diff --git a/.circleci/deploy.sh b/.circleci/deploy.sh
index d0bb6749..50842cb6 100755
--- a/.circleci/deploy.sh
+++ b/.circleci/deploy.sh
@@ -79,6 +79,15 @@ deploy_console() {
     unset DIST_PATH
 }
 
+# build and push container for auto-migrations
+build_and_push_cli_migrations_image() {
+    IMAGE_TAG="hasura/graphql-engine:${CIRCLE_TAG}.cli-migrations"
+    cd "$ROOT/scripts/cli-migrations"
+    cp /build/_cli_output/binaries/cli-hasura-linux-amd64 .
+    docker build -t "$IMAGE_TAG" .
+    docker push "$IMAGE_TAG"
+}
+
 # copy docker-compose-https manifests to gcr for digital ocean one-click app
 deploy_do_manifests() {
     gsutil cp "$ROOT/install-manifests/docker-compose-https/docker-compose.yaml" \
@@ -125,6 +134,7 @@ deploy_console
 deploy_server
 if [[ ! -z "$CIRCLE_TAG" ]]; then
     deploy_server_latest
+    build_and_push_cli_migrations_image
     CHANGELOG_TEXT=$(changelog server)
     CHANGELOG_TEXT+=$(changelog cli)
     CHANGELOG_TEXT+=$(changelog console)
@@ -136,5 +146,4 @@ EOF
     configure_git
     send_pr_to_repo graphql-engine-heroku
     deploy_do_manifests
-
 fi
diff --git a/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/auto-apply-migrations.rst b/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/auto-apply-migrations.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b4cd0ae2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/auto-apply-migrations.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+Auto-apply migrations when server starts
+========================================
+
+Hasura ships a special docker container which can be used to
+automatically apply migrations when the server starts:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   hasura/graphql-engine:<version>.cli-migrations
+
+The ``migrations`` directory created by Hasura CLI (the one next to 
+``config.yaml``) can be mounted at ``/hasura-migrations`` path of this docker
+container and the container's entrypoint script will apply the migrations before
+starting the server. If no directory is mounted at the designated path, server
+will start ignoring migrations.
+
+.. note::
+
+   This container image includes Hasura CLI at ``/bin/hasura-cli`` and can be
+   used for running any other CI/CD scripts in your workflow.
+
+If you want to mount the migrations directory at some location other than
+``/hasura-migrations``, set the following environment variable:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR=/custom-path-for-migrations
+
+Once the migrations are applied, the container resumes operation as a normal
+Hasura GraphQL Engine server.
+
+Example:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   # Start Hasura after applying the migrations present in /home/me/my-project/migrations
+   docker run -p 8080:8080 \
+          -v /home/me/my-project/migrations:/hasura-migrations \
+          -e HASURA_GRAPHQL_DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:@postgres:5432/postgres \
+          hasura/graphql-engine:v1.0.0-alpha27.cli-migrations
diff --git a/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/index.rst b/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/index.rst
index 196b2844..cc5455b2 100644
--- a/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/index.rst
+++ b/docs/graphql/manual/migrations/index.rst
@@ -19,9 +19,14 @@ Follow the guide that best fits your scenario:
 - :doc:`Migrations with a database with an existing migration system <database-with-migrations>`: Use Hasura only
   for GraphQL schema changes and not database migrations.
 
