diff --git a/Makefile-rpm-ostree.am b/Makefile-rpm-ostree.am
index f283d6fccf..ab62dcb536 100644
--- a/Makefile-rpm-ostree.am
+++ b/Makefile-rpm-ostree.am
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ rpm_ostree_SOURCES = src/app/main.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-initramfs.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-livefs.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-override.c \
+	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-refresh-md.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-pkg-builtins.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-status.c \
 	src/app/rpmostree-builtin-ex.c \
diff --git a/man/rpm-ostree.xml b/man/rpm-ostree.xml
index afa68d6244..06a424ffff 100644
--- a/man/rpm-ostree.xml
+++ b/man/rpm-ostree.xml
@@ -353,6 +353,17 @@ Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
         </listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 
+      <varlistentry>
+        <term><command>refresh-md</command></term>
+
+        <listitem>
+          <para>
+            Download the latest rpm repo metadata if necessary and generate the
+            cache.
+          </para>
+        </listitem>
+      </varlistentry>
+
       <varlistentry>
         <term><command>cleanup</command></term>
 
diff --git a/src/app/main.c b/src/app/main.c
index df5f7bc9d8..5038e6c772 100644
--- a/src/app/main.c
+++ b/src/app/main.c
@@ -74,6 +74,9 @@ static RpmOstreeCommand commands[] = {
   { "uninstall", 0,
     "Remove one or more overlay packages",
     rpmostree_builtin_uninstall },
+  { "refresh-md", 0,
+    "Generate rpm repo metadata",
+    rpmostree_builtin_refresh_md },
   /* Legacy aliases */
   { "pkg-add", RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_HIDDEN,
     NULL, rpmostree_builtin_install },
@@ -82,6 +85,8 @@ static RpmOstreeCommand commands[] = {
   { "rpm", RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_LOCAL_CMD |
            RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_HIDDEN,
     NULL, rpmostree_builtin_db },
+  { "makecache", RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_HIDDEN,
+    NULL, rpmostree_builtin_refresh_md },
   /* Hidden */
   { "ex", RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_LOCAL_CMD |
           RPM_OSTREE_BUILTIN_FLAG_HIDDEN,
diff --git a/src/app/rpmostree-builtin-refresh-md.c b/src/app/rpmostree-builtin-refresh-md.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..560125247f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/rpmostree-builtin-refresh-md.c
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/* Copyright (C) 2017 Jonathan Lebon <jlebon@redhat.com>
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+ * by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the licence or (at
+ * your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General
+ * Public License along with this library; if not, write to the
+ * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330,
+ * Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+ */
+
+#include "config.h"
+
+#include <string.h>
+#include <glib-unix.h>
+
+#include "rpmostree-builtins.h"
+#include "rpmostree-util.h"
+#include "rpmostree-libbuiltin.h"
+#include "rpmostree-dbus-helpers.h"
+
+#include <libglnx.h>
+
+static char *opt_osname;
+static char *opt_force;
+
+static GOptionEntry option_entries[] = {
+  { "os", 0, 0, G_OPTION_ARG_STRING, &opt_osname, "Operate on provided OSNAME", "OSNAME" },
+  { "force", 'f', 0, G_OPTION_ARG_NONE, &opt_force, "Expire current cache", NULL },
+  { NULL }
+};
+
+static GVariant *
+get_args_variant (void)
+{
+  GVariantDict dict;
+  g_variant_dict_init (&dict, NULL);
+  g_variant_dict_insert (&dict, "force", "b", opt_force);
+  return g_variant_dict_end (&dict);
+}
+
+int
+rpmostree_builtin_refresh_md (int             argc,
+                              char          **argv,
+                              RpmOstreeCommandInvocation *invocation,
+                              GCancellable   *cancellable,
+                              GError        **error)
