diff --git a/cmd/kops-controller/BUILD.bazel b/cmd/kops-controller/BUILD.bazel
index 1e8663cfef..8007bf1f95 100644
--- a/cmd/kops-controller/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/cmd/kops-controller/BUILD.bazel
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ go_library(
     visibility = ["//visibility:private"],
     deps = [
         "//cmd/kops-controller/controllers:go_default_library",
+        "//cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/nodeidentity:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/nodeidentity/aws:go_default_library",
         "//pkg/nodeidentity/gce:go_default_library",
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ go_library(
         "//vendor/k8s.io/klog/klogr:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime:go_default_library",
         "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/manager:go_default_library",
+        "//vendor/sigs.k8s.io/yaml:go_default_library",
     ],
 )
 
diff --git a/cmd/kops-controller/main.go b/cmd/kops-controller/main.go
index bc082177e5..26f6953a6c 100644
--- a/cmd/kops-controller/main.go
+++ b/cmd/kops-controller/main.go
@@ -19,24 +19,24 @@ package main
 import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
 	_ "k8s.io/client-go/plugin/pkg/client/auth/gcp"
 	"k8s.io/klog"
-	"k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/controllers"
-	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
-
-	// +kubebuilder:scaffold:imports
-
 	"k8s.io/klog/klogr"
+	"k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/controllers"
+	"k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config"
 	"k8s.io/kops/pkg/nodeidentity"
 	nodeidentityaws "k8s.io/kops/pkg/nodeidentity/aws"
 	nodeidentitygce "k8s.io/kops/pkg/nodeidentity/gce"
 	nodeidentityos "k8s.io/kops/pkg/nodeidentity/openstack"
-
+	ctrl "sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/manager"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/yaml"
+	// +kubebuilder:scaffold:imports
 )
 
 var (
@@ -49,26 +49,40 @@ func init() {
 	// +kubebuilder:scaffold:scheme
 }
 
-type Options struct {
-	Cloud      string
-	ConfigPath string
-}
-
 func main() {
 	klog.InitFlags(nil)
 
-	var metricsAddr string
-	var enableLeaderElection bool
-	flag.StringVar(&metricsAddr, "metrics-addr", ":8080", "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
-	flag.BoolVar(&enableLeaderElection, "enable-leader-election", false,
-		"Enable leader election for controller manager. Enabling this will ensure there is only one active controller manager.")
+	// Disable metrics by default (avoid port conflicts, also risky because we are host network)
+	metricsAddress := ":0"
+	//flag.StringVar(&metricsAddr, "metrics-addr", metricsAddress, "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
+	// Enable leader election
+	enableLeaderElection := false
+	//flag.BoolVar(&enableLeaderElection, "enable-leader-election", enableLeaderElection,
+	//	"Enable leader election for controller manager. Enabling this will ensure there is only one active controller manager.")
 
-	var opt Options
-	flag.StringVar(&opt.Cloud, "cloud", opt.Cloud, "CloudProvider we are using (aws,gce,...)")
-	flag.StringVar(&opt.ConfigPath, "config", opt.ConfigPath, "Base location for cluster and instancegroup configurations")
+	configPath := "/etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/config.yaml"
+	flag.StringVar(&configPath, "conf", configPath, "Location of yaml configuration file")
 
 	flag.Parse()
 
+	if configPath == "" {
+		klog.Fatalf("must specify --conf")
+	}
+
+	var opt config.Options
+	opt.PopulateDefaults()
+
+	{
+		b, err := ioutil.ReadFile(configPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			klog.Fatalf("failed to read configuration file %q: %v", configPath, err)
+		}
+
+		if err := yaml.Unmarshal(b, &opt); err != nil {
+			klog.Fatalf("failed to parse configuration file %q: %v", configPath, err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	ctrl.SetLogger(klogr.New())
 
