diff --git a/config.c b/config.c
index befb4ab9..93ac9fc3 100644
--- a/config.c
+++ b/config.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * config.c - Functions to parse the config file
+ *
  * Copyright (C) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -26,7 +27,7 @@
 
 static void parse_event_notifications_list(t_configuration_options *options, const char *arg);
 static void tablespace_list_append(t_configuration_options *options, const char *arg);
-static void exit_with_errors(ErrorList *config_errors);
+static void exit_with_errors(ItemList *config_errors);
 
 const static char *_progname = NULL;
 static char config_file_path[MAXPGPATH];
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ parse_config(t_configuration_options *options)
 	char	   *conninfo_errmsg = NULL;
 
 	/* Collate configuration file errors here for friendlier reporting */
-	static ErrorList config_errors = { NULL, NULL };
+	static ItemList config_errors = { NULL, NULL };
 
 	bool		node_found = false;
 
@@ -333,7 +334,7 @@ parse_config(t_configuration_options *options)
 			}
 			else
 			{
-				error_list_append(&config_errors,_("value for 'failover' must be 'automatic' or 'manual'\n"));
+				item_list_append(&config_errors,_("value for 'failover' must be 'automatic' or 'manual'\n"));
 			}
 		}
 		else if (strcmp(name, "priority") == 0)
@@ -406,7 +407,7 @@ parse_config(t_configuration_options *options)
 					 _("no value provided for parameter \"%s\""),
 					 name);
 
-			error_list_append(&config_errors, error_message_buf);
+			item_list_append(&config_errors, error_message_buf);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -415,11 +416,11 @@ parse_config(t_configuration_options *options)
 
 	if (node_found == false)
 	{
-		error_list_append(&config_errors, _("\"node\": parameter was not found"));
+		item_list_append(&config_errors, _("\"node\": parameter was not found"));
 	}
 	else if (options->node == 0)
 	{
-		error_list_append(&config_errors, _("\"node\": must be greater than zero"));
+		item_list_append(&config_errors, _("\"node\": must be greater than zero"));
 	}
 
 	if (strlen(options->conninfo))
@@ -439,7 +440,7 @@ parse_config(t_configuration_options *options)
 					 _("\"conninfo\": %s"),
 					 conninfo_errmsg);
 
-			error_list_append(&config_errors, error_message_buf);
+			item_list_append(&config_errors, error_message_buf);
 		}
 
 		PQconninfoFree(conninfo_options);
@@ -770,11 +771,11 @@ reload_config(t_configuration_options *orig_options)
 
 
 void
-error_list_append(ErrorList *error_list, char *error_message)
+item_list_append(ItemList *item_list, char *error_message)
 {
-	ErrorListCell *cell;
+	ItemListCell *cell;
 
-	cell = (ErrorListCell *) pg_malloc0(sizeof(ErrorListCell));
+	cell = (ItemListCell *) pg_malloc0(sizeof(ItemListCell));
 
 	if (cell == NULL)
 	{
@@ -782,19 +783,19 @@ error_list_append(ErrorList *error_list, char *error_message)
 		exit(ERR_BAD_CONFIG);
 	}
 
-	cell->error_message = pg_malloc0(MAXLEN);
-	strncpy(cell->error_message, error_message, MAXLEN);
+	cell->string = pg_malloc0(MAXLEN);
+	strncpy(cell->string, error_message, MAXLEN);
 
-	if (error_list->tail)
+	if (item_list->tail)
 	{
-		error_list->tail->next = cell;
+		item_list->tail->next = cell;
 	}
 	else
 	{
-		error_list->head = cell;
+		item_list->head = cell;
 	}
 
-	error_list->tail = cell;
+	item_list->tail = cell;
 }
 
 
@@ -804,7 +805,7 @@ error_list_append(ErrorList *error_list, char *error_message)
  * otherwise exit
  */
 int
-repmgr_atoi(const char *value, const char *config_item, ErrorList *error_list, bool allow_negative)
+repmgr_atoi(const char *value, const char *config_item, ItemList *error_list, bool allow_negative)
 {
 	char	  *endptr;
 	long	   longval = 0;
@@ -853,7 +854,7 @@ repmgr_atoi(const char *value, const char *config_item, ErrorList *error_list, b
 			exit(ERR_BAD_CONFIG);
 		}
 