+{
+  g_autoptr(GOptionContext) context = g_option_context_new ("");
+  glnx_unref_object RPMOSTreeOS *os_proxy = NULL;
+  glnx_unref_object RPMOSTreeSysroot *sysroot_proxy = NULL;
+  g_autofree char *transaction_address = NULL;
+  _cleanup_peer_ GPid peer_pid = 0;
+
+  if (!rpmostree_option_context_parse (context,
+                                       option_entries,
+                                       &argc, &argv,
+                                       invocation,
+                                       cancellable,
+                                       NULL, NULL,
+                                       &sysroot_proxy,
+                                       &peer_pid,
+                                       error))
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+
+  if (argc < 1 || argc > 2)
+    {
+      rpmostree_usage_error (context, "Too few or too many arguments", error);
+      return EXIT_FAILURE;
+    }
+
+  if (!rpmostree_load_os_proxy (sysroot_proxy, opt_osname,
+                                cancellable, &os_proxy, error))
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+
+  if (!rpmostree_os_call_refresh_md_sync (os_proxy,
+                                          get_args_variant (),
+                                          &transaction_address,
+                                          cancellable,
+                                          error))
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+
+  if (!rpmostree_transaction_get_response_sync (sysroot_proxy,
+                                                transaction_address,
+                                                cancellable,
+                                                error))
+    return EXIT_FAILURE;
+
+  return EXIT_SUCCESS;
+}
diff --git a/src/app/rpmostree-builtins.h b/src/app/rpmostree-builtins.h
index 2ddab3038a..21ca9b44ea 100644
--- a/src/app/rpmostree-builtins.h
+++ b/src/app/rpmostree-builtins.h
@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ BUILTINPROTO(cleanup);
 BUILTINPROTO(rollback);
 BUILTINPROTO(initramfs);
 BUILTINPROTO(status);
+BUILTINPROTO(refresh_md);
 BUILTINPROTO(db);
 BUILTINPROTO(internals);
 BUILTINPROTO(container);
diff --git a/src/daemon/org.projectatomic.rpmostree1.xml b/src/daemon/org.projectatomic.rpmostree1.xml
index bd88941317..8c9a674843 100644
--- a/src/daemon/org.projectatomic.rpmostree1.xml
+++ b/src/daemon/org.projectatomic.rpmostree1.xml
@@ -225,6 +225,11 @@
       <arg type="s" name="transaction_address" direction="out"/>
     </method>
 
+    <method name="RefreshMd">
+      <arg type="a{sv}" name="options" direction="in"/>
+      <arg type="s" name="transaction_address" direction="out"/>
+    </method>
+
     <!-- Available modifiers:
          "set-refspec" (type 's')
          "set-revision" (type 's')
diff --git a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-os.c b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-os.c
index 969851907b..11c68d3d23 100644
--- a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-os.c
+++ b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-os.c
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ os_authorize_method (GDBusInterfaceSkeleton *interface,
            g_strcmp0 (method_name, "GetCachedUpdateRpmDiff") == 0 ||
            g_strcmp0 (method_name, "DownloadUpdateRpmDiff") == 0 ||
            g_strcmp0 (method_name, "GetCachedRebaseRpmDiff") == 0 ||
-           g_strcmp0 (method_name, "DownloadRebaseRpmDiff") == 0)
+           g_strcmp0 (method_name, "DownloadRebaseRpmDiff") == 0 ||
+           g_strcmp0 (method_name, "RefreshMd") == 0)
+
     {
       g_ptr_array_add (actions, "org.projectatomic.rpmostree1.repo-refresh");
     }
@@ -958,6 +960,62 @@ os_handle_rollback (RPMOSTreeOS *interface,
   return TRUE;
 }
 
+static gboolean
+os_handle_refresh_md (RPMOSTreeOS *interface,
+                      GDBusMethodInvocation *invocation,
+                      GVariant *arg_options)
+{
+  RpmostreedOS *self = RPMOSTREED_OS (interface);
+  glnx_unref_object RpmostreedTransaction *transaction = NULL;
