diff --git a/backends/backends.go b/backends/backends.go
index f3eaccf3c2..6a5b1517cf 100644
--- a/backends/backends.go
+++ b/backends/backends.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ func New() *beam.Object {
 	backends.Bind("simulator", Simulator())
 	backends.Bind("debug", Debug())
 	backends.Bind("fakeclient", FakeClient())
-	backends.Bind("forward", Forward())
+	backends.Bind("dockerclient", DockerClient())
 	backends.Bind("exec", Exec())
 	backends.Bind("dockerserver", DockerServer())
 	backends.Bind("orchard", Orchard())
diff --git a/backends/forward.go b/backends/dockerclient.go
similarity index 81%
rename from backends/forward.go
rename to backends/dockerclient.go
index 046804c85d..38127c4474 100644
--- a/backends/forward.go
+++ b/backends/dockerclient.go
@@ -14,62 +14,58 @@ import (
 	"net/http/httputil"
 	"net/url"
 	"strings"
-	"time"
 )
 
-type ForwardConfig struct {
+type DockerClientConfig struct {
 	Scheme          string
 	URLHost         string
 	TLSClientConfig *tls.Config
 }
 
-func Forward() beam.Sender {
-	return ForwardWithConfig(&ForwardConfig{
+func DockerClient() beam.Sender {
+	return DockerClientWithConfig(&DockerClientConfig{
 		Scheme:  "http",
 		URLHost: "dummy.host",
 	})
 }
 
-func ForwardWithConfig(config *ForwardConfig) beam.Sender {
+func DockerClientWithConfig(config *DockerClientConfig) beam.Sender {
 	backend := beam.NewServer()
 	backend.OnSpawn(beam.Handler(func(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 		if len(ctx.Args) != 1 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("forward: spawn takes exactly 1 argument, got %d", len(ctx.Args))
+			return fmt.Errorf("dockerclient: spawn takes exactly 1 argument, got %d", len(ctx.Args))
 		}
 		client := newClient()
 		client.scheme = config.Scheme
 		client.urlHost = config.URLHost
 		client.transport.TLSClientConfig = config.TLSClientConfig
 		client.setURL(ctx.Args[0])
-		f := &forwarder{
+		b := &dockerClientBackend{
 			client: client,
 			Server: beam.NewServer(),
 		}
-		f.Server.OnAttach(beam.Handler(f.attach))
-		f.Server.OnStart(beam.Handler(f.start))
-		f.Server.OnLs(beam.Handler(f.ls))
-		f.Server.OnSpawn(beam.Handler(f.spawn))
-		_, err := ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: f.Server})
+		b.Server.OnAttach(beam.Handler(b.attach))
+		b.Server.OnStart(beam.Handler(b.start))
+		b.Server.OnLs(beam.Handler(b.ls))
+		b.Server.OnSpawn(beam.Handler(b.spawn))
+		_, err := ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: b.Server})
 		return err
 	}))
 	return backend
 }
 
-type forwarder struct {
+type dockerClientBackend struct {
 	client *client
 	*beam.Server
 }
 
