diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index be8ead0..d3c8c84 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 source 'http://rubygems.org'
 
 # gems for building the devpack
-gem 'bundler', '>= 1.1.1'
-gem 'rake', '>= 0.9.2'
-gem 'redcarpet', '~>2.1.1'
+gem 'bundler', '~> 1.13.5'
+gem 'rake','~>11.3.0'
+gem 'redcarpet', '~>3.3.4'
 gem 'albino', '~>1.3.3'
 
 gem 'rspec', '~> 2.14.1'
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 776b7ef..b3f422e 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@ GEM
     albino (1.3.3)
       posix-spawn (>= 0.3.6)
     diff-lcs (1.2.5)
-    posix-spawn (0.3.8)
-    rake (10.4.2)
-    redcarpet (2.1.1)
+    posix-spawn (0.3.11)
+    rake (11.3.0)
+    redcarpet (3.3.4)
     rspec (2.14.1)
       rspec-core (~> 2.14.0)
       rspec-expectations (~> 2.14.0)
       rspec-mocks (~> 2.14.0)
-    rspec-core (2.14.7)
+    rspec-core (2.14.8)
     rspec-expectations (2.14.5)
       diff-lcs (>= 1.1.3, < 2.0)
     rspec-mocks (2.14.6)
@@ -22,7 +22,10 @@ PLATFORMS
 
 DEPENDENCIES
   albino (~> 1.3.3)
-  bundler (>= 1.1.1)
-  rake (>= 0.9.2)
-  redcarpet (~> 2.1.1)
+  bundler (~> 1.13.5)
+  rake (~> 11.3.0)
+  redcarpet (~> 3.3.4)
   rspec (~> 2.14.1)
+
+BUNDLED WITH
+   1.13.5
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 01623a7..9a10f5c 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-%w{ bundler/setup rubygems fileutils uri net/https tmpdir digest/md5 ./doc/markit }.each do |file|
+%w{ bundler/setup yaml uri net/https tmpdir digest/md5 ./doc/markit }.each do |file|
   require file
 end
 
@@ -6,37 +6,71 @@ end
 $stdout.sync = true
 $stderr.sync = true
 
-VERSION = '3.1-SNAPSHOT'
-BASE_DIR = File.expand_path('.', File.dirname(__FILE__))
-TARGET_DIR  = "#{BASE_DIR}/target"
-BUILD_DIR   = "#{BASE_DIR}/target/build"
-CACHE_DIR   = "#{BASE_DIR}/target/cache"
-ZIP_EXE = 'C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe'
+module EnvironmentOptions
+  BASE_DIR = File.expand_path('.', File.dirname(__FILE__))
+  VERSION = '3.1-SNAPSHOT'
+  def version
+    VERSION
+  end
+  def base_dir
+    return BASE_DIR
+  end
+  def target_dir
+    ddir=ENV["TARGET_DIR"]
+    ddir||=File.join(base_dir,"target")
+    File.expand_path(ddir)
+  end
+  def build_dir
+    ddir=ENV["BUILD_DIR"]
+    ddir||=File.join(target_dir,"build")
+    File.expand_path(ddir)
+  end
+  def cache_dir
+    ddir=ENV["CACHE_DIR"]
+    ddir||=File.join(target_dir,"cache")
+    File.expand_path(ddir)
+  end
+  def zip_exe
+    zip=ENV["ZIP_EXE"]
+    zip||='C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe'
+    return File.expand_path(zip)
+  end
+end
 
