diff --git a/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_receive.py b/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_receive.py
index 2936638..e46f5c8 100644
--- a/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_receive.py
+++ b/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_receive.py
@@ -1,88 +1,46 @@
 from __future__ import print_function
-import os, sys, json, binascii, six
+import os, sys, json, binascii, six, tempfile, zipfile
 from ..errors import handle_server_error
 
 APPID = u"lothar.com/wormhole/text-or-file-xfer"
 
-@handle_server_error
-def receive(args):
-    # we're receiving text, or a file
-    from ..blocking.transcribe import Wormhole, WrongPasswordError
+def accept_file(args, them_d, w):
     from ..blocking.transit import TransitReceiver, TransitError
     from .progress import start_progress, update_progress, finish_progress
-    assert isinstance(args.relay_url, type(u""))
 
-    with Wormhole(APPID, args.relay_url) as w:
-        if args.zeromode:
-            assert not args.code
-            args.code = u"0-"
-        code = args.code
-        if not code:
-            code = w.input_code("Enter receive wormhole code: ", args.code_length)
-        w.set_code(code)
+    file_data = them_d["file"]
+    # the basename() is intended to protect us against
+    # "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" and other attacks
+    filename = os.path.basename(file_data["filename"]) # unicode
+    filesize = file_data["filesize"]
 
-        if args.verify:
-            verifier = binascii.hexlify(w.get_verifier()).decode("ascii")
-            print("Verifier %s." % verifier)
-
-        try:
-            them_bytes = w.get_data()
-        except WrongPasswordError as e:
-            print("ERROR: " + e.explain(), file=sys.stderr)
-            return 1
-        them_d = json.loads(them_bytes.decode("utf-8"))
-        if "error" in them_d:
-            print("ERROR: " + them_d["error"], file=sys.stderr)
-            return 1
-
-        if "message" in them_d:
-            # we're receiving a text message
-            print(them_d["message"])
-            data = json.dumps({"message_ack": "ok"}).encode("utf-8")
-            w.send_data(data)
-            return 0
-
-        if not "file" in them_d:
-            print("I don't know what they're offering\n")
-            print(them_d)
-            return 1
-
-        if "error" in them_d:
-            print("ERROR: " + data["error"], file=sys.stderr)
-            return 1
-
-        file_data = them_d["file"]
-        # the basename() is intended to protect us against
-        # "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" and other attacks
-        filename = os.path.basename(file_data["filename"]) # unicode
-        filesize = file_data["filesize"]
-
-        # get confirmation from the user before writing to the local directory
-        if os.path.exists(filename):
-            print("Error: refusing to overwrite existing file %s" % (filename,))
-            data = json.dumps({"error": "file already exists"}).encode("utf-8")
-            w.send_data(data)
-            return 1
-
-        print("Receiving file (%d bytes) into: %s" % (filesize, filename))
-        while True and not args.accept_file:
-            ok = six.moves.input("ok? (y/n): ")
-            if ok.lower().startswith("y"):
-                break
-            print("transfer rejected", file=sys.stderr)
-            data = json.dumps({"error": "transfer rejected"}).encode("utf-8")
-            w.send_data(data)
-            return 1
-
-        transit_receiver = TransitReceiver(args.transit_helper)
-        data = json.dumps({
-            "file_ack": "ok",
-            "transit": {
-                "direct_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_direct_hints(),
-                "relay_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_relay_hints(),
-                },
-            }).encode("utf-8")
+    # get confirmation from the user before writing to the local directory
+    if os.path.exists(filename):
+        print("Error: refusing to overwrite existing file %s" % (filename,))
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "file already exists"}).encode("utf-8")
         w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
+
+    print("Receiving file (%d bytes) into: %s" % (filesize, filename))
+    while True and not args.accept_file:
+        ok = six.moves.input("ok? (y/n): ")
+        if ok.lower().startswith("y"):
+            break
+        print("transfer rejected", file=sys.stderr)
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "transfer rejected"}).encode("utf-8")
+        w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
+
+    transit_receiver = TransitReceiver(args.transit_helper)
+    data = json.dumps({
+        "file_ack": "ok",
+        "transit": {
+            "direct_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_direct_hints(),
+            "relay_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_relay_hints(),
+            },
+        }).encode("utf-8")
+    w.send_data(data)
+    # now done with the Wormhole object
 