-func (f *forwarder) attach(ctx *beam.Message) error {
+func (b *dockerClientBackend) attach(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	if ctx.Args[0] == "" {
-		ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: f.Server})
-		for {
-			time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
-			(&beam.Object{ctx.Ret}).Log("forward: heartbeat")
-		}
+		ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: b.Server})
+		<-make(chan struct{})
 	} else {
 		path := fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/json", ctx.Args[0])
-		resp, err := f.client.call("GET", path, "")
+		resp, err := b.client.call("GET", path, "")
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -80,19 +76,19 @@ func (f *forwarder) attach(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 		if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
 			return fmt.Errorf("%s", respBody)
 		}
-		c := f.newContainer(ctx.Args[0])
+		c := b.newContainer(ctx.Args[0])
 		ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: c})
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *forwarder) start(ctx *beam.Message) error {
+func (b *dockerClientBackend) start(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack})
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *forwarder) ls(ctx *beam.Message) error {
-	resp, err := f.client.call("GET", "/containers/json", "")
+func (b *dockerClientBackend) ls(ctx *beam.Message) error {
+	resp, err := b.client.call("GET", "/containers/json", "")
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("get: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -115,11 +111,11 @@ func (f *forwarder) ls(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *forwarder) spawn(ctx *beam.Message) error {
+func (b *dockerClientBackend) spawn(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	if len(ctx.Args) != 1 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("forward: spawn takes exactly 1 argument, got %d", len(ctx.Args))
+		return fmt.Errorf("dockerclient: spawn takes exactly 1 argument, got %d", len(ctx.Args))
 	}
-	resp, err := f.client.call("POST", "/containers/create", ctx.Args[0])
+	resp, err := b.client.call("POST", "/containers/create", ctx.Args[0])
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -134,15 +130,15 @@ func (f *forwarder) spawn(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	if err = json.Unmarshal(respBody, &respJson); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	c := f.newContainer(respJson.Id)
+	c := b.newContainer(respJson.Id)
 	if _, err = ctx.Ret.Send(&beam.Message{Verb: beam.Ack, Ret: c}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (f *forwarder) newContainer(id string) beam.Sender {
-	c := &container{forwarder: f, id: id}
+func (b *dockerClientBackend) newContainer(id string) beam.Sender {
+	c := &container{backend: b, id: id}
 	instance := beam.NewServer()
 	instance.OnAttach(beam.Handler(c.attach))
 	instance.OnStart(beam.Handler(c.start))
@@ -152,8 +148,8 @@ func (f *forwarder) newContainer(id string) beam.Sender {
 }
 
 type container struct {
-	forwarder *forwarder
-	id        string
+	backend *dockerClientBackend
+	id      string
 }
 
 func (c *container) attach(ctx *beam.Message) error {
@@ -167,7 +163,7 @@ func (c *container) attach(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	stderrR, stderrW := io.Pipe()
 	go copyOutput(ctx.Ret, stdoutR, "stdout")
 	go copyOutput(ctx.Ret, stderrR, "stderr")
-	c.forwarder.client.hijack("POST", path, nil, stdoutW, stderrW)
+	c.backend.client.hijack("POST", path, nil, stdoutW, stderrW)
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -189,7 +185,7 @@ func copyOutput(sender beam.Sender, reader io.Reader, tag string) {
 