-		error_list_append(error_list, error_message_buf);
+		item_list_append(error_list, error_message_buf);
 	}
 
 	return (int32) longval;
@@ -995,15 +996,15 @@ parse_event_notifications_list(t_configuration_options *options, const char *arg
 
 
 static void
-exit_with_errors(ErrorList *config_errors)
+exit_with_errors(ItemList *config_errors)
 {
-	ErrorListCell *cell;
+	ItemListCell *cell;
 
 	log_err(_("%s: following errors were found in the configuration file.\n"), progname());
 
 	for (cell = config_errors->head; cell; cell = cell->next)
 	{
-		log_err("%s\n", cell->error_message);
+		log_err("%s\n", cell->string);
 	}
 
 	exit(ERR_BAD_CONFIG);
diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index dac706af..6f7133bd 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * config.h
+ *
  * Copyright (c) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -92,17 +93,17 @@ typedef struct
  */
 #define T_CONFIGURATION_OPTIONS_INITIALIZER { "", -1, NO_UPSTREAM_NODE, "", MANUAL_FAILOVER, -1, "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", -1, -1, -1, "", "", "", "", "", 0, 0, 0, 0, "", { NULL, NULL }, {NULL, NULL} }
 
-typedef struct ErrorListCell
+typedef struct ItemListCell
 {
-	struct ErrorListCell *next;
-	char			     *error_message;
-} ErrorListCell;
+	struct ItemListCell *next;
+	char			    *string;
+} ItemListCell;
 
-typedef struct ErrorList
+typedef struct ItemList
 {
-	ErrorListCell *head;
-	ErrorListCell *tail;
-} ErrorList;
+	ItemListCell *head;
+	ItemListCell *tail;
+} ItemList;
 
 void set_progname(const char *argv0);
 const char * progname(void);
@@ -112,10 +113,10 @@ bool		reload_config(t_configuration_options *orig_options);
 bool		parse_config(t_configuration_options *options);
 void		parse_line(char *buff, char *name, char *value);
 char	   *trim(char *s);
-void		error_list_append(ErrorList *error_list, char *error_message);
+void		item_list_append(ItemList *item_list, char *error_message);
 int			repmgr_atoi(const char *s,
 						const char *config_item,
-						ErrorList *error_list,
+						ItemList *error_list,
 						bool allow_negative);
-
+extern bool		config_file_found;
 #endif
diff --git a/dbutils.c b/dbutils.c
index c962ba0d..c0034fbf 100644
--- a/dbutils.c
+++ b/dbutils.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * dbutils.c - Database connection/management functions
+ *
  * Copyright (C) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
diff --git a/dbutils.h b/dbutils.h
index d96667fa..89b40454 100644
--- a/dbutils.h
+++ b/dbutils.h
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * dbutils.h
+ *
  * Copyright (c) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
@@ -77,7 +78,7 @@ typedef struct s_replication_slot
 	bool active;
 }   t_replication_slot;
 
-
+extern char		repmgr_schema[MAXLEN];
 
 PGconn *_establish_db_connection(const char *conninfo,
 								 const bool exit_on_error,
diff --git a/repmgr.c b/repmgr.c
index 3f05351d..ad7db6d1 100644
--- a/repmgr.c
+++ b/repmgr.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * repmgr.c - Command interpreter for the repmgr package
+ *
  * Copyright (C) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This module is a command-line utility to easily setup a cluster of
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ static void do_check_upstream_config(void);
 static void do_help(void);
 
 static void exit_with_errors(void);
-static void print_error_list(ErrorList *error_list, int log_level);
+static void print_error_list(ItemList *error_list, int log_level);
 
 static bool remote_command(const char *host, const char *user, const char *command, PQExpBufferData *outputbuf);
 static void format_db_cli_params(const char *conninfo, char *output);
@@ -126,6 +127,7 @@ static bool copy_file(const char *old_filename, const char *new_filename);
 static bool read_backup_label(const char *local_data_directory, struct BackupLabel *out_backup_label);
 
 static void param_set(const char *param, const char *value);
+static void parse_pg_basebackup_options(const char *pg_basebackup_options, t_basebackup_options *backup_options);
 
 /* Global variables */
 static PQconninfoOption *opts = NULL;
@@ -155,8 +157,8 @@ static char *repmgr_slot_name_ptr = NULL;
 static char  path_buf[MAXLEN] = "";
 