 	if err := buildScheme(); err != nil {
@@ -78,7 +92,7 @@ func main() {
 
 	mgr, err := ctrl.NewManager(ctrl.GetConfigOrDie(), ctrl.Options{
 		Scheme:             scheme,
-		MetricsBindAddress: metricsAddr,
+		MetricsBindAddress: metricsAddress,
 		LeaderElection:     enableLeaderElection,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -106,7 +120,7 @@ func buildScheme() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func addNodeController(mgr manager.Manager, opt *Options) error {
+func addNodeController(mgr manager.Manager, opt *config.Options) error {
 	var identifier nodeidentity.Identifier
 	var err error
 	switch opt.Cloud {
@@ -134,11 +148,11 @@ func addNodeController(mgr manager.Manager, opt *Options) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("identifier for cloud %q not implemented", opt.Cloud)
 	}
 
-	if opt.ConfigPath == "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("must specify config-path")
+	if opt.ConfigBase == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("must specify configBase")
 	}
 
-	nodeController, err := controllers.NewNodeReconciler(mgr, opt.ConfigPath, identifier)
+	nodeController, err := controllers.NewNodeReconciler(mgr, opt.ConfigBase, identifier)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/BUILD.bazel b/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/BUILD.bazel
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..093d968260
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/BUILD.bazel
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library")
+
+go_library(
+    name = "go_default_library",
+    srcs = ["options.go"],
+    importpath = "k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+)
diff --git a/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/options.go b/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/options.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..22a15914b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config/options.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2019 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+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.
+*/
+
+package config
+
+type Options struct {
+	Cloud      string `json:"cloud,omitempty"`
+	ConfigBase string `json:"configBase,omitempty"`
+}
+
+func (o *Options) PopulateDefaults() {
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 3c8190b492..61a723a7e7 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -136,4 +136,5 @@ require (
 	k8s.io/utils v0.0.0-20190506122338-8fab8cb257d5
 	sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime v0.2.2
 	sigs.k8s.io/controller-tools v0.2.2-0.20190919191502-76a25b63325a
+	sigs.k8s.io/yaml v1.1.0
 )
diff --git a/hack/.packages b/hack/.packages
index 71b8af917b..5ae4c8e9da 100644
--- a/hack/.packages
+++ b/hack/.packages
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops
 k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops/util
 k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller
 k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/controllers
+k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config
 k8s.io/kops/cmd/nodeup
 k8s.io/kops/dns-controller/cmd/dns-controller
 k8s.io/kops/dns-controller/pkg/dns
diff --git a/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml.template b/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml.template
index e3ce27b02b..12f16605dc 100644
--- a/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml.template
+++ b/upup/models/cloudup/resources/addons/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml.template
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  name: kops-controller
+  namespace: kube-system
+  labels:
+    k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
+data:
+  config.yaml: |
+    {{ KopsControllerConfig }}
+
+---
+
 kind: Deployment
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 metadata:
@@ -32,12 +45,14 @@ spec:
       containers:
       - name: kops-controller
         image: kope/kops-controller:1.15.0-alpha.1
-{{ if .UseHostCertificates }}
         volumeMounts:
+{{ if .UseHostCertificates }}
         - mountPath: /etc/ssl/certs
           name: etc-ssl-certs
           readOnly: true
 {{ end }}
+        - mountPath: /etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/
+          name: kops-controller-config
         command:
 {{ range $arg := KopsControllerArgv }}
         - "{{ $arg }}"
@@ -53,13 +68,16 @@ spec:
           requests:
             cpu: 50m
             memory: 50Mi
-{{ if .UseHostCertificates }}
       volumes:
+{{ if .UseHostCertificates }}
       - hostPath:
           path: /etc/ssl/certs
           type: DirectoryOrCreate
         name: etc-ssl-certs
 {{ end }}
+      - name: kops-controller-config
+        configMap:
+          name: kops-controller
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/BUILD.bazel b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/BUILD.bazel
index 388297bad1..817ef3528a 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/BUILD.bazel
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ go_library(
     deps = [
         "//:go_default_library",
         "//channels/pkg/api:go_default_library",
+        "//cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config:go_default_library",
         "//dns-controller/pkg/dns:go_default_library",
         "//dnsprovider/pkg/dnsprovider:go_default_library",
         "//dnsprovider/pkg/dnsprovider/providers/aws/route53:go_default_library",
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/bootstrapchannelbuilder.go b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/bootstrapchannelbuilder.go
index 67908a053c..2e3856245a 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/bootstrapchannelbuilder.go
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/bootstrapchannelbuilder.go
@@ -64,10 +64,12 @@ func (b *BootstrapChannelBuilder) Build(c *fi.ModelBuilderContext) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("error reading manifest %s: %v", manifestPath, err)
 		}
 
