diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 3f4e28fe..0d6c841c 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 xbps-0.18 (???):
 
+ * The virtual package configuration files are now read dynamically
+   by libxbps at initialization time from default configuration directory:
+   <rootdir>/etc/xbps/virtualpkg.d. Only files that end in ".conf" will
+   be processed by libxbps.
+
+ * The rootdir (with -r, --rootdir) can now be specified as relative path.
+
  * Structured pkg metadata stored on disk, and added new functionality:
 
 	- A single plist containing pkg properties, files and
diff --git a/include/xbps_api.h.in b/include/xbps_api.h.in
index 9b61a754..0503cb5c 100644
--- a/include/xbps_api.h.in
+++ b/include/xbps_api.h.in
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
  */
 #define XBPS_PKGINDEX_VERSION	"1.5"
 
-#define XBPS_API_VERSION	"20121119"
+#define XBPS_API_VERSION	"20121119-1"
 
 #ifndef XBPS_VERSION
  #define XBPS_VERSION		"UNSET"
diff --git a/lib/initend.c b/lib/initend.c
index 6b180bb8..767ea650 100644
--- a/lib/initend.c
+++ b/lib/initend.c
@@ -23,12 +23,14 @@
  * THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
  */
 
+#include <sys/utsname.h>
+#include <sys/types.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <stdarg.h>
-#include <sys/utsname.h>
+#include <dirent.h>
 
 #include "xbps_api_impl.h"
 
@@ -69,6 +71,51 @@ set_metadir(struct xbps_handle *xh)
 	}
 }
 
+static void
+config_inject_vpkgs(struct xbps_handle *xh)
+{
+	DIR *dirp;
+	struct dirent *dp;
+	char *ext, *vpkgdir;
+	FILE *fp;
+
+	if (strcmp(xh->rootdir, "/"))
+		vpkgdir = xbps_xasprintf("%s/etc/xbps/virtualpkg.d",
+		    xh->rootdir);
+	else
+		vpkgdir = strdup("/etc/xbps/virtualpkg.d");
+
+	if ((dirp = opendir(vpkgdir)) == NULL) {
+		xbps_dbg_printf(xh, "config: failed to open %s: %s\n",
+		    vpkgdir, strerror(errno));
+		return;
+	}
+
+	while ((dp = readdir(dirp)) != NULL) {
+		if ((strcmp(dp->d_name, "..") == 0) ||
+		    (strcmp(dp->d_name, ".") == 0))
+			continue;
+		/* only process .conf files, ignore something else */
+		if ((ext = strrchr(dp->d_name, '.')) == NULL)
+			continue;
+		if (strcmp(ext, ".conf") == 0) {
+			char *path;
+
+			path = xbps_xasprintf("%s/%s", vpkgdir, dp->d_name);
+			fp = fopen(path, "r");
+			assert(fp);
+			free(path);
+			if (cfg_parse_fp(xh->cfg, fp) != 0) {
+				xbps_error_printf("Failed to parse "
+				    "vpkg conf file %s:\n", dp->d_name);
+			}
+			fclose(fp);
+		}
+	}
+	closedir(dirp);
+	free(vpkgdir);
+}
+
 static int
 cb_validate_virtual(cfg_t *cfg, cfg_opt_t *opt)
 {
@@ -156,6 +203,7 @@ xbps_init(struct xbps_handle *xhp)
 			return ENOTSUP;
 		}
 	}
+
 	xbps_dbg_printf(xhp, "Configuration file: %s\n",
 	    xhp->conffile ? xhp->conffile : "not found");
 	/*
@@ -216,6 +264,9 @@ xbps_init(struct xbps_handle *xhp)
 	if (xhp->flags & XBPS_FLAG_SYSLOG)
 		syslog_enabled = true;
 
+	/* Inject virtual packages from virtualpkg.d files */
+	config_inject_vpkgs(xhp);
+
 	xbps_fetch_set_cache_connection(cc, cch);
 
 	xbps_dbg_printf(xhp, "Rootdir=%s\n", xhp->rootdir);