+include EnvironmentOptions
 
 desc 'cleans the build output directory'
 task :clean do
   purge_atom_plugins_with_insanely_long_path
-  FileUtils.rm_rf BUILD_DIR, secure: true
+  FileUtils.rm_rf build_dir, secure: true
 end
 
 desc 'wipes all output and cache directories'
 task :wipe do
   purge_atom_plugins_with_insanely_long_path
-  FileUtils.rm_rf TARGET_DIR, secure: true
+  FileUtils.rm_rf target_dir, secure: true
 end
 
 desc 'downloads required resources and builds the devpack binary'
 task :build => :clean do
+  tools_config=YAML.load(File.read("#{base_dir}/config/tools.yaml"))
   recreate_dirs
-  download_tools
-  move_chefdk
-  fix_chefdk
+  download_tools(tools_config)
+  if tools_config.keys.include?("chefdk")
+    move_chefdk
+    fix_chefdk
+  end
   copy_files
   generate_docs
-  install_knife_plugins
-  install_vagrant_plugins
-  install_atom_plugins
+  if tools_config.keys.include?("chefdk")
+    install_knife_plugins(tools_config.fetch("chefdk",{}))
+  end
+  if tools_config.keys.include?("atom")
+    install_atom_plugins(tools_config.fetch("atom",{}))
+  end
+  if tools_config.keys.include?("vagrant")
+    install_vagrant_plugins(tools_config.fetch("vagrant",{}))
+  end
   run_integration_tests
 end
 
@@ -69,9 +103,9 @@ end
 
 def run_acceptance_tests(provider)
   Bundler.with_clean_env do
-    FileUtils.rm_rf "#{BUILD_DIR}/repo/vagrant-workflow-tests"
-    command = "#{BUILD_DIR}/set-env.bat \
-        && cd #{BUILD_DIR}/repo \
+    FileUtils.rm_rf "#{build_dir}/repo/vagrant-workflow-tests"
+    command = "#{build_dir}/set-env.bat \
+        && cd #{build_dir}/repo \
         && git clone https://github.com/tknerr/vagrant-workflow-tests \
         && cd vagrant-workflow-tests \
         && #{acceptance_test_run_cmd(provider)}"
@@ -92,16 +126,16 @@ end
 
 def recreate_dirs
   %w{ home repo tools }.each do |dir|
-    FileUtils.mkdir_p "#{BUILD_DIR}/#{dir}"
+    FileUtils.mkdir_p "#{build_dir}/#{dir}"
   end
-  FileUtils.mkdir_p CACHE_DIR
+  FileUtils.mkdir_p cache_dir
 end
 
 # use Windows builtin robocopy command to purge overly long paths,
 # see https://blog.bertvanlangen.com/articles/path-too-long-use-robocopy/
 def purge_atom_plugins_with_insanely_long_path
-  empty_dir = "#{TARGET_DIR}/empty"
-  atom_packages_dir = "#{BUILD_DIR}/home/.atom/packages"
+  empty_dir = "#{target_dir}/empty"
+  atom_packages_dir = "#{build_dir}/home/.atom/packages"
   if File.exist?(atom_packages_dir)
     FileUtils.rm_rf empty_dir
     FileUtils.mkdir_p empty_dir
@@ -110,106 +144,87 @@ def purge_atom_plugins_with_insanely_long_path
 end
 
 def copy_files
-  FileUtils.cp_r Dir.glob("#{BASE_DIR}/files/*"), "#{BUILD_DIR}"
+  FileUtils.cp_r Dir.glob("#{base_dir}/files/*"), "#{build_dir}"
 end
 
 def generate_docs
-  Dir.glob("#{BASE_DIR}/*.md").each do |md_file|
+  Dir.glob("#{base_dir}/*.md").each do |md_file|
     html = MarkIt.to_html(IO.read(md_file))
-    outfile = "#{BUILD_DIR}/_#{File.basename(md_file, '.md')}.html"
+    outfile = "#{build_dir}/_#{File.basename(md_file, '.md')}.html"
     File.open(outfile, 'w') {|f| f.write(html) }
   end
 end
 
