diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 45b93b342..7c14c2f79 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,17 +3,21 @@
 ## 0.10.1 (TBD)
 
 FEATURES:
-- Use `--trace` to get stack traces for logged errors
+- types: GenesisDoc.ValidatorHash returns the hash of the genesis validator set 
+- types: GenesisDocFromFile parses a GenesiDoc from a JSON file
 
 IMPROVEMENTS:
 - Add a Code of Conduct
 - Variety of improvements as suggested by `megacheck` tool
 - rpc: deduplicate tests between rpc/client and rpc/tests
 - rpc: addresses without a protocol prefix default to `tcp://`. `http://` is also accepted as an alias for `tcp://`
+- cmd: commands are more easily reuseable from other tools
+- DOCKER: automate build/push
 
 BUG FIXES:
 - Fix log statements using keys with spaces (logger does not currently support spaces)
 - rpc: set logger on websocket connection
+- rpc: fix ws connection stability by setting write deadline on pings
 
 ## 0.10.0 (June 2, 2017)
 
diff --git a/DOCKER/Dockerfile b/DOCKER/Dockerfile
index 09b25f732..55f2e14ab 100644
--- a/DOCKER/Dockerfile
+++ b/DOCKER/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM alpine:3.5
+FROM alpine:3.6
 
 # This is the release of tendermint to pull in.
 ENV TM_VERSION 0.10.0
@@ -42,5 +42,4 @@ EXPOSE 46657
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["tendermint"]
 
-# By default you'll get the dummy app
-CMD ["node", "--moniker=`hostname`", "--proxy_app=dummy"]
+CMD ["node", "--moniker=`hostname`"]
diff --git a/DOCKER/Dockerfile.develop b/DOCKER/Dockerfile.develop
index 82cd884ae..2ffb68281 100644
--- a/DOCKER/Dockerfile.develop
+++ b/DOCKER/Dockerfile.develop
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM alpine:3.5
+FROM alpine:3.6
 
 ENV DATA_ROOT /tendermint
 ENV TMHOME $DATA_ROOT
diff --git a/DOCKER/Makefile b/DOCKER/Makefile
index 612b9a694..10c972502 100644
--- a/DOCKER/Makefile
+++ b/DOCKER/Makefile
@@ -1,12 +1,8 @@
 build:
-	# TAG=0.8.0 TAG_NO_PATCH=0.8
-	docker build -t "tendermint/tendermint" -t "tendermint/tendermint:$(TAG)" -t "tendermint/tendermint:$(TAG_NO_PATCH)" .
+	@sh -c "'$(CURDIR)/build.sh'"
 
 push:
-	# TAG=0.8.0 TAG_NO_PATCH=0.8
-	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:latest"
-	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:$(TAG)"
-	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:$(TAG_NO_PATCH)"
+	@sh -c "'$(CURDIR)/push.sh'"
 
 build_develop:
 	docker build -t "tendermint/tendermint:develop" -f Dockerfile.develop .
diff --git a/DOCKER/README.md b/DOCKER/README.md
index 2bd2b27ea..e191abc39 100644
--- a/DOCKER/README.md
+++ b/DOCKER/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Supported tags and respective `Dockerfile` links
 
-- `0.10.0`, `latest` [(Dockerfile)](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/v0.10.0/DOCKER/Dockerfile)
+- `0.10.0`, `latest` [(Dockerfile)](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/e5342f4054ab784b2cd6150e14f01053d7c8deb2/DOCKER/Dockerfile)
 - `0.9.1`, `0.9`, [(Dockerfile)](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/809e0e8c5933604ba8b2d096803ada7c5ec4dfd3/DOCKER/Dockerfile)
 - `0.9.0` [(Dockerfile)](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/d474baeeea6c22b289e7402449572f7c89ee21da/DOCKER/Dockerfile)
 - `0.8.0`, `0.8` [(Dockerfile)](https://github.com/tendermint/tendermint/blob/bf64dd21fdb193e54d8addaaaa2ecf7ac371de8c/DOCKER/Dockerfile)
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ A very simple example of a built-in app and Tendermint core in one container.
 
 ```
 docker run -it --rm -v "/tmp:/tendermint" tendermint/tendermint init
-docker run -it --rm -v "/tmp:/tendermint" tendermint/tendermint
+docker run -it --rm -v "/tmp:/tendermint" tendermint/tendermint node --proxy_app=dummy
 ```
 
 ## mintnet-kubernetes
 
-If you want to see many containers talking to each other, consider using [mintnet-kubernetes](https://github.com/tendermint/mintnet-kubernetes), which is a tool for running Tendermint-based applications on a Kubernetes cluster.
+If you want to see many containers talking to each other, consider using [mintnet-kubernetes](https://github.com/tendermint/tools/tree/master/mintnet-kubernetes), which is a tool for running Tendermint-based applications on a Kubernetes cluster.
 
