diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/cli.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/cli.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d8900e09f88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/cli.go
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2023 The Vitess Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreedto in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/acl"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/topo"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vtctld"
+)
+
+var (
+	ts   *topo.Server
+	Main = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:     "vtctld",
+		Short:   "The Vitess cluster management daemon.",
+		Args:    cobra.NoArgs,
+		Version: servenv.AppVersion.String(),
+		PreRunE: servenv.CobraPreRunE,
+		RunE:    run,
+	}
+)
+
+func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	servenv.Init()
+	defer servenv.Close()
+
+	ts = topo.Open()
+	defer ts.Close()
+
+	// Init the vtctld core
+	if err := vtctld.InitVtctld(ts); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Register http debug/health
+	vtctld.RegisterDebugHealthHandler(ts)
+
+	// Start schema manager service.
+	initSchema()
+
+	// And run the server.
+	servenv.RunDefault()
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func init() {
+	servenv.RegisterDefaultFlags()
+	servenv.RegisterFlags()
+	servenv.RegisterGRPCServerFlags()
+	servenv.RegisterGRPCServerAuthFlags()
+	servenv.RegisterServiceMapFlag()
+
+	servenv.MoveFlagsToCobraCommand(Main)
+
+	acl.RegisterFlags(Main.Flags())
+}
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go
similarity index 97%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go
index a4ca64096a9..bdadc894aae 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_azblobbackupstorage.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	_ "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/mysqlctl/azblobbackupstorage"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go
similarity index 97%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go
index 6cd2d5619d0..171198f5e29 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_cephbackupstorage.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	_ "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/mysqlctl/cephbackupstorage"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_consultopo.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_consultopo.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_consultopo.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_consultopo.go
index a0c53abe5ea..4617d753953 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_consultopo.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_consultopo.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the 'consul' topo.Server.
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_etcd2topo.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_etcd2topo.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_etcd2topo.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_etcd2topo.go
index 6ec507f910d..06e014fc19f 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_etcd2topo.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_etcd2topo.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the 'etcd2' topo.Server.
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_filebackupstorage.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_filebackupstorage.go
similarity index 97%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_filebackupstorage.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_filebackupstorage.go
index cf2ceb5150f..9edc82d6a1b 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_filebackupstorage.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_filebackupstorage.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	_ "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/mysqlctl/filebackupstorage"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go
similarity index 97%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go
index 82a22cef1da..655583c8ca2 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_gcsbackupstorage.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	_ "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/mysqlctl/gcsbackupstorage"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctabletconn.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctabletconn.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctabletconn.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctabletconn.go
index 08291a7c916..4a97e36eec4 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctabletconn.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctabletconn.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the gRPC tabletconn client
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctmclient.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctmclient.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctmclient.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctmclient.go
index ce554da96df..8cd349c7f87 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpctmclient.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpctmclient.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the gRPC tabletmanager client
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go
index ee5d0aba22a..ff283d91336 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctldserver.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go
index 4ec5323b075..8b7f918bc58 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtctlserver.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go
index 87019ea4260..2f05e6d9a4e 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_grpcvtgateconn.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the gRPC vtgateconn client
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentracing.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentracing.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentracing.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentracing.go
index c35034d42a2..76423623493 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentracing.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentracing.go
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/trace"
-
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
 )
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentsdb.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentsdb.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentsdb.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentsdb.go
index 38f464dd887..e4f76d29009 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_opentsdb.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_opentsdb.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // This plugin imports opentsdb to register the opentsdb stats backend.
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_prometheusbackend.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_prometheusbackend.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_prometheusbackend.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_prometheusbackend.go
index f3c33e5637b..3c66018fe75 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_prometheusbackend.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_prometheusbackend.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // This plugin imports Prometheus to allow for instrumentation
 // with the Prometheus client library
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_s3backupstorage.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_s3backupstorage.go
similarity index 97%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_s3backupstorage.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_s3backupstorage.go
index a5b5c671ebb..4b3ecb33edb 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_s3backupstorage.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_s3backupstorage.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	_ "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/mysqlctl/s3backupstorage"
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_zk2topo.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_zk2topo.go
similarity index 98%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_zk2topo.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_zk2topo.go
index 531d92c4cdd..77f86d98d52 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/plugin_zk2topo.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/plugin_zk2topo.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 // Imports and register the 'zk2' topo.Server.
 
