diff --git a/commands/core/archive.drush.inc b/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
index b7f3d80..9b84571 100644
--- a/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
+++ b/commands/core/archive.drush.inc
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ function archive_drush_command() {
       'generatorversion' => 'The generator version number to store in the MANIFEST file. The default is ' . DRUSH_VERSION . '.',
       'pipe' => 'Only print the destination of the archive. Useful for scripts that don\'t pass --destination.',
       'preserve-symlinks' => 'Preserve symbolic links.',
+      'no-core' => 'Exclude Drupal core, so the backup only contains the site specific stuff.',
       'tar-options' => 'Options passed thru to the tar command.',
     ),
     'examples' => array(
@@ -65,7 +66,9 @@ function archive_drush_command() {
  * Command callback. Generate site archive file.
  */
 function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
+  $include_platform = !drush_get_option('no-core', FALSE);
   $tar = drush_get_tar_executable();
+
   $sites = array();
   $aliases = drush_sitealias_resolve_sitespecs(explode(',', $sites_subdirs));
   foreach ($aliases as $key => $alias) {
@@ -169,22 +172,25 @@ function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
   $docroot_path = realpath(drush_get_context('DRUSH_DRUPAL_ROOT'));
   $docroot = basename($docroot_path);
   $workdir = dirname($docroot_path);
-  $dereference = (drush_get_option('preserve-symlinks', FALSE)) ? '' : '--dereference ';
-  // Convert destination path to Unix style for tar on MinGW - see http://drupal.org/node/1844224
-  if (drush_is_mingw()) {
-    $destination_orig = $destination;
-    $destination = str_replace('\\', '/', $destination);
-    $destination = preg_replace('$^([a-zA-Z]):$', '/$1', $destination);
-  }
-  // Archive Drupal core, excluding sites dir.
-  drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$tar_extra_options} --exclude \"{$docroot}/sites\" {$dereference}-cf %s %s", $destination, $docroot);
-  // Add sites/all to the same archive.
-  drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$tar_extra_options} {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/all");
-  // Add special files in sites/ to the archive.
-  $files_to_add = array('sites/README.txt', 'sites/sites.php', 'sites/example.sites.php', 'sites/default/default.settings.php');
-  foreach ($files_to_add as $file_to_add) {
-    if (file_exists($file_to_add)) {
-      drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, $docroot . '/' . $file_to_add);
+
+  if ($include_platform) {
+    $dereference = (drush_get_option('preserve-symlinks', FALSE)) ? '' : '--dereference ';
+    // Convert destination path to Unix style for tar on MinGW - see http://drupal.org/node/1844224
+    if (drush_is_mingw()) {
+      $destination_orig = $destination;
+      $destination = str_replace('\\', '/', $destination);
+      $destination = preg_replace('$^([a-zA-Z]):$', '/$1', $destination);
+    }
+    // Archive Drupal core, excluding sites dir.
+    drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$tar_extra_options} --exclude \"{$docroot}/sites\" {$dereference}-cf %s %s", $destination, $docroot);
+    // Add sites/all to the same archive.
+    drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$tar_extra_options} {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, "{$docroot}/sites/all");
+    // Add special files in sites/ to the archive.
+    $files_to_add = array('sites/README.txt', 'sites/sites.php', 'sites/example.sites.php', 'sites/default/default.settings.php');
+    foreach ($files_to_add as $file_to_add) {
+      if (file_exists($file_to_add)) {
+        drush_shell_cd_and_exec($workdir, "$tar {$dereference}-rf %s %s", $destination, $docroot . '/' . $file_to_add);
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -220,6 +226,7 @@ function drush_archive_dump($sites_subdirs = '@self') {
     'generatorversion' => drush_get_option('generatorversion', DRUSH_VERSION),
     'description' => drush_get_option('description', ''),
     'tags' => drush_get_option('tags', ''),
+    'archiveformat' => ($include_platform ? 'platform' : 'site'),
   );
   $contents = drush_export_ini(array('Global' => $platform));
 
@@ -308,17 +315,13 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
     }
   }
   else {
-    // No manifest. Try to find docroot and DB dump file.
-    $db_file = drush_scan_directory($tmp, '/\.sql$/',  array('.', '..', 'CVS'), 0, 0);
-    $directories = glob($tmp . '/*' , GLOB_ONLYDIR);
-    $ini = array(
-      'Global' => array(),
-      'default' => array(
-        'docroot' => reset($directories),
-        'sitedir' => 'sites/default',
-        'database-default-file' => key($db_file),
-      ),
-    );
+    $ini = drush_archive_guess_manifest($tmp);
+  }
+
+  // Backward compatibility: 'archiveformat' did not exist
+  // in older versions of archive-dump.
+  if (!isset( $ini['Global']['archiveformat'])) {
+    $ini['Global']['archiveformat'] = 'platform';
   }
 
