diff --git a/config.go b/configs/config.go
similarity index 99%
rename from config.go
rename to configs/config.go
index 94c2bd981..ab40b2b4b 100644
--- a/config.go
+++ b/configs/config.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package libcontainer
+package configs
 
 import (
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups"
diff --git a/config_test.go b/configs/config_test.go
similarity index 97%
rename from config_test.go
rename to configs/config_test.go
index b4e16bf01..f698e3d9a 100644
--- a/config_test.go
+++ b/configs/config_test.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package libcontainer
+package configs
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func containsDevice(expected *devices.Device, values []*devices.Device) bool {
 }
 
 func loadConfig(name string) (*Config, error) {
-	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join("sample_configs", name))
+	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join("../sample_configs", name))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/state.go b/configs/state.go
similarity index 98%
rename from state.go
rename to configs/state.go
index 4ab47ad75..9dc770067 100644
--- a/state.go
+++ b/configs/state.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package libcontainer
+package configs
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
diff --git a/container.go b/container.go
index e53769025..e04a43df4 100644
--- a/container.go
+++ b/container.go
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@ NOTE: The API is in flux and mainly not implemented. Proceed with caution until
 */
 package libcontainer
 
+import (
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
+)
+
 // A libcontainer container object.
 //
 // Each container is thread-safe within the same process. Since a container can
@@ -17,10 +21,10 @@ type Container interface {
 	// errors:
 	// ContainerDestroyed - Container no longer exists,
 	// Systemerror - System error.
-	RunState() (RunState, error)
+	RunState() (configs.RunState, error)
 
 	// Returns the current config of the container.
-	Config() *Config
+	Config() *configs.Config
 
 	// Returns the PIDs inside this container. The PIDs are in the namespace of the calling process.
 	//
diff --git a/factory.go b/factory.go
index 4959ff1e1..37e629645 100644
--- a/factory.go
+++ b/factory.go
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 package libcontainer
 
+import (
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
+)
+
 type Factory interface {
 	// Creates a new container with the given id and starts the initial process inside it.
 	// id must be a string containing only letters, digits and underscores and must contain
@@ -17,7 +21,7 @@ type Factory interface {
 	// Systemerror - System error
 	//
 	// On error, any partially created container parts are cleaned up (the operation is atomic).
-	Create(id string, config *Config) (Container, error)
+	Create(id string, config *configs.Config) (Container, error)
 
 	// Load takes an ID for an existing container and returns the container information
 	// from the state.  This presents a read only view of the container.
diff --git a/integration/exec_test.go b/integration/exec_test.go
index cf749efbf..993ca25ce 100644
--- a/integration/exec_test.go
+++ b/integration/exec_test.go
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 func TestExecPS(t *testing.T) {
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ func TestRlimit(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func getNamespaceIndex(config *libcontainer.Config, name string) int {
+func getNamespaceIndex(config *configs.Config, name string) int {
 	for i, v := range config.Namespaces {
 		if v.Name == name {
 			return i
diff --git a/integration/init_test.go b/integration/init_test.go
index 9954c0f8e..095263761 100644
--- a/integration/init_test.go
+++ b/integration/init_test.go
@@ -16,17 +16,7 @@ func init() {
 	}
 	runtime.LockOSThread()
 
-	container, err := loadConfig()
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	rootfs, err := os.Getwd()
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	if err := namespaces.Init(container, rootfs, "", os.NewFile(3, "pipe"), os.Args[3:]); err != nil {
+	if err := namespaces.Init(os.NewFile(3, "pipe")); err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("unable to initialize for container: %s", err)
 	}
 	os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/integration/template_test.go b/integration/template_test.go
index f37070ffb..d58bb6133 100644
--- a/integration/template_test.go
+++ b/integration/template_test.go
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ package integration
 import (
 	"syscall"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/devices"
 )
 
@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ import (
 //
 // it uses a network strategy of just setting a loopback interface
 // and the default setup for devices
-func newTemplateConfig(rootfs string) *libcontainer.Config {
-	return &libcontainer.Config{
+func newTemplateConfig(rootfs string) *configs.Config {
+	return &configs.Config{
 		RootFs: rootfs,
 		Tty:    false,
 		Capabilities: []string{
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ func newTemplateConfig(rootfs string) *libcontainer.Config {
 			"KILL",
 			"AUDIT_WRITE",
 		},
-		Namespaces: []libcontainer.Namespace{
+		Namespaces: []configs.Namespace{
 			{Name: "NEWNS"},
 			{Name: "NEWUTS"},
 			{Name: "NEWIPC"},
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ func newTemplateConfig(rootfs string) *libcontainer.Config {
 			AllowedDevices:  devices.DefaultAllowedDevices,
 		},
 
