diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index eaeea21..c832338 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@
        src/uri_auth.o src/standard.o src/buffers.o src/log.o src/task.o \
        src/time.o src/fd.o src/pipe.o src/regex.o src/cfgparse.o src/server.o \
        src/checks.o src/queue.o src/frontend.o src/proxy.o src/peers.o \
-       src/stick_table.o src/proto_uxst.o \
+       src/arg.o src/stick_table.o src/proto_uxst.o \
        src/proto_http.o src/stream_sock.o src/appsession.o src/backend.o \
        src/lb_chash.o src/lb_fwlc.o src/lb_fwrr.o src/lb_map.o src/lb_fas.o \
        src/stream_interface.o src/dumpstats.o src/proto_tcp.o \
diff --git a/Makefile.bsd b/Makefile.bsd
index ef7c577..14dafac 100644
--- a/Makefile.bsd
+++ b/Makefile.bsd
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@
        src/session.o src/hdr_idx.o src/ev_select.o src/signal.o \
        src/lb_chash.o src/lb_fwlc.o src/lb_fwrr.o src/lb_map.o src/lb_fas.o \
        src/ev_poll.o src/ev_kqueue.o \
-       src/acl.o src/memory.o src/freq_ctr.o \
+       src/arg.o src/acl.o src/memory.o src/freq_ctr.o \
        src/auth.o src/stick_table.o src/pattern.o
 
 EBTREE_OBJS = $(EBTREE_DIR)/ebtree.o \
diff --git a/Makefile.osx b/Makefile.osx
index ec6f246..a4389ef 100644
--- a/Makefile.osx
+++ b/Makefile.osx
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@
        src/session.o src/hdr_idx.o src/ev_select.o src/signal.o \
        src/lb_chash.o src/lb_fwlc.o src/lb_fwrr.o src/lb_map.o src/lb_fas.o \
        src/ev_poll.o \
-       src/acl.o src/memory.o src/freq_ctr.o \
+       src/arg.o src/acl.o src/memory.o src/freq_ctr.o \
        src/auth.o src/stick_table.o src/pattern.o
 
 EBTREE_OBJS = $(EBTREE_DIR)/ebtree.o \
diff --git a/include/proto/arg.h b/include/proto/arg.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..68eb379
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/proto/arg.h
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/*
+ * include/proto/arg.h
+ * This file contains functions and macros declarations for generic argument parsing.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2012 Willy Tarreau <w@1wt.eu>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2.1
+ * exclusively.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#ifndef _PROTO_ARG_H
+#define _PROTO_ARG_H
+
+#include <types/arg.h>
+
+/* Some macros used to build some arg list. We can declare various argument
+ * combinations from 0 to 7 args using a single 32-bit integer. The first
+ * argument of these macros is always the mandatory number of arguments, and
+ * remaining ones are optional args. Note: ARGM() may also be used to return
+ * the number of mandatory arguments in a mask.
+ */
+#define ARGM(m) \
+	(m & 15)
+
+#define ARG1(m, t1) \
+	(ARGM(m) + (ARGT_##t1 << 4))
+
+#define ARG2(m, t1, t2) \
+	(ARG1(m, t1) + (ARGT_##t2 << 8))
+
+#define ARG3(m, t1, t2, t3) \
+	(ARG2(m, t1, t2) + (ARGT_##t3 << 12))
+
+#define ARG4(m, t1, t2, t3, t4) \
+	(ARG3(m, t1, t2, t3) + (ARGT_##t4 << 16))
+
+#define ARG5(m, t1, t2, t3, t4, t5) \
+	(ARG4(m, t1, t2, t3, t4) + (ARGT_##t5 << 20))
+
+#define ARG6(m, t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6) \
+	(ARG5(m, t1, t2, t3, t4, t5) + (ARGT_##t6 << 24))
+
+#define ARG7(m, t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7) \
+	(ARG6(m, t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6) + (ARGT_##t7 << 28))
+
+int make_arg_list(const char *in, int len, unsigned int mask, struct arg **argp,
+		  char **err_msg, const char **err_ptr, int *err_arg);
+
+#endif /* _PROTO_ARG_H */
+
+/*
+ * Local variables:
+ *  c-indent-level: 8
+ *  c-basic-offset: 8
+ * End:
+ */
diff --git a/include/types/arg.h b/include/types/arg.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2369721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/types/arg.h
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+/*
+ * include/types/arg.h
+ * This file contains structure declarations for generaic argument parsing.