   // Grab the first site in the Manifest and move docroot to destination.
@@ -327,15 +330,29 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
   $first = array_shift($ini_tmp);
   $docroot = basename($first['docroot']);
   $destination = drush_get_option('destination', realpath('.') . "/$docroot");
-  if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot", $destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
-    return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE _RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore files to !dest', array('!dest' => $destination)));
+
+  if ($ini['Global']['archiveformat'] == 'platform') {
+    // Move the whole platform inplace at once.
+    if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot", $destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
+      return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE_TO_RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore platform to !dest', array('!dest' => $destination)));
+    }
+  }
+  else {
+    // When no platform is included we do this on a per-site basis.
   }
 
   // Loop over sites and restore databases and append to settings.php.
   foreach ($ini as $section => $site) {
     if ($section != 'Global' && (is_null($site_id) || $section == $site_id) && !empty($site['database-default-file'])) {
+      $site_destination = $destination . '/' . $site['sitedir'];
+      // Restore site, in case not already done above.
+      if ($ini['Global']['archiveformat'] == 'site') {
+        if (!drush_move_dir("$tmp/$docroot/" . $site['sitedir'], $site_destination, drush_get_option('overwrite'))) {
+          return drush_set_error('DRUSH_ARCHIVE_UNABLE_TO_RESTORE_FILES', dt('Unable to restore site to !dest', array('!dest' => $site_destination)));
+        }
+      }
 
-      // Restore database
+      // Restore database.
       $sql_file = $tmp . '/' . $site['database-default-file'];
       if ($db_url = drush_get_option('db-url')) {
         if (empty($site_id) && count($ini) >= 3) {
@@ -378,6 +395,7 @@ function drush_archive_restore($file, $site_id = NULL) {
     }
   }
   drush_log(dt('Archive restored to !dest', array('!dest' => $destination)), 'ok');
+
   return $destination;
 }
 
@@ -401,3 +419,35 @@ function archive_archive_restore_complete() {
     ),
   );
 }
+
+/**
+ * Try to find docroot and DB dump file in an extracted archive.
+ *
+ * @param string $path The location of the extracted archive.
+ * @return array The manifest data.
+ */
+function drush_archive_guess_manifest($path) {
+  $db_file = drush_scan_directory($path, '/\.sql$/',  array('.', '..', 'CVS'), 0, 0);
+
+  if (file_exists($path . '/index.php')) {
+    $docroot = './';
+  }
+  else {
+    $directories = glob($path . '/*' , GLOB_ONLYDIR);
+    $docroot = reset($directories);
+  }
+
+  $ini = array(
+    'Global' => array(
+        // Very crude detection of a platform...
+        'archiveformat' => (drush_drupal_version($docroot) ? 'platform' : 'site'),
+    ),
+    'default' => array(
+      'docroot' => $docroot,
+      'sitedir' => 'sites/default',
+      'database-default-file' => key($db_file),
+    ),
+  );
+
+  return $ini;
+}
diff --git a/tests/archiveDumpTest.php b/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
index a046c95..a078a06 100644
--- a/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
+++ b/tests/archiveDumpTest.php
@@ -6,56 +6,127 @@
  * @group commands
  */
 class archiveDumpCase extends Drush_CommandTestCase {
+  /**
+   * archive-dump behaves slightly different when archiving a site installed
+   * at sites/default so we make the test to use sites/default as the
+   * installation directory instead of default sites/dev.
+   */
+  const uri = 'default';
 
-  /*
-   * Test dump and extraction.
-   *
-   * archive-dump behaves slightly different when archiving a site installed at sites/default
-   * so we make the test to use sites/default as the installation directory.
+  /**
+   * Install a site and dump it to an archive.
    */
-  public function testArchiveDump() {
-    $uri = 'default';
-    $this->fetchInstallDrupal($uri, TRUE, UNISH_DRUPAL_MAJOR_VERSION, 'testing');
+  private function archiveDump($no_core) {
+    $this->fetchInstallDrupal(self::uri, TRUE, UNISH_DRUPAL_MAJOR_VERSION, 'testing');
     $root = $this->webroot();
-    $docroot = basename($root);
-
-    $dump_dest = "dump.tar.gz";
+    $dump_dest = UNISH_SANDBOX . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'dump.tar.gz';
     $options = array(
       'root' => $root,
-      'uri' => $uri,
+      'uri' => self::uri,
       'yes' => NULL,
       'destination' => $dump_dest,
+      'overwrite' => NULL,
     );
-    $this->drush('archive-dump', array($uri), $options);
-    $exec = sprintf('file %s%s%s', UNISH_SANDBOX, DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, $dump_dest);
-    $this->execute($exec);
-    $output = $this->getOutput();
-    $sep = self::is_windows() ? ';' : ':';
-    $expected = UNISH_SANDBOX . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . "dump.tar.gz$sep gzip compressed data, from";
+    if ($no_core) {
+      $options['no-core'] = NULL;
+    }
+    $this->drush('archive-dump', array(self::uri), $options);
 
