diff --git a/src/cli/commands/refs.js b/src/cli/commands/refs.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5548133896
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/commands/refs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+'use strict'
+
+const { print } = require('../utils')
+
+const Format = {
+  default: '<dst>',
+  edges: '<src> -> <dst>'
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  command: 'refs <key>',
+
+  describe: 'List links (references) from an object',
+
+  builder: {
+    r: {
+      alias: 'recursive',
+      desc: 'Recursively list links of child nodes.',
+      type: 'boolean',
+      default: false
+    },
+    format: {
+      desc: 'Output edges with given format. Available tokens: <src> <dst> <linkname>.',
+      type: 'string',
+      default: Format.default
+    },
+    e: {
+      alias: 'edges',
+      desc: 'Output edge format: `<from> -> <to>`',
+      type: 'boolean',
+      default: false
+    },
+    u: {
+      alias: 'unique',
+      desc: 'Omit duplicate refs from output.',
+      type: 'boolean',
+      default: false
+    },
+    'max-depth': {
+      desc: 'Only for recursive refs, limits fetch and listing to the given depth.',
+      type: 'number'
+    }
+  },
+
+  handler ({ getIpfs, key, recursive, format, e, u, resolve, maxDepth }) {
+    resolve((async () => {
+      if (format !== Format.default && e) {
+        throw new Error('Cannot set edges to true and also specify format')
+      }
+
+      if (maxDepth === 0) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      const ipfs = await getIpfs()
+      let links = await ipfs.refs(key, { recursive, maxDepth })
+      if (!links.length) {
+        return
+      }
+
+      const linkDAG = getLinkDAG(links) 
+      format = e ? Format.edges : format || Format.default
+      printLinks(linkDAG, links[0], format, u && new Set())
+    })())
+  }
+}
+
+function getLinkDAG (links) {
+  const linkNames = {}
+  for (const link of links) {
+    linkNames[link.name] = link
+  }
+
+  const linkDAG = {}
+  for (const link of links) {
+    const parentName = link.path.substring(0, link.path.lastIndexOf('/'))
+    linkDAG[parentName] = linkDAG[parentName] || []
+    linkDAG[parentName].push(link)
+  }
+  return linkDAG
+}
+
+function printLinks (linkDAG, link, format, uniques) {
+  const children = linkDAG[link.path] || []
+  for (const child of children) {
+    if (!uniques || !uniques.has(child.hash)) {
+      uniques && uniques.add(child.hash)
+      printLink(link, child, format)
+      printLinks(linkDAG, child, format, uniques)
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+function printLink (src, dst, format) {
+  let out = format.replace(/<src>/g, src.hash)
+  out = out.replace(/<dst>/g, dst.hash)
+  out = out.replace(/<linkname>/g, dst.name)
+  print(out)
+}
+
diff --git a/src/core/components/files-regular/index.js b/src/core/components/files-regular/index.js
index 058d07d618..43308118d8 100644
--- a/src/core/components/files-regular/index.js
+++ b/src/core/components/files-regular/index.js
@@ -15,5 +15,7 @@ module.exports = self => ({
   getReadableStream: require('./get-readable-stream')(self),
   ls: require('./ls')(self),
   lsPullStream: require('./ls-pull-stream')(self),
-  lsReadableStream: require('./ls-readable-stream')(self)
+  lsReadableStream: require('./ls-readable-stream')(self),
+  refs: require('./refs')(self),
+  refsPullStream: require('./refs-pull-stream')(self)
 })
diff --git a/src/core/components/files-regular/refs-pull-stream.js b/src/core/components/files-regular/refs-pull-stream.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..14e78a6cd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/components/files-regular/refs-pull-stream.js
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+'use strict'
+
+const exporter = require('ipfs-unixfs-exporter')
+const pull = require('pull-stream')
+const { normalizePath } = require('./utils')
+
+module.exports = function (self) {
+  return function (ipfsPath, options = {}) {
+    const path = normalizePath(ipfsPath)
+    const pathComponents = path.split('/')
+    const pathDepth = pathComponents.length
+    if (options.maxDepth === undefined) {
+      options.maxDepth = options.recursive ? global.Infinity : pathDepth
+    } else {
+      options.maxDepth = options.maxDepth + pathDepth - 1
+    }
+
+    if (options.preload !== false) {
+      self._preload(pathComponents[0])
+    }
+
+    return pull(
+      exporter(ipfsPath, self._ipld, options),
+      pull.map(node => {
+        node.hash = node.cid.toString()
+        delete node.cid
+        delete node.content
+        return node
+      })
+    )
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/core/components/files-regular/refs.js b/src/core/components/files-regular/refs.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..64982030bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/core/components/files-regular/refs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+'use strict'
