diff --git a/cmd/kpod/load.go b/cmd/kpod/load.go
index f4b75941..6061a16e 100644
--- a/cmd/kpod/load.go
+++ b/cmd/kpod/load.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 
 	"github.com/containers/storage"
-	"github.com/kubernetes-incubator/cri-o/libpod/common"
 	"github.com/kubernetes-incubator/cri-o/libpod/images"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
@@ -16,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 type loadOptions struct {
 	input string
 	quiet bool
+	image string
 }
 
 var (
@@ -54,12 +54,15 @@ func loadCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 	}
 
 	args := c.Args()
-	if len(args) > 0 {
+	var image string
+	if len(args) == 1 {
+		image = args[0]
+	}
+	if len(args) > 1 {
 		return errors.New("too many arguments. Requires exactly 1")
 	}
 
 	input := c.String("input")
-	quiet := c.Bool("quiet")
 
 	if input == "/dev/stdin" {
 		fi, err := os.Stdin.Stat()
@@ -92,7 +95,8 @@ func loadCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 
 	opts := loadOptions{
 		input: input,
-		quiet: quiet,
+		quiet: c.Bool("quiet"),
+		image: image,
 	}
 
 	return loadImage(store, opts)
@@ -101,9 +105,21 @@ func loadCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 // loadImage loads the image from docker-archive or oci to containers-storage
 // using the pullImage function
 func loadImage(store storage.Store, opts loadOptions) error {
-	systemContext := common.GetSystemContext("")
+	loadOpts := images.CopyOptions{
+		Quiet: opts.quiet,
+		Store: store,
+	}
 
-	src := dockerArchive + opts.input
-
-	return images.PullImage(store, src, false, opts.quiet, systemContext)
+	src := images.DockerArchive + ":" + opts.input
+	if err := images.PullImage(src, false, loadOpts); err != nil {
+		src = images.OCIArchive + ":" + opts.input
+		// generate full src name with specified image:tag
+		if opts.image != "" {
+			src = src + ":" + opts.image
+		}
+		if err := images.PullImage(src, false, loadOpts); err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "error pulling from %q", opts.input)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/kpod/save.go b/cmd/kpod/save.go
index 97d42f70..54680a2e 100644
--- a/cmd/kpod/save.go
+++ b/cmd/kpod/save.go
@@ -10,13 +10,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
-const (
-	dockerArchive = "docker-archive:"
-)
-
 type saveOptions struct {
 	output string
 	quiet  bool
+	format string
 	images []string
 }
 
@@ -31,9 +28,16 @@ var (
 			Name:  "quiet, q",
 			Usage: "Suppress the output",
 		},
+		cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:  "format",
+			Usage: "Save image to oci-archive",
+		},
 	}
-	saveDescription = "Save an image to docker-archive on the local machine"
-	saveCommand     = cli.Command{
+	saveDescription = `
+	Save an image to docker-archive or oci-archive on the local machine.
+	Default is docker-archive`
+
+	saveCommand = cli.Command{
 		Name:        "save",
 		Usage:       "Save image to an archive",
 		Description: saveDescription,
@@ -60,7 +64,6 @@ func saveCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 	}
 
 	output := c.String("output")
-	quiet := c.Bool("quiet")
 
 	if output == "/dev/stdout" {
 		fi := os.Stdout
@@ -71,7 +74,8 @@ func saveCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 
 	opts := saveOptions{
 		output: output,
-		quiet:  quiet,
+		quiet:  c.Bool("quiet"),
+		format: c.String("format"),
 		images: args,
 	}
 
@@ -81,9 +85,19 @@ func saveCmd(c *cli.Context) error {
 // saveImage pushes the image to docker-archive or oci by
 // calling pushImage
 func saveImage(store storage.Store, opts saveOptions) error {
-	dst := dockerArchive + opts.output
+	var dst string
+	switch opts.format {
+	case images.OCIArchive:
+		dst = images.OCIArchive + ":" + opts.output
+	case images.DockerArchive:
+		fallthrough
+	case "":
+		dst = images.DockerArchive + ":" + opts.output
+	default:
+		return errors.Errorf("unknown format option %q", opts.format)
+	}
 
