diff --git a/cmd/swarm/main.go b/cmd/swarm/main.go
index 04930760ee..392b049d57 100644
--- a/cmd/swarm/main.go
+++ b/cmd/swarm/main.go
@@ -152,6 +152,43 @@ The output of this command is supposed to be machine-readable.
 Prints the swarm hash of file or directory.
 `,
 		},
+		cli.Command{
+			Name:      "manifest",
+			Usage:     "update a MANIFEST",
+			ArgsUsage: "manifest COMMAND",
+			Description: `
+Updates a MANIFEST by adding/removing/updating the hash of a path.
+`,
+			Subcommands: []cli.Command{
+				{
+					Action:    add,
+					Name:      "add",
+					Usage:     "add a new path to the manifest",
+					ArgsUsage: "<MANIFEST> <path> <hash> [<content-type>]",
+					Description: `
+Adds a new path to the manifest
+`,
+				},
+				{
+					Action:    update,
+					Name:      "update",
+					Usage:     "update the hash for an already existing path in the manifest",
+					ArgsUsage: "<MANIFEST> <path> <newhash> [<newcontent-type>]",
+					Description: `
+Update the hash for an already existing path in the manifest
+`,
+				},
+				{
+					Action:    remove,
+					Name:      "remove",
+					Usage:     "removes a path from the manifest",
+					ArgsUsage: "<MANIFEST> <path>",
+					Description: `
+Removes a path from the manifest
+`,
+				},
+			},
+		},
 	}
 
 	app.Flags = []cli.Flag{
diff --git a/cmd/swarm/upload.go b/cmd/swarm/upload.go
index d048bbc401..3b0c4f96e7 100644
--- a/cmd/swarm/upload.go
+++ b/cmd/swarm/upload.go
@@ -199,3 +199,31 @@ func (c *client) postRaw(mimetype string, size int64, body io.ReadCloser) (strin
 	content, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 	return string(content), err
 }
+
+func (c *client) downloadManifest(mhash string) (manifest, error) {
+
+	mroot := manifest{}
+	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", c.api + "/bzzr:/" + mhash, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return mroot, err
+	}
+	resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return mroot, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+	if resp.StatusCode >= 400 {
+		return mroot, fmt.Errorf("bad status: %s", resp.Status)
+
+	}
+	content, err := ioutil.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+
+	err = json.Unmarshal(content, &mroot)
+	if err != nil {
+		return mroot, fmt.Errorf("Manifest %v is malformed: %v", mhash, err)
+	}
+	return mroot, err
+}
+
+