-		MountConfig: &libcontainer.MountConfig{
+		MountConfig: &configs.MountConfig{
 			DeviceNodes: devices.DefaultAutoCreatedDevices,
 		},
 		Hostname: "integration",
@@ -55,14 +55,14 @@ func newTemplateConfig(rootfs string) *libcontainer.Config {
 			"HOSTNAME=integration",
 			"TERM=xterm",
 		},
-		Networks: []*libcontainer.Network{
+		Networks: []*configs.Network{
 			{
 				Type:    "loopback",
 				Address: "127.0.0.1/0",
 				Gateway: "localhost",
 			},
 		},
-		Rlimits: []libcontainer.Rlimit{
+		Rlimits: []configs.Rlimit{
 			{
 				Type: syscall.RLIMIT_NOFILE,
 				Hard: uint64(1024),
diff --git a/integration/utils_test.go b/integration/utils_test.go
index 6393fb998..93fe3b4b7 100644
--- a/integration/utils_test.go
+++ b/integration/utils_test.go
@@ -8,9 +8,10 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"syscall"
 
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/namespaces"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 func newStdBuffers() *stdBuffers {
@@ -27,7 +28,7 @@ type stdBuffers struct {
 	Stderr *bytes.Buffer
 }
 
-func writeConfig(config *libcontainer.Config) error {
+func writeConfig(config *configs.Config) error {
 	f, err := os.OpenFile(filepath.Join(config.RootFs, "container.json"), os.O_CREATE|os.O_RDWR|os.O_TRUNC, 0700)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -36,14 +37,14 @@ func writeConfig(config *libcontainer.Config) error {
 	return json.NewEncoder(f).Encode(config)
 }
 
-func loadConfig() (*libcontainer.Config, error) {
+func loadConfig() (*configs.Config, error) {
 	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join(os.Getenv("data_path"), "container.json"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer f.Close()
 
-	var container *libcontainer.Config
+	var container *configs.Config
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(f).Decode(&container); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -83,13 +84,55 @@ func copyBusybox(dest string) error {
 //
 // buffers are returned containing the STDOUT and STDERR output for the run
 // along with the exit code and any go error
-func runContainer(config *libcontainer.Config, console string, args ...string) (buffers *stdBuffers, exitCode int, err error) {
+func runContainer(config *configs.Config, console string, args ...string) (buffers *stdBuffers, exitCode int, err error) {
 	if err := writeConfig(config); err != nil {
 		return nil, -1, err
 	}
 
 	buffers = newStdBuffers()
-	exitCode, err = namespaces.Exec(config, buffers.Stdin, buffers.Stdout, buffers.Stderr,
-		console, config.RootFs, args, namespaces.DefaultCreateCommand, nil)
+
+	process := &libcontainer.ProcessConfig{
+		Args:   args,
+		Env:    make([]string, 0),
+		Stdin:  buffers.Stdin,
+		Stdout: buffers.Stdout,
+		Stderr: buffers.Stderr,
+	}
+
+	factory, err := libcontainer.New(".", []string{os.Args[0], "init", "--"})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+
+	container, err := factory.Create("testCT", config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+	defer container.Destroy()
+
+	pid, err := container.StartProcess(process)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+
+	p, err := os.FindProcess(pid)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+
+	ps, err := p.Wait()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+
+	status := ps.Sys().(syscall.WaitStatus)
+	if status.Exited() {
+		exitCode = status.ExitStatus()
+	} else if status.Signaled() {
+		exitCode = -int(status.Signal())
+	} else {
+		return nil, -1, err
+	}
+
 	return
 }
diff --git a/linux_container.go b/linux_container.go
index 10d66bfe1..bbd0cb1de 100644
--- a/linux_container.go
+++ b/linux_container.go
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"syscall"
 
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/namespaces"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/network"
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
 )
@@ -17,8 +19,8 @@ import (
 type linuxContainer struct {
 	id            string
 	root          string
-	config        *Config
-	state         *State
+	config        *configs.Config
+	state         *configs.State
 	cgroupManager CgroupManager
 	initArgs      []string
 }
@@ -27,12 +29,12 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) ID() string {
 	return c.id
 }
 
-func (c *linuxContainer) Config() *Config {
+func (c *linuxContainer) Config() *configs.Config {
 	return c.config
 }
 
-func (c *linuxContainer) RunState() (RunState, error) {
-	return Destroyed, nil // FIXME return a real state
+func (c *linuxContainer) RunState() (configs.RunState, error) {
+	return configs.Destroyed, nil // FIXME return a real state
 }
 
 func (c *linuxContainer) Processes() ([]int, error) {
@@ -60,18 +62,18 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Stats() (*ContainerStats, error) {
 	return stats, nil
 }
 
-func (c *linuxContainer) StartProcess(config *ProcessConfig) (int, error) {
+func (c *linuxContainer) StartProcess(pconfig *ProcessConfig) (int, error) {
 	state, err := c.RunState()
 	if err != nil {
 		return -1, err
 	}
 