+ *
+ * Copyright 2012 Willy Tarreau <w@1wt.eu>
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation, version 2.1
+ * exclusively.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
+ */
+
+#ifndef _TYPES_ARG_H
+#define _TYPES_ARG_H
+
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <netinet/in.h>
+#include <types/buffers.h>
+
+enum {
+	ARGT_STOP = 0, /* end of the arg list */
+	ARGT_UINT,     /* unsigned integer, which is a positive integer without any sign */
+	ARGT_SINT,     /* signed integer, the sign (+/-) was explicit. Falls back to UINT if no sign. */
+	ARGT_STR,      /* string */
+	ARGT_IPV4,     /* an IPv4 address */
+	ARGT_MSK4,     /* an IPv4 address mask (integer or dotted), stored as ARGT_IPV4 */
+	ARGT_IPV6,     /* an IPv6 address */
+	ARGT_MSK6,     /* an IPv6 address mask (integer or dotted), stored as ARGT_IPV4 */
+	ARGT_TIME,     /* a delay in ms by default, stored as ARGT_UINT */
+	ARGT_SIZE,     /* a size in bytes by default, stored as ARGT_UINT */
+	ARGT_FE,       /* a pointer to a frontend only */
+	ARGT_BE,       /* a pointer to a backend only */
+	ARGT_TAB,      /* a pointer to a stick table */
+	ARGT_SRV,      /* a pointer to a server */
+	ARGT_USR,      /* a pointer to a user list */
+	ARGT_UNASSIGNED15, /* will probably be used for variables later */
+	ARGT_NBTYPES   /* no more values past 15 */
+};
+
+/* some types that are externally defined */
+struct proxy;
+struct server;
+struct userlist;
+
+union arg_data {
+	unsigned int uint; /* used for uint, time, size */
+	int sint;
+	struct chunk str;
+	struct in_addr ipv4;
+	struct in6_addr ipv6;
+	struct proxy *prx; /* used for fe, be, tables */
+	struct server *srv;
+	struct userlist *usr;
+};
+
+struct arg {
+	int type;              /* argument type */
+	union arg_data data;   /* argument data */
+};
+
+
+#endif /* _TYPES_ARG_H */
+
+/*
+ * Local variables:
+ *  c-indent-level: 8
+ *  c-basic-offset: 8
+ * End:
+ */
diff --git a/src/arg.c b/src/arg.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e11c49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/arg.c
@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+/*
+ * Functions used to parse typed argument lists
+ *
+ * Copyright 2012 Willy Tarreau <w@1wt.eu>
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+ * as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version
+ * 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ */
+
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <sys/socket.h>
+#include <arpa/inet.h>
+
+#include <common/standard.h>
+#include <proto/arg.h>
+
+static const char *arg_type_names[ARGT_NBTYPES] = {
+	[ARGT_STOP] = "end of arguments",
+	[ARGT_UINT] = "unsigned integer",
+	[ARGT_SINT] = "signed integer",
+	[ARGT_STR]  = "string",
+	[ARGT_IPV4] = "IPv4 address",
+	[ARGT_MSK4] = "IPv4 mask",
+	[ARGT_IPV6] = "IPv6 address",
+	[ARGT_MSK6] = "IPv6 mask",
+	[ARGT_TIME] = "delay",
+	[ARGT_SIZE] = "size",
+	[ARGT_FE]   = "frontend",
+	[ARGT_BE]   = "backend",
+	[ARGT_TAB]  = "table",
+	[ARGT_SRV]  = "server",
+	[ARGT_USR]  = "user list",
+	/* Unassigned types must never happen. Better crash during parsing if they do. */
+};
+
+/* This function builds an argument list from a config line. It returns the
+ * number of arguments found, or <0 in case of any error. Everything needed
+ * it automatically allocated. A pointer to an error message might be returned
+ * in err_msg if not NULL, in which case it would be allocated and the caller
+ * will have to check it and free it. The output arg list is returned in argp
+ * which must be valid. The returned array is always terminated by an arg of
+ * type ARGT_STOP (0), unless the mask indicates that no argument is supported.
