diff --git a/docs/man_pages/lib-management/plugin-create.md b/docs/man_pages/lib-management/plugin-create.md
index 43b7b4ffe6..dd4e0f11fa 100644
--- a/docs/man_pages/lib-management/plugin-create.md
+++ b/docs/man_pages/lib-management/plugin-create.md
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ position: 1
 
 Usage | Synopsis
 ---|---
-Create a new plugin | `$ tns plugin create <Plugin Repository Name> [--path <Directory>]`
+Create from the default plugin seed | `$ tns plugin create <Plugin Repository Name> [--path <Directory>]`
+Create from a custom plugin seed | `$ tns plugin create <Plugin Repository Name> [--path <Directory>] --template <Template>`
 
 Creates a new project for NativeScript plugin development. The project uses the [NativeScript Plugin Seed](https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed) as a base and contains the following directories:
 
@@ -20,9 +21,19 @@ The project is setup for easy commit in Github, which is why the command will as
 ### Options
 
 * `--path` - Specifies the directory where you want to create the project, if different from the current directory.
+* `--template` - Specifies the custom seed archive, which you want to use to create your plugin. If `--template` is not set, the NativeScript CLI creates the plugin from the default NativeScript Plugin Seed.
 * `--username` - Specifies the Github username, which will be used to build the URLs in the plugin's package.json file.
 * `--pluginName` - Used to set the default file and class names in the plugin source.
 
 ### Attributes
 
-* `<Plugin Repository Name>` is the name of repository where your plugin will reside. A directory with the same name will be created. For example: `nativescript-awesome-list`. If a directory with the name already exists and is not empty, the plugin create command will fail.
\ No newline at end of file
+* `<Plugin Repository Name>` is the name of repository where your plugin will reside. A directory with the same name will be created. For example: `nativescript-awesome-list`. If a directory with the name already exists and is not empty, the plugin create command will fail.<% if(isHtml) { %>
+* `<Template>` can be a URL or a local path to a `.tar.gz` file with the contents of a seed repository. This must be a clone of the [NativeScript Plugin Seed](https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed) and must contain a `src` directory with a package.json file and a script at `src/scripts/postclone.js`. After the archive is extracted, the postclone script will be executed with the username (`gitHubUsername`) and plugin name (`pluginName`) parameters given to the `tns plugin create` command prompts. For more information, visit the default plugin seed repository and [examine the source script](https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed/blob/master/src/scripts/postclone.js) there. Examples:
+
+  * Using a local file:
+
+    `tns plugin create nativescript-testplugin --template ../seeds/seed1.tar.gz`
+
+  * Using a `.tar.gz` file from a tag called `v4.0` in a Github repository:
+
+    `tns plugin create nativescript-testplugin --template https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed/archive/v.4.0.tar.gz`<% } %>
diff --git a/lib/commands/plugin/create-plugin.ts b/lib/commands/plugin/create-plugin.ts
index 31afca0045..423f0c815d 100644
--- a/lib/commands/plugin/create-plugin.ts
+++ b/lib/commands/plugin/create-plugin.ts
@@ -18,13 +18,11 @@ export class CreatePluginCommand implements ICommand {
 	public async execute(args: string[]): Promise<void> {
 		const pluginRepoName = args[0];
 		const pathToProject = this.$options.path;
+		const selectedTemplate = this.$options.template;
 		const selectedPath = path.resolve(pathToProject || ".");
 		const projectDir = path.join(selectedPath, pluginRepoName);
 
-		this.$logger.printMarkdown("Downloading the latest version of NativeScript Plugin Seed...");
-		await this.downloadPackage(projectDir);
-
-		this.$logger.printMarkdown("Executing initial plugin configuration script...");
+		await this.downloadPackage(selectedTemplate, projectDir);
 		await this.setupSeed(projectDir, pluginRepoName);
 
 		this.$logger.printMarkdown("Solution for `%s` was successfully created.", pluginRepoName);
@@ -39,6 +37,8 @@ export class CreatePluginCommand implements ICommand {
 	}
 
 	private async setupSeed(projectDir: string, pluginRepoName: string): Promise<void> {
+		this.$logger.printMarkdown("Executing initial plugin configuration script...");
+
 		const config = this.$options;
 		const spinner = this.$terminalSpinnerService.createSpinner();
 		const cwd = path.join(projectDir, "src");
@@ -66,15 +66,21 @@ export class CreatePluginCommand implements ICommand {
 		}
 	}
 