-		manifestBytes, err = b.assetBuilder.RemapManifest(manifestBytes)
+		remapped, err := b.assetBuilder.RemapManifest(manifestBytes)
 		if err != nil {
+			klog.Infof("invalid manifest: %s", string(manifestBytes))
 			return fmt.Errorf("error remapping manifest %s: %v", manifestPath, err)
 		}
+		manifestBytes = remapped
 
 		// Trim whitespace
 		manifestBytes = []byte(strings.TrimSpace(string(manifestBytes)))
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/template_functions.go b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/template_functions.go
index 25e431011d..68fc88ce6a 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/template_functions.go
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/template_functions.go
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ import (
 	"text/template"
 
 	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
+	"k8s.io/klog"
+	kopscontrollerconfig "k8s.io/kops/cmd/kops-controller/pkg/config"
 	"k8s.io/kops/pkg/apis/kops"
 	"k8s.io/kops/pkg/dns"
 	"k8s.io/kops/pkg/featureflag"
@@ -44,9 +47,6 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kops/upup/pkg/fi"
 	"k8s.io/kops/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/gce"
 	"k8s.io/kops/util/pkg/env"
-
-	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
-	"k8s.io/klog"
 )
 
 // TemplateFunctions provides a collection of methods used throughout the templates
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ func (tf *TemplateFunctions) AddTo(dest template.FuncMap, secretStore fi.SecretS
 	}
 
 	dest["KopsControllerArgv"] = tf.KopsControllerArgv
+	dest["KopsControllerConfig"] = tf.KopsControllerConfig
 	dest["DnsControllerArgv"] = tf.DnsControllerArgv
 	dest["ExternalDnsArgv"] = tf.ExternalDnsArgv
 
@@ -295,21 +296,34 @@ func (tf *TemplateFunctions) DnsControllerArgv() ([]string, error) {
 	return argv, nil
 }
 
+// KopsControllerConfig returns the yaml configuration for kops-controller
+func (tf *TemplateFunctions) KopsControllerConfig() (string, error) {
+	config := &kopscontrollerconfig.Options{
+		Cloud:      tf.cluster.Spec.CloudProvider,
+		ConfigBase: tf.cluster.Spec.ConfigBase,
+	}
+
+	// To avoid indentation problems, we marshal as json.  json is a subset of yaml
+	b, err := json.Marshal(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to serialize kops-controller config: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	return string(b), nil
+}
+
 // KopsControllerArgv returns the args to kops-controller
 func (tf *TemplateFunctions) KopsControllerArgv() ([]string, error) {
+
 	var argv []string
 
 	argv = append(argv, "/usr/bin/kops-controller")
 
-	argv = append(argv, "--cloud="+tf.cluster.Spec.CloudProvider)
-	argv = append(argv, "--config="+tf.cluster.Spec.ConfigBase)
-
-	// Disable metrics (avoid port conflicts, also risky because we are host network)
-	argv = append(argv, "--metrics-addr=0")
-
-	// Verbose, but not crazy logging
+	// Verbose, but not excessive logging
 	argv = append(argv, "--v=2")
 
