diff --git a/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin.go b/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin.go
index d1b5bf268..1a932523c 100644
--- a/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin.go
+++ b/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"net"
 	"net/url"
+	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -326,6 +327,63 @@ func standardizeAddress(str string) (Address, error) {
 	return Address{Original: input, Scheme: u.Scheme, Host: host, Port: port, Path: u.Path}, err
 }
 
+// RegisterDevDirective splices name into the list of directives
+// immediately before another directive. This function is ONLY
+// for plugin development purposes! NEVER use it for a plugin
+// that you are not currently building. If before is empty,
+// the directive will be appended to the end of the list.
+//
+// It is imperative that directives execute in the proper
+// order, and hard-coding the list of directives guarantees
+// a correct, absolute order every time. This function is
+// convenient when developing a plugin, but it does not
+// guarantee absolute ordering. Multiple plugins registering
+// directives with this function will lead to non-
+// deterministic builds and buggy software.
+//
+// Directive names must be lower-cased and unique. Any errors
+// here are fatal, and even successful calls print a message
+// to stdout as a reminder to use it only in development.
+func RegisterDevDirective(name, before string) {
+	if name == "" {
+		fmt.Println("[FATAL] Cannot register empty directive name")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	if strings.ToLower(name) != name {
+		fmt.Printf("[FATAL] %s: directive name must be lowercase\n", name)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+	for _, dir := range directives {
+		if dir == name {
+			fmt.Printf("[FATAL] %s: directive name already exists\n", name)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+	}
+	if before == "" {
+		directives = append(directives, name)
+	} else {
+		var found bool
+		for i, dir := range directives {
+			if dir == before {
+				directives = append(directives[:i], append([]string{name}, directives[i:]...)...)
+				found = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !found {
+			fmt.Printf("[FATAL] %s: directive not found\n", before)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
+	}
+	msg := fmt.Sprintf("Registered directive '%s' ", name)
+	if before == "" {
+		msg += "at end of list"
+	} else {
+		msg += fmt.Sprintf("before '%s'", before)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("[DEV NOTICE] %s\n", msg)
+}
+
 // directives is the list of all directives known to exist for the
 // http server type, including non-standard (3rd-party) directives.
 // The ordering of this list is important.
diff --git a/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin_test.go b/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin_test.go
index b079a447f..25179f06c 100644
--- a/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin_test.go
+++ b/caddyhttp/httpserver/plugin_test.go
@@ -137,3 +137,23 @@ func TestInspectServerBlocksWithCustomDefaultPort(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("Expected the port on the address to be set, but got: %#v", addr)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestDirectivesList(t *testing.T) {
+	for i, dir1 := range directives {
+		if dir1 == "" {
+			t.Errorf("directives[%d]: empty directive name", i)
+			continue
+		}
+		if got, want := dir1, strings.ToLower(dir1); got != want {
+			t.Errorf("directives[%d]: %s should be lower-cased", i, dir1)
+			continue
+		}
+		for j := i + 1; j < len(directives); j++ {
+			dir2 := directives[j]
+			if dir1 == dir2 {
+				t.Errorf("directives[%d] (%s) is a duplicate of directives[%d] (%s)",
+					j, dir2, i, dir1)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}