+
+const promisify = require('promisify-es6')
+const pull = require('pull-stream')
+
+module.exports = function (self) {
+  return promisify((ipfsPath, options, callback) => {
+    if (typeof options === 'function') {
+      callback = options
+      options = {}
+    }
+
+    options = options || {}
+
+    pull(
+      self.refsPullStream(ipfsPath, options),
+      pull.collect((err, values) => {
+        if (err) {
+          return callback(err)
+        }
+        callback(null, values)
+      })
+    )
+  })
+}
diff --git a/test/cli/refs.js b/test/cli/refs.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e25f6861f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/cli/refs.js
@@ -0,0 +1,263 @@
+/* eslint-env mocha */
+'use strict'
+
+const expect = require('chai').expect
+const runOnAndOff = require('../utils/on-and-off')
+
+// describe('refs', () => runOnAndOff((thing) => {
+describe('refs', () => runOnAndOff.off((thing) => {
+  let ipfs
+
+  before(() => {
+    ipfs = thing.ipfs
+    return ipfs('add -r test/fixtures/test-data/refs')
+  })
+
+  it('prints added files', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'QmdUmXjesQaPAk7NNw7epwcU1uytoJrH1qaaHHVAeZQvJJ\n' +
+          'QmcSVZRN5E814KkPy4EHnftNAR7htbFvVhRKKqFs4FBwDG\n' +
+          'QmXcybpFANuQw1VqvTAvB3gGNZp3fZtfzRfq7R7MNZvUBA\n' +
+          'QmVwtsLUHurA6wUirPSdGeEW5tfBEqenXpeRaqr8XN7bNY\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('prints files in edges format', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs -e QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 -> QmdUmXjesQaPAk7NNw7epwcU1uytoJrH1qaaHHVAeZQvJJ\n' +
+          'QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 -> QmcSVZRN5E814KkPy4EHnftNAR7htbFvVhRKKqFs4FBwDG\n' +
+          'QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 -> QmXcybpFANuQw1VqvTAvB3gGNZp3fZtfzRfq7R7MNZvUBA\n' +
+          'QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 -> QmVwtsLUHurA6wUirPSdGeEW5tfBEqenXpeRaqr8XN7bNY\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('prints files in custom format', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs --format "<linkname>: <src> => <dst>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals: QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 => QmdUmXjesQaPAk7NNw7epwcU1uytoJrH1qaaHHVAeZQvJJ\n' +
+          'atlantic-animals: QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 => QmcSVZRN5E814KkPy4EHnftNAR7htbFvVhRKKqFs4FBwDG\n' +
+          'fruits: QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 => QmXcybpFANuQw1VqvTAvB3gGNZp3fZtfzRfq7R7MNZvUBA\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt: QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4 => QmVwtsLUHurA6wUirPSdGeEW5tfBEqenXpeRaqr8XN7bNY\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('follows a path, <hash>/<subdir>', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs --format="<linkname>" /ipfs/QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4/animals')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'land\n' +
+          'sea\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('follows a path, <hash>/<subdir>/<subdir>', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs --format="<linkname>" /ipfs/QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4/animals/land')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('follows a path with recursion, <hash>/<subdir>', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs -r --format="<linkname>" /ipfs/QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4/animals')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'land\n' +
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic.txt\n' +
+          'indian.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  //
+  // Directory structure:
+  // 
+  // animals
+  //   land
+  //     african.txt
+  //     americas.txt
+  //     australian.txt
+  //   sea
+  //     atlantic.txt
+  //     indian.txt
+  // fruits
+  //   tropical.txt
+  // mushroom.txt
+  //
+
+  it('recursively follows folders, -r', function () {
+    this.slow(2000)
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs -r --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then(out => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals\n' +
+          'land\n' +
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic.txt\n' +
+          'indian.txt\n' +
+          'atlantic-animals\n' +
+          'fruits\n' +
+          'tropical.txt\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('recursive with unique option', function () {
+    this.slow(2000)
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs -u -r --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then(out => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals\n' +
+          'land\n' +