 /* Collate command line errors and warnings here for friendlier reporting */
-ErrorList	cli_errors = { NULL, NULL };
-ErrorList	cli_warnings = { NULL, NULL };
+ItemList	cli_errors = { NULL, NULL };
+ItemList	cli_warnings = { NULL, NULL };
 
 static	struct BackupLabel backup_label;
 
@@ -228,7 +230,6 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		exit(1);
 	}
 
-
 	param_count = 0;
 	defs = PQconndefaults();
 
@@ -417,7 +418,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 					PQExpBufferData invalid_log_level;
 					initPQExpBuffer(&invalid_log_level);
 					appendPQExpBuffer(&invalid_log_level, _("Invalid log level \"%s\" provided"), optarg);
-					error_list_append(&cli_errors, invalid_log_level.data);
+					item_list_append(&cli_errors, invalid_log_level.data);
 					termPQExpBuffer(&invalid_log_level);
 				}
 				break;
@@ -439,7 +440,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 					PQExpBufferData invalid_mode;
 					initPQExpBuffer(&invalid_mode);
 					appendPQExpBuffer(&invalid_mode, _("Invalid pg_ctl shutdown mode \"%s\" provided"), optarg);
-					error_list_append(&cli_errors, invalid_mode.data);
+					item_list_append(&cli_errors, invalid_mode.data);
 					termPQExpBuffer(&invalid_mode);
 				}
 			}
@@ -458,7 +459,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 				if (targ < 1)
 				{
-					error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("Invalid value provided for '-r/--recovery-min-apply-delay'"));
+					item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("Invalid value provided for '-r/--recovery-min-apply-delay'"));
 					break;
 				}
 				if (ptr && *ptr)
@@ -467,7 +468,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 					   strcmp(ptr, "min") != 0 && strcmp(ptr, "h") != 0 &&
 					   strcmp(ptr, "d") != 0)
 					{
-						error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("Value provided for '-r/--recovery-min-apply-delay' must be one of ms/s/min/h/d"));
+						item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("Value provided for '-r/--recovery-min-apply-delay' must be one of ms/s/min/h/d"));
 						break;
 					}
 				}
@@ -500,7 +501,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 				initPQExpBuffer(&unknown_option);
 				appendPQExpBuffer(&unknown_option, _("Unknown option '%s'"), argv[optind - 1]);
 
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_option.data);
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_option.data);
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -526,7 +527,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 				PQExpBufferData conninfo_error;
 				initPQExpBuffer(&conninfo_error);
 				appendPQExpBuffer(&conninfo_error, _("error parsing conninfo:\n%s"), errmsg);
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, conninfo_error.data);
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, conninfo_error.data);
 
 				termPQExpBuffer(&conninfo_error);
 				free(errmsg);
@@ -614,7 +615,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 			PQExpBufferData unknown_mode;
 			initPQExpBuffer(&unknown_mode);
 			appendPQExpBuffer(&unknown_mode, _("Unknown server mode '%s'"), server_mode);
-			error_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_mode.data);
+			item_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_mode.data);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -663,14 +664,14 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (action == NO_ACTION) {
 		if (server_cmd == NULL)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_errors, "No server command provided");
+			item_list_append(&cli_errors, "No server command provided");
 		}
 		else
 		{
 			PQExpBufferData unknown_action;
 			initPQExpBuffer(&unknown_action);
 			appendPQExpBuffer(&unknown_action, _("Unknown server command '%s'"), server_cmd);
-			error_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_action.data);
+			item_list_append(&cli_errors, unknown_action.data);
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -686,7 +687,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 				appendPQExpBuffer(&additional_host_arg,
 								  _("Conflicting parameters:  you can't use %s while providing a node separately."),
 								  conninfo_provided == true ? "host=" : "-h/--host");
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, additional_host_arg.data);
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, additional_host_arg.data);
 			}
 			else
 			{
@@ -701,7 +702,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		PQExpBufferData too_many_args;
 		initPQExpBuffer(&too_many_args);
 		appendPQExpBuffer(&too_many_args, _("too many command-line arguments (first extra is \"%s\")"), argv[optind]);
-		error_list_append(&cli_errors, too_many_args.data);
+		item_list_append(&cli_errors, too_many_args.data);
 	}
 
