diff --git a/cmd/addplugins.go b/cmd/addplugins.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..819e0df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/addplugins.go
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+/*
+Copyright © 2023 NAME HERE <EMAIL ADDRESS>
+*/
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/kong/go-apiops/deckformat"
+	"github.com/kong/go-apiops/filebasics"
+	"github.com/kong/go-apiops/logbasics"
+	"github.com/kong/go-apiops/plugins"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+// Executes the CLI command "add-plugins"
+func executeAddPlugins(cmd *cobra.Command, cfgFiles []string) error {
+	verbosity, _ := cmd.Flags().GetInt("verbose")
+	logbasics.Initialize(log.LstdFlags, verbosity)
+
+	inputFilename, err := cmd.Flags().GetString("state")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'state'; %w", err)
+	}
+
+	outputFilename, err := cmd.Flags().GetString("output-file")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'output-file'; %w", err)
+	}
+
+	var outputFormat string
+	{
+		outputFormat, err = cmd.Flags().GetString("format")
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'format'; %w", err)
+		}
+		outputFormat = strings.ToUpper(outputFormat)
+	}
+
+	var selectors []string
+	{
+		selectors, err = cmd.Flags().GetStringArray("selector")
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'selector'; %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var pluginConfigs []map[string]interface{}
+	{
+		strConfigs, err := cmd.Flags().GetStringArray("config")
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'config'; %w", err)
+		}
+		for _, strConfig := range strConfigs {
+			temp := []byte(strConfig)
+			pluginConfig, err := filebasics.Deserialize(&temp)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to deserialize plugin config '%s'; %w", strConfig, err)
+			}
+			pluginConfigs = append(pluginConfigs, pluginConfig)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var overwrite bool
+	{
+		overwrite, err = cmd.Flags().GetBool("overwrite")
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed getting cli argument 'overwrite'; %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(cfgFiles) > 0 {
+		logbasics.Error(nil, "WARNING: 'config-files' are not yet implemented; ignoring")
+	}
+
+	// do the work: read/add-plugins/write
+	data, err := filebasics.DeserializeFile(inputFilename)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read input file '%s'; %w", inputFilename, err)
+	}
+
+	plugger := plugins.Plugger{}
+	plugger.SetData(data)
+	err = plugger.SetSelectors(selectors)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to set selectors; %w", err)
+	}
+	err = plugger.AddPlugins(pluginConfigs, overwrite)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to add plugins; %w", err)
+	}
+	data = plugger.GetData()
+
+	trackInfo := deckformat.HistoryNewEntry("add-plugins")
+	trackInfo["input"] = inputFilename
+	trackInfo["output"] = outputFilename
+	trackInfo["overwrite"] = overwrite
+	if len(pluginConfigs) > 0 {
+		trackInfo["configs"] = pluginConfigs
+	}
+	if len(cfgFiles) > 0 {
+		trackInfo["config-files"] = cfgFiles
+	}
+	trackInfo["selectors"] = selectors
+	deckformat.HistoryAppend(data, trackInfo)
+
+	return filebasics.WriteSerializedFile(outputFilename, data, outputFormat)
+}
+
+//
+//
+// Define the CLI data for the add-plugins command
+//
+//
+
+var addPluginsCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "add-plugins [flags] [...plugin-files]",
+	Short: "Adds plugins to objects in a decK file",
+	Long: `Adds plugins to objects in a decK file.
+
+The plugins are added to all objects that match the selector expressions. If no
+selectors are given, they will be added to the top-level 'plugins' array.`,
+	RunE: executeAddPlugins,
+	Args: cobra.MinimumNArgs(0),
+}
+
+func init() {
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(addPluginsCmd)
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().StringP("state", "s", "-", "decK file to process. Use - to read from stdin")
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().StringArray("selector", []string{},
+		"JSON path expression to select plugin-owning objects to add plugins to,\n"+
+			"defaults to the top-level (selector '$'). Repeat for multiple selectors.")
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().StringArray("config", []string{},
+		"JSON snippet containing the plugin configuration to add. Repeat to add\n"+
+			"multiple plugins.")
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().Bool("overwrite", false,
+		"specifying this flag will overwrite plugins by the same name if they already\n"+
+			"exist in an array. The default is to skip existing plugins.")
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().StringP("output-file", "o", "-", "output file to write. Use - to write to stdout")
+	addPluginsCmd.Flags().StringP("format", "", filebasics.OutputFormatYaml, "output format: "+
+		filebasics.OutputFormatJSON+" or "+filebasics.OutputFormatYaml)
+}