-	if state != Destroyed {
+	if state != configs.Destroyed {
 		glog.Info("start new container process")
 		panic("not implemented")
 	}
 
-	if err := c.startInitProcess(config); err != nil {
+	if err := c.startInitProcess(pconfig); err != nil {
 		return -1, err
 	}
 
@@ -79,20 +81,16 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) StartProcess(config *ProcessConfig) (int, error) {
 }
 
 func (c *linuxContainer) updateStateFile() error {
-	data, err := json.MarshalIndent(c.state, "", "\t")
-	if err != nil {
-		return newGenericError(err, SystemError)
-	}
-
 	fnew := filepath.Join(c.root, fmt.Sprintf("%s.new", stateFilename))
 	f, err := os.Create(fnew)
 	if err != nil {
 		return newGenericError(err, SystemError)
 	}
 
-	_, err = f.Write(data)
+	err = json.NewEncoder(f).Encode(c.state)
 	if err != nil {
 		f.Close()
+		os.Remove(fnew)
 		return newGenericError(err, SystemError)
 	}
 	f.Close()
@@ -118,16 +116,17 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) startInitProcess(config *ProcessConfig) error {
 		cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{}
 	}
 
+	cmd.SysProcAttr.Cloneflags = uintptr(namespaces.GetNamespaceFlags(c.config.Namespaces))
 	cmd.SysProcAttr.Pdeathsig = syscall.SIGKILL
 
-	//FIXME call namespaces.Exec()
-	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
+	err := namespaces.Exec(config.Args, config.Env, cmd, c.config, c.state)
+	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	c.state.InitPid = cmd.Process.Pid
-	err := c.updateStateFile()
+	err = c.updateStateFile()
 	if err != nil {
+		// FIXME c.Kill()
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -140,7 +139,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Destroy() error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if state != Destroyed {
+	if state != configs.Destroyed {
 		return newGenericError(nil, ContainerNotStopped)
 	}
 
diff --git a/linux_container_test.go b/linux_container_test.go
index cd8d33d03..64d4fb8bc 100644
--- a/linux_container_test.go
+++ b/linux_container_test.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 type mockCgroupManager struct {
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ func (m *mockCgroupManager) GetStats() (*cgroups.Stats, error) {
 func TestGetContainerPids(t *testing.T) {
 	container := &linuxContainer{
 		id:            "myid",
-		config:        &Config{},
+		config:        &configs.Config{},
 		cgroupManager: &mockCgroupManager{pids: []int{1, 2, 3}},
 	}
 
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ func TestGetContainerPids(t *testing.T) {
 func TestGetContainerStats(t *testing.T) {
 	container := &linuxContainer{
 		id:     "myid",
-		config: &Config{},
+		config: &configs.Config{},
 		cgroupManager: &mockCgroupManager{
 			pids: []int{1, 2, 3},
 			stats: &cgroups.Stats{
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ func TestGetContainerStats(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			},
 		},
-		state: &State{},
+		state: &configs.State{},
 	}
 
 	stats, err := container.Stats()
diff --git a/linux_factory.go b/linux_factory.go
index 30c63566a..ecef9dcd8 100644
--- a/linux_factory.go
+++ b/linux_factory.go
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
+
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/namespaces"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -43,7 +46,7 @@ type linuxFactory struct {
 	initArgs []string
 }
 
-func (l *linuxFactory) Create(id string, config *Config) (Container, error) {
+func (l *linuxFactory) Create(id string, config *configs.Config) (Container, error) {
 	if l.root == "" {
 		return nil, newGenericError(fmt.Errorf("invalid root"), ConfigInvalid)
 	}
@@ -91,7 +94,7 @@ func (l *linuxFactory) Create(id string, config *Config) (Container, error) {
 		root:          containerRoot,
 		config:        config,
 		initArgs:      l.initArgs,
-		state:         &State{},
+		state:         &configs.State{},
 		cgroupManager: cgroupManager,
 	}, nil
 }
@@ -125,7 +128,7 @@ func (l *linuxFactory) Load(id string) (Container, error) {
 	}, nil
 }
 
-func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerConfig(root string) (*Config, error) {
+func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerConfig(root string) (*configs.Config, error) {
 	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join(root, configFilename))
 	if err != nil {
 		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -135,14 +138,14 @@ func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerConfig(root string) (*Config, error) {
 	}
 	defer f.Close()
 
-	var config *Config
+	var config *configs.Config
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(f).Decode(&config); err != nil {
 		return nil, newGenericError(err, ConfigInvalid)
 	}
 	return config, nil
 }
 
-func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerState(root string) (*State, error) {
+func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerState(root string) (*configs.State, error) {
 	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join(root, stateFilename))
 	if err != nil {
 		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
@@ -152,7 +155,7 @@ func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerState(root string) (*State, error) {
 	}
 	defer f.Close()
 
