diff --git a/bin/elementexplorer.js b/bin/elementexplorer.js
index 184b56c7a..169806617 100755
--- a/bin/elementexplorer.js
+++ b/bin/elementexplorer.js
@@ -32,124 +32,15 @@
  * Typing tab at a blank prompt will fill in a suggestion for finding
  * elements.
  */
-
-var webdriver = require('selenium-webdriver');
-var protractor = require('../lib/protractor.js');
-var repl = require('repl');
-var util = require('util');
-var vm = require('vm');
-
-var driver, browser;
-
-var INITIAL_SUGGESTIONS = [
-  'element(by.id(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.css(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.name(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.binding(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.xpath(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.tagName(\'\'))',
-  'element(by.className(\'\'))'
-];
-
-var list = function(locator) {
-  return browser.findElements(locator).then(function(arr) {
-    var found = [];
-    for (var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) {
-      arr[i].getText().then(function(text) {
-        found.push(text);
-      });
-    }
-    return found;
-  });
-};
-
-var flowEval = function(code, context, file, callback) {
-
-  var vmErr,
-      result,
-      flow = webdriver.promise.controlFlow();
-
-  flow.execute(function() {
-    try {
-      result = vm.runInThisContext(code, file);
-    } catch (e) {
-      vmErr = e;
-      callback(vmErr, null);
-    }
-    if (vmErr && process.domain) {
-      process.domain.emit('error', vmErr);
-      process.domain.exit();
-    }
-
-    if (webdriver.promise.isPromise(result)) {
-      return result.then(function(val) {return val});
-    } else {
-      return result; 
-    }
-  }).then(function(res) {
-    if (!vmErr) {
-      callback(null, res);
-    }
-  }, function(err) {
-    callback('There was a webdriver error: ' + err.name + ' ' + err.message,
-        null);
-  });
-};
-
-var startRepl = function() {
-  var flowRepl = repl.start({
-    'useGlobal': true,
-    'eval': flowEval
-  });
-
-  var originalComplete = flowRepl.complete;
-
-  flowRepl.complete = function(line, completeCallback) {
-    if (line == '') {
-      completeCallback(null, [INITIAL_SUGGESTIONS, '']);
-    } else {
-      originalComplete.apply(this, arguments);
-    }
-  };
-
-  flowRepl.on('exit', function() {
-    driver.quit();
-    util.puts('Shutting down. Goodbye.');
-  });
-};
-
-var startUp = function() {
-  driver = new webdriver.Builder().
-    usingServer('http://localhost:4444/wd/hub').
-    withCapabilities({'browserName': 'chrome'}).build();
-
-  driver.getSession().then(function(session) {
-    driver.manage().timeouts().setScriptTimeout(11000);
-
-    browser = protractor.wrapDriver(driver);
-
-    // Set up globals to be available from the command line.
-    global.driver = driver;
-    global.protractor = protractor;
-    global.browser = browser;
-    global.$ = browser.$;
-    global.$$ = browser.$$;
-    global.element = browser.element;
-    global.by = global.By = protractor.By;
-    global.list = list;
-
-
-    util.puts('Type <tab> to see a list of locator strategies.');
-    util.puts('Use the `list` helper function to find elements by strategy:');
-    util.puts('  e.g., list(by.binding(\'\')) gets all bindings.');
-    util.puts('');
-
-    var url = process.argv[2] || 'about:blank';
-    util.puts('Getting page at: ' + url);
-    driver.get(url);
-
-    startRepl();
-  });
-};
-
-startUp();
+console.log('Please use "protractor [configFile] [options] --elementExplorer"' + 
+  ' for full functionality\n');
+
+if (process.argv.length > 3) {
+  console.log('usage: elementexplorer.js [urL]');
+  process.exit(1);
+} else if (process.argv.length === 3) {
+  process.argv[2] = ('--baseUrl=' + process.argv[2]);
+}
+
+process.argv.push('--elementExplorer');
+require('../lib/cli.js');
diff --git a/lib/cli.js b/lib/cli.js
index b4dd50bfd..9adcaf139 100644
--- a/lib/cli.js
+++ b/lib/cli.js
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ var optimist = require('optimist').
     describe('framework', 'Test framework to use: jasmine, cucumber or mocha').
     describe('resultJsonOutputFile', 'Path to save JSON test result').
     describe('troubleshoot', 'Turn on troubleshooting output').
+    describe('elementExplorer', 'Interactively test Protractor commands').
     alias('browser', 'capabilities.browserName').
     alias('name', 'capabilities.name').
     alias('platform', 'capabilities.platform').
@@ -70,6 +71,11 @@ var optimist = require('optimist').
 