 # Supported Docker versions
 
diff --git a/DOCKER/build.sh b/DOCKER/build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..ee617cc63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DOCKER/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+# Get the tag from the version, or try to figure it out.
+if [ -z "$TAG" ]; then
+	TAG=$(awk -F\" '/Version =/ { print $2; exit }' < ../version/version.go)
+fi
+if [ -z "$TAG" ]; then
+		echo "Please specify a tag."
+		exit 1
+fi
+
+TAG_NO_PATCH=${TAG%.*}
+
+read -p "==> Build 3 docker images with the following tags (latest, $TAG, $TAG_NO_PATCH)? y/n" -n 1 -r
+echo
+if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
+then
+		docker build -t "tendermint/tendermint" -t "tendermint/tendermint:$TAG" -t "tendermint/tendermint:$TAG_NO_PATCH" .
+fi
diff --git a/DOCKER/push.sh b/DOCKER/push.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..32741dce8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DOCKER/push.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+# Get the tag from the version, or try to figure it out.
+if [ -z "$TAG" ]; then
+	TAG=$(awk -F\" '/Version =/ { print $2; exit }' < ../version/version.go)
+fi
+if [ -z "$TAG" ]; then
+		echo "Please specify a tag."
+		exit 1
+fi
+
+TAG_NO_PATCH=${TAG%.*}
+
+read -p "==> Push 3 docker images with the following tags (latest, $TAG, $TAG_NO_PATCH)? y/n" -n 1 -r
+echo
+if [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]
+then
+	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:latest"
+	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:$TAG"
+	docker push "tendermint/tendermint:$TAG_NO_PATCH"
+fi
diff --git a/cmd/tendermint/commands/root.go b/cmd/tendermint/commands/root.go
index a02cd92bd..a63d9e46b 100644
--- a/cmd/tendermint/commands/root.go
+++ b/cmd/tendermint/commands/root.go
@@ -21,16 +21,26 @@ func init() {
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().String("log_level", config.LogLevel, "Log level")
 }
 
+// ParseConfig will setup the tendermint configuration properly
+func ParseConfig() (*cfg.Config, error) {
+	conf := cfg.DefaultConfig()
+	err := viper.Unmarshal(conf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	conf.SetRoot(conf.RootDir)
+	cfg.EnsureRoot(conf.RootDir)
+	return conf, err
+}
+
 var RootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "tendermint",
 	Short: "Tendermint Core (BFT Consensus) in Go",
-	PersistentPreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-		err := viper.Unmarshal(config)
+	PersistentPreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
+		config, err = ParseConfig()
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		config.SetRoot(config.RootDir)
-		cfg.EnsureRoot(config.RootDir)
 		logger, err = tmflags.ParseLogLevel(config.LogLevel, logger, cfg.DefaultLogLevel())
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/cmd/tendermint/commands/run_node.go b/cmd/tendermint/commands/run_node.go
index d476ccd57..e99b8609a 100644
--- a/cmd/tendermint/commands/run_node.go
+++ b/cmd/tendermint/commands/run_node.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package commands
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -19,28 +18,33 @@ var runNodeCmd = &cobra.Command{
 }
 
 func init() {
+	AddNodeFlags(runNodeCmd)
+	RootCmd.AddCommand(runNodeCmd)
+}
+
+// AddNodeFlags exposes some common configuration options on the command-line
+// These are exposed for convenience of commands embedding a tendermint node
+func AddNodeFlags(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 	// bind flags
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("moniker", config.Moniker, "Node Name")
+	cmd.Flags().String("moniker", config.Moniker, "Node Name")
 
 	// node flags
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().Bool("fast_sync", config.FastSync, "Fast blockchain syncing")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("fast_sync", config.FastSync, "Fast blockchain syncing")
 