+ * The mask is composed of a number of mandatory arguments in its lower 4 bits,
+ * and a concatenation of each argument type in each subsequent 4-bit block. If
+ * <err_msg> is not NULL, it must point to a freeable or NULL pointer.
+ */
+int make_arg_list(const char *in, int len, unsigned int mask, struct arg **argp,
+		  char **err_msg, const char **err_ptr, int *err_arg)
+{
+	int nbarg;
+	int pos;
+	struct arg *arg, *arg_list = NULL;
+	const char *beg;
+	char *word = NULL;
+	const char *ptr_err = NULL;
+	int min_arg;
+
+	min_arg = mask & 15;
+	mask >>= 4;
+
+	pos = 0;
+	/* find between 0 and 8 the max number of args supported by the mask */
+	for (nbarg = 0; nbarg < 8 && ((mask >> (nbarg * 4)) & 0xF); nbarg++);
+
+	if (!nbarg)
+		goto end_parse;
+
+	/* Note: an empty input string contains an empty argument if this argument
+	 * is marked mandatory. Otherwise we can ignore it.
+	 */
+	if (!len && !min_arg)
+		goto end_parse;
+
+	arg = arg_list = calloc(nbarg + 1, sizeof(*arg));
+
+	/* Note: empty arguments after a comma always exist. */
+	while (pos < nbarg) {
+		beg = in;
+		while (len && *in != ',') {
+			in++;
+			len--;
+		}
+
+		/* we have a new argument between <beg> and <in> (not included).
+		 * For ease of handling, we copy it into a zero-terminated word.
+		 * By default, the output argument will be the same type of the
+		 * expected one.
+		 */
+		free(word);
+		word = my_strndup(beg, in - beg);
+
+		arg->type = (mask >> (pos * 4)) & 15;
+
+		switch (arg->type) {
+		case ARGT_SINT:
+			if (in == beg)	  // empty number
+				goto parse_err;
+			else if (*beg < '0' || *beg > '9') {
+				arg->data.sint = strl2uic(beg + 1, in - beg - 1);
+				if (*beg == '-')
+					arg->data.sint = -arg->data.sint;
+				else if (*beg != '+')    // invalid first character
+					goto parse_err;
+				break;
+			}
+
+			arg->type = ARGT_UINT;
+			/* fall through ARGT_UINT if no sign is present */
+
+		case ARGT_UINT:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty number
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			arg->data.uint = strl2uic(beg, in - beg);
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_FE:
+		case ARGT_BE:
+		case ARGT_TAB:
+		case ARGT_SRV:
+		case ARGT_USR:
+		case ARGT_STR:
+			/* all types that must be resolved are stored as strings
+			 * during the parsing. The caller must at one point resolve
+			 * them and free the string.