 var argv = optimist.parse(args);
 
+if (argv.help) {
+  optimist.showHelp();
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
 if (argv.version) {
   console.log('Version ' + require(path.join(__dirname, '../package.json')).version);
   process.exit(0);
@@ -123,7 +129,10 @@ if (!configFile) {
     configFile = './protractor.conf.js';
   }
 }
-if (!configFile && args.length < 3) {
+
+if (!configFile && !argv.elementExplorer && args.length < 3) {
+  console.log('**you must either specify a configuration file ' + 
+    'or at least 3 options. See below for the options:\n');
   optimist.showHelp();
   process.exit(1);
 }
diff --git a/lib/debugger/clients/explorer.js b/lib/debugger/clients/explorer.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..767368e1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/debugger/clients/explorer.js
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+var repl = require('repl');
+var baseDebugger = require('_debugger');
+var CommandRepl = require('../modes/commandRepl');
+
+/**
+ * BETA BETA BETA
+ * Custom explorer to test protractor commands. 
+ *
+ * @constructor
+ */
+var WdRepl = function() {
+  this.client = new baseDebugger.Client();
+  this.replServer;
+  this.cmdRepl;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Initiate debugger client.
+ * @private
+ */
+WdRepl.prototype.initClient_ = function() {
+  var client = this.client; 
+
+  client.once('ready', function() {
+
+    client.setBreakpoint({
+      type: 'scriptRegExp',
+      target: 'selenium-webdriver/executors.js',
+      line: 37
+    }, function() {});
+  });
+
+  var host = 'localhost';
+  var port = process.argv[2] || 5858;
+  client.connect(port, host); // TODO - might want to add retries here.
+};
+
+/**
+ * Eval function for processing a single step in repl.
+ * @private
+ * @param {string} cmd
+ * @param {object} context
+ * @param {string} filename
+ * @param {function} callback
+ */
+WdRepl.prototype.stepEval_ = function(cmd, context, filename, callback) {
+  cmd = cmd.slice(1, cmd.length - 2);
+  this.cmdRepl.stepEval(cmd, callback);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Instantiate all repl objects, and debuggerRepl as current and start repl.
+ * @private
+ */
+WdRepl.prototype.initRepl_ = function() {
+  var self = this;
+  this.cmdRepl = new CommandRepl(this.client);
+
+  self.replServer = repl.start({
+    prompt: self.cmdRepl.prompt,
+    input: process.stdin,
+    output: process.stdout,
+    eval: self.stepEval_.bind(self),
+    useGlobal: false,
+    ignoreUndefined: true
+  });
+
+  self.replServer.complete = self.cmdRepl.complete.bind(self.cmdRepl);
+
+  self.replServer.on('exit', function() {
+    console.log('Exiting...');
+    self.client.req({command: 'disconnect'}, function() {
+      // Intentionally blank.
+    });
+  });
+};
+
+/**
+ * Initiate the debugger. 
+ * @public
+ */
+WdRepl.prototype.init = function() {
+  console.log('Type <tab> to see a list of locator strategies.');
+  console.log('Use the `list` helper function to find elements by strategy:');
+  console.log('  e.g., list(by.binding(\'\')) gets all bindings.');
+  
+  this.initClient_();
+  this.initRepl_();
+};
+
+var wdRepl = new WdRepl();
+wdRepl.init();
diff --git a/lib/debugger/wddebugger.js b/lib/debugger/clients/wddebugger.js
similarity index 97%
rename from lib/debugger/wddebugger.js
rename to lib/debugger/clients/wddebugger.js
index f6ec41fe0..287fd5ec5 100644
--- a/lib/debugger/wddebugger.js
+++ b/lib/debugger/clients/wddebugger.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 var repl = require('repl');
 var baseDebugger = require('_debugger');
-var CommandRepl = require('./commandRepl');
-var DebuggerRepl = require('./debuggerRepl');
+var CommandRepl = require('../modes/commandRepl');
+var DebuggerRepl = require('../modes/debuggerRepl');
 