 	// abci flags
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("proxy_app", config.ProxyApp, "Proxy app address, or 'nilapp' or 'dummy' for local testing.")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("abci", config.ABCI, "Specify abci transport (socket | grpc)")
+	cmd.Flags().String("proxy_app", config.ProxyApp, "Proxy app address, or 'nilapp' or 'dummy' for local testing.")
+	cmd.Flags().String("abci", config.ABCI, "Specify abci transport (socket | grpc)")
 
 	// rpc flags
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("rpc.laddr", config.RPC.ListenAddress, "RPC listen address. Port required")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("rpc.grpc_laddr", config.RPC.GRPCListenAddress, "GRPC listen address (BroadcastTx only). Port required")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().Bool("rpc.unsafe", config.RPC.Unsafe, "Enabled unsafe rpc methods")
+	cmd.Flags().String("rpc.laddr", config.RPC.ListenAddress, "RPC listen address. Port required")
+	cmd.Flags().String("rpc.grpc_laddr", config.RPC.GRPCListenAddress, "GRPC listen address (BroadcastTx only). Port required")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("rpc.unsafe", config.RPC.Unsafe, "Enabled unsafe rpc methods")
 
 	// p2p flags
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("p2p.laddr", config.P2P.ListenAddress, "Node listen address. (0.0.0.0:0 means any interface, any port)")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().String("p2p.seeds", config.P2P.Seeds, "Comma delimited host:port seed nodes")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().Bool("p2p.skip_upnp", config.P2P.SkipUPNP, "Skip UPNP configuration")
-	runNodeCmd.Flags().Bool("p2p.pex", config.P2P.PexReactor, "Enable Peer-Exchange (dev feature)")
-
-	RootCmd.AddCommand(runNodeCmd)
+	cmd.Flags().String("p2p.laddr", config.P2P.ListenAddress, "Node listen address. (0.0.0.0:0 means any interface, any port)")
+	cmd.Flags().String("p2p.seeds", config.P2P.Seeds, "Comma delimited host:port seed nodes")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("p2p.skip_upnp", config.P2P.SkipUPNP, "Skip UPNP configuration")
+	cmd.Flags().Bool("p2p.pex", config.P2P.PexReactor, "Enable Peer-Exchange (dev feature)")
 }
 
 // Users wishing to:
@@ -56,27 +60,16 @@ func runNode(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	// TODO: If Mintnet gets deprecated or genesis_file is
 	// always available, remove.
 	genDocFile := config.GenesisFile()
-	if !cmn.FileExists(genDocFile) {
+	for !cmn.FileExists(genDocFile) {
 		logger.Info(cmn.Fmt("Waiting for genesis file %v...", genDocFile))
-		for {
-			time.Sleep(time.Second)
-			if !cmn.FileExists(genDocFile) {
-				continue
-			}
-			jsonBlob, err := ioutil.ReadFile(genDocFile)
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("Couldn't read GenesisDoc file: %v", err)
-			}
-			genDoc, err := types.GenesisDocFromJSON(jsonBlob)
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("Error reading GenesisDoc: %v", err)
-			}
-			if genDoc.ChainID == "" {
-				return fmt.Errorf("Genesis doc %v must include non-empty chain_id", genDocFile)
-			}
-			config.ChainID = genDoc.ChainID
-		}
+		time.Sleep(time.Second)
+	}
+
+	genDoc, err := types.GenesisDocFromFile(genDocFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
+	config.ChainID = genDoc.ChainID
 
 	// Create & start node
 	n := node.NewNodeDefault(config, logger.With("module", "node"))
diff --git a/rpc/lib/server/handlers.go b/rpc/lib/server/handlers.go
index bafc88546..1538f08a7 100644
--- a/rpc/lib/server/handlers.go
+++ b/rpc/lib/server/handlers.go
@@ -510,7 +510,10 @@ func (wsc *wsConnection) readRoutine() {
 				continue
 			}
 			returns := rpcFunc.f.Call(args)
-			wsc.Logger.Info("WSJSONRPC", "method", request.Method, "args", args, "returns", returns)
+
+			// TODO: Need to encode args/returns to string if we want to log them
+			wsc.Logger.Info("WSJSONRPC", "method", request.Method)
+
 			result, err := unreflectResult(returns)
 			if err != nil {
 				wsc.WriteRPCResponse(types.NewRPCResponse(request.ID, nil, err.Error()))
@@ -532,6 +535,7 @@ func (wsc *wsConnection) writeRoutine() {
 		case <-wsc.Quit:
 			return
 		case <-wsc.pingTicker.C:
+			wsc.baseConn.SetWriteDeadline(time.Now().Add(time.Second * wsWriteTimeoutSeconds))
 			err := wsc.baseConn.WriteMessage(websocket.PingMessage, []byte{})
 			if err != nil {
 				wsc.Logger.Error("Failed to write ping message on websocket", "err", err)
diff --git a/scripts/tendermint-builder/Dockerfile b/scripts/tendermint-builder/Dockerfile
index 84c198ee0..daf931715 100644
--- a/scripts/tendermint-builder/Dockerfile
+++ b/scripts/tendermint-builder/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM golang:1.7.4
+FROM golang:1.8.3
 
