diff --git a/commands/core/archive.drush.inc b/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
index 6df13c2..bb8cf7b 100644
--- a/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
+++ b/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ function archive_drush_command() {
       'generatorversion' => 'The generator version number to store in the MANIFEST file. The default is ' . DRUSH_VERSION . '.',
       'pipe' => 'Only print the destination of the archive. Useful for scripts that don\'t pass --destination.',
       'preserve-symlinks' => 'Preserve symbolic links.',
+      'no-core' => 'Exclude Drupal core, so include just site specific stuff.',
     ),
     'examples' => array(
       'drush archive-dump default,example.com,foo.com' => 'Write an archive containing 3 sites in it.',
@@ -65,6 +66,12 @@ function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
   $tar = drush_get_tar_executable();
   $sites = array();
   $aliases = drush_sitealias_resolve_sitespecs(explode(',', $sites_subdirs));
+
+  $include_platform = TRUE;
+  if (drush_get_option('no-core', FALSE)) {
+    $include_platform = FALSE;
+  }
+
   foreach ($aliases as $key => $alias) {
     $sites[$key] = $alias;
     if (($db_record = sitealias_get_databases_from_record($alias))) {
@@ -163,14 +170,17 @@ function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
   $docroot_path = realpath(drush_get_context('DRUSH_DRUPAL_ROOT'));
   $docroot = basename($docroot_path);
   $workdir = dirname($docroot_path);
-  $dereference = (drush_get_option('preserve-symlinks', FALSE)) ? '' : '--dereference ';
-  // Archive Drupal core, excluding sites dir.
-  drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar --exclude \"{$docroot}/sites\" {$dereference}-cf %s %s", $destination, $docroot);
-  // Add sites/all to the same archive.
-  drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/all");
-  // Add sites/sites.php to the same archive.
-  if (file_exists("{$docroot}/sites/sites.php")) {
-    drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/sites.php");
+
+  if ($include_platform) {
+    $dereference = (drush_get_option('preserve-symlinks', FALSE)) ? '' : '--dereference ';
+    // Archive Drupal core, excluding sites dir.
+    drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar --exclude \"{$docroot}/sites\" {$dereference}-cf %s %s", $destination, $docroot);
+    // Add sites/all to the same archive.
+    drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/all");
+    // Add sites/sites.php to the same archive.
+    if (file_exists("{$docroot}/sites/sites.php")) {
+      drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/sites.php");
+    }
   }
 
   $tmp = drush_tempdir();
@@ -205,6 +215,7 @@ function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
     'generatorversion' => drush_get_option('generatorversion', DRUSH_VERSION),
     'description' => drush_get_option('description', ''),
     'tags' => drush_get_option('tags', ''),
+    'archive_format' => ($include_platform ? 'platform' : 'site'),
   );
   $contents = drush_export_ini(array('Global' => $platform));
 
@@ -285,25 +296,7 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
     return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE_TO_EXTRACT', dt('Unable to extract site archive tarball to !tmp.', array('!tmp' => $tmp)));
   }
 
-  $manifest = $tmp . '/MANIFEST.ini';
-  if (file_exists($manifest)) {
-    if (!$ini = parse_ini_file($manifest, TRUE)) {
-      return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE_TO_PARSE_MANIFEST', dt('Unable to parse MANIFEST.ini in the archive.'));
-    }
-  }
-  else {
-    // No manifest. Try to find docroot and DB dump file.
-    $db_file = drush_scan_directory($tmp, '/\.sql$/',  array('.', '..', 'CVS'), 0, 0);
-    $directories = glob($tmp . '/*' , GLOB_ONLYDIR);
-    $ini = array(
-      'Global' => array(),
-      'default' => array(
-        'docroot' => reset($directories),
-        'sitedir' => 'sites/default',
-        'database-default-file' => key($db_file),
-      ),
-    );
-  }
+  $ini = drush_archive_read_manifest($tmp);
 
   // Grab the first site in the Manifest and move docroot to destination.
   $ini_tmp = $ini;
@@ -311,13 +304,27 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
   $first = array_shift($ini_tmp);
   $docroot = basename($first['docroot']);
   $destination = drush_get_option('destination', realpath('.') . "/$docroot");
-  if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot", $destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
-    return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE _RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore files to !dest', array('!dest' => $destination)));
+
+  if ($ini['Global']['archive_format'] == 'platform') {
+    // Move the whole platform inplace at once.
+    if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot", $destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
+      return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE _RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore platform to !dest', array('!dest' => $destination)));
+    }
+  } else {
+    // When no platform is included we do this on a per-site basis
+
   }
 