 	check_parameters_for_action(action);
@@ -4614,10 +4615,17 @@ copy_remote_files(char *host, char *remote_user, char *remote_path,
 static int
 run_basebackup(const char *data_dir, int server_version)
 {
-	char				script[MAXLEN];
-	int					r = 0;
-	PQExpBufferData 	params;
-	TablespaceListCell      *cell;
+	char				  script[MAXLEN];
+	int					  r = 0;
+	PQExpBufferData 	  params;
+	TablespaceListCell   *cell;
+	t_basebackup_options  backup_options = T_BASEBACKUP_OPTIONS_INITIALIZER;
+
+	/*
+	 * Parse the pg_basebackup_options provided in repmgr.conf - we'll want
+	 * to check later whether certain options were set by the user
+	 */
+	parse_pg_basebackup_options(options.pg_basebackup_options, &backup_options);
 
 	/* Create pg_basebackup command line options */
 
@@ -4678,33 +4686,39 @@ run_basebackup(const char *data_dir, int server_version)
 	 * created a slot with reserved LSN, and will stream from that slot to avoid
 	 * WAL buildup on the master using the -S/--slot, which requires -X/--xlog-method=stream
 	 */
+	if (!strlen(backup_options.xlog_method))
 	{
-		/*
-		 * We're going to check first if the user set the xlog method in the repmgr.conf
-		 * file. We don't want to have conflicts with pg_basebackup due to specifying the
-		 * method twice.
-		 */
-		const char xlog_short[4] = "-X ";
-		const char xlog_long[14] = "--xlog-method";
-		if (strstr(options.pg_basebackup_options, xlog_short) == NULL && strstr(options.pg_basebackup_options, xlog_long) == NULL )
-		{
-			appendPQExpBuffer(&params, " -X stream");
-		}
+		appendPQExpBuffer(&params, " -X stream");
 	}
 
 	/*
 	 * From 9.6, pg_basebackup accepts -S/--slot, which forces WAL streaming to use
 	 * the specified replication slot. If replication slot usage is specified, the
-	 * slot will already have been created
+	 * slot will already have been created.
 	 *
-	 * XXX verify that -X/--xlog-method is set to "stream"
+	 * NOTE: currently there's no way of disabling the --slot option while using
+	 *   --xlog-method=stream - it's hard to imagine a use case for this, so no
+	 *   provision has been made for doing it.
+	 *
+	 * NOTE:
+	 *   It's possible to set 'pg_basebackup_options' with an invalid combination
+	 *   of values for --xlog-method and --slot - we're not checking that, just that
+	 *   we're not overriding any user-supplied values
 	 */
 	if (server_version >= 90600 && options.use_replication_slots)
 	{
-		const char slot_short[4] = "-S ";
-		const char slot_long[7] = "--slot";
+		bool slot_add = true;
 
-		if (strstr(options.pg_basebackup_options, slot_short) == NULL && strstr(options.pg_basebackup_options, slot_long) == NULL )
+		/*
+		 * Check whether 'pg_basebackup_options' in repmgr.conf has the --slot option set,
+		 * or if --xlog-method is set to a value other than "stream" (in which case we can't
+		 * use --slot).
+		 */
+		if(strlen(backup_options.slot) || strcmp(backup_options.xlog_method, "stream") != 0) {
+			slot_add = false;
+		}
+
+		if (slot_add == true)
 		{
 			appendPQExpBuffer(&params, " -S %s", repmgr_slot_name_ptr);
 		}
@@ -4748,11 +4762,11 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			 */
 			if (connection_param_provided)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing MASTER REGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing MASTER REGISTER"));
 			}
 			if (runtime_options.dest_dir[0])
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing MASTER REGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing MASTER REGISTER"));
 			}
 			break;
 		case STANDBY_REGISTER:
@@ -4764,11 +4778,11 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			 */
 			if (connection_param_provided)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY REGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY REGISTER"));
 			}
 			if (runtime_options.dest_dir[0])
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY REGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY REGISTER"));
 			}
 			break;
 		case STANDBY_UNREGISTER:
@@ -4780,11 +4794,11 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			 */
 			if (connection_param_provided)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY UNREGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY UNREGISTER"));
 			}
 			if (runtime_options.dest_dir[0])
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY UNREGISTER"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY UNREGISTER"));
 			}
 			break;
 		case STANDBY_PROMOTE:
@@ -4797,11 +4811,11 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			 */
 			if (connection_param_provided)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY PROMOTE"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("master connection parameters not required when executing STANDBY PROMOTE"));
 			}
 			if (runtime_options.dest_dir[0])
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY PROMOTE"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("destination directory not required when executing STANDBY PROMOTE"));
 			}
 			break;
 
