diff --git a/cmd/commandfuncs.go b/cmd/commandfuncs.go
index d32b9c76..f24a9d06 100644
--- a/cmd/commandfuncs.go
+++ b/cmd/commandfuncs.go
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ func cmdStart(fl Flags) (int, error) {
 	startCmdConfigAdapterFlag := fl.String("adapter")
 	startCmdPidfileFlag := fl.String("pidfile")
 	startCmdWatchFlag := fl.Bool("watch")
+	startCmdEnvfileFlag := fl.String("envfile")
 
 	// open a listener to which the child process will connect when
 	// it is ready to confirm that it has successfully started
@@ -68,6 +69,9 @@ func cmdStart(fl Flags) (int, error) {
 	if startCmdConfigFlag != "" {
 		cmd.Args = append(cmd.Args, "--config", startCmdConfigFlag)
 	}
+	if startCmdEnvfileFlag != "" {
+		cmd.Args = append(cmd.Args, "--envfile", startCmdEnvfileFlag)
+	}
 	if startCmdConfigAdapterFlag != "" {
 		cmd.Args = append(cmd.Args, "--adapter", startCmdConfigAdapterFlag)
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/commands.go b/cmd/commands.go
index a5198966..36e9c04f 100644
--- a/cmd/commands.go
+++ b/cmd/commands.go
@@ -74,18 +74,22 @@ func init() {
 	RegisterCommand(Command{
 		Name:  "start",
 		Func:  cmdStart,
-		Usage: "[--config <path> [--adapter <name>]] [--watch] [--pidfile <file>]",
+		Usage: "[--config <path> [--adapter <name>]] [--envfile <path>] [--watch] [--pidfile <file>]",
 		Short: "Starts the Caddy process in the background and then returns",
 		Long: `
 Starts the Caddy process, optionally bootstrapped with an initial config file.
 This command unblocks after the server starts running or fails to run.
 
+If --envfile is specified, an environment file with environment variables in
+the KEY=VALUE format will be loaded into the Caddy process.
+
 On Windows, the spawned child process will remain attached to the terminal, so
 closing the window will forcefully stop Caddy; to avoid forgetting this, try
 using 'caddy run' instead to keep it in the foreground.`,
 		Flags: func() *flag.FlagSet {
 			fs := flag.NewFlagSet("start", flag.ExitOnError)
 			fs.String("config", "", "Configuration file")
+			fs.String("envfile", "", "Environment file to load")
 			fs.String("adapter", "", "Name of config adapter to apply")
 			fs.String("pidfile", "", "Path of file to which to write process ID")
 			fs.Bool("watch", false, "Reload changed config file automatically")