   // Loop over sites and restore databases and append to settings.php.
   foreach ($ini as $section => $site) {
     if ($section != 'Global' && (is_null($site_id) || $section == $site_id) && !empty($site['database-default-file'])) {
+      $site_destination = $destination . '/' . $site['sitedir'];
+      // Restore site, incase not already done above
+      if ($ini['Global']['archive_format'] == 'site') {
+        if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot/" . $site['sitedir'], $site_destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
+          return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE _RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore site to !dest', array('!dest' => $site_destination)));
+        }
+      }
 
       // Restore database
       $sql_file = $tmp . '/' . $site['database-default-file'];
@@ -343,7 +350,7 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
 
       // Append new DB info to settings.php.
       if ($db_url) {
-        $settingsfile = $destination . '/' . $site['sitedir'] . '/settings.php';
+        $settingsfile = $site_destination . '/settings.php';
         chmod($settingsfile, 0755); // Need to do something here or else we can't write.
         file_put_contents($settingsfile, "\n// Appended by drush archive-restore command.\n", FILE_APPEND);
         if (drush_drupal_major_version($destination) >= 7) {
@@ -380,3 +387,49 @@ function archive_archive_restore_complete() {
            ),
          );
 }
+
+/**
+ * Read and parse the MANIFEST from an extracted archive
+ *
+ * @param string $path The location of theextracted archive
+ * @return array The manifest data
+ */
+function drush_archive_read_manifest($path) {
+  $manifest = $path . '/MANIFEST.ini';
+  if (file_exists($manifest)) {
+    if (!$ini = parse_ini_file($manifest, TRUE)) {
+      return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE_TO_PARSE_MANIFEST', dt('Unable to parse MANIFEST.ini in the archive.'));
+    }
+  }
+  else {
+    // No manifest. Try to find docroot and DB dump file.
+    $db_file = drush_scan_directory($path, '/\.sql$/',  array('.', '..', 'CVS'), 0, 0);
+
+    if (file_exists($path . '/index.php')) {
+      $docroot = './';
+    }
+    else {
+      $directories = glob($path . '/*' , GLOB_ONLYDIR);
+      $docroot = reset($directories);
+    }
+
+    $ini = array(
+      'Global' => array(
+          // Very crude detection of a platform...
+          'archive_format' => (file_exists($directories . '/modules') ? 'platform' : 'site'),
+      ),
+      'default' => array(
+        'docroot' => $docroot,
+        'sitedir' => 'sites/default',
+        'database-default-file' => key($db_file),
+      ),
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Format compatibility, for 1.0 this option initially did not exist.
+  if (!isset( $ini['Global']['archive_format'])) {
+    $ini['Global']['archive_format'] = 'platform';
+  }
+
+  return $ini;
+}
diff --git a/docs/site-archive-format.html b/docs/site-archive-format.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31d8517
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/site-archive-format.html
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+<h1>Site Archive Format specification</h1>
+
+version: 1.0
+
+<p>Drush has the commands archive-dump and archive-restore to store a site in an archive file.</p>
+<p>Discussion: <a href="http://groups.drupal.org/site-archive-format">http://groups.drupal.org/site-archive-format</a></p>
+
+<h2>Tree structure</h2>
+
+Inside the archive is a directory structure.
+
+<ul>
+  <li>MANIFEST.ini</li>
+  <li>unish_dev.sql == Full database for the site</li>
+  <li>web  == documentroot
+    <ul>
+      <li>sites
+        <ul>
+          <li>dev == site name</li>
+        </ul>
+      </li>
+      <li>modules</li>
+      <li>profiles</li>
+      <li>includes ... and all other Drupal core files</li>
+    </ul>
+  </li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<h2>MANIFEST.ini format</h2>
+
+Example MANIFEST.ini:
+<pre>
+[Global]
+datestamp = "1317033628"
+formatversion = "1.0"
+generator = "Drush archive-dump"
+generatorversion = "5.0-dev"
+archive_format = "platform"
+
+[dev]
+docroot = "/tmp/drush-sandbox/web"
+sitedir = "sites/dev"
+files-public = "sites/dev/files"
+database-default-file = "./unish_dev.sql"
+database-default-driver = "mysql"
+</pre>
+@TODO: List possible properties and their possible values, are there any missing? 
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h2>Sections</h2>
+
+<ul>
+  <li>The first section should be called "Global"</li>