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 		zip \
diff --git a/test/docker/Dockerfile b/test/docker/Dockerfile
index 7c322976d..8a2702fc8 100644
--- a/test/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/test/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-# Pull base image.
-FROM golang:1.7.4
+FROM golang:1.8.3
 
 # Add testing deps for curl
 RUN echo 'deb http://httpredir.debian.org/debian testing main non-free contrib' >> /etc/apt/sources.list
@@ -9,7 +8,7 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
   apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
   jq bsdmainutils vim-common psmisc netcat curl
 
-# Setup tendermint repo 
+# Setup tendermint repo
 ENV REPO $GOPATH/src/github.com/tendermint/tendermint
 WORKDIR $REPO
 
diff --git a/types/genesis.go b/types/genesis.go
index 75999f631..23b14c9e9 100644
--- a/types/genesis.go
+++ b/types/genesis.go
@@ -2,8 +2,11 @@ package types
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+
 	"github.com/tendermint/go-crypto"
 	"github.com/tendermint/go-wire/data"
 	cmn "github.com/tendermint/tmlibs/common"
@@ -17,12 +20,14 @@ var GenDocKey = []byte("GenDocKey")
 //------------------------------------------------------------
 // core types for a genesis definition
 
+// GenesisValidator is an initial validator.
 type GenesisValidator struct {
 	PubKey crypto.PubKey `json:"pub_key"`
 	Amount int64         `json:"amount"`
 	Name   string        `json:"name"`
 }
 
+// GenesisDoc defines the initial conditions for a tendermint blockchain, in particular its validator set.
 type GenesisDoc struct {
 	GenesisTime time.Time          `json:"genesis_time"`
 	ChainID     string             `json:"chain_id"`
@@ -30,7 +35,7 @@ type GenesisDoc struct {
 	AppHash     data.Bytes         `json:"app_hash"`
 }
 
-// Utility method for saving GenensisDoc as JSON file.
+// SaveAs is a utility method for saving GenensisDoc as a JSON file.
 func (genDoc *GenesisDoc) SaveAs(file string) error {
 	genDocBytes, err := json.Marshal(genDoc)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -39,11 +44,38 @@ func (genDoc *GenesisDoc) SaveAs(file string) error {
 	return cmn.WriteFile(file, genDocBytes, 0644)
 }
 
+// ValidatorHash returns the hash of the validator set contained in the GenesisDoc
+func (genDoc *GenesisDoc) ValidatorHash() []byte {
+	vals := make([]*Validator, len(genDoc.Validators))
+	for i, v := range genDoc.Validators {
+		vals[i] = NewValidator(v.PubKey, v.Amount)
+	}
+	vset := NewValidatorSet(vals)
+	return vset.Hash()
+}
+
 //------------------------------------------------------------
 // Make genesis state from file
 
+// GenesisDocFromJSON unmarshalls JSON data into a GenesisDoc.
 func GenesisDocFromJSON(jsonBlob []byte) (*GenesisDoc, error) {
 	genDoc := GenesisDoc{}
 	err := json.Unmarshal(jsonBlob, &genDoc)
 	return &genDoc, err
 }
+
+// GenesisDocFromFile reads JSON data from a file and unmarshalls it into a GenesisDoc.
+func GenesisDocFromFile(genDocFile string) (*GenesisDoc, error) {
+	jsonBlob, err := ioutil.ReadFile(genDocFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "Couldn't read GenesisDoc file")
+	}
+	genDoc, err := GenesisDocFromJSON(jsonBlob)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "Error reading GenesisDoc")
+	}
+	if genDoc.ChainID == "" {
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("Genesis doc %v must include non-empty chain_id", genDocFile)
+	}
+	return genDoc, nil
+}