-	var state *State
+	var state *configs.State
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(f).Decode(&state); err != nil {
 		return nil, newGenericError(err, SystemError)
 	}
@@ -162,7 +165,7 @@ func (l *linuxFactory) loadContainerState(root string) (*State, error) {
 // StartInitialization loads a container by opening the pipe fd from the parent to read the configuration and state
 // This is a low level implementation detail of the reexec and should not be consumed externally
 func (f *linuxFactory) StartInitialization(pipefd uintptr) (err error) {
+	pipe := os.NewFile(uintptr(pipefd), "pipe")
 
-	/* FIXME call namespaces.Init() */
-	return nil
+	return namespaces.Init(pipe)
 }
diff --git a/linux_factory_test.go b/linux_factory_test.go
index 168be1be7..3c1e275c0 100644
--- a/linux_factory_test.go
+++ b/linux_factory_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 func newTestRoot() (string, error) {
@@ -83,10 +85,10 @@ func TestFactoryLoadContainer(t *testing.T) {
 	// setup default container config and state for mocking
 	var (
 		id             = "1"
-		expectedConfig = &Config{
+		expectedConfig = &configs.Config{
 			RootFs: "/mycontainer/root",
 		}
-		expectedState = &State{
+		expectedState = &configs.State{
 			InitPid: 1024,
 		}
 	)
diff --git a/namespaces/create.go b/namespaces/create.go
index b6418b6e9..30de84cee 100644
--- a/namespaces/create.go
+++ b/namespaces/create.go
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
-type CreateCommand func(container *libcontainer.Config, console, dataPath, init string, childPipe *os.File, args []string) *exec.Cmd
+type CreateCommand func(container *configs.Config, console, dataPath, init string, childPipe *os.File, args []string) *exec.Cmd
diff --git a/namespaces/exec.go b/namespaces/exec.go
index b7873edd0..0822154de 100644
--- a/namespaces/exec.go
+++ b/namespaces/exec.go
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"syscall"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups/fs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups/systemd"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/network"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/system"
 )
@@ -21,36 +21,45 @@ import (
 // Move this to libcontainer package.
 // Exec performs setup outside of a namespace so that a container can be
 // executed.  Exec is a high level function for working with container namespaces.
-func Exec(container *libcontainer.Config, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer, console, dataPath string, args []string, createCommand CreateCommand, startCallback func()) (int, error) {
+func Exec(args []string, env []string, command *exec.Cmd, container *configs.Config, state *configs.State) error {
 	var err error
 
 	// create a pipe so that we can syncronize with the namespaced process and
 	// pass the state and configuration to the child process
 	parent, child, err := newInitPipe()
 	if err != nil {
-		return -1, err
+		return err
 	}
 	defer parent.Close()
 
-	command := createCommand(container, console, dataPath, os.Args[0], child, args)
-	// Note: these are only used in non-tty mode
-	// if there is a tty for the container it will be opened within the namespace and the
-	// fds will be duped to stdin, stdiout, and stderr
-	command.Stdin = stdin
-	command.Stdout = stdout
-	command.Stderr = stderr
+	command.ExtraFiles = []*os.File{child}
+	command.Dir = container.RootFs
 
 	if err := command.Start(); err != nil {
 		child.Close()
-		return -1, err
+		return err
 	}
 	child.Close()
 
-	terminate := func(terr error) (int, error) {
+	terminate := func(terr error) error {
 		// TODO: log the errors for kill and wait
 		command.Process.Kill()
 		command.Wait()
-		return -1, terr
+		return terr
+	}
+
+	encoder := json.NewEncoder(parent)
+
+	if err := encoder.Encode(container); err != nil {
+		return terminate(err)
+	}
+
+	process := processArgs{
+		Env:  append(env[0:], container.Env...),
+		Args: args,
+	}
+	if err := encoder.Encode(process); err != nil {
+		return terminate(err)
 	}
 
 	started, err := system.GetProcessStartTime(command.Process.Pid)
@@ -71,7 +80,7 @@ func Exec(container *libcontainer.Config, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Wri
 		return terminate(err)
 	}
 	// send the state to the container's init process then shutdown writes for the parent
-	if err := json.NewEncoder(parent).Encode(networkState); err != nil {
+	if err := encoder.Encode(networkState); err != nil {
 		return terminate(err)
 	}
 	// shutdown writes for the parent side of the pipe
@@ -79,18 +88,6 @@ func Exec(container *libcontainer.Config, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Wri
 		return terminate(err)
 	}
 
-	state := &libcontainer.State{
-		InitPid:       command.Process.Pid,
-		InitStartTime: started,
-		NetworkState:  networkState,
-		CgroupPaths:   cgroupPaths,
-	}
-
-	if err := libcontainer.SaveState(dataPath, state); err != nil {
-		return terminate(err)
-	}
-	defer libcontainer.DeleteState(dataPath)
-
 	// wait for the child process to fully complete and receive an error message
 	// if one was encoutered
 	var ierr *initError
@@ -101,16 +98,12 @@ func Exec(container *libcontainer.Config, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Wri
 		return terminate(ierr)
 	}
 