+	argv = append(argv, "--conf=/etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/config.yaml")
+
 	return argv, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
index 682622e7d8..cd2c5bb038 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+data:
+  config.yaml: |
+    {"cloud":"aws","configBase":"memfs://clusters.example.com/minimal.example.com"}
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
+  name: kops-controller
+  namespace: kube-system
+
+---
+
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
 metadata:
@@ -24,16 +37,17 @@ spec:
       containers:
       - command:
         - /usr/bin/kops-controller
-        - --cloud=aws
-        - --config=memfs://clusters.example.com/minimal.example.com
-        - --metrics-addr=0
         - --v=2
+        - --conf=/etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/config.yaml
         image: kope/kops-controller:1.15.0-alpha.1
         name: kops-controller
         resources:
           requests:
             cpu: 50m
             memory: 50Mi
+        volumeMounts:
+        - mountPath: /etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/
+          name: kops-controller-config
       dnsPolicy: Default
       hostNetwork: true
       nodeSelector:
@@ -42,6 +56,10 @@ spec:
       tolerations:
       - effect: NoSchedule
         key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
+      volumes:
+      - configMap:
+          name: kops-controller
+        name: kops-controller-config
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/manifest.yaml b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/manifest.yaml
index 4649fa7ed0..a563c254b7 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/manifest.yaml
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/cilium/manifest.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ spec:
   - id: k8s-1.16
     kubernetesVersion: '>=1.16.0-alpha.0'
     manifest: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml
-    manifestHash: 736a3efe35f5edf14a8b7bd6ad723935e12f2a4d
+    manifestHash: 2e308b2c4d21ed023e2418068669afd4a5eb0592
     name: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
     selector:
       k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
index 682622e7d8..cd2c5bb038 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/kops-controller.addons.k8s.io-k8s-1.16.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+data:
+  config.yaml: |
+    {"cloud":"aws","configBase":"memfs://clusters.example.com/minimal.example.com"}
+kind: ConfigMap
+metadata:
+  labels:
+    k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
+  name: kops-controller
+  namespace: kube-system
+
+---
+
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
 metadata:
@@ -24,16 +37,17 @@ spec:
       containers:
       - command:
         - /usr/bin/kops-controller
-        - --cloud=aws
-        - --config=memfs://clusters.example.com/minimal.example.com
-        - --metrics-addr=0
         - --v=2
+        - --conf=/etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/config.yaml
         image: kope/kops-controller:1.15.0-alpha.1
         name: kops-controller
         resources:
           requests:
             cpu: 50m
             memory: 50Mi
+        volumeMounts:
+        - mountPath: /etc/kubernetes/kops-controller/
+          name: kops-controller-config
       dnsPolicy: Default
       hostNetwork: true
       nodeSelector:
@@ -42,6 +56,10 @@ spec:
       tolerations:
       - effect: NoSchedule
         key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
+      volumes:
+      - configMap:
+          name: kops-controller
+        name: kops-controller-config
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/manifest.yaml b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/manifest.yaml
index ca5a998424..bb0aeb103e 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/manifest.yaml
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/simple/manifest.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ spec:
   - id: k8s-1.16
     kubernetesVersion: '>=1.16.0-alpha.0'
     manifest: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml
-    manifestHash: 736a3efe35f5edf14a8b7bd6ad723935e12f2a4d
+    manifestHash: 2e308b2c4d21ed023e2418068669afd4a5eb0592
     name: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
     selector:
       k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
diff --git a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/weave/manifest.yaml b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/weave/manifest.yaml
index 462ab1cc96..235b12bc20 100644
--- a/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/weave/manifest.yaml
+++ b/upup/pkg/fi/cloudup/tests/bootstrapchannelbuilder/weave/manifest.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ spec:
   - id: k8s-1.16
     kubernetesVersion: '>=1.16.0-alpha.0'
     manifest: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io/k8s-1.16.yaml
-    manifestHash: 736a3efe35f5edf14a8b7bd6ad723935e12f2a4d
+    manifestHash: 2e308b2c4d21ed023e2418068669afd4a5eb0592
     name: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io
     selector:
       k8s-addon: kops-controller.addons.k8s.io