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/schema.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/schema.go
similarity index 66%
rename from go/cmd/vtctld/schema.go
rename to go/cmd/vtctld/cli/schema.go
index 561d9253818..480679a09e6 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/schema.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/cli/schema.go
@@ -14,14 +14,12 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package cli
 
 import (
 	"context"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
-
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/timer"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/log"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/logutil"
@@ -41,14 +39,12 @@ var (
 )
 
 func init() {
-	servenv.OnParse(func(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
-		fs.StringVar(&schemaChangeDir, "schema_change_dir", schemaChangeDir, "Directory containing schema changes for all keyspaces. Each keyspace has its own directory, and schema changes are expected to live in '$KEYSPACE/input' dir. (e.g. 'test_keyspace/input/*sql'). Each sql file represents a schema change.")
-		fs.StringVar(&schemaChangeController, "schema_change_controller", schemaChangeController, "Schema change controller is responsible for finding schema changes and responding to schema change events.")
-		fs.StringVar(&schemaChangeUser, "schema_change_user", schemaChangeUser, "The user who schema changes are submitted on behalf of.")
+	Main.Flags().StringVar(&schemaChangeDir, "schema_change_dir", schemaChangeDir, "Directory containing schema changes for all keyspaces. Each keyspace has its own directory, and schema changes are expected to live in '$KEYSPACE/input' dir. (e.g. 'test_keyspace/input/*sql'). Each sql file represents a schema change.")
+	Main.Flags().StringVar(&schemaChangeController, "schema_change_controller", schemaChangeController, "Schema change controller is responsible for finding schema changes and responding to schema change events.")
+	Main.Flags().StringVar(&schemaChangeUser, "schema_change_user", schemaChangeUser, "The user who schema changes are submitted on behalf of.")
 
-		fs.DurationVar(&schemaChangeCheckInterval, "schema_change_check_interval", schemaChangeCheckInterval, "How often the schema change dir is checked for schema changes. This value must be positive; if zero or lower, the default of 1m is used.")
-		fs.DurationVar(&schemaChangeReplicasTimeout, "schema_change_replicas_timeout", schemaChangeReplicasTimeout, "How long to wait for replicas to receive a schema change.")
-	})
+	Main.Flags().DurationVar(&schemaChangeCheckInterval, "schema_change_check_interval", schemaChangeCheckInterval, "How often the schema change dir is checked for schema changes. This value must be positive; if zero or lower, the default of 1m is used.")
+	Main.Flags().DurationVar(&schemaChangeReplicasTimeout, "schema_change_replicas_timeout", schemaChangeReplicasTimeout, "How long to wait for replicas to receive a schema change.")
 }
 
 func initSchema() {
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/docgen/main.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/docgen/main.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4243153859e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/docgen/main.go
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2023 The Vitess Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/cmd/internal/docgen"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/cmd/vtctld/cli"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	var dir string
+	cmd := cobra.Command{
+		Use: "docgen [-d <dir>]",
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			return docgen.GenerateMarkdownTree(cli.Main, dir)
+		},
+	}
+
+	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&dir, "dir", "d", "doc", "output directory to write documentation")
+	_ = cmd.Execute()
+}
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtctld/main.go b/go/cmd/vtctld/main.go
index 26f9e100c19..6f9ab7384fc 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtctld/main.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtctld/main.go
@@ -17,52 +17,12 @@ limitations under the License.
 package main
 
 import (
-	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
-
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/acl"
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/exit"
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/topo"
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vtctld"
-)
-
-func init() {
-	servenv.RegisterDefaultFlags()
-	servenv.RegisterFlags()
-	servenv.RegisterGRPCServerFlags()
-	servenv.RegisterGRPCServerAuthFlags()
-	servenv.RegisterServiceMapFlag()
-
-	servenv.OnParse(func(fs *pflag.FlagSet) {
-		acl.RegisterFlags(fs)
-	})
-}
-
-// used at runtime by plug-ins
-var (
-	ts *topo.Server
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/cmd/vtctld/cli"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/log"
 )
 
