diff --git a/cli/app/cmd.go b/cli/app/cmd.go
index 12295b94..36cbf1da 100644
--- a/cli/app/cmd.go
+++ b/cli/app/cmd.go
@@ -32,6 +32,14 @@ var localCmdFlag = &cli.BoolFlag{
 	Destination: &localCmd,
 }
 
+var remoteUser string
+var remoteUserFlag = &cli.StringFlag{
+	Name:        "user, u",
+	Value:       "",
+	Usage:       "User to run command within a service context",
+	Destination: &remoteUser,
+}
+
 var appCmdCommand = cli.Command{
 	Name:    "command",
 	Aliases: []string{"cmd"},
@@ -52,18 +60,15 @@ Example:
 	Flags: []cli.Flag{
 		internal.DebugFlag,
 		localCmdFlag,
+		remoteUserFlag,
 	},
 	BashComplete: autocomplete.AppNameComplete,
 	Before:       internal.SubCommandBefore,
 	Action: func(c *cli.Context) error {
 		app := internal.ValidateApp(c)
 
-		if len(c.Args()) <= 2 && !localCmd {
-			internal.ShowSubcommandHelpAndError(c, errors.New("missing <service>/<command>? did you mean to pass --local?"))
-		}
-
-		if len(c.Args()) > 2 && localCmd {
-			internal.ShowSubcommandHelpAndError(c, errors.New("cannot specify <service> and --local together"))
+		if localCmd && remoteUser != "" {
+			internal.ShowSubcommandHelpAndError(c, errors.New("cannot use --local & <user> together"))
 		}
 
 		abraSh := path.Join(config.RECIPES_DIR, app.Recipe, "abra.sh")
@@ -74,6 +79,20 @@ Example:
 			logrus.Fatal(err)
 		}
 
+		var parsedCmdArgs string
+		var cmdArgsIdx int
+		var hasCmdArgs bool
+		for idx, arg := range c.Args() {
+			if arg == "--" {
+				cmdArgsIdx = idx
+				hasCmdArgs = true
+			}
+
+			if hasCmdArgs && idx > cmdArgsIdx {
+				parsedCmdArgs += fmt.Sprintf("%s ", c.Args().Get(idx))
+			}
+		}
+
 		if localCmd {
 			cmdName := c.Args().Get(1)
 			if err := ensureCommand(abraSh, app.Recipe, cmdName); err != nil {
@@ -82,8 +101,17 @@ Example:
 
 			logrus.Debugf("--local detected, running %s on local work station", cmdName)
 
-			sourceAndExec := fmt.Sprintf("TARGET=local; APP_NAME=%s; . %s; %s", app.StackName(), abraSh, cmdName)
+			var sourceAndExec string
+			if hasCmdArgs {
+				logrus.Debugf("parsed following command arguments: %s", parsedCmdArgs)
+				sourceAndExec = fmt.Sprintf("TARGET=local; APP_NAME=%s; . %s; %s %s", app.StackName(), abraSh, cmdName, parsedCmdArgs)
+			} else {
+				logrus.Debug("did not detect any command arguments")
+				sourceAndExec = fmt.Sprintf("TARGET=local; APP_NAME=%s; . %s; %s", app.StackName(), abraSh, cmdName)
+			}
+
 			cmd := exec.Command("/bin/sh", "-c", sourceAndExec)
+
 			if err := internal.RunCmd(cmd); err != nil {
 				logrus.Fatal(err)
 			}
@@ -113,20 +141,6 @@ Example:
 
 			logrus.Debugf("running command %s within the context of %s_%s", cmdName, app.StackName(), targetServiceName)
 
-			var parsedCmdArgs string
-			var cmdArgsIdx int
-			var hasCmdArgs bool
-			for idx, arg := range c.Args() {
-				if arg == "--" {
-					cmdArgsIdx = idx
-					hasCmdArgs = true
-				}
-
-				if hasCmdArgs && idx > cmdArgsIdx {
-					parsedCmdArgs += fmt.Sprintf("%s ", c.Args().Get(idx))
-				}
-			}
-
 			if hasCmdArgs {
 				logrus.Debugf("parsed following command arguments: %s", parsedCmdArgs)
 			} else {
@@ -200,6 +214,11 @@ func runCmdRemote(app config.App, abraSh, serviceName, cmdName, cmdArgs string)
 		Tty:          true,
 	}
 
+	if remoteUser != "" {
+		logrus.Debugf("running command with user %s", remoteUser)
+		execCreateOpts.User = remoteUser
+	}
+
 	// FIXME: avoid instantiating a new CLI
 	dcli, err := command.NewDockerCli()
 	if err != nil {