-	if startCallback != nil {
-		startCallback()
-	}
+	state.InitPid = command.Process.Pid
+	state.InitStartTime = started
+	state.NetworkState = networkState
+	state.CgroupPaths = cgroupPaths
 
-	if err := command.Wait(); err != nil {
-		if _, ok := err.(*exec.ExitError); !ok {
-			return -1, err
-		}
-	}
-	return command.ProcessState.Sys().(syscall.WaitStatus).ExitStatus(), nil
+	return nil
 }
 
 // DefaultCreateCommand will return an exec.Cmd with the Cloneflags set to the proper namespaces
@@ -122,7 +115,7 @@ func Exec(container *libcontainer.Config, stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Wri
 // root: the path to the container json file and information
 // pipe: sync pipe to synchronize the parent and child processes
 // args: the arguments to pass to the container to run as the user's program
-func DefaultCreateCommand(container *libcontainer.Config, console, dataPath, init string, pipe *os.File, args []string) *exec.Cmd {
+func DefaultCreateCommand(container *configs.Config, console, dataPath, init string, pipe *os.File, args []string) *exec.Cmd {
 	// get our binary name from arg0 so we can always reexec ourself
 	env := []string{
 		"console=" + console,
@@ -148,7 +141,7 @@ func DefaultCreateCommand(container *libcontainer.Config, console, dataPath, ini
 
 // SetupCgroups applies the cgroup restrictions to the process running in the container based
 // on the container's configuration
-func SetupCgroups(container *libcontainer.Config, nspid int) (map[string]string, error) {
+func SetupCgroups(container *configs.Config, nspid int) (map[string]string, error) {
 	if container.Cgroups != nil {
 		c := container.Cgroups
 		if systemd.UseSystemd() {
@@ -161,7 +154,7 @@ func SetupCgroups(container *libcontainer.Config, nspid int) (map[string]string,
 
 // InitializeNetworking creates the container's network stack outside of the namespace and moves
 // interfaces into the container's net namespaces if necessary
-func InitializeNetworking(container *libcontainer.Config, nspid int, networkState *network.NetworkState) error {
+func InitializeNetworking(container *configs.Config, nspid int, networkState *network.NetworkState) error {
 	for _, config := range container.Networks {
 		strategy, err := network.GetStrategy(config.Type)
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/namespaces/execin.go b/namespaces/execin.go
index 430dc72fe..2b63b8c6f 100644
--- a/namespaces/execin.go
+++ b/namespaces/execin.go
@@ -12,16 +12,16 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"syscall"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/apparmor"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/cgroups"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/label"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/system"
 )
 
 // ExecIn reexec's the initPath with the argv 0 rewrite to "nsenter" so that it is able to run the
 // setns code in a single threaded environment joining the existing containers' namespaces.
-func ExecIn(container *libcontainer.Config, state *libcontainer.State, userArgs []string, initPath, action string,
+func ExecIn(container *configs.Config, state *configs.State, userArgs []string, initPath, action string,
 	stdin io.Reader, stdout, stderr io.Writer, console string, startCallback func(*exec.Cmd)) (int, error) {
 
 	args := []string{fmt.Sprintf("nsenter-%s", action), "--nspid", strconv.Itoa(state.InitPid)}
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func ExecIn(container *libcontainer.Config, state *libcontainer.State, userArgs
 
 // Finalize expects that the setns calls have been setup and that is has joined an
 // existing namespace
-func FinalizeSetns(container *libcontainer.Config, args []string) error {
+func FinalizeSetns(container *configs.Config, args []string) error {
 	// clear the current processes env and replace it with the environment defined on the container
 	if err := LoadContainerEnvironment(container); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -118,6 +118,6 @@ func FinalizeSetns(container *libcontainer.Config, args []string) error {
 	panic("unreachable")
 }
 
-func EnterCgroups(state *libcontainer.State, pid int) error {
+func EnterCgroups(state *configs.State, pid int) error {
 	return cgroups.EnterPid(state.CgroupPaths, pid)
 }
diff --git a/namespaces/init.go b/namespaces/init.go
index 5c7e1a71d..441b3c340 100644
--- a/namespaces/init.go
+++ b/namespaces/init.go
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"syscall"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/apparmor"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/console"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/label"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/mount"
@@ -24,13 +24,20 @@ import (
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/utils"
 )
 