     # now receive the rest of the owl
     tdata = them_d["transit"]
@@ -118,3 +76,144 @@ def receive(args):
     record_pipe.send_record(b"ok\n")
     record_pipe.close()
     return 0
+
+def accept_directory(args, them_d, w):
+    from ..blocking.transit import TransitReceiver, TransitError
+    from .progress import start_progress, update_progress, finish_progress
+
+    file_data = them_d["directory"]
+    mode = file_data["mode"]
+    if mode != "zipfile/deflated":
+        print("Error: unknown directory-transfer mode '%s'" % (mode,))
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "unknown mode"}).encode("utf-8")
+        w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
+
+    if args.output_file:
+        dirname = args.output_file
+    else:
+        # the basename() is intended to protect us against
+        # "~/.ssh/authorized_keys" and other attacks
+        dirname = os.path.basename(file_data["dirname"]) # unicode
+    filesize = file_data["zipsize"]
+    num_files = file_data["numfiles"]
+    num_bytes = file_data["numbytes"]
+
+    if os.path.exists(dirname):
+        print("Error: refusing to overwrite existing directory %s" % (dirname,))
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "directory already exists"}).encode("utf-8")
+        w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
+
+    print("Receiving directory into: %s/" % (dirname,))
+    print("%d files, %d bytes (%d compressed)" % (num_files, num_bytes,
+                                                  filesize))
+    while True and not args.accept_file:
+        ok = six.moves.input("ok? (y/n): ")
+        if ok.lower().startswith("y"):
+            break
+        print("transfer rejected", file=sys.stderr)
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "transfer rejected"}).encode("utf-8")
+        w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
+
+    transit_receiver = TransitReceiver(args.transit_helper)
+    data = json.dumps({
+        "file_ack": "ok",
+        "transit": {
+            "direct_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_direct_hints(),
+            "relay_connection_hints": transit_receiver.get_relay_hints(),
+            },
+        }).encode("utf-8")
+    w.send_data(data)
+    # now done with the Wormhole object
+
+    # now receive the rest of the owl
+    tdata = them_d["transit"]
+    transit_key = w.derive_key(APPID+u"/transit-key")
+    transit_receiver.set_transit_key(transit_key)
+    transit_receiver.add_their_direct_hints(tdata["direct_connection_hints"])
+    transit_receiver.add_their_relay_hints(tdata["relay_connection_hints"])
+    record_pipe = transit_receiver.connect()
+
+    print("Receiving %d bytes for '%s' (%s).." % (filesize, dirname,
+                                                  transit_receiver.describe()))
+    f = tempfile.SpooledTemporaryFile()
+    received = 0
+    next_update = start_progress(filesize)
+    while received < filesize:
+        try:
+            plaintext = record_pipe.receive_record()
+        except TransitError:
+            print()
+            print("Connection dropped before full file received")
+            print("got %d bytes, wanted %d" % (received, filesize))
+            return 1
+        f.write(plaintext)
+        received += len(plaintext)
+        next_update = update_progress(next_update, received, filesize)
+    finish_progress(filesize)
+    assert received == filesize
+    print("Unpacking zipfile..")
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(f, "r", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
+        zf.extractall(path=dirname)
+        # extractall() appears to offer some protection against malicious
+        # pathnames. For example, "/tmp/oops" and "../tmp/oops" both do the
+        # same thing as the (safe) "tmp/oops".
+
+    print("Received files written to %s/" % dirname)
+    record_pipe.send_record(b"ok\n")
+    record_pipe.close()
+    return 0
+
+@handle_server_error
+def receive(args):
+    # we're receiving text, or a file
+    from ..blocking.transcribe import Wormhole, WrongPasswordError
+    assert isinstance(args.relay_url, type(u""))
+
+    with Wormhole(APPID, args.relay_url) as w:
+        if args.zeromode:
+            assert not args.code
+            args.code = u"0-"
+        code = args.code
+        if not code:
+            code = w.input_code("Enter receive wormhole code: ", args.code_length)
+        w.set_code(code)
+
+        if args.verify:
+            verifier = binascii.hexlify(w.get_verifier()).decode("ascii")
+            print("Verifier %s." % verifier)
+
+        try:
+            them_bytes = w.get_data()
+        except WrongPasswordError as e:
+            print("ERROR: " + e.explain(), file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+        them_d = json.loads(them_bytes.decode("utf-8"))
+        if "error" in them_d:
+            print("ERROR: " + them_d["error"], file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+
+        if "message" in them_d:
+            # we're receiving a text message
+            print(them_d["message"])
+            data = json.dumps({"message_ack": "ok"}).encode("utf-8")
+            w.send_data(data)
+            return 0
+
+        if "error" in them_d:
+            print("ERROR: " + data["error"], file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+
+        if "file" in them_d:
+            return accept_file(args, them_d, w)
+
+        if "directory" in them_d:
+            return accept_directory(args, them_d, w)
+
+        print("I don't know what they're offering\n")
+        print("Offer details:", them_d)
+        data = json.dumps({"error": "unknown offer type"}).encode("utf-8")
+        w.send_data(data)
+        return 1
diff --git a/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_send.py b/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_send.py
index 9daf6cb..f026264 100644
--- a/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_send.py
+++ b/src/wormhole/scripts/cmd_send.py
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 from __future__ import print_function
-import os, sys, json, binascii, six
+import os, sys, json, binascii, six, tempfile, zipfile
 from ..errors import handle_server_error
 
