diff --git a/command/agent/command.go b/command/agent/command.go
index 1ee73527c57a..49f3fbd11e6b 100644
--- a/command/agent/command.go
+++ b/command/agent/command.go
@@ -264,6 +264,12 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// If the client address is empty, default to using the value specified by the
+	// bind address.
+	if config.ClientAddr == "" {
+		config.ClientAddr = config.BindAddr
+	}
+
 	// Ensure all endpoints are unique
 	if err := config.verifyUniqueListeners(); err != nil {
 		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("All listening endpoints must be unique: %s", err))
diff --git a/command/agent/config.go b/command/agent/config.go
index bd507628cad0..a75cac18acc7 100644
--- a/command/agent/config.go
+++ b/command/agent/config.go
@@ -742,7 +742,6 @@ func DefaultConfig() *Config {
 		Datacenter:      consul.DefaultDC,
 		Domain:          "consul.",
 		LogLevel:        "INFO",
-		ClientAddr:      "127.0.0.1",
 		BindAddr:        "0.0.0.0",
 		Ports: PortConfig{
 			DNS:     8600,
diff --git a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
index 591eaaf27c01..cf4cdc924f5f 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/agent/options.html.markdown
@@ -115,8 +115,9 @@ will exit with an error at startup.
   [`-bind` command-line flag](#_bind), and if this is not specified, the `-bind` option is used. This is available in Consul 0.7.1 and later.
 
 * <a name="_client"></a><a href="#_client">`-client`</a> - The address to which
-  Consul will bind client interfaces, including the HTTP and DNS servers. By default,
-  this is "127.0.0.1", allowing only loopback connections.
+  Consul will bind client interfaces, including the HTTP and DNS servers. When
+  not specified, the default value is the same as the [`_bind` command-line
+  flag](#_bind) address (prior to 0.8 the default value was `127.0.0.1`).
 
 * <a name="_config_file"></a><a href="#_config_file">`-config-file`</a> - A configuration file
   to load. For more information on
@@ -586,8 +587,13 @@ Consul will not enable TLS for the HTTP API unless the `https` port has been ass
   reduce write pressure. If a check ever changes state, the new state and associated
   output is synchronized immediately. To disable this behavior, set the value to "0s".
 
-* <a name="client_addr"></a><a href="#client_addr">`client_addr`</a> Equivalent to the
-  [`-client` command-line flag](#_client).
+* <a name="client_addr"></a><a href="#client_addr">`client_addr`</a> Equivalent
+  to the [`-client` command-line flag](#_client).  When not specified, the
+  default value is the same as the [`bind_addr`](#bind_addr) address (prior to
+  `0.8` the default value was `127.0.0.1`).  It is not normally necessary to
+  specify this value, however, may be necessary in more complex setups where
+  agents are NATed or when an agent is running in client and server mode (common
+  in development).
 
 * <a name="datacenter"></a><a href="#datacenter">`datacenter`</a> Equivalent to the
   [`-datacenter` command-line flag](#_datacenter).