diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.pb.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.pb.go
index 2e09f4face7..172db57fac1 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.pb.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.pb.go
@@ -61,8 +61,32 @@ func (m *Quantity) XXX_DiscardUnknown() {
 
 var xxx_messageInfo_Quantity proto.InternalMessageInfo
 
+func (m *QuantityValue) Reset()      { *m = QuantityValue{} }
+func (*QuantityValue) ProtoMessage() {}
+func (*QuantityValue) Descriptor() ([]byte, []int) {
+	return fileDescriptor_612bba87bd70906c, []int{1}
+}
+func (m *QuantityValue) XXX_Unmarshal(b []byte) error {
+	return xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue.Unmarshal(m, b)
+}
+func (m *QuantityValue) XXX_Marshal(b []byte, deterministic bool) ([]byte, error) {
+	return xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue.Marshal(b, m, deterministic)
+}
+func (m *QuantityValue) XXX_Merge(src proto.Message) {
+	xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue.Merge(m, src)
+}
+func (m *QuantityValue) XXX_Size() int {
+	return xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue.Size(m)
+}
+func (m *QuantityValue) XXX_DiscardUnknown() {
+	xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue.DiscardUnknown(m)
+}
+
+var xxx_messageInfo_QuantityValue proto.InternalMessageInfo
+
 func init() {
 	proto.RegisterType((*Quantity)(nil), "k8s.io.apimachinery.pkg.api.resource.Quantity")
+	proto.RegisterType((*QuantityValue)(nil), "k8s.io.apimachinery.pkg.api.resource.QuantityValue")
 }
 
