diff --git a/lib/App/Netdisco/Core/Plugin.pm b/lib/App/Netdisco/Core/Plugin.pm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..380bf803
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/App/Netdisco/Core/Plugin.pm
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+package App::Netdisco::Core::Plugin;
+
+use Dancer ':syntax';
+use Dancer::Plugin;
+use Dancer::Hook;
+
+use App::Netdisco::Util::Permission qw/check_acl_no check_acl_only/;
+use Try::Tiny;
+
+Dancer::Hook->instance->register_hooks_name(
+  map {("before_$_", $_, "after_$_")}
+      @{ setting('core_phases') }
+);
+
+# cache hints for working through phases
+set(
+  map {("_phase_before_$_" => {}, "_phase_$_" => {}, "_phase_after_$_" => {})}
+      @{ setting('core_phases') },
+  # TODO: store in here (caller)[0] => $args
+);
+
+register 'register_core_action' => sub {
+  my ($self, $code, $args) = @_;
+  return error "bad param to register_core_action"
+    unless ref sub {} eq ref $code and ref {} eq ref $args
+      and exists $args->{action}
+      and Dancer::Hook->hook_is_registered($args->{action});
+
+  my $no   = $args->{no};
+  my $only = $args->{only};
+  my $store = Dancer::Factory::Hook->instance;
+
+  my $hook = sub {
+    my $device = shift or return -1;
+    return 0 if ($no and check_acl_no($device, $no))
+      or ($only and not check_acl_only($device, $only));
+
+    my $happy = false;
+    try {
+      $code->($args);
+      $happy = true;
+    };
+
+    return ($happy ? ($args->{final} ? 1 : 0) : -1);
+  };
+
+  if ($args->{final} and $args->{action} !~ m/^(?:before|after)_/) {
+    unshift @{$store->hooks->{ $args->{action} }}, $hook;
+  }
+  else {
+    push @{$store->hooks->{ $args->{action} }}, $hook;
+  }
+};
+
+register_plugin;
+true;
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+App::Netdisco::Web::Plugin - Netdisco Web UI components
+
+=head1 Introduction
+
+L<App::Netdisco>'s plugin system allows you more control of what Netdisco
+components are displayed in the web interface. Plugins can be distributed
+independently from Netdisco and are a better alternative to source code
+patches.
+
+The following web interface components are implemented as plugins:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+Navigation Bar items (e.g. Inventory link)
+
+=item *
+
+Tabs for Search and Device pages
+
+=item *
+
+Reports (pre-canned searches)
+
+=item *
+
+Additional Device Port Columns
+
+=item *
+
+Additional Device Details
+
+=item *
+
+Admin Menu function (job control, manual topology, pseudo devices)
+
+=back
+
+This document explains how to configure which plugins are loaded. See
+L<App::Netdisco::Manual::WritingPlugins> if you want to develop new plugins.
+
+=head1 Application Configuration
+
+Netdisco configuration supports a C<web_plugins> directive along with the
+similar C<extra_web_plugins>. These list, in YAML format, the set of Perl
+module names which are the plugins to be loaded. Each item injects one part of
+the Netdisco web user interface.
+
+You can override these settings to add, change, or remove entries from the
+default lists. Here is an example of the C<web_plugins> list:
+
+ web_plugins:
+   - Inventory
+   - Report::DuplexMismatch
+   - Search::Device
+   - Search::Node
+   - Search::Port
+   - Device::Details
+   - Device::Ports
+
+Any change should go into your local C<deployment.yml> configuration file. If
+you want to view the default settings, see the C<share/config.yml> file in the
+C<App::Netdisco> distribution.
+
+=head1 How to Configure
+
+The C<extra_web_plugins> setting is empty, and used only if you want to add
+new plugins but not change the set enabled by default. If you do want to add
+to or remove from the default set, then create a version of C<web_plugins>
+instead.
+
+Netdisco prepends "C<App::Netdisco::Web::Plugin::>" to any entry in the list.
+For example, "C<Inventory>" will load the
+C<App::Netdisco::Web::Plugin::Inventory> module.
+
+Such plugin modules can either ship with the App::Netdisco distribution
+itself, or be installed separately. Perl uses the standard C<@INC> path
+searching mechanism to load the plugin modules.
+
+If an entry in the list starts with a "C<+>" (plus) sign then Netdisco attemps
+to load the module as-is, without prepending anything to the name. This allows
+you to have App::Netdiso web UI plugins in other namespaces:
+
+ web_plugins:
+   - Inventory
+   - Search::Device
+   - Device::Details
+   - +My::Other::Netdisco::Web::Component
+
+The order of the entries is significant. Unsurprisingly, the modules are
+loaded in order. Therefore Navigation Bar items appear in the order listed,
+and Tabs appear on the Search and Device pages in the order listed, and so on.
+
+Finally, you can also prepend module names with "C<X::>", to support the
+"Netdisco extension" namespace. For example, "C<X::Observium>" will load the
+L<App::NetdiscoX::Web::Plugin::Observium> module.
+
+=cut
+
diff --git a/share/config.yml b/share/config.yml
index ddc1ef26..a5f6df66 100644
--- a/share/config.yml
+++ b/share/config.yml
@@ -253,6 +253,17 @@ job_prio:
     - nbtstat
     - expire
 
+core_phases:
+  - discover_properties
+  - discover_interfaces
+  - discover_vlans
+  - discover_wireless
+  - discover_entities
+  - macsuck_nodes
+  - arpnip_nodes
+  - arpnip_subnets
+  - netbios_stat
+
 # ---------------
 # GraphViz Export
 # ---------------