 func main() {
-	servenv.ParseFlags("vtctld")
-	servenv.Init()
-	defer servenv.Close()
-
-	ts = topo.Open()
-	defer ts.Close()
-
-	// Init the vtctld core
-	err := vtctld.InitVtctld(ts)
-	if err != nil {
-		exit.Return(1)
+	if err := cli.Main.Execute(); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
-
-	// Register http debug/health
-	vtctld.RegisterDebugHealthHandler(ts)
-
-	// Start schema manager service.
-	initSchema()
-
-	// And run the server.
-	servenv.RunDefault()
 }
diff --git a/go/cmd/vtorc/cli/cli.go b/go/cmd/vtorc/cli/cli.go
index da9380eb625..a7224f43487 100644
--- a/go/cmd/vtorc/cli/cli.go
+++ b/go/cmd/vtorc/cli/cli.go
@@ -17,15 +17,9 @@ limitations under the License.
 package cli
 
 import (
-	"flag"
-	"fmt"
-
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/acl"
-	_flag "vitess.io/vitess/go/internal/flag"
-	"vitess.io/vitess/go/viperutil"
-	viperdebug "vitess.io/vitess/go/viperutil/debug"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/log"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/servenv"
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vtorc/config"
@@ -38,22 +32,11 @@ var (
 	configFile string
 	Main       = &cobra.Command{
 		Use:     "vtorc",
-		Short:   "", // TODO
+		Short:   "VTOrc is the automated fault detection and repair tool in Vitess.",
 		Args:    cobra.NoArgs,
 		Version: servenv.AppVersion.String(),
-		PreRunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			_flag.TrickGlog()
-
-			watchCancel, err := viperutil.LoadConfig()
-			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("%s: failed to read in config: %s", cmd.Name(), err)
-			}
-
-			servenv.OnTerm(watchCancel)
-			servenv.HTTPHandleFunc("/debug/config", viperdebug.HandlerFunc)
-			return nil
-		},
-		Run: run,
+		PreRunE: servenv.CobraPreRunE,
+		Run:     run,
 	}
 )
 
@@ -101,14 +84,7 @@ func init() {
 	servenv.RegisterDefaultFlags()
 	servenv.RegisterFlags()
 
-	Main.Flags().AddFlagSet(servenv.GetFlagSetFor("vtorc"))
-
-	// glog flags, no better way to do this
-	_flag.PreventGlogVFlagFromClobberingVersionFlagShorthand(Main.Flags())
-	Main.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("logtostderr"))
-	Main.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("alsologtostderr"))
-	Main.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("stderrthreshold"))
-	Main.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("log_dir"))
+	servenv.MoveFlagsToCobraCommand(Main)
 
 	logic.RegisterFlags(Main.Flags())
 	server.RegisterFlags(Main.Flags())
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
index 75183e86843..e670ff52090 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtctld.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-Usage of vtctld:
+The Vitess cluster management daemon.
+
+Usage:
+  vtctld [flags]
+
+Flags:
       --action_timeout duration                                          time to wait for an action before resorting to force (default 1m0s)
       --alsologtostderr                                                  log to standard error as well as files
       --azblob_backup_account_key_file string                            Path to a file containing the Azure Storage account key; if this flag is unset, the environment variable VT_AZBLOB_ACCOUNT_KEY will be used as the key itself (NOT a file path).
@@ -58,7 +63,7 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --grpc_server_initial_window_size int                              gRPC server initial window size
       --grpc_server_keepalive_enforcement_policy_min_time duration       gRPC server minimum keepalive time (default 10s)
       --grpc_server_keepalive_enforcement_policy_permit_without_stream   gRPC server permit client keepalive pings even when there are no active streams (RPCs)
-  -h, --help                                                             display usage and exit
+  -h, --help                                                             help for vtctld
       --jaeger-agent-host string                                         host and port to send spans to. if empty, no tracing will be done
       --keep_logs duration                                               keep logs for this long (using ctime) (zero to keep forever)
       --keep_logs_by_mtime duration                                      keep logs for this long (using mtime) (zero to keep forever)
@@ -79,8 +84,6 @@ Usage of vtctld:
       --proxy_tablets                                                    Setting this true will make vtctld proxy the tablet status instead of redirecting to them
       --purge_logs_interval duration                                     how often try to remove old logs (default 1h0m0s)
       --remote_operation_timeout duration                                time to wait for a remote operation (default 15s)
-      --s2a_enable_appengine_dialer                                      If true, opportunistically use AppEngine-specific dialer to call S2A.
-      --s2a_timeout duration                                             Timeout enforced on the connection to the S2A service for handshake. (default 3s)
       --s3_backup_aws_endpoint string                                    endpoint of the S3 backend (region must be provided).
       --s3_backup_aws_region string                                      AWS region to use. (default "us-east-1")
       --s3_backup_aws_retries int                                        AWS request retries. (default -1)
diff --git a/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt b/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
index 74f4f37956c..a5ebd750f40 100644
--- a/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
+++ b/go/flags/endtoend/vtorc.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+VTOrc is the automated fault detection and repair tool in Vitess.
+
 Usage:
   vtorc [flags]
 