-	pushOpts := images.CopyOptions{
+	saveOpts := images.CopyOptions{
 		SignaturePolicyPath: "",
 		Store:               store,
 	}
@@ -92,7 +106,7 @@ func saveImage(store storage.Store, opts saveOptions) error {
 	// future pull requests will fix this
 	for _, image := range opts.images {
 		dest := dst + ":" + image
-		if err := images.PushImage(image, dest, pushOpts); err != nil {
+		if err := images.PushImage(image, dest, saveOpts); err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to save %q", image)
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/completions/bash/kpod b/completions/bash/kpod
index e68f9814..1ebf6c3e 100644
--- a/completions/bash/kpod
+++ b/completions/bash/kpod
@@ -332,6 +332,7 @@ _kpod_version() {
 _kpod_save() {
      local options_with_args="
      --output -o
+     --format
      "
      local boolean_options="
      --quiet -q
diff --git a/docs/kpod-load.1.md b/docs/kpod-load.1.md
index 43201c8f..e1a3257e 100644
--- a/docs/kpod-load.1.md
+++ b/docs/kpod-load.1.md
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ kpod-load - Load an image from docker archive
 [**--help**|**-h**]
 
 ## DESCRIPTION
-**kpod load** copies an image from **docker-archive** stored on the local machine.
-**kpod load** reads from stdin by default or a file if the **input** flag is set.
+**kpod load** copies an image from either **docker-archive** or **oci-archive** stored
+on the local machine. **kpod load** reads from stdin by default or a file if the **input** flag is set.
 The **quiet** flag suppresses the output when set.
 
 **kpod [GLOBAL OPTIONS]**
diff --git a/docs/kpod-save.1.md b/docs/kpod-save.1.md
index 454a18f0..4d4fb12f 100644
--- a/docs/kpod-save.1.md
+++ b/docs/kpod-save.1.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # kpod-save "1" "July 2017" "kpod"
 
 ## NAME
-kpod-save - Save an image to docker-archive or oci
+kpod-save - Save an image to docker-archive or oci-archive
 
 ## SYNOPSIS
 **kpod save**
@@ -11,9 +11,10 @@ kpod-save - Save an image to docker-archive or oci
 [**--help**|**-h**]
 
 ## DESCRIPTION
-**kpod save** saves an image to either **docker-archive** on the loacl machine.
-**kpod save** writes to STDOUT by default and can be redirected to a file
-using the **output** flag. The **quiet** flag suppresses the output when set.
+**kpod save** saves an image to either **docker-archive** or **oci-archive**
+on the local machine, default is **docker-archive**.
+**kpod save** writes to STDOUT by default and can be redirected to a file using the **output** flag.
+The **quiet** flag suppresses the output when set.
 
 **kpod [GLOBAL OPTIONS]**
 
@@ -26,6 +27,12 @@ using the **output** flag. The **quiet** flag suppresses the output when set.
 **--output, -o**
 Write to a file, default is STDOUT
 
+**--format**
+Save image to **oci-archive**
+```
+--format oci-archive
+```
+
 **--quiet, -q**
 Suppress the output
 