+  glnx_unref_object OstreeSysroot *ot_sysroot = NULL;
+  g_autoptr(GCancellable) cancellable = g_cancellable_new ();
+  const char *osname;
+  GError *local_error = NULL;
+  RpmOstreeTransactionRefreshMdFlags flags = 0;
+  g_auto(GVariantDict) dict;
+
+  transaction = merge_compatible_txn (self, invocation);
+  if (transaction)
+    goto out;
+
+  if (!rpmostreed_sysroot_load_state (rpmostreed_sysroot_get (),
+                                      cancellable,
+                                      &ot_sysroot,
+                                      NULL,
+                                      &local_error))
+    goto out;
+
+  osname = rpmostree_os_get_name (interface);
+
+  g_variant_dict_init (&dict, arg_options);
+  if (vardict_lookup_bool (&dict, "force", FALSE))
+    flags |= RPMOSTREE_TRANSACTION_REFRESH_MD_FLAG_FORCE;
+
+  transaction = rpmostreed_transaction_new_refresh_md (invocation,
+                                                       ot_sysroot,
+                                                       flags,
+                                                       osname,
+                                                       cancellable,
+                                                       &local_error);
+  if (transaction == NULL)
+    goto out;
+
+  rpmostreed_transaction_monitor_add (self->transaction_monitor, transaction);
+
+out:
+  if (local_error != NULL)
+    {
+      g_dbus_method_invocation_take_error (invocation, local_error);
+    }
+  else
+    {
+      const char *client_address = rpmostreed_transaction_get_client_address (transaction);
+      rpmostree_os_complete_refresh_md (interface, invocation, client_address);
+    }
+
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
 /* This is an older variant of Cleanup, kept for backcompat */
 static gboolean
 os_handle_clear_rollback_target (RPMOSTreeOS *interface,
@@ -1527,6 +1585,7 @@ rpmostreed_os_iface_init (RPMOSTreeOSIface *iface)
   iface->handle_rollback                   = os_handle_rollback;
   iface->handle_clear_rollback_target      = os_handle_clear_rollback_target;
   iface->handle_rebase                     = os_handle_rebase;
+  iface->handle_refresh_md                 = os_handle_refresh_md;
   iface->handle_pkg_change                 = os_handle_pkg_change;
   iface->handle_set_initramfs_state        = os_handle_set_initramfs_state;
   iface->handle_cleanup                    = os_handle_cleanup;
diff --git a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.c b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.c
index 93801da741..037a75438a 100644
--- a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.c
+++ b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.c
@@ -1272,3 +1272,118 @@ rpmostreed_transaction_new_cleanup (GDBusMethodInvocation *invocation,
   return (RpmostreedTransaction *) self;
 
 }
+
+/* ================================ RefreshMd ================================ */
+
+typedef struct {
+  RpmostreedTransaction parent;
+  char *osname;
+  RpmOstreeTransactionRefreshMdFlags flags;
+} RefreshMdTransaction;
+
+typedef RpmostreedTransactionClass RefreshMdTransactionClass;
+
+GType refresh_md_transaction_get_type (void);
+
+G_DEFINE_TYPE (RefreshMdTransaction,
+               refresh_md_transaction,
+               RPMOSTREED_TYPE_TRANSACTION)
+
+static void
+refresh_md_transaction_finalize (GObject *object)
+{
+  RefreshMdTransaction *self;
+
+  self = (RefreshMdTransaction *) object;
+  g_free (self->osname);
+
+  G_OBJECT_CLASS (refresh_md_transaction_parent_class)->finalize (object);
+}
+
+static gboolean
+refresh_md_transaction_execute (RpmostreedTransaction *transaction,
+                                GCancellable *cancellable,
+                                GError **error)
+{
+  RefreshMdTransaction *self = (RefreshMdTransaction *) transaction;
+  OstreeSysroot *sysroot = rpmostreed_transaction_get_sysroot (transaction);
+
+  g_autoptr(OstreeDeployment) cfg_merge_deployment =
+    ostree_sysroot_get_merge_deployment (sysroot, self->osname);
+  g_autoptr(OstreeDeployment) origin_merge_deployment =
