diff --git a/pubnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg b/pubnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
index ee08248a..52df3aed 100644
--- a/pubnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
+++ b/pubnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 HTTP_PORT=11626
 PUBLIC_HTTP_PORT=true
 LOG_FILE_PATH=""
+MANUAL_CLOSE=__MANUAL_CLOSE__
 
 DATABASE="postgresql://dbname=core host=localhost user=stellar password=__PGPASS__"
 NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Public Global Stellar Network ; September 2015"
diff --git a/standalone/core/etc/stellar-captive-core.cfg b/standalone/core/etc/stellar-captive-core.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8c95f1ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/standalone/core/etc/stellar-captive-core.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+# simple captive core configuration for a standalone test "network"
+NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Standalone Network ; February 2017"
+# for debugging purposes
+HTTP_PORT=21626
+# To avoid conflicts with the core instance
+PEER_PORT=21625
+
+NODE_IS_VALIDATOR=false
+UNSAFE_QUORUM=true
+FAILURE_SAFETY=0
+
+DATABASE="sqlite3://stellar-captive-core.db"
+
+COMMANDS=["ll?level=info"]
+
+[[VALIDATORS]]
+NAME="local_core"
+HOME_DOMAIN="core.local"
+# From "SDQVDISRYN2JXBS7ICL7QJAEKB3HWBJFP2QECXG7GZICAHBK4UNJCWK2"
+PUBLIC_KEY="GCTI6HMWRH2QGMFKWVU5M5ZSOTKL7P7JAHZDMJJBKDHGWTEC4CJ7O3DU"
+ADDRESS="localhost"
+QUALITY="MEDIUM"
+HISTORY="curl http://localhost:1570/{0} -o {1}"
diff --git a/standalone/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg b/standalone/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
index 8f863a1b..54ae285a 100644
--- a/standalone/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
+++ b/standalone/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 
 HTTP_PORT=11626
 PUBLIC_HTTP_PORT=true
-RUN_STANDALONE=true
+RUN_STANDALONE=__RUN_STANDALONE__
+MANUAL_CLOSE=__MANUAL_CLOSE__
 
 NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Standalone Network ; February 2017"
 KNOWN_CURSORS=["HORIZON"]
@@ -26,4 +27,4 @@ VALIDATORS=["$self"]
 [HISTORY.vs]
 get="cp /tmp/stellar-core/history/vs/{0} {1}"
 put="cp {0} /tmp/stellar-core/history/vs/{1}"
-mkdir="mkdir -p /tmp/stellar-core/history/vs/{0}"
\ No newline at end of file
+mkdir="mkdir -p /tmp/stellar-core/history/vs/{0}"
diff --git a/start b/start
index 3dfe6732..0efa8944 100644
--- a/start
+++ b/start
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ export PGDATA="$PGHOME/data"
 export PGUSER="stellar"
 export PGPORT=5432
 
+ENABLE_HORIZON_CAPTIVE_CORE=false
+ENABLE_CORE_MANUAL_CLOSE=false
+
 QUICKSTART_INITIALIZED=false
 CURRENT_POSTGRES_PID=""
 
@@ -21,6 +24,10 @@ function main() {
 	echo ""
 
 	process_args $*
+	if [ "$NETWORK" != "standalone" ] && [ "$ENABLE_HORIZON_CAPTIVE_CORE" = "true" ]; then
+	  echo "--enable-horizon-captive-core is only supported in the standalone network" >&2
+	  exit 1
+	fi
 
 	echo "mode: $STELLAR_MODE"
 	echo "network: $NETWORK ($NETWORK_PASSPHRASE)"
@@ -60,6 +67,12 @@ function process_args() {
     --enable-asset-stats)
       export ENABLE_ASSET_STATS="$1"
       shift
+      ;;
+    --enable-horizon-captive-core)
+      ENABLE_HORIZON_CAPTIVE_CORE=true
+      ;;
+    --enable-core-manual-close)
+      ENABLE_CORE_MANUAL_CLOSE=true
       ;;
 	  *)
 	    echo "Unknown container arg $ARG" >&2
@@ -230,7 +243,13 @@ function init_stellar_core() {
 		return 0
 	fi
 
-	run_silent "finalize-core-config" sed -ri "s/__PGPASS__/$PGPASS/g" etc/stellar-core.cfg
+	run_silent "finalize-core-config-pgpass" sed -ri "s/__PGPASS__/$PGPASS/g" etc/stellar-core.cfg
+	local RUN_STANDALONE=false
+	if [ "$NETWORK" = "standalone" ] && [ "$HORIZON_ENABLE_CAPTIVE_CORE" = "false" ]; then
+	  RUN_STANDALONE=true
+	fi
+	run_silent "finalize-core-config-run-standalone" sed -ri "s/__RUN_STANDALONE__/$RUN_STANDALONE/g" etc/stellar-core.cfg
+	run_silent "finalize-core-config-manual-close" sed -ri "s/__MANUAL_CLOSE__/$ENABLE_CORE_MANUAL_CLOSE/g" etc/stellar-core.cfg
 
 	start_postgres
 
@@ -265,6 +284,14 @@ function init_horizon() {
 		-e "s=__ARCHIVE__=$HISTORY_ARCHIVE_URLS=g" \
 		etc/horizon.env
 
+	if [ "$ENABLE_HORIZON_CAPTIVE_CORE" = "true" ]; then
+	  cat << EOF >> etc/horizon.env
+export ENABLE_CAPTIVE_CORE_INGESTION=true
+export STELLAR_CORE_BINARY_PATH=/usr/bin/stellar-core
+export STELLAR_CORE_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/stellar/core/etc/stellar-captive-core.cfg
+EOF
+	fi
+
 	start_postgres
 	run_silent "init-horizon-db" sudo -u stellar ./bin/horizon db init
 	if [ "$NETWORK" == "standalone" ]; then
diff --git a/testnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg b/testnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
index 3caedaab..f6664b45 100644
--- a/testnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
+++ b/testnet/core/etc/stellar-core.cfg
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 HTTP_PORT=11626
 PUBLIC_HTTP_PORT=true
 LOG_FILE_PATH=""
+MANUAL_CLOSE=__MANUAL_CLOSE__
 
 NETWORK_PASSPHRASE="Test SDF Network ; September 2015"
 KNOWN_CURSORS=["HORIZON"]