+Advanced:
+
+- :doc:`Auto-apply migrations when server starts <auto-apply-migrations>`
+
 .. toctree::
    :hidden:
 
    For new project <new-project>
    For existing project <existing-project>
    With a database with an existing migration system <database-with-migrations>
+   Auto-apply migrations when server starts <auto-apply-migrations>
diff --git a/scripts/cli-migrations/.gitignore b/scripts/cli-migrations/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..42f0444c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cli-migrations/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+cli-hasura-linux-amd64
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/cli-migrations/Dockerfile b/scripts/cli-migrations/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4bdc4f19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cli-migrations/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+FROM hasura/graphql-engine:v1.0.0-alpha27
+
+ENV HASURA_GRAPHQL_ENABLE_CONSOLE=true
+
+COPY docker-entrypoint.sh /bin/
+COPY cli-hasura-linux-amd64 /bin/hasura-cli
+RUN chmod +x /bin/hasura-cli
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]
+
+CMD ["graphql-engine", "serve"]
diff --git a/scripts/cli-migrations/docker-entrypoint.sh b/scripts/cli-migrations/docker-entrypoint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..c93b9662
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/cli-migrations/docker-entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -e
+
+DEFAULT_MIGRATIONS_DIR="/hasura-migrations"
+TEMP_MIGRATIONS_DIR="/tmp/hasura-migrations"
+
+# wait for a port to be ready
+wait_for_port() {
+    local PORT=$1
+    echo "waiting for $PORT"
+    for i in `seq 1 30`;
+    do
+        nc localhost $PORT > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "port $PORT is ready" && return
+        echo -n .
+        sleep 1
+    done
+    echo "failed waiting for $PORT" && exit 1
+}
+
+echo "starting graphql engine on port 8080..."
+
+# start graphql engine
+graphql-engine serve &
+# store the pid to kill it later
+PID=$!
+
+# wait for port 8080 to be ready
+wait_for_port 8080
+
+# check if migration directory is set, default otherwise
+if [ -z ${HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR+x} ]; then
+    echo "env var HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR is not set"
+    echo "defaulting to $DEFAULT_MIGRATIONS_DIR"
+    HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR="$DEFAULT_MIGRATIONS_DIR"
+fi
+
+# apply migrations if the directory exist
+if [ -d "$HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR" ]; then
+    echo "applying migrations in $HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR..."
+    mkdir -p "$TEMP_MIGRATIONS_DIR"
+    cp -a "$HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR/." "$TEMP_MIGRATIONS_DIR/migrations/"
+    cd "$TEMP_MIGRATIONS_DIR"
+    echo "endpoint: http://localhost:8080" > config.yaml
+    hasura-cli migrate apply
+else
+    echo "directory $HASURA_GRAPHQL_MIGRATIONS_DIR does not exist"
+    echo "skipping migration apply"
+fi
+
+# kill graphql engine that we started earlier
+kill $PID
+
+# pass control to CMD
+exec "$@"
diff --git a/scripts/tag-release.sh b/scripts/tag-release.sh
index ebee0215..82036e98 100755
--- a/scripts/tag-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/tag-release.sh
@@ -16,6 +16,9 @@ set -e
 # get the repo root
 ROOT="$(readlink -f ${BASH_SOURCE[0]%/*}/../)"
 
+# paths to replace versions
+VERSION_PATHS="$ROOT/install-manifests $ROOT/scripts/cli-migrations"
+
 # check if required argument is set
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
     echo "Usage: ./tag-release.sh <tag> [<optional-tag-message>]"
@@ -32,10 +35,10 @@ if [ -z "$MESSAGE" ]; then
 fi
 
 # replace the image version with latest tag for all references in install-manifests
-find "$ROOT/install-manifests" -type f -exec sed -i -E 's#(hasura/graphql-engine:)v(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)(\-[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?(\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?( \\)*$#\1'"${TAG}"'\9#' {} \;
+find "$VERSION_PATHS" -type f -exec sed -i -E 's#(hasura/graphql-engine:)v(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)\.(0|[1-9][0-9]*)(\-[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?(\+[0-9A-Za-z-]+(\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*)?( \\)*$#\1'"${TAG}"'\9#' {} \;
 
-git add "$ROOT/install-manifests"
-git commit -m "update installation manifests to $TAG"
+git add "$VERSION_PATHS"
+git commit -m "update manifests to $TAG"
 
 git tag -a "$TAG" -m "$MESSAGE"