+			 */
+			arg->data.str.str = word;
+			arg->data.str.len = in - beg;
+			arg->data.str.size = arg->data.str.len + 1;
+			word = NULL;
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_IPV4:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty address
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			if (inet_pton(AF_INET, word, &arg->data.ipv4) <= 0)
+				goto parse_err;
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_MSK4:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty mask
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			if (!str2mask(word, &arg->data.ipv4))
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			arg->type = ARGT_IPV4;
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_IPV6:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty address
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			if (inet_pton(AF_INET6, word, &arg->data.ipv6) <= 0)
+				goto parse_err;
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_MSK6: /* not yet implemented */
+			goto parse_err;
+
+		case ARGT_TIME:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty time
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			ptr_err = parse_time_err(word, &arg->data.uint, TIME_UNIT_MS);
+			if (ptr_err)
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			arg->type = ARGT_UINT;
+			break;
+
+		case ARGT_SIZE:
+			if (in == beg)    // empty size
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			ptr_err = parse_size_err(word, &arg->data.uint);
+			if (ptr_err)
+				goto parse_err;
+
+			arg->type = ARGT_UINT;
+			break;
+
+			/* FIXME: other types need to be implemented here */
+		default:
+			goto parse_err;
+		}
+
+		pos++;
+		arg++;
+
+		/* don't go back to parsing if we reached end */
+		if (!len || pos >= nbarg)
+			break;
+
+		/* skip comma */
+		in++; len--;
+	}
+
+ end_parse:
+	free(word); word = NULL;
+
+	if (pos < min_arg) {
+		/* not enough arguments */
+		if (err_msg)
+			memprintf(err_msg,
+				  "Missing arguments (got %d/%d), type '%s' expected",
+				  pos, min_arg, arg_type_names[(mask >> (pos * 4)) & 15]);
+		goto err;
+	}
+
+	if (len) {
+		/* too many arguments, starting at <in> */
+		if (err_msg) {
+			/* the caller is responsible for freeing this message */
+			word = my_strndup(in, len);
+			memprintf(err_msg, "End of arguments expected at '%s'", word);
+			free(word); word = NULL;
+		}
+		goto err;
+	}
+
+	/* note that pos might be < nbarg and this is not an error, it's up to the
+	 * caller to decide what to do with optional args.
+	 */
+	*argp = arg_list;
+
+	if (err_arg)
+		*err_arg = pos;
+	if (err_ptr)
+		*err_ptr = in;
+	return pos;
+
+ parse_err:
+	if (err_msg) {
+		memprintf(err_msg, "Failed to parse '%s' as type '%s'",
+			  word, arg_type_names[(mask >> (pos * 4)) & 15]);
+	}
+
+ err:
+	free(word);
+	free(arg_list);
+	if (err_arg)
+		*err_arg = pos;
+	if (err_ptr)
+		*err_ptr = in;
+	return -1;
+}
diff --git a/tests/test-arg.c b/tests/test-arg.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..222f2b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-arg.c
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include "proto/arg.h"
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+	int nbargs, err_arg, mask;
+	struct arg *argp;
+	char *err_msg = NULL;
+	const char *err_ptr = NULL;
+
+	if (argc < 2) {
+		printf("Usage: %s arg_list [arg_mask]\n"
+		       "       mask defaults to 0x86543290\n"
+		       "   eg: %s 10k,+20,Host,1.2.3.4,24,::5.6.7.8,120s\n", *argv, *argv);
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	mask = ARG7(0,SIZE,SINT,STR,IPV4,MSK4,IPV6,TIME);
+	if (argc >= 3)
+		mask = atoll(argv[2]);
+
+	printf("Using mask=0x%08x\n", mask);
+	nbargs = make_arg_list(argv[1], strlen(argv[1]), mask,
+			       &argp, &err_msg, &err_ptr, &err_arg);
+
+	printf("nbargs=%d\n", nbargs);
+	if (nbargs < 0) {
+		printf("err_msg=%s\n", err_msg); free(err_msg);
+		printf("err_ptr=%s (str+%d)\n", err_ptr, err_ptr - argv[1]);
+		printf("err_arg=%d\n", err_arg);
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	if (nbargs > 0) {
+		int arg;
+
+		for (arg = 0; arg < nbargs; arg++)
+			printf("arg %d: type=%d, int=0x%08x\n",
+			       arg, argp[arg].type, *(int*)&argp[arg].data.uint);
+	}
+	return 0;
+}