diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2610cb8..2ce09ce 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Start the server. The `--init` flag with create the default files and directory
 makeshift serve --root $HOME/apps/makeshift/server --init
 ```
 
-From here, you might want to see what files are available by default.
+From here, you might want to see what files, plugins, and profiles that are available by default.
 
 ```bash
 # list the files in the root directory
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ makeshift list profiles
 makeshift list profiles default
 ```
 
-Then, we can start downloading some files or directories (as archives).
+Then, we can start downloading some files or directories (as archives) both with and without running plugins.
 
 ```bash
 # download all data (notice --host and --port are not set here)
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ type Example struct{}
 func (p *Example) Name() string        { return "example" }
 func (p *Example) Version() string     { return "v0.0.1-alpha" }
 func (p *Example) Description() string { return "An example plugin" }
-func (p *Example) Metadata() map[string]string {
+func (p *Example) Metadata() map[string]any {
 	return makeshift.Metadata{
 		"author": map[string]any{
 			"name":  "John Smith",
diff --git a/cmd/download.go b/cmd/download.go
index 03bf061..0111b53 100644
--- a/cmd/download.go
+++ b/cmd/download.go
@@ -9,11 +9,16 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/archive"
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/kwargs"
 	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg/client"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+var (
+	pluginArgs   []string
+	pluginKWArgs kwargs.KWArgs = kwargs.KWArgs{}
+)
 var downloadCmd = cobra.Command{
 	Use: "download",
 	Example: `
@@ -64,6 +69,12 @@ var downloadCmd = cobra.Command{
 		if len(profileIDs) > 0 {
 			query += "&profiles=" + url.QueryEscape(strings.Join(profileIDs, ","))
 		}
+		if len(pluginArgs) > 0 {
+			query += "&args=" + url.QueryEscape(strings.Join(pluginArgs, ","))
+		}
+		if len(pluginKWArgs) > 0 {
+			query += "&kwargs=" + url.QueryEscape(pluginKWArgs.String())
+		}
 
 		log.Debug().
 			Str("host", host).
@@ -287,6 +298,8 @@ func init() {
 	downloadCmd.Flags().StringP("path", "p", ".", "Set the path to list files (can be set with MAKESHIFT_PATH)")
 	downloadCmd.Flags().StringSlice("profiles", []string{}, "Set the profile(s) to use to populate data store")
 	downloadCmd.Flags().StringSlice("plugins", []string{}, "Set the plugin(s) to run before downloading files")
+	downloadCmd.Flags().StringSlice("plugin-args", []string{}, "Set the argument list to pass to plugin(s)")
+	downloadCmd.Flags().Var(&pluginKWArgs, "plugin-kwargs", "Set the argument map to pass to plugin(s)")
 	downloadCmd.Flags().BoolP("extract", "x", false, "Set whether to extract archive locally after downloading")
 	downloadCmd.Flags().BoolP("remove-archive", "r", false, "Set whether to remove the archive after extracting (used with '--extract' flag)")
 
diff --git a/internal/format/format.go b/internal/format/format.go
index b753268..bdbfea0 100644
--- a/internal/format/format.go
+++ b/internal/format/format.go
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@ func (df DataFormat) Type() string {
 	return "DataFormat"
 }
 
-// MarshalData marshals arbitrary data into a byte slice formatted as outFormat.
+// Marshal marshals arbitrary data into a byte slice formatted as outFormat.
 // If a marshalling error occurs or outFormat is unknown, an error is returned.
 //
 // Supported values are: json, list, yaml
-func Marshal(data interface{}, outFormat DataFormat) ([]byte, error) {
+func Marshal(data any, outFormat DataFormat) ([]byte, error) {
 	switch outFormat {
 	case JSON:
 		if bytes, err := json.MarshalIndent(data, "", "  "); err != nil {
@@ -61,12 +61,12 @@ func Marshal(data interface{}, outFormat DataFormat) ([]byte, error) {
 	}
 }
 