-def download_tools
-  [
-    %w{ github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker-cli/releases/download/v1.7.1/boot2docker-v1.7.1-windows-amd64.exe  docker/boot2docker.exe },
-    %w{ get.docker.com/builds/Windows/x86_64/docker-1.7.1.exe                                                 docker/docker.exe },
-    %w{ github.com/Maximus5/ConEmu/releases/download/v16.03.01/ConEmuPack.160301.7z                         conemu },
-    %w{ github.com/mridgers/clink/releases/download/0.4.4/clink_0.4.4_setup.exe                             clink },
-    %w{ github.com/atom/atom/releases/download/v1.7.3/atom-windows.zip                                      atom },
-    %w{ github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.8.2.windows.1/PortableGit-2.8.2-64-bit.7z.exe   portablegit },
-    %w{ cdn.rubyinstaller.org/archives/devkits/DevKit-mingw64-32-4.7.2-20130224-1151-sfx.exe                devkit },
-    %w{ downloads.sourceforge.net/project/kdiff3/kdiff3/0.9.96/KDiff3Setup_0.9.96.exe                       kdiff3
-        kdiff3.exe },
-    %w{ the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/0.63/x86/putty.zip                                                     putty },
-    %w{ www.itefix.net/dl/cwRsync_5.4.1_x86_Free.zip                                                        cwrsync },
-    %w{ releases.hashicorp.com/vagrant/1.8.1/vagrant_1.8.1.msi                                              vagrant },
-    %w{ releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/0.6.16/terraform_0.6.16_windows_amd64.zip                          terraform },
-    %w{ releases.hashicorp.com/packer/0.10.1/packer_0.10.1_windows_amd64.zip                                packer },
-    %w{ releases.hashicorp.com/consul/0.6.4/consul_0.6.4_windows_amd64.zip                                  consul },
-    %w{ packages.chef.io/stable/windows/2008r2/chefdk-0.13.21-1-x86.msi                                     cdk }
-  ]
-  .each do |host_and_path, target_dir, includes = ''|
-    download_and_unpack "http://#{host_and_path}", "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/#{target_dir}", includes.split('|')
+def download_tools tools_config
+  tools_config.each do |tname,cfg|
+    download_and_unpack(cfg["url"], File.join(build_dir,'tools',tname), [])
   end
 end
 
 # move chef-dk to a shorter path to reduce the likeliness that a gem fails to install due to max path length
 def move_chefdk
-  FileUtils.mv "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/cdk/opscode/chefdk", "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk"
-  # chefdk requires a two step install
-  unpack "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/cdk/opscode/chefdk.zip", "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk"
-  FileUtils.rm_rf "#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/cdk"
+  FileUtils.mv "#{build_dir}/tools/chef_dk/opscode/chefdk", "#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk"
+  #chefdk install package contains a zip file
+  unpack("#{build_dir}/tools/chef_dk/opscode/chefdk.zip", "#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk")
+  FileUtils.rm_rf "#{build_dir}/tools/chef_dk"
 end
 
 # ensure omnibus / chef-dk use the embedded ruby, see opscode/chef#1512
 def fix_chefdk
-  Dir.glob("#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk/bin/*").each do |file|
+  Dir.glob("#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk/bin/*").each do |file|
     if File.extname(file).empty? && File.exist?("#{file}.bat")  # do this only for the extensionless .bat counterparts
       File.write(file, File.read(file).gsub('#!C:/opscode/chefdk/embedded/bin/ruby.exe', '#!/usr/bin/env ruby'))
     end
   end
-  Dir.glob("#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk/embedded/bin/*").each do |file|
+  Dir.glob("#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk/embedded/bin/*").each do |file|
     if File.extname(file).empty? && File.exist?("#{file}.bat")  # do this only for the extensionless .bat counterparts
       File.write(file, File.read(file).gsub('#!C:/opscode/chefdk/embedded/bin/ruby.exe', '#!/usr/bin/env ruby'))
     end
   end
-  Dir.glob("#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk/embedded/bin/*.bat").each do |file|
+  Dir.glob("#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk/embedded/bin/*.bat").each do |file|
     File.write(file, File.read(file).gsub('@"C:\opscode\chefdk\embedded\bin\ruby.exe" "%~dpn0" %*', '@"%~dp0ruby.exe" "%~dpn0" %*'))
   end
-  Dir.glob("#{BUILD_DIR}/tools/chefdk/embedded/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/bin/*.bat").each do |file|
+  Dir.glob("#{build_dir}/tools/chefdk/embedded/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/bin/*.bat").each do |file|
     File.write(file, File.read(file).gsub('@"C:\opscode\chefdk\embedded\bin\ruby.exe" "%~dpn0" %*', '@"%~dp0\..\..\..\..\..\bin\ruby.exe" "%~dpn0" %*'))
   end
 end
 