 APPID = u"lothar.com/wormhole/text-or-file-xfer"
 
 @handle_server_error
 def send(args):
-    # we're sending text, or a file
+    # we're sending text, or a file/directory
     from ..blocking.transcribe import Wormhole, WrongPasswordError
     from ..blocking.transit import TransitSender
     from .progress import start_progress, update_progress, finish_progress
@@ -26,25 +26,60 @@ def send(args):
             "message": text,
             }
     else:
-        if not os.path.isfile(args.what):
-            print("Cannot send: no file named '%s'" % args.what)
+        if not os.path.exists(args.what):
+            print("Cannot send: no file/directory named '%s'" % args.what)
             return 1
-        # we're sending a file
         sending_message = False
-        filesize = os.stat(args.what).st_size
-        basename = os.path.basename(args.what)
-        print("Sending %d byte file named '%s'" % (filesize, basename))
         transit_sender = TransitSender(args.transit_helper)
         phase1 = {
-            "file": {
-                "filename": basename,
-                "filesize": filesize,
-                },
             "transit": {
                 "direct_connection_hints": transit_sender.get_direct_hints(),
                 "relay_connection_hints": transit_sender.get_relay_hints(),
                 },
             }
+        basename = os.path.basename(args.what)
+        if os.path.isfile(args.what):
+            # we're sending a file
+            filesize = os.stat(args.what).st_size
+            phase1["file"] = {
+                "filename": basename,
+                "filesize": filesize,
+                }
+            print("Sending %d byte file named '%s'" % (filesize, basename))
+            fd_to_send = open(args.what, "rb")
+        elif os.path.isdir(args.what):
+            print("Building zipfile..")
+            # We're sending a directory. Create a zipfile in a tempdir and
+            # send that.
+            fd_to_send = tempfile.SpooledTemporaryFile()
+            # TODO: I think ZIP_DEFLATED means compressed.. check it
+            num_files = 0
+            num_bytes = 0
+            tostrip = len(args.what.split(os.sep))
+            with zipfile.ZipFile(fd_to_send, "w", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf:
+                for path,dirs,files in os.walk(args.what):
+                    # path always starts with args.what, then sometimes might
+                    # have "/subdir" appended. We want the zipfile to contain
+                    # "" or "subdir"
+                    localpath = list(path.split(os.sep)[tostrip:])
+                    for fn in files:
+                        archivename = os.path.join(*tuple(localpath+[fn]))
+                        localfilename = os.path.join(path, fn)
+                        zf.write(localfilename, archivename)
+                        num_bytes += os.stat(localfilename).st_size
+                        num_files += 1
+            fd_to_send.seek(0,2)
+            filesize = fd_to_send.tell()
+            fd_to_send.seek(0,0)
+            phase1["directory"] = {
+                "mode": "zipfile/deflated",
+                "dirname": basename,
+                "zipsize": filesize,
+                "numbytes": num_bytes,
+                "numfiles": num_files,
+                }
+            print("Sending directory (%d bytes compressed) named '%s'"
+                  % (filesize, basename))
 
     with Wormhole(APPID, args.relay_url) as w:
         if args.zeromode:
@@ -114,7 +149,7 @@ def send(args):
     print("Sending (%s).." % transit_sender.describe())
 
     CHUNKSIZE = 64*1024
-    with open(args.what, "rb") as f:
+    with fd_to_send as f:
         sent = 0
         next_update = start_progress(filesize)
         while sent < filesize:
diff --git a/src/wormhole/scripts/runner.py b/src/wormhole/scripts/runner.py
index d78205a..e4497b9 100644
--- a/src/wormhole/scripts/runner.py
+++ b/src/wormhole/scripts/runner.py
@@ -76,21 +76,21 @@ sp_tail_usage.set_defaults(func=cmd_usage.tail_usage)
 
 # CLI: send
 p = subparsers.add_parser("send",
-                          description="Send text message or file",
-                          usage="wormhole send [FILENAME]")
+                          description="Send text message, file, or directory",
+                          usage="wormhole send [FILENAME|DIRNAME]")
 p.add_argument("--text", metavar="MESSAGE",
                help="text message to send, instead of a file. Use '-' to read from stdin.")
 p.add_argument("--code", metavar="CODE", help="human-generated code phrase",
                type=type(u""))
 p.add_argument("-0", dest="zeromode", action="store_true",
                help="enable no-code anything-goes mode")
-p.add_argument("what", nargs="?", default=None, metavar="[FILENAME]",
-               help="the file to send")
+p.add_argument("what", nargs="?", default=None, metavar="[FILENAME|DIRNAME]",
+               help="the file/directory to send")
 p.set_defaults(func=cmd_send.send)
 