+// Process is used for transferring parameters from Exec() to Init()
+type processArgs struct {
+	Args        []string `json:"args,omitempty"`
+	Env         []string `json:"environment,omitempty"`
+	ConsolePath string   `json:"console_path,omitempty"`
+}
+
 // TODO(vishh): This is part of the libcontainer API and it does much more than just namespaces related work.
 // Move this to libcontainer package.
 // Init is the init process that first runs inside a new namespace to setup mounts, users, networking,
 // and other options required for the new container.
 // The caller of Init function has to ensure that the go runtime is locked to an OS thread
 // (using runtime.LockOSThread) else system calls like setns called within Init may not work as intended.
-func Init(container *libcontainer.Config, uncleanRootfs, consolePath string, pipe *os.File, args []string) (err error) {
+func Init(pipe *os.File) (err error) {
 	defer func() {
 		// if we have an error during the initialization of the container's init then send it back to the
 		// parent process in the form of an initError.
@@ -48,6 +55,23 @@ func Init(container *libcontainer.Config, uncleanRootfs, consolePath string, pip
 		pipe.Close()
 	}()
 
+	decoder := json.NewDecoder(pipe)
+
+	var container *configs.Config
+	if err := decoder.Decode(&container); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	var process *processArgs
+	if err := decoder.Decode(&process); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	uncleanRootfs, err := os.Getwd()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	rootfs, err := utils.ResolveRootfs(uncleanRootfs)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -61,22 +85,22 @@ func Init(container *libcontainer.Config, uncleanRootfs, consolePath string, pip
 
 	// We always read this as it is a way to sync with the parent as well
 	var networkState *network.NetworkState
-	if err := json.NewDecoder(pipe).Decode(&networkState); err != nil {
+	if err := decoder.Decode(&networkState); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	// join any namespaces via a path to the namespace fd if provided
 	if err := joinExistingNamespaces(container.Namespaces); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if consolePath != "" {
-		if err := console.OpenAndDup(consolePath); err != nil {
+	if process.ConsolePath != "" {
+		if err := console.OpenAndDup(process.ConsolePath); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
 	if _, err := syscall.Setsid(); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("setsid %s", err)
 	}
-	if consolePath != "" {
+	if process.ConsolePath != "" {
 		if err := system.Setctty(); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("setctty %s", err)
 		}
@@ -96,7 +120,7 @@ func Init(container *libcontainer.Config, uncleanRootfs, consolePath string, pip
 	label.Init()
 
 	if err := mount.InitializeMountNamespace(rootfs,
-		consolePath,
+		process.ConsolePath,
 		container.RestrictSys,
 		(*mount.MountConfig)(container.MountConfig)); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("setup mount namespace %s", err)
@@ -138,7 +162,7 @@ func Init(container *libcontainer.Config, uncleanRootfs, consolePath string, pip
 		return fmt.Errorf("restore parent death signal %s", err)
 	}
 
-	return system.Execv(args[0], args[0:], os.Environ())
+	return system.Execv(process.Args[0], process.Args[0:], process.Env)
 }
 
 // RestoreParentDeathSignal sets the parent death signal to old.
@@ -218,7 +242,7 @@ func SetupUser(u string) error {
 // setupVethNetwork uses the Network config if it is not nil to initialize
 // the new veth interface inside the container for use by changing the name to eth0
 // setting the MTU and IP address along with the default gateway
-func setupNetwork(container *libcontainer.Config, networkState *network.NetworkState) error {
+func setupNetwork(container *configs.Config, networkState *network.NetworkState) error {
 	for _, config := range container.Networks {
 		strategy, err := network.GetStrategy(config.Type)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -233,7 +257,7 @@ func setupNetwork(container *libcontainer.Config, networkState *network.NetworkS
 	return nil
 }
 
-func setupRoute(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
+func setupRoute(container *configs.Config) error {
 	for _, config := range container.Routes {
 		if err := netlink.AddRoute(config.Destination, config.Source, config.Gateway, config.InterfaceName); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -242,7 +266,7 @@ func setupRoute(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func setupRlimits(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
+func setupRlimits(container *configs.Config) error {
 	for _, rlimit := range container.Rlimits {
 		l := &syscall.Rlimit{Max: rlimit.Hard, Cur: rlimit.Soft}
 		if err := syscall.Setrlimit(rlimit.Type, l); err != nil {
@@ -255,7 +279,7 @@ func setupRlimits(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
 // FinalizeNamespace drops the caps, sets the correct user
 // and working dir, and closes any leaky file descriptors
 // before execing the command inside the namespace
-func FinalizeNamespace(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
+func FinalizeNamespace(container *configs.Config) error {
 	// Ensure that all non-standard fds we may have accidentally
 	// inherited are marked close-on-exec so they stay out of the
 	// container
@@ -295,7 +319,7 @@ func FinalizeNamespace(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func LoadContainerEnvironment(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
+func LoadContainerEnvironment(container *configs.Config) error {
 	os.Clearenv()
 	for _, pair := range container.Env {
 		p := strings.SplitN(pair, "=", 2)
@@ -311,7 +335,7 @@ func LoadContainerEnvironment(container *libcontainer.Config) error {
 