 func init() {
@@ -70,20 +94,21 @@ func init() {
 }
 
 var fileDescriptor_612bba87bd70906c = []byte{
-	// 237 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
-	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0x4c, 0x8e, 0xb1, 0x4e, 0xc3, 0x30,
-	0x10, 0x40, 0xcf, 0x0b, 0x2a, 0x19, 0x2b, 0x84, 0x10, 0xc3, 0xa5, 0x42, 0x0c, 0x2c, 0xd8, 0x6b,
-	0xc5, 0xc8, 0xce, 0x00, 0x23, 0x5b, 0x92, 0x1e, 0xae, 0x15, 0xd5, 0x8e, 0x2e, 0x36, 0x52, 0xb7,
-	0x8e, 0x8c, 0x1d, 0x19, 0x9b, 0xbf, 0xe9, 0xd8, 0xb1, 0x03, 0x03, 0x31, 0x3f, 0x82, 0xea, 0x36,
-	0x52, 0xb7, 0x7b, 0xef, 0xf4, 0x4e, 0x97, 0xbd, 0xd4, 0xd3, 0x56, 0x1a, 0xa7, 0xea, 0x50, 0x12,
-	0x5b, 0xf2, 0xd4, 0xaa, 0x4f, 0xb2, 0x33, 0xc7, 0xea, 0xb4, 0x28, 0x1a, 0xb3, 0x28, 0xaa, 0xb9,
-	0xb1, 0xc4, 0x4b, 0xd5, 0xd4, 0xfa, 0x20, 0x14, 0x53, 0xeb, 0x02, 0x57, 0xa4, 0x34, 0x59, 0xe2,
-	0xc2, 0xd3, 0x4c, 0x36, 0xec, 0xbc, 0x1b, 0xdf, 0x1f, 0x2b, 0x79, 0x5e, 0xc9, 0xa6, 0xd6, 0x07,
-	0x21, 0x87, 0xea, 0xf6, 0x51, 0x1b, 0x3f, 0x0f, 0xa5, 0xac, 0xdc, 0x42, 0x69, 0xa7, 0x9d, 0x4a,
-	0x71, 0x19, 0x3e, 0x12, 0x25, 0x48, 0xd3, 0xf1, 0xe8, 0xdd, 0x34, 0x1b, 0xbd, 0x86, 0xc2, 0x7a,
-	0xe3, 0x97, 0xe3, 0xeb, 0xec, 0xa2, 0xf5, 0x6c, 0xac, 0xbe, 0x11, 0x13, 0xf1, 0x70, 0xf9, 0x76,
-	0xa2, 0xa7, 0xab, 0xef, 0x4d, 0x0e, 0x5f, 0x5d, 0x0e, 0xeb, 0x2e, 0x87, 0x4d, 0x97, 0xc3, 0xea,
-	0x67, 0x02, 0xcf, 0x72, 0xdb, 0x23, 0xec, 0x7a, 0x84, 0x7d, 0x8f, 0xb0, 0x8a, 0x28, 0xb6, 0x11,
-	0xc5, 0x2e, 0xa2, 0xd8, 0x47, 0x14, 0xbf, 0x11, 0xc5, 0xfa, 0x0f, 0xe1, 0x7d, 0x34, 0x3c, 0xf6,
-	0x1f, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x3c, 0x08, 0x88, 0x49, 0x0e, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
+	// 254 bytes of a gzipped FileDescriptorProto
+	0x1f, 0x8b, 0x08, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xff, 0xe2, 0xf2, 0xcd, 0xb6, 0x28, 0xd6,
+	0xcb, 0xcc, 0xd7, 0xcf, 0x2e, 0x4d, 0x4a, 0x2d, 0xca, 0x4b, 0x2d, 0x49, 0x2d, 0xd6, 0x2f, 0x4b,
+	0xcd, 0x4b, 0xc9, 0x2f, 0xd2, 0x87, 0x4a, 0x24, 0x16, 0x64, 0xe6, 0x26, 0x26, 0x67, 0x64, 0xe6,
+	0xa5, 0x16, 0x55, 0xea, 0x17, 0x64, 0xa7, 0x83, 0x04, 0xf4, 0x8b, 0x52, 0x8b, 0xf3, 0x4b, 0x8b,
+	0x92, 0x53, 0xf5, 0xd3, 0x53, 0xf3, 0x52, 0x8b, 0x12, 0x4b, 0x52, 0x53, 0xf4, 0x0a, 0x8a, 0xf2,
+	0x4b, 0xf2, 0x85, 0x54, 0x20, 0xba, 0xf4, 0x90, 0x75, 0xe9, 0x15, 0x64, 0xa7, 0x83, 0x04, 0xf4,
+	0x60, 0xba, 0xa4, 0x74, 0xd3, 0x33, 0x4b, 0x32, 0x4a, 0x93, 0xf4, 0x92, 0xf3, 0x73, 0xf5, 0xd3,
+	0xf3, 0xd3, 0xf3, 0xf5, 0xc1, 0x9a, 0x93, 0x4a, 0xd3, 0xc0, 0x3c, 0x30, 0x07, 0xcc, 0x82, 0x18,
+	0xaa, 0x64, 0xc1, 0xc5, 0x11, 0x58, 0x9a, 0x98, 0x57, 0x92, 0x59, 0x52, 0x29, 0x24, 0xc6, 0xc5,
+	0x56, 0x5c, 0x52, 0x94, 0x99, 0x97, 0x2e, 0xc1, 0xa8, 0xc0, 0xa8, 0xc1, 0x19, 0x04, 0xe5, 0x59,
+	0x89, 0xcc, 0x58, 0x20, 0xcf, 0xd0, 0xb1, 0x50, 0x9e, 0x61, 0xc2, 0x42, 0x79, 0x86, 0x05, 0x0b,
+	0xe5, 0x19, 0x1a, 0xee, 0x28, 0x30, 0x28, 0xd9, 0x72, 0xf1, 0xc2, 0x74, 0x86, 0x25, 0xe6, 0x94,
+	0xa6, 0x92, 0xa6, 0xdd, 0x49, 0xef, 0xc4, 0x43, 0x39, 0x86, 0x0b, 0x0f, 0xe5, 0x18, 0x6e, 0x3c,
+	0x94, 0x63, 0x68, 0x78, 0x24, 0xc7, 0x78, 0xe2, 0x91, 0x1c, 0xe3, 0x85, 0x47, 0x72, 0x8c, 0x37,
+	0x1e, 0xc9, 0x31, 0x3e, 0x78, 0x24, 0xc7, 0x38, 0xe1, 0xb1, 0x1c, 0x43, 0x14, 0x07, 0xcc, 0x5f,
+	0x80, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0x21, 0x76, 0x9f, 0x66, 0x4d, 0x01, 0x00, 0x00,
 }
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.proto b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.proto
index 472104d5429..54240b7b5f2 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.proto
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/generated.proto
@@ -86,3 +86,15 @@ message Quantity {
   optional string string = 1;
 }
 