-def install_knife_plugins
+def install_knife_plugins tool_config
+  commands=["#{build_dir}/set-env.bat"]
+  tool_config.fetch("plugins",{}).each do |plug,ver|
+   commands<<"chef gem install #{plug} -v #{ver} --no-ri --no-rdoc"
+  end
   Bundler.with_clean_env do
-    command = "#{BUILD_DIR}/set-env.bat \
-    && chef gem install knife-audit -v 0.2.0 --no-ri --no-rdoc \
-    && chef gem install knife-server -v 1.1.0 --no-ri --no-rdoc"
+    command = commands.join(" && ")
     fail "knife plugin installation failed" unless system(command)
   end
 end
 
-def install_vagrant_plugins
+def install_vagrant_plugins tool_config
+  commands=["#{build_dir}/set-env.bat"]
+  tool_config.fetch("plugins",{}).each do |plug,ver|
+   commands<<"vagrant plugin install #{plug} --plugin-version #{ver}"
+  end
   Bundler.with_clean_env do
-    command = "#{BUILD_DIR}/set-env.bat \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-toplevel-cookbooks --plugin-version 0.2.4 \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-omnibus --plugin-version 1.4.1 \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-cachier --plugin-version 1.2.1 \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-proxyconf --plugin-version 1.5.2 \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-berkshelf --plugin-version 4.1.0 \
-    && vagrant plugin install vagrant-winrm --plugin-version 0.7.0"
+    command = commands.join(" && ")
     fail "vagrant plugin installation failed" unless system(command)
   end
 end
 
-def install_atom_plugins
+def install_atom_plugins tool_config
+  commands=["#{build_dir}/set-env.bat"]
+  commands+=tool_config.fetch("plugins",{}).keys.map do |plug|
+    "apm install #{plug}"
+  end
   Bundler.with_clean_env do
-    command = "#{BUILD_DIR}/set-env.bat \
-    && apm install atom-beautify \
-    && apm install minimap \
-    && apm install line-ending-converter \
-    && apm install language-chef \
-    && apm install language-batchfile"
+    command = commands.join(" && ")
     fail "atom plugins installation failed" unless system(command)
   end
 end
 
 def reset_git_user
   Bundler.with_clean_env do
-    command = "#{BUILD_DIR}/set-env.bat \
+    command = "#{build_dir}/set-env.bat \
       && git config --global --unset user.name \
       && git config --global --unset user.email"
     fail "resetting dummy git user failed" unless system(command)
@@ -217,7 +232,7 @@ def reset_git_user
 end
 
 def pre_packaging_checks
-  chefdk_gem_bindir = "#{BUILD_DIR}/home/.chefdk/gem/ruby/2.1.0/bin"
+  chefdk_gem_bindir = "#{build_dir}/home/.chefdk/gem/ruby/2.1.0/bin"
   unless Dir.glob("#{chefdk_gem_bindir}/*").empty?
     raise "beware: gem binaries in '#{chefdk_gem_bindir}' might use an absolute path to ruby.exe! Use `gem pristine` to fix it."
   end
@@ -226,7 +241,7 @@ end
 def assemble_kitchen
   pre_packaging_checks
   reset_git_user
-  pack BUILD_DIR, "#{TARGET_DIR}/bills-kitchen-#{VERSION}.7z"
+  pack build_dir, "#{target_dir}/bills-kitchen-#{VERSION}.7z"
 end
 