 /**
  * BETA BETA BETA
diff --git a/lib/debugger/commandRepl.js b/lib/debugger/modes/commandRepl.js
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/debugger/commandRepl.js
rename to lib/debugger/modes/commandRepl.js
diff --git a/lib/debugger/debuggerRepl.js b/lib/debugger/modes/debuggerRepl.js
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/debugger/debuggerRepl.js
rename to lib/debugger/modes/debuggerRepl.js
diff --git a/lib/frameworks/explorer.js b/lib/frameworks/explorer.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6763d9267
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/frameworks/explorer.js
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+var q = require('q');
+
+/**
+ * A framework which does not actually run any tests. It allows users to drop
+ * into a repl loop to experiment with protractor commands.
+ *
+ * @param {Runner} runner The current Protractor Runner.
+ * @return {q.Promise} Promise resolved with the test results
+ */
+exports.run = function(runner) {
+  /* globals browser */
+  return q.promise(function (resolve) {
+    if (runner.getConfig().baseUrl) {
+      browser.get(runner.getConfig().baseUrl);
+    }
+    browser.enterRepl();
+    browser.executeScript_('', 'empty debugger hook').then(function() {
+      resolve({
+        failedCount: 0
+      });
+    });
+  });
+};
diff --git a/lib/launcher.js b/lib/launcher.js
index be3387862..eb3a982fc 100644
--- a/lib/launcher.js
+++ b/lib/launcher.js
@@ -118,9 +118,8 @@ var init = function(configFile, additionalConfig) {
   // Run beforeLaunch
   helper.runFilenameOrFn_(config.configDir, config.beforeLaunch).then(function() {
     
-    // Set `multicapabilities` using `capabilities`, `multicapabilites`, 
-    // `getMultiCapabilities()`, or default
     return q.promise(function(resolve) {
+      // 1) If getMultiCapabilities is set, resolve that as `multiCapabilities`.
       if (config.getMultiCapabilities && 
           typeof config.getMultiCapabilities === 'function') {
         if (config.multiCapabilities.length || config.capabilities) {
@@ -136,6 +135,8 @@ var init = function(configFile, additionalConfig) {
         resolve();
       }
     }).then(function() {
+      // 2) Set `multicapabilities` using `capabilities`, `multicapabilites`, 
+      // or default
       if (config.capabilities) {
         if (config.multiCapabilities.length) {
           log.warn('You have specified both capabilites and ' +
@@ -153,6 +154,26 @@ var init = function(configFile, additionalConfig) {
       }
     });
   }).then(function() {
+    // 3) If we're in `elementExplorer` mode, run only that.
+    if (config.elementExplorer || config.framework === 'explorer') {
+      if (config.multiCapabilities.length != 1) {
+        throw new Error('Must specify only 1 browser while using elementExplorer');
+      } else {
+        config.capabilities = config.multiCapabilities[0];
+      }
+      config.framework = 'explorer';
+
+      var Runner = require('./runner');
+      var runner = new Runner(config);
+      return runner.run().then(function(exitCode) {
+        process.exit(exitCode);
+      }, function(err) {
+        log_(err);
+        process.exit(1);
+      });
+    }
+  }).then(function() {
+    // 4) Run tests.
     var scheduler = new TaskScheduler(config);
 
     process.on('exit', function(code) {
diff --git a/lib/protractor.js b/lib/protractor.js
index 911ccdfd0..33c5b93bd 100644
--- a/lib/protractor.js
+++ b/lib/protractor.js
@@ -600,22 +600,16 @@ Protractor.prototype.debugger = function() {
 };
 
 /**
- * Beta (unstable) pause function for debugging webdriver tests. Use
- * browser.pause() in your test to enter the protractor debugger from that
- * point in the control flow.
- * Does not require changes to the command line (no need to add 'debug').
- * Note, if you are wrapping your own instance of Protractor, you must 
- * expose globals 'browser' and 'protractor' for pause to work. 
- *
- * @example
- * element(by.id('foo')).click();
- * browser.pause();
- * // Execution will stop before the next click action.
- * element(by.id('bar')).click();
+ * Helper function to:
+ *  1) Set up helper functions for debugger clients to call on (e.g. 
+ *     getControlFlowText, execute code, get autocompletion).
+ *  2) Enter process into debugger mode. (i.e. process._debugProcess).
+ *  3) Invoke the debugger client specified by debuggerClientPath.
  *
+ * @param {string=} debuggerClientPath Absolute path of debugger client to use
  * @param {number=} opt_debugPort Optional port to use for the debugging process
  */
-Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
+Protractor.prototype.initDebugger_ = function(debuggerClientPath, opt_debugPort) {
   // Patch in a function to help us visualize what's going on in the control
   // flow.
   webdriver.promise.ControlFlow.prototype.getControlFlowText = function() {
@@ -665,9 +659,9 @@ Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
   var flow = webdriver.promise.controlFlow();
   var pausePromise = flow.execute(function() {
     log.puts('Starting WebDriver debugger in a child process. Pause is ' +
-        'still beta, please report issues at github.com/angular/protractor');
+        'still beta, please report issues at github.com/angular/protractor\n');
     var nodedebug = require('child_process').
-        fork(__dirname + '/debugger/wddebugger.js', [process.debugPort]);
+        fork(debuggerClientPath, [process.debugPort]);
     process.on('exit', function() {
       nodedebug.kill('SIGTERM');
     });
@@ -676,8 +670,8 @@ Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
   var vm_ = require('vm');
   var browserUnderDebug = this;
 
