diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 1264e9d3..c3530ef7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 .DS_Store
+.venv
 
 # Packages
+*.py[cod]
 *.egg
 *.egg-info
 dist
diff --git a/openstack-common.conf b/openstack-common.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6baeb838
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openstack-common.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+[DEFAULT]
+
+# The list of modules to copy from oslo-incubator.git
+module=install_venv_common
+
+# The base module to hold the copy of openstack.common
+base=os_doc_tools
+
diff --git a/tools/install_venv.py b/tools/install_venv.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..703bdb65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/install_venv.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+# Copyright 2010 United States Government as represented by the
+# Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
+# All Rights Reserved.
+#
+# Copyright 2010 OpenStack Foundation
+# Copyright 2013 IBM Corp.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+import os
+import sys
+
+import install_venv_common as install_venv  # noqa
+
+
+def print_help(venv, root):
+    help = """
+    Openstack development environment setup is complete.
+
+    Openstack development uses virtualenv to track and manage Python
+    dependencies while in development and testing.
+
+    To activate the Openstack virtualenv for the extent of your current shell
+    session you can run:
+
+    $ source %s/bin/activate
+
+    Or, if you prefer, you can run commands in the virtualenv on a case by case
+    basis by running:
+
+    $ %s/tools/with_venv.sh <your command>
+
+    Also, make test will automatically use the virtualenv.
+    """
+    print(help % (venv, root))
+
+
+def main(argv):
+    root = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.realpath(__file__)))
+
+    if os.environ.get('tools_path'):
+        root = os.environ['tools_path']
+    venv = os.path.join(root, '.venv')
+    if os.environ.get('venv'):
+        venv = os.environ['venv']
+
+    pip_requires = os.path.join(root, 'requirements.txt')
+    test_requires = os.path.join(root, 'test-requirements.txt')
+    py_version = "python%s.%s" % (sys.version_info[0], sys.version_info[1])
+    project = 'openstack-doc-tools'
+    install = install_venv.InstallVenv(root, venv, pip_requires, test_requires,
+                                       py_version, project)
+    options = install.parse_args(argv)
+    install.check_python_version()
+    install.check_dependencies()
+    install.create_virtualenv(no_site_packages=options.no_site_packages)
+    install.install_dependencies()
+    print_help(venv, root)
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main(sys.argv)
diff --git a/tools/install_venv_common.py b/tools/install_venv_common.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46822e32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/install_venv_common.py
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+# Copyright 2013 OpenStack Foundation
+# Copyright 2013 IBM Corp.
+#
+#    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+#    not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain
+#    a copy of the License at
+#
+#         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+#    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+#    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+#    WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+#    License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations
+#    under the License.
+
+"""Provides methods needed by installation script for OpenStack development
+virtual environments.
+
+Since this script is used to bootstrap a virtualenv from the system's Python
+environment, it should be kept strictly compatible with Python 2.6.
+
+Synced in from openstack-common
+"""
+
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+import optparse
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+class InstallVenv(object):
+
+    def __init__(self, root, venv, requirements,
+                 test_requirements, py_version,
+                 project):
+        self.root = root
+        self.venv = venv
+        self.requirements = requirements
+        self.test_requirements = test_requirements
+        self.py_version = py_version
+        self.project = project
+
+    def die(self, message, *args):
+        print(message % args, file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+
+    def check_python_version(self):
+        if sys.version_info < (2, 6):
+            self.die("Need Python Version >= 2.6")
+
+    def run_command_with_code(self, cmd, redirect_output=True,
+                              check_exit_code=True):
+        """Runs a command in an out-of-process shell.
+
+        Returns the output of that command. Working directory is self.root.