 // joinExistingNamespaces gets all the namespace paths specified for the container and
 // does a setns on the namespace fd so that the current process joins the namespace.
-func joinExistingNamespaces(namespaces []libcontainer.Namespace) error {
+func joinExistingNamespaces(namespaces []configs.Namespace) error {
 	for _, ns := range namespaces {
 		if ns.Path != "" {
 			f, err := os.OpenFile(ns.Path, os.O_RDONLY, 0)
diff --git a/namespaces/utils.go b/namespaces/utils.go
index 556ea6699..4aa590fd7 100644
--- a/namespaces/utils.go
+++ b/namespaces/utils.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"syscall"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 type initError struct {
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ func newInitPipe() (parent *os.File, child *os.File, err error) {
 
 // GetNamespaceFlags parses the container's Namespaces options to set the correct
 // flags on clone, unshare, and setns
-func GetNamespaceFlags(namespaces []libcontainer.Namespace) (flag int) {
+func GetNamespaceFlags(namespaces []configs.Namespace) (flag int) {
 	for _, v := range namespaces {
 		flag |= namespaceInfo[v.Name]
 	}
diff --git a/nsinit/exec.go b/nsinit/exec.go
index 4c7d6316c..266f59356 100644
--- a/nsinit/exec.go
+++ b/nsinit/exec.go
@@ -3,19 +3,14 @@ package main
 import (
 	"crypto/md5"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"log"
 	"os"
-	"os/exec"
-	"os/signal"
 	"syscall"
 	"text/tabwriter"
 
 	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
-	"github.com/docker/docker/pkg/term"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
-	consolepkg "github.com/docker/libcontainer/console"
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/namespaces"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -66,7 +61,7 @@ func execAction(context *cli.Context) {
 	id := fmt.Sprintf("%x", md5.Sum([]byte(dataPath)))
 	container, err := factory.Load(id)
 	if err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
-		var config *libcontainer.Config
+		var config *configs.Config
 
 		config, err = loadConfig()
 		if err != nil {
@@ -105,144 +100,3 @@ func execAction(context *cli.Context) {
 
 	os.Exit(exitCode)
 }
-
-// the process for execing a new process inside an existing container is that we have to exec ourself
-// with the nsenter argument so that the C code can setns an the namespaces that we require.  Then that
-// code path will drop us into the path that we can do the final setup of the namespace and exec the users
-// application.
-func startInExistingContainer(config *libcontainer.Config, state *libcontainer.State, action string, context *cli.Context) (int, error) {
-	var (
-		master  *os.File
-		console string
-		err     error
-
-		sigc = make(chan os.Signal, 10)
-
-		stdin  = os.Stdin
-		stdout = os.Stdout
-		stderr = os.Stderr
-	)
-	signal.Notify(sigc)
-
-	if config.Tty {
-		stdin = nil
-		stdout = nil
-		stderr = nil
-
-		master, console, err = consolepkg.CreateMasterAndConsole()
-		if err != nil {
-			return -1, err
-		}
-
-		go io.Copy(master, os.Stdin)
-		go io.Copy(os.Stdout, master)
-
-		state, err := term.SetRawTerminal(os.Stdin.Fd())
-		if err != nil {
-			return -1, err
-		}
-
-		defer term.RestoreTerminal(os.Stdin.Fd(), state)
-	}
-
-	startCallback := func(cmd *exec.Cmd) {
-		go func() {
-			resizeTty(master)
-
-			for sig := range sigc {
-				switch sig {
-				case syscall.SIGWINCH:
-					resizeTty(master)
-				default:
-					cmd.Process.Signal(sig)
-				}
-			}
-		}()
-	}
-
-	return namespaces.ExecIn(config, state, context.Args(), os.Args[0], action, stdin, stdout, stderr, console, startCallback)
-}
-
-// startContainer starts the container. Returns the exit status or -1 and an
-// error.
-//
-// Signals sent to the current process will be forwarded to container.
-func startContainer(container *libcontainer.Config, dataPath string, args []string) (int, error) {
-	var (
-		cmd  *exec.Cmd
-		sigc = make(chan os.Signal, 10)
-	)
-
-	signal.Notify(sigc)
-
-	createCommand := func(container *libcontainer.Config, console, dataPath, init string, pipe *os.File, args []string) *exec.Cmd {
-		cmd = namespaces.DefaultCreateCommand(container, console, dataPath, init, pipe, args)
-		if logPath != "" {
-			cmd.Env = append(cmd.Env, fmt.Sprintf("log=%s", logPath))
-		}
-		return cmd
-	}
-
-	var (
-		master  *os.File
-		console string
-		err     error
-
-		stdin  = os.Stdin
-		stdout = os.Stdout
-		stderr = os.Stderr
-	)
-
-	if container.Tty {
-		stdin = nil
-		stdout = nil
-		stderr = nil
-
-		master, console, err = consolepkg.CreateMasterAndConsole()
-		if err != nil {
-			return -1, err
-		}
-
-		go io.Copy(master, os.Stdin)
-		go io.Copy(os.Stdout, master)
-
-		state, err := term.SetRawTerminal(os.Stdin.Fd())
-		if err != nil {
-			return -1, err
-		}
-
-		defer term.RestoreTerminal(os.Stdin.Fd(), state)
-	}
-
-	startCallback := func() {
-		go func() {
-			resizeTty(master)
-
-			for sig := range sigc {
-				switch sig {
-				case syscall.SIGWINCH:
-					resizeTty(master)
-				default:
-					cmd.Process.Signal(sig)
-				}
-			}
-		}()
-	}
-
-	return namespaces.Exec(container, stdin, stdout, stderr, console, dataPath, args, createCommand, startCallback)
-}
-
-func resizeTty(master *os.File) {
-	if master == nil {
-		return
-	}
-
-	ws, err := term.GetWinsize(os.Stdin.Fd())
-	if err != nil {
-		return
-	}
-
-	if err := term.SetWinsize(master.Fd(), ws); err != nil {
-		return
-	}
-}
diff --git a/nsinit/init.go b/nsinit/init.go
index 853c9e8e9..088361390 100644
--- a/nsinit/init.go
+++ b/nsinit/init.go
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/system"
 	"log"
-	"os"
 