 func (c *container) start(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	path := fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/start", c.id)
-	resp, err := c.forwarder.client.call("POST", path, "{}")
+	resp, err := c.backend.client.call("POST", path, "{}")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -208,7 +204,7 @@ func (c *container) start(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 
 func (c *container) stop(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	path := fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/stop", c.id)
-	resp, err := c.forwarder.client.call("POST", path, "{}")
+	resp, err := c.backend.client.call("POST", path, "")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -227,7 +223,7 @@ func (c *container) stop(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 
 func (c *container) get(ctx *beam.Message) error {
 	path := fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/json", c.id)
-	resp, err := c.forwarder.client.call("GET", path, "")
+	resp, err := c.backend.client.call("GET", path, "")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/backends/dockerclient_test.go b/backends/dockerclient_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4c5948893a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backends/dockerclient_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+package backends
+
+import (
+	"github.com/docker/libswarm/beam"
+
+	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+type requestStub struct {
+	reqMethod string
+	reqPath   string
+	reqBody   string
+
+	resStatus int
+	resBody   string
+}
+
+func TestBackendSpawn(t *testing.T) {
+	instance(t, nil)
+}
+
+func TestAttachAndStart(t *testing.T) {
+	i := instance(t, nil)
+	_, _, err := i.Attach("")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	err = i.Start()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLs(t *testing.T) {
+	server := makeServer(t, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "GET",
+		reqPath:   "/containers/json",
+		resBody: `
+      [
+        {"Names": ["/foo"]},
+        {"Names": ["/bar"]}
+      ]
+    `,
+	})
+	i := instance(t, server)
+	names, err := i.Ls()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	expected := []string{"foo", "bar"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(names, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected %#v, got %#v", expected, names)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSpawn(t *testing.T) {
+	server := makeServer(t, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "POST",
+		reqPath:   "/containers/create",
+		reqBody:   "{}",
+
+		resStatus: 201,
+		resBody:   "{}",
+	})
+	i := instance(t, server)
+	_, err := i.Spawn("{}")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAttachToChild(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "foo"
+	server := makeServer(t, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "GET",
+		reqPath:   fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/json", name),
+
+		resBody: "{}",
+	})
+	i := instance(t, server)
+	child(t, server, i, name)
+}
+
+func TestStartChild(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "foo"
+	server := makeServer(t, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "GET",
+		reqPath:   fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/json", name),
+
+		resBody: "{}",
+	}, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "POST",
+		reqPath:   fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/start", name),
+		reqBody:   "{}",
+
+		resStatus: 204,
+	})
+	i := instance(t, server)
+	c := child(t, server, i, name)
+	err := c.Start()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestStopChild(t *testing.T) {
+	name := "foo"
+	server := makeServer(t, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "GET",
+		reqPath:   fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/json", name),
+
+		resBody: "{}",
+	}, &requestStub{
+		reqMethod: "POST",
+		reqPath:   fmt.Sprintf("/containers/%s/stop", name),
+
+		resStatus: 204,
+	})
+	i := instance(t, server)
+	c := child(t, server, i, name)
+	err := c.Stop()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func makeServer(t *testing.T, stubs ...*requestStub) *httptest.Server {
+	for _, stub := range stubs {
+		stub.reqPath = fmt.Sprintf("/v1.11%s", stub.reqPath)
+	}
+
+	stubSummaries := []string{}
+	for _, stub := range stubs {
+		stubSummaries = append(stubSummaries, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s", stub.reqMethod, stub.reqPath))
+	}
+
+	return httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		for _, stub := range stubs {
+			if r.Method == stub.reqMethod && r.URL.Path == stub.reqPath {
+				body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Fatal(err)
+				}
+				if string(body) != stub.reqBody {
+					t.Fatalf("expected body: %#v, got body: %#v", stub.reqBody, string(body))
+				}
+
+				if stub.resStatus > 0 {
+					w.WriteHeader(stub.resStatus)
+				}
+				w.Write([]byte(stub.resBody))
+				return
+			}
+		}
+
+		t.Fatalf("Unexpected request: '%s %s'.\nStubs: %#v", r.Method, r.URL.Path, stubSummaries)
+	}))
+}
+
+func instance(t *testing.T, server *httptest.Server) *beam.Object {
+	url := "tcp://localhost:4243"
+	if server != nil {
+		url = strings.Replace(server.URL, "http://", "tcp://", 1)
+	}
+
+	backend := DockerClient()
+	instance, err := beam.Obj(backend).Spawn(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return instance
+}
+
+func child(t *testing.T, server *httptest.Server, i *beam.Object, name string) *beam.Object {
+	_, child, err := i.Attach(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return child
+}
diff --git a/backends/orchard.go b/backends/orchard.go
index 536a13241b..1b30f873b7 100644
--- a/backends/orchard.go
+++ b/backends/orchard.go
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ func Orchard() beam.Sender {
 			return err
 		}
 