-// UnmarshalData unmarshals a byte slice formatted as inFormat into an interface
+// Unmarshal unmarshals a byte slice formatted as inFormat into an interface
 // v. If an unmarshalling error occurs or inFormat is unknown, an error is
 // returned.
 //
 // Supported values are: json, list, yaml
-func Unmarshal(data []byte, v interface{}, inFormat DataFormat) error {
+func Unmarshal(data []byte, v any, inFormat DataFormat) error {
 	switch inFormat {
 	case JSON:
 		if err := json.Unmarshal(data, v); err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/kwargs/kwargs.go b/internal/kwargs/kwargs.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1da80bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/kwargs/kwargs.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package kwargs
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/format"
+)
+
+const RESERVED_KEY = "kwargs"
+
+type KWArgs map[string]any
+
+func (kw KWArgs) String() string {
+	b, _ := json.Marshal(kw)
+	return string(b)
+}
+
+func (kw *KWArgs) Set(v string /* should be JSON object*/) error {
+	var (
+		newArgs KWArgs
+		err     error
+	)
+	err = format.Unmarshal([]byte(v), &newArgs, format.JSON)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to unmarshal value for %s: %w", kw.Type(), err)
+	}
+	*kw = newArgs
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (kw *KWArgs) Type() string {
+	return "KWArgs"
+}
diff --git a/pkg/plugins/mapper/mapper.go b/pkg/plugins/mapper/mapper.go
index 1fded1f..66b4a5d 100644
--- a/pkg/plugins/mapper/mapper.go
+++ b/pkg/plugins/mapper/mapper.go
@@ -1,16 +1,25 @@
 package main
 
-import "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg/storage"
+import (
+	makeshift "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg"
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg/storage"
+)
 
 type Mapper struct{}
 
-func (p *Mapper) Name() string        { return "jinja2" }
-func (p *Mapper) Version() string     { return "test" }
-func (p *Mapper) Description() string { return "Renders Jinja 2 templates" }
-func (p *Mapper) Metadata() map[string]string {
-	return map[string]string{
-		"author.name":  "David J. Allen",
-		"author.email": "davidallendj@gmail.com",
+func (p *Mapper) Name() string        { return "mapper" }
+func (p *Mapper) Version() string     { return "v0.0.1-alpha" }
+func (p *Mapper) Description() string { return "Directly maps data to store" }
+func (p *Mapper) Metadata() makeshift.Metadata {
+	return makeshift.Metadata{
+		"author": map[string]any{
+			"name":  "David J. Allen",
+			"email": "davidallendj@gmail.com",
+			"links": []string{
+				"https://github.com/davidallendj",
+				"https://git.towk2.me/towk",
+			},
+		},
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/plugins/user/user.go b/pkg/plugins/user/user.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ff59640
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/plugins/user/user.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	makeshift "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg"
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg/storage"
+)
+
+type User struct{}
+
+func (p *User) Name() string        { return "user" }
+func (p *User) Version() string     { return "v0.0.1-alpha" }
+func (p *User) Description() string { return "Get user information" }
+func (p *User) Metadata() makeshift.Metadata {
+	return makeshift.Metadata{
+		"author": map[string]any{
+			"name":  "David J. Allen",
+			"email": "davidallendj@gmail.com",
+			"links": []string{
+				"https://github.com/davidallendj",
+				"https://git.towk2.me/towk",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func (p *User) Init() error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *User) Run(store storage.KVStore, args []string) error {
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (p *User) Cleanup() error {
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/service/routes.go b/pkg/service/routes.go
index 7d371c9..555c115 100644
--- a/pkg/service/routes.go
+++ b/pkg/service/routes.go
@@ -11,18 +11,23 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/archive"
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/kwargs"
 	makeshift "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg"
 	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/pkg/storage"
+	"github.com/go-chi/chi/v5"
 	"github.com/rs/zerolog/log"
 )
 
 func (s *Service) Download() http.HandlerFunc {
 	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		var (
-			path        = s.PathForData() + strings.TrimPrefix(r.URL.Path, "/download")
-			pluginNames = strings.Split(r.URL.Query().Get("plugins"), ",")
-			profileIDs  = strings.Split(r.URL.Query().Get("profiles"), ",")
+			path         = s.PathForData() + strings.TrimPrefix(r.URL.Path, "/download")
+			pluginKWArgs = chi.URLParam(r, "kwargs")
+			pluginArgs   = strings.Split(r.URL.Query().Get("args"), ",")
+			pluginNames  = strings.Split(r.URL.Query().Get("plugins"), ",")
+			profileIDs   = strings.Split(r.URL.Query().Get("profiles"), ",")
 