-  // Helper used only by './debugger/wddebugger.js' to insert code into the
-  // control flow. 
+  // Helper used only by debuggers at './debugger/modes/*.js' to insert code
+  // into the control flow. 
   // In order to achieve this, we maintain a promise at the top of the control
   // flow, so that we can insert frames into it.
   // To be able to simulate callback/asynchronous code, we poll this object 
@@ -700,8 +694,14 @@ Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
       self.execPromiseResult_ = self.execPromiseError_ = undefined;
 
       self.execPromise_ = self.execPromise_.
-          then(execFn_).
-          then(function(result) {
+          then(function() {
+            var result = execFn_();
+            if (webdriver.promise.isPromise(result)) {
+              return result.then(function(val) {return val;});
+            } else {
+              return result; 
+            }
+          }).then(function(result) {
             self.execPromiseResult_ = result;
           }, function(err) {
             self.execPromiseError_ = err;
@@ -757,9 +757,63 @@ Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
     }
   };
 
+  global.list = function(locator) {
+    /* globals browser */
+    return browser.findElements(locator).then(function(arr) {
+      var found = [];
+      for (var i = 0; i < arr.length; ++i) {
+        arr[i].getText().then(function(text) {
+          found.push(text);
+        });
+      }
+      return found;
+    });
+  };
+
   flow.timeout(1000, 'waiting for debugger to attach');
 };
 
+/**
+ * Beta (unstable) enterRepl function for entering the repl loop from 
+ * any point in the control flow. Use browser.enterRepl() in your test.
+ * Does not require changes to the command line (no need to add 'debug').
+ * Note, if you are wrapping your own instance of Protractor, you must 
+ * expose globals 'browser' and 'protractor' for pause to work. 
+ *
+ * @example
+ * element(by.id('foo')).click();
+ * browser.enterRepl();
+ * // Execution will stop before the next click action.
+ * element(by.id('bar')).click();
+ *
+ * @param {number=} opt_debugPort Optional port to use for the debugging process
+ */
+Protractor.prototype.enterRepl = function(opt_debugPort) {
+  var debuggerClientPath = __dirname + '/debugger/clients/explorer.js';
+  this.initDebugger_(debuggerClientPath, opt_debugPort);
+};
+
+/**
+ * Beta (unstable) pause function for debugging webdriver tests. Use
+ * browser.pause() in your test to enter the protractor debugger from that
+ * point in the control flow.
+ * Does not require changes to the command line (no need to add 'debug').
+ * Note, if you are wrapping your own instance of Protractor, you must 
+ * expose globals 'browser' and 'protractor' for pause to work. 
+ *
+ * @example
+ * element(by.id('foo')).click();
+ * browser.pause();
+ * // Execution will stop before the next click action.
+ * element(by.id('bar')).click();
+ *
+ * @param {number=} opt_debugPort Optional port to use for the debugging process
+ */
+Protractor.prototype.pause = function(opt_debugPort) {
+  var debuggerClientPath = __dirname + '/debugger/clients/wddebugger.js';
+  this.initDebugger_(debuggerClientPath, opt_debugPort);
+};
+
 /**
  * Create a new instance of Protractor by wrapping a webdriver instance.
  *
diff --git a/lib/runner.js b/lib/runner.js
index 428bf96b2..104e79e90 100644
--- a/lib/runner.js
+++ b/lib/runner.js
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ Runner.prototype.run = function() {
       plugins,
       browser_;
 
-  if (!this.config_.specs.length) {
+  if (this.config_.framework !== 'explorer' && !this.config_.specs.length) {
     throw new Error('Spec patterns did not match any files.');
   }
 
@@ -270,7 +270,11 @@ Runner.prototype.run = function() {
     } else if (self.config_.framework === 'cucumber') {
       frameworkPath = './frameworks/cucumber.js';
     } else if (self.config_.framework === 'debugprint') {
+      // Private framework. Do not use.
       frameworkPath = './frameworks/debugprint.js';
+    } else if (self.config_.framework === 'explorer') {
+      // Private framework. Do not use.
+      frameworkPath = './frameworks/explorer.js';
     } else {
       throw new Error('config.framework (' + self.config_.framework +
           ') is not a valid framework.');