+    rpmostree_syscore_get_origin_merge_deployment (sysroot, self->osname);
+
+  /* but set the source root to be the origin merge deployment's so we pick up releasever */
+  const char *sysroot_path = gs_file_get_path_cached (ostree_sysroot_get_path (sysroot));
+  g_autofree char *origin_deployment_dirpath =
+    ostree_sysroot_get_deployment_dirpath (sysroot, origin_merge_deployment);
+  g_autofree char *origin_deployment_root =
+    g_build_filename (sysroot_path, origin_deployment_dirpath, NULL);
+
+  g_autoptr(RpmOstreeContext) ctx = rpmostree_context_new_system (cancellable, error);
+
+  /* We could bypass rpmostree_context_setup() here and call dnf_context_setup() ourselves
+   * since we're not actually going to perform any installation. Though it does provide us
+   * with the right semantics for install/source_root. So let's just play the game and
+   * provide a dummy treespec. */
+  if (!rpmostree_context_setup (ctx, NULL, origin_deployment_root, NULL, cancellable, error))
+    return FALSE;
+
+  if (self->flags & RPMOSTREE_TRANSACTION_REFRESH_MD_FLAG_FORCE)
+    {
+      DnfContext *hifctx = rpmostree_context_get_hif (ctx);
+      dnf_context_set_cache_age (hifctx, 0);
+    }
+
+  /* point libdnf to our repos dir */
+  rpmostree_context_configure_from_deployment (ctx, sysroot, cfg_merge_deployment);
+
+  if (!rpmostree_context_download_metadata (ctx, cancellable, error))
+    return FALSE;
+
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
+static void
+refresh_md_transaction_class_init (CleanupTransactionClass *class)
+{
+  GObjectClass *object_class;
+
+  object_class = G_OBJECT_CLASS (class);
+  object_class->finalize = refresh_md_transaction_finalize;
+
+  class->execute = refresh_md_transaction_execute;
+}
+
+static void
+refresh_md_transaction_init (RefreshMdTransaction *self)
+{
+}
+
+RpmostreedTransaction *
+rpmostreed_transaction_new_refresh_md (GDBusMethodInvocation *invocation,
+                                       OstreeSysroot         *sysroot,
+                                       RpmOstreeTransactionRefreshMdFlags flags,
+                                       const char            *osname,
+                                       GCancellable          *cancellable,
+                                       GError               **error)
+{
+  g_return_val_if_fail (G_IS_DBUS_METHOD_INVOCATION (invocation), NULL);
+  g_return_val_if_fail (OSTREE_IS_SYSROOT (sysroot), NULL);
+
+  RefreshMdTransaction *self =
+    g_initable_new (refresh_md_transaction_get_type (),
+                    cancellable, error,
+                    "invocation", invocation,
+                    "sysroot-path", gs_file_get_path_cached (ostree_sysroot_get_path (sysroot)),
+                    NULL);
+
+  if (self != NULL)
+    {
+      self->osname = g_strdup (osname);
+      self->flags = flags;
+    }
+
+  return (RpmostreedTransaction *) self;
+
+}
diff --git a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.h b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.h
index 4dae861620..6950e7b61d 100644
--- a/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.h
+++ b/src/daemon/rpmostreed-transaction-types.h
@@ -110,3 +110,15 @@ rpmostreed_transaction_new_livefs (GDBusMethodInvocation *invocation,
                                    RpmOstreeTransactionLiveFsFlags flags,
                                    GCancellable          *cancellable,
                                    GError               **error);
+
+typedef enum {
+  RPMOSTREE_TRANSACTION_REFRESH_MD_FLAG_FORCE = (1 << 0),
+} RpmOstreeTransactionRefreshMdFlags;
+
+RpmostreedTransaction *
+rpmostreed_transaction_new_refresh_md (GDBusMethodInvocation *invocation,
+                                       OstreeSysroot         *sysroot,
+                                       RpmOstreeTransactionRefreshMdFlags flags,
+                                       const char            *osname,
+                                       GCancellable          *cancellable,
+                                       GError               **error);