 # CLI: receive
 p = subparsers.add_parser("receive",
-                          description="Receive a text message or file",
+                          description="Receive a text message, file, or directory",
                           usage="wormhole receive [CODE]")
 p.add_argument("-0", dest="zeromode", action="store_true",
                help="enable no-code anything-goes mode")
@@ -98,10 +98,10 @@ p.add_argument("-t", "--only-text", dest="only_text", action="store_true",
                help="refuse file transfers, only accept text transfers")
 p.add_argument("--accept-file", dest="accept_file", action="store_true",
                help="accept file transfer with asking for confirmation")
-p.add_argument("-o", "--output-file", default=None, metavar="FILENAME",
+p.add_argument("-o", "--output-file", default=None, metavar="FILENAME|DIRNAME",
                help=dedent("""\
-               The file to create, overriding the filename suggested by the
-               sender."""),
+               The file or directory to create, overriding the name suggested
+               by the sender."""),
                )
 p.add_argument("code", nargs="?", default=None, metavar="[CODE]",
                help=dedent("""\
diff --git a/src/wormhole/test/test_scripts.py b/src/wormhole/test/test_scripts.py
index ce7ba50..fb71040 100644
--- a/src/wormhole/test/test_scripts.py
+++ b/src/wormhole/test/test_scripts.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import os, sys
+import os, sys, re
 from twisted.trial import unittest
 from twisted.python import procutils, log
 from twisted.internet.utils import getProcessOutputAndValue
@@ -177,3 +177,83 @@ class Scripts(ServerBase, ScriptsBase, unittest.TestCase):
                 self.failUnlessEqual(f.read(), message)
         d1.addCallback(_check_receiver)
         return d1
+
+    def test_send_directory_pre_generated_code(self):
+        return self._do_test_send_directory_pre_generated_code(False)
+    def test_send_directory_pre_generated_code_override(self):
+        return self._do_test_send_directory_pre_generated_code(True)
+
+    def _do_test_send_directory_pre_generated_code(self, override_dirname):
+        self.maxDiff=None
+        code = u"1-abc"
+        dirname = "testdir"
+        def message(i):
+            return "test message %d\n" % i
+
+        source_parent_dir = self.mktemp()
+        os.mkdir(source_parent_dir)
+        os.mkdir(os.path.join(source_parent_dir, "middle"))
+        source_dir = os.path.join(source_parent_dir, "middle", dirname)
+        os.mkdir(source_dir)
+        for i in range(5):
+            with open(os.path.join(source_dir, str(i)), "w") as f:
+                f.write(message(i))
+
+        target_parent_dir = self.mktemp()
+        os.mkdir(target_parent_dir)
+
+        wormhole = self.find_executable()
+        server_args = ["--relay-url", self.relayurl]
+        send_args = server_args + [
+            "send",
+            "--code", code,
+            os.path.join("middle", dirname),
+            ]
+
+        receive_args = server_args + [
+            "receive", "--accept-file",
+            ]
+        if override_dirname:
+            receive_args.extend(["-o", "outdir"])
+            dirname = "outdir"
+        receive_args.append(code)
+
+        d1 = getProcessOutputAndValue(wormhole, send_args,
+                                      path=source_parent_dir)
+
+        d2 = getProcessOutputAndValue(wormhole, receive_args,
+                                      path=target_parent_dir)
+        def _check_sender(res):
+            out, err, rc = res
+            out = out.decode("utf-8")
+            err = err.decode("utf-8")
+            self.failUnlessEqual(err, "")
+            self.failUnlessIn("Sending directory", out)
+            self.failUnlessIn("named 'testdir'", out)
+            self.failUnlessIn("On the other computer, please run: "
+                              "wormhole receive\n"
+                              "Wormhole code is: %s\n\n" % code,
+                              out)
+            self.failUnlessIn("File sent.. waiting for confirmation\n"
+                              "Confirmation received. Transfer complete.\n",
+                              out)
+            self.failUnlessEqual(rc, 0)
+            return d2
+        d1.addCallback(_check_sender)
+        def _check_receiver(res):
+            out, err, rc = res
+            out = out.decode("utf-8")
+            err = err.decode("utf-8")
+            self.failUnless(re.search(r"Receiving \d+ bytes for '%s'" %
+                                      dirname, out))
+            self.failUnlessIn("Received files written to %s" % dirname, out)
+            self.failUnlessEqual(err, "")
+            self.failUnlessEqual(rc, 0)
+            fn = os.path.join(target_parent_dir, dirname)
+            self.failUnless(os.path.exists(fn))
+            for i in range(5):
+                fn = os.path.join(target_parent_dir, dirname, str(i))
+                with open(fn, "r") as f:
+                    self.failUnlessEqual(f.read(), message(i))
+        d1.addCallback(_check_receiver)
+        return d1