@@ -4818,12 +4832,12 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			{
 				if (!runtime_options.host[0])
 				{
-					error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("master hostname (-h/--host) required when executing STANDBY FOLLOW with -D/--data-dir option"));
+					item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("master hostname (-h/--host) required when executing STANDBY FOLLOW with -D/--data-dir option"));
 				}
 
 				if (host_param_provided && !runtime_options.dest_dir[0])
 				{
-					error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("local data directory (-D/--data-dir) required when executing STANDBY FOLLOW with -h/--host option"));
+					item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("local data directory (-D/--data-dir) required when executing STANDBY FOLLOW with -h/--host option"));
 				}
 			}
 			break;
@@ -4838,12 +4852,12 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 
 			if (strcmp(runtime_options.host, "") == 0)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("master hostname (-h/--host) required when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("master hostname (-h/--host) required when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 			}
 
 			if (runtime_options.fast_checkpoint && runtime_options.rsync_only)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-c/--fast-checkpoint has no effect when using -r/--rsync-only"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-c/--fast-checkpoint has no effect when using -r/--rsync-only"));
 			}
 			config_file_required = false;
 			break;
@@ -4854,19 +4868,19 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 		case STANDBY_ARCHIVE_CONFIG:
 			if (strcmp(runtime_options.config_archive_dir, "") == 0)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("--config-archive-dir required when executing STANDBY ARCHIVE_CONFIG"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("--config-archive-dir required when executing STANDBY ARCHIVE_CONFIG"));
 			}
 			break;
 
 		case STANDBY_RESTORE_CONFIG:
 			if (strcmp(runtime_options.config_archive_dir, "") == 0)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("--config-archive-dir required when executing STANDBY RESTORE_CONFIG"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("--config-archive-dir required when executing STANDBY RESTORE_CONFIG"));
 			}
 
 			if (strcmp(runtime_options.dest_dir, "") == 0)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("-D/--data-dir required when executing STANDBY RESTORE_CONFIG"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("-D/--data-dir required when executing STANDBY RESTORE_CONFIG"));
 			}
 
 			config_file_required = false;
@@ -4876,7 +4890,7 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 			/* Require data directory */
 			if (strcmp(runtime_options.dest_dir, "") == 0)
 			{
-				error_list_append(&cli_errors, _("-D/--data-dir required when executing WITNESS CREATE"));
+				item_list_append(&cli_errors, _("-D/--data-dir required when executing WITNESS CREATE"));
 			}
 			/* allow all parameters to be supplied */
 			break;
@@ -4895,27 +4909,27 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 	{
 		if (runtime_options.fast_checkpoint)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-c/--fast-checkpoint can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-c/--fast-checkpoint can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 		}
 
 		if (runtime_options.ignore_external_config_files)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--ignore-external-config-files can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--ignore-external-config-files can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 		}
 
 		if (*runtime_options.recovery_min_apply_delay)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--recovery-min-apply-delay can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--recovery-min-apply-delay can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 		}
 
 		if (runtime_options.rsync_only)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-r/--rsync-only can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-r/--rsync-only can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 		}
 
 		if (wal_keep_segments_used)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-w/--wal-keep-segments can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("-w/--wal-keep-segments can only be used when executing STANDBY CLONE"));
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -4924,7 +4938,7 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 	{
 		if (pg_rewind_supplied == true)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--pg_rewind can only be used when executing STANDBY SWITCHOVER"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--pg_rewind can only be used when executing STANDBY SWITCHOVER"));
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -4933,7 +4947,7 @@ check_parameters_for_action(const int action)
 	{
 		if (runtime_options.csv_mode)
 		{
-			error_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--csv can only be used when executing CLUSTER SHOW"));
+			item_list_append(&cli_warnings, _("--csv can only be used when executing CLUSTER SHOW"));
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -5703,9 +5717,9 @@ exit_with_errors(void)
 