 	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
@@ -36,9 +34,5 @@ func initAction(context *cli.Context) {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	args := []string(context.Args())
-
-	if err := system.Execv(args[0], args[0:], os.Environ()); err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(err)
-	}
+	panic("This line should never been executed")
 }
diff --git a/nsinit/nsenter.go b/nsinit/nsenter.go
index 8dc149f4f..8365215e4 100644
--- a/nsinit/nsenter.go
+++ b/nsinit/nsenter.go
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"text/tabwriter"
 
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/devices"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/mount/nodes"
 	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/namespaces"
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // nsenterExec exec's a process inside an existing container
-func nsenterExec(config *libcontainer.Config, args []string) {
+func nsenterExec(config *configs.Config, args []string) {
 	if err := namespaces.FinalizeSetns(config, args); err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("failed to nsenter: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ func nsenterExec(config *libcontainer.Config, args []string) {
 // nsenterMknod runs mknod inside an existing container
 //
 // mknod <path> <type> <major> <minor>
-func nsenterMknod(config *libcontainer.Config, args []string) {
+func nsenterMknod(config *configs.Config, args []string) {
 	if len(args) != 4 {
 		log.Fatalf("expected mknod to have 4 arguments not %d", len(args))
 	}
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ func nsenterMknod(config *libcontainer.Config, args []string) {
 }
 
 // nsenterIp displays the network interfaces inside a container's net namespace
-func nsenterIp(config *libcontainer.Config, args []string) {
+func nsenterIp(config *configs.Config, args []string) {
 	interfaces, err := net.Interfaces()
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatal(err)
diff --git a/nsinit/utils.go b/nsinit/utils.go
index 6a8aafbf1..e02a1b3a3 100644
--- a/nsinit/utils.go
+++ b/nsinit/utils.go
@@ -7,23 +7,23 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
-	"github.com/docker/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/docker/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
 // rFunc is a function registration for calling after an execin
 type rFunc struct {
 	Usage  string
-	Action func(*libcontainer.Config, []string)
+	Action func(*configs.Config, []string)
 }
 
-func loadConfig() (*libcontainer.Config, error) {
+func loadConfig() (*configs.Config, error) {
 	f, err := os.Open(filepath.Join(dataPath, "container.json"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer f.Close()
 
-	var container *libcontainer.Config
+	var container *configs.Config
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(f).Decode(&container); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ func findUserArgs() []string {
 
 // loadConfigFromFd loads a container's config from the sync pipe that is provided by
 // fd 3 when running a process
-func loadConfigFromFd() (*libcontainer.Config, error) {
+func loadConfigFromFd() (*configs.Config, error) {
 	pipe := os.NewFile(3, "pipe")
 	defer pipe.Close()
 
-	var config *libcontainer.Config
+	var config *configs.Config
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(pipe).Decode(&config); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/process.go b/process.go
index 489666a58..924de2ecf 100644
--- a/process.go
+++ b/process.go
@@ -17,11 +17,8 @@ type ProcessConfig struct {
 	// If a reader or writer is nil, the input stream is assumed to be empty and the output is
 	// discarded.
 	//
-	// The readers and writers, if supplied, are closed when the process terminates. Their Close
-	// methods should be idempotent.
-	//
 	// Stdout and Stderr may refer to the same writer in which case the output is interspersed.
-	Stdin  io.ReadCloser
-	Stdout io.WriteCloser
-	Stderr io.WriteCloser
+	Stdin  io.Reader
+	Stdout io.Writer
+	Stderr io.Writer
 }