-		backend := ForwardWithConfig(&ForwardConfig{
+		backend := DockerClientWithConfig(&DockerClientConfig{
 			Scheme:          "https",
 			URLHost:         host.IPAddress,
 			TLSClientConfig: tlsConfig,
diff --git a/dockerclient/dockerclient.go b/dockerclient/dockerclient.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 2153e87f1c..0000000000
--- a/dockerclient/dockerclient.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,159 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
-	"github.com/codegangsta/cli"
-	"github.com/docker/libswarm/backends"
-	"github.com/docker/libswarm/beam"
-	"github.com/dotcloud/docker/runconfig"
-	"github.com/dotcloud/docker/utils"
-	"io"
-	"os"
-	"strings"
-)
-
-func main() {
-	app := cli.NewApp()
-	app.Name = "swarmd"
-	app.Usage = "Control a heterogenous distributed system with the Docker API"
-	app.Version = "0.0.1"
-	app.Flags = []cli.Flag{
-		cli.StringFlag{"backend", "debug", "load a backend"},
-	}
-	app.Action = cmdDaemon
-	app.Run(os.Args)
-}
-
-func cmdDaemon(c *cli.Context) {
-	app := beam.NewServer()
-	app.OnLog(beam.Handler(func(msg *beam.Message) error {
-		utils.Debugf("%s", strings.Join(msg.Args, " "))
-		return nil
-	}))
-	app.OnError(beam.Handler(func(msg *beam.Message) error {
-		Fatalf("Fatal: %v", strings.Join(msg.Args[:1], ""))
-		return nil
-	}))
-
-	backend := beam.Object{backends.Forward()}
-
-	dockerHost := os.Getenv("DOCKER_HOST")
-	if dockerHost == "" {
-		dockerHost = "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
-	}
-
-	instance, err := backend.Spawn(dockerHost)
-	if err != nil {
-		Fatalf("spawn: %v\n", err)
-	}
-
-	instanceR, instanceW, err := instance.Attach("")
-	if err != nil {
-		Fatalf("attach: %v", err)
-	}
-	defer instanceW.Close()
-	go beam.Copy(app, instanceR)
-
-	if err := instance.Start(); err != nil {
-		Fatalf("start: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	err = doCmd(instance, c.Args())
-	if err != nil {
-		Fatalf("%v", err)
-	}
-}
-
-func doCmd(instance *beam.Object, args []string) error {
-	if len(args) == 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("no command supplied")
-	}
-	if args[0] == "ps" {
-		if len(args) != 1 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("usage: ps")
-		}
-		names, err := instance.Ls()
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		fmt.Println(strings.Join(names, "\n"))
-		return nil
-	}
-	if args[0] == "run" {
-		if len(args) < 3 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("usage: run IMAGE COMMAND...")
-		}
-		containerJson, err := json.Marshal(&runconfig.Config{
-			Image:        args[1],
-			Cmd:          args[2:],
-			AttachStdin:  false,
-			AttachStdout: true,
-			AttachStderr: true,
-		})
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		container, err := instance.Spawn(string(containerJson))
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("spawn: %v", err)
-		}
-		logs, _, err := container.Attach("")
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("attach: %v", err)
-		}
-		if err = container.Start(); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("start: %v", err)
-		}
-		for {
-			msg, err := logs.Receive(beam.Ret)
-			if err != nil {
-				if err.Error() == "EOF" {
-					break
-				}
-				return fmt.Errorf("error reading from container: %v", err)
-			}
-			if msg.Verb != beam.Log {
-				return fmt.Errorf("unexpected message reading from container: %v", msg)
-			}
-			if len(msg.Args) != 2 {
-				return fmt.Errorf("expected exactly 2 args to log message, got %d", len(msg.Args))
-			}
-			tag, chunk := msg.Args[0], msg.Args[1]
-			var stream io.Writer
-			if tag == "stdout" {
-				stream = os.Stdout
-			} else if tag == "stderr" {
-				stream = os.Stderr
-			} else {
-				return fmt.Errorf("unrecognised tag: %s", tag)
-			}
-			fmt.Fprint(stream, chunk)
-		}
-		return nil
-	}
-	if args[0] == "inspect" {
-		if len(args) != 2 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("usage: inspect CONTAINER")
-		}
-		_, container, err := instance.Attach(args[1])
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("attach: %v", err)
-		}
-		json, err := container.Get()
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("get: %v", err)
-		}
-		fmt.Println(json)
-		return nil
-	}
-	return fmt.Errorf("unrecognised command: %s", args[0])
-}
-
-func Fatalf(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
-	if !strings.HasSuffix(msg, "\n") {
-		msg = msg + "\n"
-	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, msg, args...)
-	os.Exit(1)
-}