-    $this->assertStringStartsWith($expected, $output);
+    return $dump_dest;
+  }
 
-    // Untar it, make sure it looks right.
+  /**
+   * Untar an archive and return the path to the untarred folder.
+   */
+  private function unTar($dump_dest) {
     $untar_dest = UNISH_SANDBOX . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'untar';
+    unish_file_delete_recursive($untar_dest);
     $tar = self::get_tar_executable();
-    $exec = sprintf("mkdir %s && cd %s && $tar -xzf %s%s%s", $untar_dest, $untar_dest, UNISH_SANDBOX, DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, $dump_dest);
+    $exec = sprintf("mkdir %s && cd %s && $tar -xzf %s", $untar_dest, $untar_dest, $dump_dest);
     $this->execute($exec);
+
+    return $untar_dest;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Test if tarball generated by archive-dump looks right.
+   */
+  public function testArchiveDump() {
+    $dump_dest = $this->archiveDump(FALSE);
+    $docroot = basename($this->webroot());
+
+    // Check the dump file is a gzip file.
+    $exec = sprintf('file %s', $dump_dest);
+    $this->execute($exec);
+    $output = $this->getOutput();
+    $sep = self::is_windows() ? ';' : ':';
+    $expected = $dump_dest . "$sep gzip compressed data, from";
+    $this->assertStringStartsWith($expected, $output);
+
+    // Untar the archive and make sure it looks right.
+    $untar_dest = $this->unTar($dump_dest);
+
     if (strpos(UNISH_DB_URL, 'mysql') !== FALSE) {
-      $this->execute(sprintf('head %s/unish_%s.sql | grep "MySQL dump"', $untar_dest, $uri));
+      $this->execute(sprintf('head %s/unish_%s.sql | grep "MySQL dump"', $untar_dest, self::uri));
     }
     $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/MANIFEST.ini');
     $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/' . $docroot);
 
-    // Restore archive and verify that the file structure is identical.
+    return $dump_dest;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Test archive-restore.
+   *
+   * Restore the archive generated in testArchiveDump() and verify that the
+   * directory contents are identical.
+   *
+   * @depends testArchiveDump
+   */
+   public function testArchiveRestore($dump_dest) {
     require_once dirname(__FILE__) . '/../includes/filesystem.inc';
     $restore_dest = UNISH_SANDBOX . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'restore';
     $options = array(
       'yes' => NULL,
       'destination' => $restore_dest,
     );
-    $this->drush('archive-restore', array(UNISH_SANDBOX . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $dump_dest), $options);
-    $original_codebase = drush_dir_md5($root);
+    $this->drush('archive-restore', array($dump_dest), $options);
+    $original_codebase = drush_dir_md5($this->webroot());
     $restored_codebase = drush_dir_md5($restore_dest);
     $this->assertEquals($original_codebase, $restored_codebase);
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Test if tarball generated by archive-dump with --no-core looks right.
+   */
+  public function testArchiveDumpNoCore() {
+    $dump_dest = $this->archiveDump(TRUE);
+    $untar_dest = $this->unTar($dump_dest);
+    $docroot = basename($this->webroot());
+    $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/MANIFEST.ini');
+    $this->assertFileExists($untar_dest . '/' . $docroot);
+    $this->assertFileNotExists($untar_dest . '/' . $docroot . '/modules', 'No modules directory should exist with --no-core');
+
+    return $dump_dest;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Test archive-restore for a site archive (--no-core).
+   *
+   * @depends testArchiveDumpNoCore
+   */
+  public function testArchiveRestoreNoCore($dump_dest) {
+    $root = $this->webroot();
+    $original_codebase = drush_dir_md5($root);
+    unish_file_delete_recursive($root . '/sites/' . self::uri);
+
+    $options = array(
+      'yes' => NULL,
+      'destination' => $root,
+    );
+    $this->drush('archive-restore', array($dump_dest), $options);
+
+    $restored_codebase = drush_dir_md5($root);
+    $this->assertEquals($original_codebase, $restored_codebase);
+   }
 }