diff --git a/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.java b/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.java
index e271f29efe7..509156005b0 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.java
+++ b/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.java
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ public class K2JVMCompilerArguments extends CommonCompilerArguments {
     @ValueDescription("<path>")
     public String declarationsOutputPath;
 
+    @Argument(value = "Xload-script-configs", description = "Load script configuration files from project directory tree")
+    public boolean loadScriptConfigs;
+
     // Paths to output directories for friend modules.
     public String[] friendPaths;
 
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/K2JVMCompiler.kt b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/K2JVMCompiler.kt
index 9d21a720905..76015bd38a0 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/K2JVMCompiler.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/K2JVMCompiler.kt
@@ -284,6 +284,7 @@ class K2JVMCompiler : CLICompiler<K2JVMCompilerArguments>() {
             configuration.put(JVMConfigurationKeys.INHERIT_MULTIFILE_PARTS, arguments.inheritMultifileParts)
             configuration.put(CLIConfigurationKeys.ALLOW_KOTLIN_PACKAGE, arguments.allowKotlinPackage)
             configuration.put(CLIConfigurationKeys.REPORT_PERF, arguments.reportPerf)
+            configuration.put(JVMConfigurationKeys.LOAD_SCRIPT_CONFIGS, arguments.loadScriptConfigs)
 
             arguments.declarationsOutputPath?.let { configuration.put(JVMConfigurationKeys.DECLARATIONS_JSON_PATH, it) }
         }
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/KotlinCoreEnvironment.kt b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/KotlinCoreEnvironment.kt
index ce08146a870..c9001648fd6 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/KotlinCoreEnvironment.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/KotlinCoreEnvironment.kt
@@ -138,12 +138,21 @@ class KotlinCoreEnvironment private constructor(
         KotlinScriptDefinitionProvider.getInstance(project).let { scriptDefinitionProvider ->
             scriptDefinitionProvider.scriptDefinitions =
                     configuration.getList(JVMConfigurationKeys.SCRIPT_DEFINITIONS)
-                            .ifEmpty { listOf(StandardScriptDefinition) }
+                            .ifEmpty {
+                                if (configuration.get(JVMConfigurationKeys.LOAD_SCRIPT_CONFIGS) ?: false)
+                                    loadScriptConfigsFromProjectRoot(File(project.basePath ?: ".")).let { configs ->
+                                        val kotlinEnvVars = generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVars(project)
+                                        configs.map { KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition(it, kotlinEnvVars) } + StandardScriptDefinition
+                                    }
+                                else null
+                                ?: listOf(StandardScriptDefinition)
+                            }
 
             configuration.addJvmClasspathRoots(
                     sourceFiles
-                            .mapNotNull { src -> src.virtualFile?.let { scriptDefinitionProvider.findScriptDefinition(it) } }
-                            .flatMap { it.getScriptDependenciesClasspath().map { File(it).canonicalFile } }
+                            .mapNotNull { src -> src.virtualFile }
+                            .flatMap { getScriptCombinedClasspath(it, project) }
+                            .map { File(it).canonicalFile }
                             .distinct())
         }
 
diff --git a/compiler/frontend.java/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/JVMConfigurationKeys.java b/compiler/frontend.java/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/JVMConfigurationKeys.java
index 796805f9d64..952b7a681ae 100644
--- a/compiler/frontend.java/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/JVMConfigurationKeys.java
+++ b/compiler/frontend.java/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/JVMConfigurationKeys.java
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ public class JVMConfigurationKeys {
     public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<List<Module>> MODULES =
             CompilerConfigurationKey.create("module data");
 