+			kw       *kwargs.KWArgs
 			fileInfo os.FileInfo
 			out      *os.File
 			store    *storage.MemoryStorage = new(storage.MemoryStorage)
@@ -32,8 +37,12 @@ func (s *Service) Download() http.HandlerFunc {
 			err      error
 		)
 
+		// parse the KWArgs from request
+		kw.Set(pluginKWArgs)
+
 		// initialize storage
 		store.Init()
+		store.SetKWArgs(kw)
 
 		log.Debug().
 			Str("path", path).
@@ -78,7 +87,7 @@ func (s *Service) Download() http.HandlerFunc {
 				log.Debug().Strs("files", filenamesToArchive).Send()
 
 				// prepare plugins
-				hooks, errs = s.loadPlugins(pluginNames, store, nil, errs)
+				hooks, errs = s.loadPlugins(pluginNames, store, pluginArgs, errs)
 				if len(errs) > 0 {
 					log.Error().Errs("errs", errs).Msg("errors occurred loading plugins")
 					errs = []error{}
diff --git a/pkg/storage/disk.go b/pkg/storage/disk.go
index 46d3f1b..f464056 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/disk.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/disk.go
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package storage
 
+import "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/kwargs"
+
 type DiskStorage struct{}
 
 func (ds DiskStorage) Init() error {
@@ -10,8 +12,17 @@ func (ds DiskStorage) Cleanup() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (ds DiskStorage) Get(k string) error {
-	return nil
+func (ds *DiskStorage) SetKWArgs(kw *kwargs.KWArgs) error {
+	return ds.Set(kwargs.RESERVED_KEY, kw)
+}
+
+func (ds *DiskStorage) GetKWArgs() (*kwargs.KWArgs, error) {
+	kw, err := ds.Get(kwargs.RESERVED_KEY)
+	return kw.(*kwargs.KWArgs), err
+}
+
+func (ds DiskStorage) Get(k string) (any, error) {
+	return nil, nil
 }
 
 func (ds DiskStorage) Set(k string, v any) error {
diff --git a/pkg/storage/memory.go b/pkg/storage/memory.go
index e554fbd..a3b1abb 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/memory.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/memory.go
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 package storage
 
-import "fmt"
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/kwargs"
+)
 
 type MemoryStorage struct {
 	Data map[string]any `json:"data"`
@@ -15,6 +19,15 @@ func (ms *MemoryStorage) Cleanup() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (ms *MemoryStorage) SetKWArgs(kw *kwargs.KWArgs) error {
+	return ms.Set(kwargs.RESERVED_KEY, kw)
+}
+
+func (ms *MemoryStorage) GetKWArgs() (*kwargs.KWArgs, error) {
+	kw, err := ms.Get(kwargs.RESERVED_KEY)
+	return kw.(*kwargs.KWArgs), err
+}
+
 func (ms *MemoryStorage) Get(k string) (any, error) {
 	v, ok := ms.Data[k]
 	if ok {
@@ -24,6 +37,9 @@ func (ms *MemoryStorage) Get(k string) (any, error) {
 }
 
 func (ms *MemoryStorage) Set(k string, v any) error {
+	if k == "kwargs" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot set reserved key '%s' (use SetKWArgs() instead)", k)
+	}
 	ms.Data[k] = v
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/storage/storage.go b/pkg/storage/storage.go
index 3bc9877..82908f6 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/storage.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/storage.go
@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 package storage
 
+import "git.towk2.me/towk/makeshift/internal/kwargs"
+
 type KVStore interface {
 	Init() error
 	Cleanup() error
 
+	SetKWArgs(kwargs *kwargs.KWArgs) error
+	GetKWArgs() (*kwargs.KWArgs, error)
+
 	Get(k string) (any, error)
 	Set(k string, v any) error
 	GetData() any