@@ -34,6 +36,7 @@ Flags:
       --keep_logs_by_mtime duration                                 keep logs for this long (using mtime) (zero to keep forever)
       --lameduck-period duration                                    keep running at least this long after SIGTERM before stopping (default 50ms)
       --lock-timeout duration                                       Maximum time for which a shard/keyspace lock can be acquired for (default 45s)
+      --log_backtrace_at traceLocation                              when logging hits line file:N, emit a stack trace (default :0)
       --log_dir string                                              If non-empty, write log files in this directory
       --log_err_stacks                                              log stack traces for errors
       --log_rotate_max_size uint                                    size in bytes at which logs are rotated (glog.MaxSize) (default 1887436800)
@@ -89,4 +92,5 @@ Flags:
       --topo_zk_tls_key string                                      the key to use to connect to the zk topo server, enables TLS
       --v Level                                                     log level for V logs
   -v, --version                                                     print binary version
+      --vmodule moduleSpec                                          comma-separated list of pattern=N settings for file-filtered logging
       --wait-replicas-timeout duration                              Duration for which to wait for replica's to respond when issuing RPCs (default 30s)
diff --git a/go/vt/servenv/servenv.go b/go/vt/servenv/servenv.go
index b8dee4233bc..06942d4f4b9 100644
--- a/go/vt/servenv/servenv.go
+++ b/go/vt/servenv/servenv.go
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ limitations under the License.
 package servenv
 
 import (
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
 	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 
 	"vitess.io/vitess/go/event"
@@ -362,6 +365,40 @@ func ParseFlagsForTests(cmd string) {
 	loadViper(cmd)
 }
 
+// MoveFlagsToCobraCommand moves the servenv-registered flags to the flagset of
+// the given cobra command, then copies over the glog flags that otherwise
+// require manual transferring.
+func MoveFlagsToCobraCommand(cmd *cobra.Command) {
+	cmd.Flags().AddFlagSet(GetFlagSetFor(cmd.Use))
+	// glog flags, no better way to do this
+	_flag.PreventGlogVFlagFromClobberingVersionFlagShorthand(cmd.Flags())
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("logtostderr"))
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("log_backtrace_at"))
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("alsologtostderr"))
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("stderrthreshold"))
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("log_dir"))
+	cmd.Flags().AddGoFlag(flag.Lookup("vmodule"))
+}
+
+// CobraPreRunE returns the common function that commands will need to load
+// viper infrastructure. It matches the signature of cobra's (Pre|Post)RunE-type
+// functions.
+func CobraPreRunE(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	_flag.TrickGlog()
+
+	watchCancel, err := viperutil.LoadConfig()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: failed to read in config: %s", cmd.Name(), err)
+	}
+
+	OnTerm(watchCancel)
+	HTTPHandleFunc("/debug/config", viperdebug.HandlerFunc)
+
+	logutil.PurgeLogs()
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // GetFlagSetFor returns the flag set for a given command.
 // This has to exported for the Vitess-operator to use
 func GetFlagSetFor(cmd string) *pflag.FlagSet {