+    public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<Boolean> LOAD_SCRIPT_CONFIGS =
+            CompilerConfigurationKey.create("Load script configuration files from project directory tree");
+
     public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<List<String>> FRIEND_PATHS =
             CompilerConfigurationKey.create("friend module paths");
 }
diff --git a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition.kt b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition.kt
index 517d144db16..79e1bf47232 100644
--- a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition.kt
+++ b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition.kt
@@ -30,7 +30,10 @@ import org.jetbrains.kotlin.name.Name
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.parsing.KotlinParserDefinition
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.psi.KtScript
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.types.KotlinType
+import org.jetbrains.kotlin.utils.KotlinPaths
+import org.jetbrains.kotlin.utils.KotlinPathsFromHomeDir
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.utils.PathUtil
+import java.io.File
 
 
 class KotlinConfigurableScriptDefinition(val config: KotlinScriptConfig, val environmentVars: Map<String, List<String>>?) : KotlinScriptDefinition {
@@ -73,16 +76,26 @@ internal fun List<String>.evalWithVars(varsMap: Map<String, List<String>>?): Lis
             }
         }
 
-fun generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsForCompiler(project: Project): Map<String, List<String>> {
-    val paths = PathUtil.getKotlinPathsForCompiler()
-    return mapOf("kotlin-runtime" to listOf(paths.runtimePath.canonicalPath),
-                 "project-root" to listOf(project.basePath ?: "."),
-                 "jdk" to PathUtil.getJdkClassesRoots().map { it.canonicalPath })
-}
+fun generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVars(project: Project, kotlinHomeDir: File? = null): Map<String, List<String>> =
+        generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsFromPaths(
+                project,
+                kotlinHomeDir?.let { KotlinPathsFromHomeDir(it) } ?: tryFindKotlinPathsForScriptClasspathEnvVars(project))
+
+private fun tryFindKotlinPathsForScriptClasspathEnvVars(project: Project): KotlinPaths? =
+    sequenceOf( { PathUtil.getKotlinPathsForIdeaPlugin() },
+                { PathUtil.getKotlinPathsForJpsPlugin() },
+                { PathUtil.getKotlinPathsForCompiler() },
+                { KotlinPathsFromHomeDir(File(project.basePath ?: ".")) },
+                // note: these are only usable when debugging kotlin project
+                // TODO: replace with more reliable mechanism
+                { KotlinPathsFromHomeDir(File(PathUtil.getPathUtilJar().parentFile.parentFile.parentFile, "dist/kotlinc")) })
+    .map { it() }
+    .firstOrNull { it.runtimePath.exists() }
+
+private fun generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsFromPaths(project: Project, paths: KotlinPaths?): Map<String, List<String>> =
+        mapOf("kotlin-runtime" to (paths?.run { listOf(runtimePath.canonicalPath) } ?: emptyList()),
+              "kotlin-reflect" to (paths?.run { listOf(reflectPath.canonicalPath) } ?: emptyList()),
+              "project-root" to listOf(project.basePath ?: "."),
+              "jdk" to PathUtil.getJdkClassesRoots().map { it.canonicalPath })
+        .filterNot { it.value.isEmpty() }
 
-fun generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsForIdea(project: Project): Map<String, List<String>> {
-    val paths = PathUtil.getKotlinPathsForIdeaPlugin()
-    return mapOf("kotlin-runtime" to listOf(paths.runtimePath.canonicalPath),
-                 "project-root" to listOf(project.basePath ?: "."),
-                 "jdk" to PathUtil.getJdkClassesRoots().map { it.canonicalPath })
-}
diff --git a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinScriptExtraImportsProvider.kt b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinScriptExtraImportsProvider.kt
index 9a079083ef4..3184c450a35 100644
--- a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinScriptExtraImportsProvider.kt
+++ b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/KotlinScriptExtraImportsProvider.kt
@@ -26,12 +26,12 @@ import kotlin.concurrent.write
 class KotlinScriptExtraImportsProvider(val project: Project) {
     private val lock = ReentrantReadWriteLock()
     private val cache = hashMapOf<VirtualFile, List<KotlinScriptExtraImport>>()
-    private val envVars: Map<String, List<String>> by lazy { generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsForIdea(project) }
+    private val envVars: Map<String, List<String>> by lazy { generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVars(project) }
 
     fun isExtraImportsConfig(file: VirtualFile): Boolean = file.name.endsWith(IMPORTSFILEEXTENSION)
 