+// QuantityValue makes it possible to use a Quantity as value for a command
+// line parameter.
+//
+// +protobuf=true
+// +protobuf.embed=string
+// +protobuf.options.marshal=false
+// +protobuf.options.(gogoproto.goproto_stringer)=false
+// +k8s:deepcopy-gen=true
+message QuantityValue {
+  optional string string = 1;
+}
+
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity.go
index 000f96eb9d1..6d43868ba80 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity.go
@@ -764,3 +764,30 @@ func (q *Quantity) SetScaled(value int64, scale Scale) {
 	q.d.Dec = nil
 	q.i = int64Amount{value: value, scale: scale}
 }
+
+// QuantityValue makes it possible to use a Quantity as value for a command
+// line parameter.
+//
+// +protobuf=true
+// +protobuf.embed=string
+// +protobuf.options.marshal=false
+// +protobuf.options.(gogoproto.goproto_stringer)=false
+// +k8s:deepcopy-gen=true
+type QuantityValue struct {
+	Quantity
+}
+
+// Set implements pflag.Value.Set and Go flag.Value.Set.
+func (q *QuantityValue) Set(s string) error {
+	quantity, err := ParseQuantity(s)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	q.Quantity = quantity
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Type implements pflag.Value.Type.
+func (q QuantityValue) Type() string {
+	return "quantity"
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity_test.go
index 3442689c45c..320477358c8 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity_test.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/quantity_test.go
@@ -21,11 +21,13 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"math"
 	"math/rand"
+	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"unicode"
 
 	fuzz "github.com/google/gofuzz"
+	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 
 	inf "gopkg.in/inf.v0"
 )
@@ -1475,3 +1477,42 @@ func BenchmarkQuantityAsApproximateFloat64(b *testing.B) {
 	}
 	b.StopTimer()
 }
+
+var _ pflag.Value = &QuantityValue{}
+
+func TestQuantityValueSet(t *testing.T) {
+	q := QuantityValue{}
+
+	if err := q.Set("invalid"); err == nil {
+
+		t.Error("'invalid' did not trigger a parse error")
+	}
+
+	if err := q.Set("1Mi"); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("parsing 1Mi should have worked, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if q.Value() != 1024*1024 {
+		t.Errorf("quantity should have been set to 1Mi, got: %v", q)
+	}
+
+	data, err := json.Marshal(q)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("unexpected encoding error: %v", err)
+	}
+	expected := `"1Mi"`
+	if string(data) != expected {
+		t.Errorf("expected 1Mi value to be encoded as %q, got: %q", expected, string(data))
+	}
+}
+
+func ExampleQuantityValue() {
+	q := QuantityValue{
+		Quantity: MustParse("1Mi"),
+	}
+	fs := pflag.FlagSet{}
+	fs.SetOutput(os.Stdout)
+	fs.Var(&q, "mem", "sets amount of memory")
+	fs.PrintDefaults()
+	// Output:
+	// --mem quantity   sets amount of memory (default 1Mi)
+}
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 5bb530eb840..abb00f38e22 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/api/resource/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -26,3 +26,20 @@ func (in *Quantity) DeepCopyInto(out *Quantity) {
 	*out = in.DeepCopy()
 	return
 }
+
+// DeepCopyInto is an autogenerated deepcopy function, copying the receiver, writing into out. in must be non-nil.
+func (in *QuantityValue) DeepCopyInto(out *QuantityValue) {
+	*out = *in
+	out.Quantity = in.Quantity.DeepCopy()
+	return
+}
+
+// DeepCopy is an autogenerated deepcopy function, copying the receiver, creating a new QuantityValue.
+func (in *QuantityValue) DeepCopy() *QuantityValue {
+	if in == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	out := new(QuantityValue)
+	in.DeepCopyInto(out)
+	return out
+}