 
 static void
-print_error_list(ErrorList *error_list, int log_level)
+print_error_list(ItemList *error_list, int log_level)
 {
-	ErrorListCell *cell;
+	ItemListCell *cell;
 
 	for (cell = error_list->head; cell; cell = cell->next)
 	{
@@ -5713,10 +5727,10 @@ print_error_list(ErrorList *error_list, int log_level)
 		{
 			/* Currently we only need errors and warnings */
 			case LOG_ERR:
-				log_err("%s\n",  cell->error_message);
+				log_err("%s\n",  cell->string);
 				break;
 			case LOG_WARNING:
-				log_warning("%s\n",  cell->error_message);
+				log_warning("%s\n",  cell->string);
 				break;
 		}
 
@@ -5906,3 +5920,88 @@ param_set(const char *param, const char *value)
 	 */
 }
 
+
+static void
+parse_pg_basebackup_options(const char *pg_basebackup_options, t_basebackup_options *backup_options)
+{
+	int   options_len = strlen(pg_basebackup_options) + 1;
+	char *options_string = pg_malloc(options_len);
+
+	char *options_string_ptr = options_string;
+	/*
+	 * Add parsed options to this list, then copy to an array
+	 * to pass to getopt
+	 */
+	static ItemList option_argv = { NULL, NULL };
+
+	char *argv_item;
+	int c, argc_item = 1;
+
+	char **argv_array;
+	ItemListCell *cell;
+
+	int			optindex = 0;
+
+	static struct option long_options[] =
+	{
+		{"slot", required_argument, NULL, 'S'},
+		{"xlog-method", required_argument, NULL, 'X'},
+		{NULL, 0, NULL, 0}
+	};
+
+	/* Don't attempt to tokenise an empty string */
+	if (!strlen(pg_basebackup_options))
+		return;
+
+	/*
+	 * Copy the string before operating on it with strtok()
+	 */
+	strncpy(options_string, pg_basebackup_options, options_len);
+
+	while ((argv_item = strtok(options_string_ptr, " ")) != NULL)
+	{
+		item_list_append(&option_argv, argv_item);
+
+		argc_item++;
+
+		if (options_string_ptr != NULL)
+			options_string_ptr = NULL;
+	}
+
+	argv_array = pg_malloc0(sizeof(char *) * (argc_item + 2));
+
+	/* Copy a dummy program name to the start of the array */
+	argv_array[0] = pg_malloc0(1);
+	strncpy(argv_array[0], "", 4);
+
+	c = 1;
+
+	for (cell = option_argv.head; cell; cell = cell->next)
+	{
+		int argv_len = strlen(cell->string) + 1;
+
+		argv_array[c] = pg_malloc0(argv_len);
+
+		strncpy(argv_array[c], cell->string, argv_len);
+
+		c++;
+	}
+
+	argv_array[c] = NULL;
+
+	while ((c = getopt_long(argc_item, argv_array, "S:X:", long_options,
+							&optindex)) != -1)
+	{
+		switch (c)
+		{
+			case 'S':
+				strncpy(backup_options->slot, optarg, MAXLEN);
+				break;
+			case 'X':
+				strncpy(backup_options->xlog_method, optarg, MAXLEN);
+				break;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return;
+}
diff --git a/repmgr.h b/repmgr.h
index 20690eea..ed34ec75 100644
--- a/repmgr.h
+++ b/repmgr.h
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@
 /* Run time options type */
 typedef struct
 {
-
 	char		dbname[MAXLEN];
 	char		host[MAXLEN];
 	char		username[MAXLEN];
@@ -110,7 +109,13 @@ struct BackupLabel
 	XLogRecPtr min_failover_slot_lsn;
 };
 
-extern char		repmgr_schema[MAXLEN];
-extern bool		config_file_found;
+
+typedef struct
+{
+	char		slot[MAXLEN];
+	char		xlog_method[MAXLEN];
+} t_basebackup_options;
+
+#define T_BASEBACKUP_OPTIONS_INITIALIZER { "", "" }
 
 #endif
diff --git a/repmgrd.c b/repmgrd.c
index 4982ae71..0c44d6ab 100644
--- a/repmgrd.c
+++ b/repmgrd.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 /*
  * repmgrd.c - Replication manager daemon
+ *
  * Copyright (C) 2ndQuadrant, 2010-2016
  *
  * This module connects to the nodes of a replication cluster and monitors