 def download_and_unpack(url, target_dir, includes = [])
@@ -245,7 +260,7 @@ end
 def download(url, outfile)
   puts "checking cache for '#{url}'"
   url_hash = Digest::MD5.hexdigest(url)
-  cached_file = "#{CACHE_DIR}/#{url_hash}"
+  cached_file = "#{cache_dir}/#{url_hash}"
   if File.exist? cached_file
     puts "cache-hit: read from '#{url_hash}'"
     FileUtils.cp cached_file, outfile
@@ -300,7 +315,7 @@ def unpack(archive, target_dir, includes = [])
   puts "extracting '#{archive}' to '#{target_dir}'"
   case File.extname(archive)
   when '.zip', '.7z', '.exe'
-    system("\"#{ZIP_EXE}\" x -o\"#{target_dir}\" -y \"#{archive}\" -r #{includes.join(' ')} 1> NUL")
+    system("\"#{zip_exe}\" x -o\"#{target_dir}\" -y \"#{archive}\" -r #{includes.join(' ')} 1> NUL")
   when '.msi'
     system("start /wait msiexec /a \"#{archive.gsub('/', '\\')}\" /qb TARGETDIR=\"#{target_dir.gsub('/', '\\')}\"")
   else
@@ -311,7 +326,7 @@ end
 def pack(target_dir, archive)
   puts "packing '#{target_dir}' into '#{archive}'"
   Dir.chdir(target_dir) do
-    system("\"#{ZIP_EXE}\" a -t7z -y \"#{archive}\" \".\" 1> NUL")
+    system("\"#{zip_exe}\" a -t7z -y \"#{archive}\" \".\" 1> NUL")
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/config/tools.yaml b/config/tools.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6a88d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/tools.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+---
+portablegit:
+  url: "https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.10.1.windows.1/PortableGit-2.10.1-64-bit.7z.exe"
+conemu:
+  url: "https://github.com/Maximus5/ConEmu/releases/download/v16.10.09a/ConEmuPack.161009a.7z"
+clink:
+  url: "https://github.com/mridgers/clink/releases/download/0.4.8/clink_0.4.8.zip"
+atom:
+  url: "https://github.com/atom/atom/releases/download/v1.11.2/atom-windows.zip"
+  plugins: 
+    atom-beautify: ""
+    minimap: ""
+    line-ending-converter: ""
+    language-chef: ""
+    language-batchfile: ""
+boot2docker:
+  url: "https://github.com/boot2docker/boot2docker-cli/releases/download/v1.8.0/boot2docker-v1.8.0-windows-amd64.exe"
+docker:
+  url: "https://download.docker.com/win/stable/InstallDocker.msi"
+devkit:
+  url: "http://dl.bintray.com/oneclick/rubyinstaller/DevKit-mingw64-32-4.7.2-20130224-1151-sfx.exe"
+kdiff3:
+  url: "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/kdiff3/kdiff3/0.9.98/KDiff3-64bit-Setup_0.9.98-2.exe"
+putty:
+  url: "https://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/putty.zip"
+cwrsync:
+  url: "https://www.itefix.net/dl/cwRsync_5.5.0_x86_Free.zip"
+vagrant:
+  url: "https://releases.hashicorp.com/vagrant/1.8.6/vagrant_1.8.6.msi"
+  plugins:
+    vagrant-toplevel-cookbooks: "0.2.4"
+    vagrant-omnibus: "1.4.1"
+    vagrant-cachier: "1.2.1"
+    vagrant-proxyconf: "1.5.2"
+    vagrant-berkshelf: "4.1.0"
+    vagrant-winrm: "0.7.0"
+terraform:
+  url: "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/0.7.7/terraform_0.7.7_windows_amd64.zip"
+packer:
+  url: "https://releases.hashicorp.com/packer/0.10.2/packer_0.10.2_windows_amd64.zip"
+consul:
+  url: "https://releases.hashicorp.com/consul/0.7.0/consul_0.7.0_windows_amd64.zip"
+chef_dk:
+  url: "https://packages.chef.io/stable/windows/2008r2/chefdk-0.18.30-1-x86.msi"
+  plugins: 
+    knife-audit: "0.2.0"
+    knife-server: "1.1.0"
+