+        """
+        if redirect_output:
+            stdout = subprocess.PIPE
+        else:
+            stdout = None
+
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(cmd, cwd=self.root, stdout=stdout)
+        output = proc.communicate()[0]
+        if check_exit_code and proc.returncode != 0:
+            self.die('Command "%s" failed.\n%s', ' '.join(cmd), output)
+        return (output, proc.returncode)
+
+    def run_command(self, cmd, redirect_output=True, check_exit_code=True):
+        return self.run_command_with_code(cmd, redirect_output,
+                                          check_exit_code)[0]
+
+    def get_distro(self):
+        if (os.path.exists('/etc/fedora-release') or
+                os.path.exists('/etc/redhat-release')):
+            return Fedora(
+                self.root, self.venv, self.requirements,
+                self.test_requirements, self.py_version, self.project)
+        else:
+            return Distro(
+                self.root, self.venv, self.requirements,
+                self.test_requirements, self.py_version, self.project)
+
+    def check_dependencies(self):
+        self.get_distro().install_virtualenv()
+
+    def create_virtualenv(self, no_site_packages=True):
+        """Creates the virtual environment and installs PIP.
+
+        Creates the virtual environment and installs PIP only into the
+        virtual environment.
+        """
+        if not os.path.isdir(self.venv):
+            print('Creating venv...', end=' ')
+            if no_site_packages:
+                self.run_command(['virtualenv', '-q', '--no-site-packages',
+                                 self.venv])
+            else:
+                self.run_command(['virtualenv', '-q', self.venv])
+            print('done.')
+        else:
+            print("venv already exists...")
+            pass
+
+    def pip_install(self, *args):
+        self.run_command(['tools/with_venv.sh',
+                         'pip', 'install', '--upgrade'] + list(args),
+                         redirect_output=False)
+
+    def install_dependencies(self):
+        print('Installing dependencies with pip (this can take a while)...')
+
+        # First things first, make sure our venv has the latest pip and
+        # setuptools and pbr
+        self.pip_install('pip>=1.4')
+        self.pip_install('setuptools')
+        self.pip_install('pbr')
+
+        self.pip_install('-r', self.requirements, '-r', self.test_requirements)
+
+    def parse_args(self, argv):
+        """Parses command-line arguments."""
+        parser = optparse.OptionParser()
+        parser.add_option('-n', '--no-site-packages',
+                          action='store_true',
+                          help="Do not inherit packages from global Python "
+                               "install")
+        return parser.parse_args(argv[1:])[0]
+
+
+class Distro(InstallVenv):
+
+    def check_cmd(self, cmd):
+        return bool(self.run_command(['which', cmd],
+                    check_exit_code=False).strip())
+
+    def install_virtualenv(self):
+        if self.check_cmd('virtualenv'):
+            return
+
+        if self.check_cmd('easy_install'):
+            print('Installing virtualenv via easy_install...', end=' ')
+            if self.run_command(['easy_install', 'virtualenv']):
+                print('Succeeded')
+                return
+            else:
+                print('Failed')
+
+        self.die('ERROR: virtualenv not found.\n\n%s development'
+                 ' requires virtualenv, please install it using your'
+                 ' favorite package management tool' % self.project)
+
+
+class Fedora(Distro):
+    """This covers all Fedora-based distributions.
+
+    Includes: Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, Scientific Linux
+    """
+
+    def check_pkg(self, pkg):
+        return self.run_command_with_code(['rpm', '-q', pkg],
+                                          check_exit_code=False)[1] == 0
+
+    def install_virtualenv(self):
+        if self.check_cmd('virtualenv'):
+            return
+
+        if not self.check_pkg('python-virtualenv'):
+            self.die("Please install 'python-virtualenv'.")
+
+        super(Fedora, self).install_virtualenv()
diff --git a/tools/with_venv.sh b/tools/with_venv.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..7303990b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/with_venv.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+TOOLS_PATH=${TOOLS_PATH:-$(dirname $0)}
+VENV_PATH=${VENV_PATH:-${TOOLS_PATH}}
+VENV_DIR=${VENV_NAME:-/../.venv}
+TOOLS=${TOOLS_PATH}
+VENV=${VENV:-${VENV_PATH}/${VENV_DIR}}
+source ${VENV}/bin/activate && "$@"