-	private async downloadPackage(projectDir: string): Promise<void> {
+	private async downloadPackage(selectedTemplate: string, projectDir: string): Promise<void> {
 		this.$fs.createDirectory(projectDir);
 
 		if (this.$fs.exists(projectDir) && !this.$fs.isEmptyDir(projectDir)) {
 			this.$errors.fail("Path already exists and is not empty %s", projectDir);
 		}
 
+		if (selectedTemplate) {
+			this.$logger.printMarkdown("Make sure your custom template is compatible with the Plugin Seed at https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed/");
+		} else {
+			this.$logger.printMarkdown("Downloading the latest version of NativeScript Plugin Seed...");
+		}
+
 		const spinner = this.$terminalSpinnerService.createSpinner();
-		const packageToInstall = "https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed/archive/master.tar.gz";
+		const packageToInstall = selectedTemplate || "https://github.com/NativeScript/nativescript-plugin-seed/archive/master.tar.gz";
 		try {
 			spinner.start();
 			await this.$pacoteService.extractPackage(packageToInstall, projectDir);
diff --git a/test/plugin-create.ts b/test/plugin-create.ts
index 5829ce6972..c6ab5b6f6b 100644
--- a/test/plugin-create.ts
+++ b/test/plugin-create.ts
@@ -4,10 +4,16 @@ import { CreatePluginCommand } from "../lib/commands/plugin/create-plugin";
 import { assert } from "chai";
 import helpers = require("../lib/common/helpers");
 
+interface IPacoteOutput {
+	packageName: string;
+	destinationDirectory: string;
+}
+
 const originalIsInteractive = helpers.isInteractive;
 const dummyArgs = ["dummyProjectName"];
 const dummyUser = "devUsername";
 const dummyName = "devPlugin";
+const dummyPacote: IPacoteOutput = { packageName: "", destinationDirectory: "" };
 
 function createTestInjector() {
 	const testInjector = new Yok();
@@ -21,7 +27,9 @@ function createTestInjector() {
 	testInjector.register("npm", stubs.NpmInstallationManagerStub);
 	testInjector.register("options", {
 		username: undefined,
-		pluginName: undefined
+		pluginName: undefined,
+		template: undefined,
+		path: undefined
 	});
 
 	testInjector.register("terminalSpinnerService", {
@@ -34,7 +42,11 @@ function createTestInjector() {
 
 	testInjector.register("pacoteService", {
 		manifest: () => Promise.resolve(),
-		extractPackage: () => Promise.resolve()
+		extractPackage: (packageName: string, destinationDirectory: string) => {
+			dummyPacote.destinationDirectory = destinationDirectory;
+			dummyPacote.packageName = packageName;
+			return Promise.resolve();
+		}
 	});
 
 	testInjector.register("createCommand", CreatePluginCommand);
@@ -63,6 +75,24 @@ describe("Plugin create command tests", () => {
 			assert.isRejected(createPluginCommand.canExecute([]));
 		});
 
+		it("should use correct directory when path parameter is passed", async () => {
+			helpers.isInteractive = () => false;
+			const dummyPath = "dummyPath";
+			options.path = dummyPath;
+			dummyPacote.destinationDirectory = "";
+			await createPluginCommand.execute(dummyArgs);
+			assert.include(dummyPacote.destinationDirectory, dummyPath);
+		});
+
+		it("should use correct download path when template parameter is passed", async () => {
+			helpers.isInteractive = () => false;
+			const dummyTemplate = "dummyTemplate";
+			options.template = dummyTemplate;
+			dummyPacote.packageName = "";
+			await createPluginCommand.execute(dummyArgs);
+			assert.equal(dummyPacote.packageName, dummyTemplate);
+		});
+
 		it("should pass when only project name is set in non-interactive shell.", async () => {
 			helpers.isInteractive = () => false;
 			await createPluginCommand.execute(dummyArgs);