+  <li>Following sections are named after the sitename.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2>Properties for the "Global" section</h2>
+<dl>
+<dt>formatversion</dt><dd>The version of the Site Archive Format specification used to generate this archive</dd>
+<dt>generator</dt><dd></dd>
+<dt>generatorversion</dt><dd></dd>
+<dt>archive_format</dt><dd>Site or platform</dd>
+<dt>datestamp</dt><dd>The creation date of the archive </dd>
+<dt></dt><dd></dd>
+</dl>
+
+
+<h2>Properties for the site specific section</h2>
+<dl>
+<dt>docroot</dt><dd></dd>
+<dt>sitedir</dt><dd></dd>
+<dt>files-public</dt><dd></dd>
+<dt>database-default-file</dt><dd>Filename holding the data, e.g. ./sitename.sql</dd>
+<dt>database-default-driver</dt><dd>E.g. mysql</dd>
+<dt></dt><dd></dd>
+</dl>
+
+
diff --git a/tests/archiveDumpTest.php b/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
index 8d0d995..97886a1 100644
--- a/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
+++ b/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
@@ -37,10 +37,96 @@ class archiveDumpCase extends Drush_CommandTestCase {
     $tar = self::get_tar_executable();
     $exec = sprintf("mkdir %s && cd %s && $tar -xzf %s%s%s", $untar_dest, $untar_dest, UNISH_SANDBOX, DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, $dump_dest);
     $this->execute($exec);
+
+    if (strpos(UNISH_DB_URL, 'mysql') !== FALSE) {
+      $this->execute(sprintf('head %s/unish_%s.sql | grep "MySQL dump"', $untar_dest, $uri));
+    }
+    $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/MANIFEST.ini', 'MANIFEST.ini should exist');
+    $this->execute('test -d ' . $untar_dest . '/' . $docroot);
+
+    // Cleanup
+    unish_file_delete_recursive($untar_dest);
+    unish_file_delete_recursive(UNISH_SANDBOX . '/' . $dump_dest);
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * Test dump and extraction with --no-core.
+   */
+  public function testArchiveDumpNoCore() {
+    $sites = $this->setUpDrupal(1, TRUE);
+    $site = reset($sites);
+    $root = $this->webroot();
+    $uri = key($sites);
+    $docroot = basename($root);
+
+    $dump_dest = "dump.tar.gz";
+    $options = array(
+      'root' => $root,
+      'uri' => $uri,
+      'yes' => NULL,
+      'no-core' => TRUE,
+      'destination' => $dump_dest,
+    );
+    $this->drush('archive-dump', array($uri), $options);
+    $exec = sprintf('file %s/%s', UNISH_SANDBOX, $dump_dest);
+    $this->execute($exec);
+    $output = $this->getOutput();
+    $expected = UNISH_SANDBOX . "/dump.tar.gz: gzip compressed data, from Unix";
+    $this->assertEquals($expected, $output);
+
+    // Untar it, make sure it looks right.
+    $untar_dest = UNISH_SANDBOX . '/untar';
+    $exec = sprintf('mkdir %s && cd %s && tar xzf %s/%s', $untar_dest, $untar_dest, UNISH_SANDBOX, $dump_dest);
+    $this->execute($exec);
+
     if (strpos(UNISH_DB_URL, 'mysql') !== FALSE) {
       $this->execute(sprintf('head %s/unish_%s.sql | grep "MySQL dump"', $untar_dest, $uri));
     }
     $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/MANIFEST.ini', 'MANIFEST.ini should exist');
     $this->execute('test -d ' . $untar_dest . '/' . $docroot);
+    $this->assertFileNotExists($untar_dest . '/' . $docroot . '/modules', 'No modules directory should exist with --no-core');
+
+    // Cleanup
+    unish_file_delete_recursive($untar_dest);
+    unish_file_delete_recursive(UNISH_SANDBOX . '/' . $dump_dest);
+  }
+
+
+  /*
+   * Test dump and extraction with --no-core.
+   */
+  public function testArchiveRestoreNoCore() {
+    $sites = $this->setUpDrupal(1, TRUE);
+    $site = reset($sites);
+    $root = $this->webroot();
+    $uri = key($sites);
+    $docroot = basename($root);
+
+    $dump_dest = "dump.tar.gz";
+    $dump_dest_path = UNISH_SANDBOX . '/' . $dump_dest ;
+    $options = array(
+      'root' => $root,
+      'uri' => $uri,
+      'yes' => NULL,
+      'no-core' => TRUE,  // <<-- The option being tested here
+      'destination' => $dump_dest,
+    );
+    $this->drush('archive-dump', array($uri), $options);
+
+    unish_file_delete_recursive($root . '/sites/dev');
+    $this->assertFileNotExists($root . '/sites/dev/settings.php', 'settings.php should have been removed before the restore');
+    $options = array(
+        'overwrite' => TRUE,
+        );
+
+    // Do the restore
+    $this->drush('archive-restore',array($dump_dest_path), $options);
+
+    // Verify
+    $this->assertFileExists($root . '/index.php', 'index.php should still exist');
+    $this->assertFileExists($root . '/sites/dev/settings.php', 'settings.php should have been recreated by the restore');
+
+    // Cleanup
+    unish_file_delete_recursive(UNISH_SANDBOX . '/' . $dump_dest);
   }
 }