diff --git a/app/meteor/meteor.js b/app/meteor/meteor.js
index 4d648bccda5..2b0d7385947 100644
--- a/app/meteor/meteor.js
+++ b/app/meteor/meteor.js
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ Fiber(function () {
             .boolean('debug')
             .describe('debug', 'deploy in debug mode (don\'t minify, etc)')
             .boolean('tests')
-            .describe('settings', 'set optional data for Meteor.settings on the server')
+            .describe('settings', 'set optional data for Meteor.settings')
       //      .describe('tests', 'deploy the tests instead of the actual application')
             .usage(
               // XXX document --tests in the future, once we publicly
@@ -532,22 +532,24 @@ Fiber(function () {
                 "\n" +
                 "You can deploy to any available name under 'meteor.com'\n" +
                 "without any additional configuration, for example,\n" +
-                "'myapp.meteor.com'.  If you deploy to a custom domain, such as\n" +
+                "'myapp.meteor.com'. If you deploy to a custom domain, such as\n" +
                 "'myapp.mydomain.com', then you'll also need to configure your domain's\n" +
-                "DNS records.  See the Meteor docs for details.\n" +
+                "DNS records. See the Meteor docs for details.\n" +
                 "\n" +
                 "The --settings flag can be used to pass deploy-specific information to\n" +
                 "the application. It will be available at runtime in Meteor.settings, but only\n" +
-                "on the server. The argument is the name of a file containing the JSON data\n" +
-                "to use.  The settings will persist across deployments until you again specify\n" +
-                "a settings file.  To unset Meteor.settings, pass an empty settings file.\n" +
+                "on the server. If the object contains a key named 'public', then\n" +
+                "Meteor.settings.public will also be available on the client. The argument\n" +
+                "is the name of a file containing the JSON data to use. The settings will\n" +
+                "persist across deployments until you again specify a settings file. To\n" +
+                "unset Meteor.settings, pass an empty settings file.\n" +
                 "\n" +
                 "The --delete flag permanently removes a deployed application, including\n" +
                 "all of its stored data.\n" +
                 "\n" +
-                "The --password flag sets an administrative password for the domain.  Once\n" +
+                "The --password flag sets an administrative password for the domain. Once\n" +
                 "set, any subsequent 'deploy', 'logs', or 'mongo' command will prompt for\n" +
-                "the password.  You can change the password with a second 'deploy' command."
+                "the password. You can change the password with a second 'deploy' command."
             );
 
       var new_argv = opt.argv;
diff --git a/docs/client/api.js b/docs/client/api.js
index b3547466f50..efd28869995 100644
--- a/docs/client/api.js
+++ b/docs/client/api.js
@@ -57,12 +57,13 @@ Template.api.absoluteUrl = {
 Template.api.settings = {
   id: "meteor_settings",
   name: "Meteor.settings",
-  locus: "Server",
+  locus: "Server and client",
   descr: ["`Meteor.settings` contains any deployment-specific options that were " +
           "provided using the `--settings` option for `meteor run` or `meteor deploy`. " +
           "If you provide the `--settings` option, `Meteor.settings` will be the " +
           "JSON object in the file you specify.  Otherwise, `Meteor.settings` will " +
-          "be an empty object."]
+          "be an empty object. If the object contains a key named `public`, then " +
+          "`Meteor.settings.public` will also be available on the client."]
 };
 
 Template.api.publish = {
diff --git a/packages/meteor/client_environment.js b/packages/meteor/client_environment.js
index ca2c972b8d5..6405709e300 100644
--- a/packages/meteor/client_environment.js
+++ b/packages/meteor/client_environment.js
@@ -2,3 +2,9 @@ Meteor = {
   isClient: true,
   isServer: false
 };
+
+if (typeof __meteor_runtime_config__ !== 'undefined' &&
+    __meteor_runtime_config__ &&
+    __meteor_runtime_config__.PUBLIC_SETTINGS) {
+  Meteor.settings = { public: __meteor_runtime_config__.PUBLIC_SETTINGS };
+}
diff --git a/packages/meteor/server_environment.js b/packages/meteor/server_environment.js
index 62313947bcf..254e60f7862 100644
--- a/packages/meteor/server_environment.js
+++ b/packages/meteor/server_environment.js
@@ -3,11 +3,15 @@ Meteor = {
   isServer: true
 };
 
-try {
-  Meteor.settings = {};
-  if (process.env.METEOR_SETTINGS)
+Meteor.settings = {};
+if (process.env.METEOR_SETTINGS) {
+  try {
     Meteor.settings = JSON.parse(process.env.METEOR_SETTINGS);
-} catch (e) {
-  throw new Error("Settings are not valid JSON");
+  } catch (e) {
+    throw new Error("Settings are not valid JSON");
+  }
+}
+// Push a subset of settings to the client.
+if (Meteor.settings && Meteor.settings.public) {
+  __meteor_runtime_config__.PUBLIC_SETTINGS = Meteor.settings.public;
 }
-