('glossentry'):
+                info = glossentry.find('info')
+                if info is not None:
+                    infoline = ' '.join(info.text.split())
+                    infolinesplit = infoline.split('=', 1)
+                    if len(infoline) < 2:
+                        logger.warn('Invalid info line (no = character), ignoring: %s' % infoline)
+                        continue
+                    flags = flag_re.findall(infolinesplit[0])
+                    if not flags:
+                        logger.warn('Invalid info line (no varflag), ignoring: %s' % infoline)
+                        continue
+                    for flag in flags:
+                        if flag not in allowed_flags:
+                            logger.warn('Invalid info line (varflag %s not in allowed list), ignoring: %s' % (flag, infoline))
+                            continue
+                    infos[infolinesplit[0].rstrip()] = infolinesplit[1].lstrip()
+
+    if not infos:
+        logger.error('ERROR: Unable to find any info tags in the glossary')
+        return 1
+
+    def sortkey(key):
+        # Underscores sort undesirably, so replace them
+        return key.split('[')[0].replace('_', '-')
+
+    changed = False
+    lines = []
+    invars = False
+    lastletter = None
+    added = []
+    with open(doc_conf, 'r') as dcf:
+        for line in dcf:
+            if not invars:
+                if line.startswith('#') and 'DESCRIPTIONS FOR VARIABLES' in line:
+                    invars = True
+            elif not line.startswith('#'):
+                linesplit = line.split('=', 1)
+                if len(linesplit) > 1:
+                    key = linesplit[0].rstrip()
+                    lastletter = key[0]
+                    # Find anything in the dict that should come before the current key
+                    for dkey in sorted(infos.keys()):
+                        if sortkey(dkey) < sortkey(key):
+                            lines.append('%s = %s\n' % (dkey, infos[dkey]))
+                            added.append(dkey)
+                            del infos[dkey]
+                            changed = True
+                    newvalue = infos.get(key, None)
+                    if newvalue:
+                        del infos[key]
+                        if newvalue != linesplit[1].strip():
+                            lines.append('%s = %s\n' % (key, newvalue))
+                            changed = True
+                            continue
+                    elif key in added:
+                        # We already added a new value for this key, so skip it
+                        continue
+                elif lastletter:
+                    # Ensure we write out anything anything left over for this letter
+                    for dkey in sorted(infos.keys()):
+                        if dkey[0] == lastletter:
+                            lines.append('%s = %s\n' % (dkey, infos[dkey]))
+                            del infos[dkey]
+                            changed = True
+                        elif dkey[0] > lastletter:
+                            # List is sorted, so we're done
+                            break
+                    lastletter = None
+            lines.append(line)
+
+    if not invars:
+        logger.error('ERROR: Unable to find variables section in documentation.conf')
+        return 1
+
+    if infos:
+        changed = True
+        # Write out anything left over
+        lines.append('\n\n')
+        for key in sorted(infos.keys()):
+            lines.append('%s = %s\n' % (key, infos[key]))
+
+    if changed:
+        logger.info('Updating %s' % doc_conf)
+        with open(doc_conf, 'w') as dcf:
+            for line in lines:
+                dcf.write(line)
+    else:
+        logger.info('No changes required')
+
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    try:
+        ret = main()
+    except Exception:
+        ret = 1
+        import traceback
+        traceback.print_exc(5)
+    sys.exit(ret)
+
+