     fun getExtraImports(file: VirtualFile): List<KotlinScriptExtraImport> = lock.read {
-        if (file.isInLocalFileSystem)
+        if (file.isValid)
             cache.getOrPut(file) {
                 file.parent.findFileByRelativePath(file.name + IMPORTSFILEEXTENSION)?.let {
                     loadScriptExtraImportConfigs(it.inputStream).map { KotlinScriptExtraImportFromConfig(it, envVars) }
diff --git a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/getScriptDefinition.kt b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/getScriptDefinition.kt
index 2467a8013c5..bacd8b88268 100644
--- a/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/getScriptDefinition.kt
+++ b/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/script/getScriptDefinition.kt
@@ -35,9 +35,13 @@ fun getScriptExtraImports(psiFile: PsiFile): List<KotlinScriptExtraImport>  =
         } ?: emptyList()
 
 fun getScriptCombinedClasspath(file: VirtualFile, project: Project): List<String> =
-        (getScriptDefinition(file, project)?.getScriptDependenciesClasspath() ?: emptyList()) +
-        getScriptExtraImports(file, project).flatMap { it.classpath }
+        getScriptDefinition(file, project)?.run {
+            getScriptDependenciesClasspath() +
+            getScriptExtraImports(file, project).flatMap { it.classpath }
+        } ?: emptyList()
 
 fun getScriptCombinedClasspath(psiFile: PsiFile): List<String> =
-        (getScriptDefinition(psiFile) ?.getScriptDependenciesClasspath() ?: emptyList()) +
-        getScriptExtraImports(psiFile).flatMap { it.classpath }
+        getScriptDefinition(psiFile)?.run {
+            getScriptDependenciesClasspath() +
+            getScriptExtraImports(psiFile).flatMap { it.classpath }
+        } ?: emptyList()
diff --git a/compiler/testData/cli/jvm/extraHelp.out b/compiler/testData/cli/jvm/extraHelp.out
index 6aa3bb1387b..18fed94cde4 100644
--- a/compiler/testData/cli/jvm/extraHelp.out
+++ b/compiler/testData/cli/jvm/extraHelp.out
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ where advanced options include:
   -Xallow-kotlin-package     Allow compiling code in package 'kotlin'
   -Xskip-metadata-version-check Try loading binary incompatible classes, may cause crashes
   -Xdump-declarations-to <path> Path to JSON file to dump Java to Kotlin declaration mappings
+  -Xload-script-configs      Load script configuration files from project directory tree
   -Xno-inline                Disable method inlining
   -Xrepeat <count>           Repeat compilation (for performance analysis)
   -Xplugin <path>            Load plugins from the given classpath
diff --git a/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/caches/resolve/getModuleInfo.kt b/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/caches/resolve/getModuleInfo.kt
index 7e4f803426c..9bdcbb3d44d 100644
--- a/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/caches/resolve/getModuleInfo.kt
+++ b/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/caches/resolve/getModuleInfo.kt
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ import org.jetbrains.kotlin.asJava.KtLightElement
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.idea.util.ProjectRootsUtil
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.psi.*
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.psi.psiUtil.getParentOfType
-import org.jetbrains.kotlin.script.KotlinScriptDefinitionProvider
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.script.getScriptDefinition
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.script.getScriptExtraImports
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.utils.sure
diff --git a/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/script/KotlinScriptConfigurationManager.kt b/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/script/KotlinScriptConfigurationManager.kt
index 17cd99649ad..0d301b556ce 100644
--- a/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/script/KotlinScriptConfigurationManager.kt
+++ b/idea/idea-analysis/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/idea/script/KotlinScriptConfigurationManager.kt
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ class KotlinScriptConfigurationManager(private val project: Project,
                                        private val kotlinScriptDependenciesIndexableSetContributor: KotlinScriptDependenciesIndexableSetContributor?
 ) : AbstractProjectComponent(project) {
 
-    private val kotlinEnvVars: Map<String, List<String>> by lazy { generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVarsForIdea(myProject) }
+    private val kotlinEnvVars: Map<String, List<String>> by lazy { generateKotlinScriptClasspathEnvVars(myProject) }
 
     init {
         reloadScriptDefinitions()