@@ -44,6 +51,10 @@ Suppress the output
 # kpod save > alpine-all.tar alpine
 ```
 
+```
+# kpod save -o oci-alpine.tar --format oci-archive alpine
+```
+
 ## SEE ALSO
 kpod(1), kpod-load(1), crio(8), crio.conf(5)
 
diff --git a/libpod/images/copy.go b/libpod/images/copy.go
index 8a9688e0..255c1000 100644
--- a/libpod/images/copy.go
+++ b/libpod/images/copy.go
@@ -7,12 +7,13 @@ import (
 	"syscall"
 
 	cp "github.com/containers/image/copy"
+	dockerarchive "github.com/containers/image/docker/archive"
 	"github.com/containers/image/docker/tarfile"
 	"github.com/containers/image/manifest"
+	ociarchive "github.com/containers/image/oci/archive"
 	"github.com/containers/image/signature"
 	is "github.com/containers/image/storage"
 	"github.com/containers/image/transports/alltransports"
-	"github.com/containers/image/types"
 	"github.com/containers/storage"
 	"github.com/containers/storage/pkg/archive"
 	"github.com/kubernetes-incubator/cri-o/libpod/common"
@@ -25,6 +26,15 @@ const (
 	DefaultRegistry = "docker://"
 )
 
+var (
+	// DockerArchive is the transport we prepend to an image name
+	// when saving to docker-archive
+	DockerArchive = dockerarchive.Transport.Name()
+	// OCIArchive is the transport we prepend to an image name
+	// when saving to oci-archive
+	OCIArchive = ociarchive.Transport.Name()
+)
+
 // CopyOptions contains the options given when pushing or pulling images
 type CopyOptions struct {
 	// Compression specifies the type of compression which is applied to
@@ -50,6 +60,8 @@ type CopyOptions struct {
 	// strip or add signatures to the image when pushing (uploading) the
 	// image to a registry.
 	common.SigningOptions
+	// Quiet suppresses the output when a push or pull happens
+	Quiet bool
 }
 
 // PushImage pushes the src image to the destination
@@ -101,13 +113,15 @@ func PushImage(srcName, destName string, options CopyOptions) error {
 }
 
 // PullImage copies the image from the source to the destination
-func PullImage(store storage.Store, imgName string, allTags, quiet bool, sc *types.SystemContext) error {
+func PullImage(imgName string, allTags bool, options CopyOptions) error {
 	var (
 		images []string
 		output io.Writer
 	)
+	store := options.Store
+	sc := common.GetSystemContext(options.SignaturePolicyPath)
 
-	if quiet {
+	if options.Quiet {
 		output = nil
 	} else {
 		output = os.Stdout
@@ -124,10 +138,11 @@ func PullImage(store storage.Store, imgName string, allTags, quiet bool, sc *typ
 	}
 
 	splitArr := strings.Split(imgName, ":")
+	archFile := splitArr[len(splitArr)-1]
 
 	// supports pulling from docker-archive, oci, and registries
-	if splitArr[0] == "docker-archive" {
-		tarSource := tarfile.NewSource(splitArr[len(splitArr)-1])
+	if srcRef.Transport().Name() == DockerArchive {
+		tarSource := tarfile.NewSource(archFile)
 		manifest, err := tarSource.LoadTarManifest()
 		if err != nil {
 			return errors.Errorf("error retrieving manifest.json: %v", err)
@@ -152,9 +167,17 @@ func PullImage(store storage.Store, imgName string, allTags, quiet bool, sc *typ
 				}
 			}
 		}
-	} else if splitArr[0] == "oci" {
-		// needs to be implemented in future
-		return errors.Errorf("oci not supported")
+	} else if srcRef.Transport().Name() == OCIArchive {
+		// retrieve the manifest from index.json to access the image name
+		manifest, err := ociarchive.LoadManifestDescriptor(srcRef)
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "error loading manifest for %q", srcRef)
+		}
+
+		if manifest.Annotations == nil || manifest.Annotations["org.opencontainers.image.ref.name"] == "" {
+			return errors.Errorf("error, archive doesn't have a name annotation. Cannot store image with no name")
+		}
+		images = append(images, manifest.Annotations["org.opencontainers.image.ref.name"])
 	} else {
 		images = append(images, imgName)
 	}
diff --git a/test/kpod_load.bats b/test/kpod_load.bats
index 8cf5cf1b..61f9a2b8 100644
--- a/test/kpod_load.bats
+++ b/test/kpod_load.bats
@@ -27,6 +27,22 @@ function teardown() {
 	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
 
+@test "kpod load oci-archive image" {
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} pull $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} save -o alpine.tar --format oci-archive $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} $KPOD_OPTIONS rmi $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} load -i alpine.tar
+	echo "$output"
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	rm -f alpine.tar
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} $KPOD_OPTIONS rmi $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
 @test "kpod load using quiet flag" {
 	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} pull $IMAGE
 	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
diff --git a/test/kpod_save.bats b/test/kpod_save.bats
index d77cd6b5..d961d69e 100644
--- a/test/kpod_save.bats
+++ b/test/kpod_save.bats
@@ -23,6 +23,18 @@ function teardown() {
 	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
 
+@test "kpod save oci flag" {
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} pull $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} save -o alpine.tar --format oci-archive $IMAGE
+	echo "$output"
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} rmi $IMAGE
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+	rm -f alpine.tar
+	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+}
+
 @test "kpod save using stdout" {
 	run ${KPOD_BINARY} ${KPOD_OPTIONS} pull $IMAGE
 	[ "$status" -eq 0 ]