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic.txt\n' +
+          'indian.txt\n' +
+          'fruits\n' +
+          'tropical.txt\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('max depth of 1', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=1 --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals\n' +
+          'atlantic-animals\n' +
+          'fruits\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('max depth of 2', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=2 --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals\n' +
+          'land\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic-animals\n' +
+          'fruits\n' +
+          'tropical.txt\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('max depth of 3', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=3 --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'animals\n' +
+          'land\n' +
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic.txt\n' +
+          'indian.txt\n' +
+          'atlantic-animals\n' +
+          'fruits\n' +
+          'tropical.txt\n' +
+          'mushroom.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('max depth of 0', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=0 --format="<linkname>" QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4')
+      .then((out) => expect(out).to.eql(''))
+  })
+
+  it('follows a path with max depth 1, <hash>/<subdir>', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=1 --format="<linkname>" /ipfs/QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4/animals')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'land\n' +
+          'sea\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('follows a path with max depth 2, <hash>/<subdir>', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+
+    return ipfs('refs -r --max-depth=2 --format="<linkname>" /ipfs/QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4/animals')
+      .then((out) => {
+        expect(out).to.eql(
+          'land\n' +
+          'african.txt\n' +
+          'americas.txt\n' +
+          'australian.txt\n' +
+          'sea\n' +
+          'atlantic.txt\n' +
+          'indian.txt\n'
+        )
+      })
+  })
+
+  it('cannot specify edges and format', function () {
+    this.timeout(20 * 1000)
+    // If the daemon is off, ls should fail
+    // If the daemon is on, ls should search until it hits a timeout
+    return Promise.race([
+      ipfs.fail('refs --format="<linkname>" -e QmXW5PJso8qkBzavt7ZDXjmXAzJUwKi8d6AZxoSqG6rLJ4'),
+      new Promise((resolve, reject) => setTimeout(resolve, 4000))
+    ])
+      .catch(() => expect.fail(0, 1, 'Should have thrown or timedout'))
+  })
+
+  it('prints nothing for non-existent hashes', function () {
+    // If the daemon is off, ls should fail
+    // If the daemon is on, ls should search until it hits a timeout
+    return Promise.race([
+      ipfs.fail('refs QmYmW4HiZhotsoSqnv2o1oSssvkRM8b9RweBoH7ao5nki2'),
+      new Promise((resolve, reject) => setTimeout(resolve, 4000))
+    ])
+      .catch(() => expect.fail(0, 1, 'Should have thrown or timedout'))
+  })
+}))
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/african.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/african.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..29decfcd50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/african.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+elephant
+rhinocerous
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/americas.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/americas.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21368a871d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/americas.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ñandu
+tapir
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/australian.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/australian.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a78c7bc9c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/land/australian.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+emu
+kangaroo
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/atlantic.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/atlantic.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f77ffe5119
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/atlantic.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+dolphin
+whale
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/indian.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/indian.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c455106f6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/animals/sea/indian.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+cuttlefish
+octopus
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/atlantic-animals b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/atlantic-animals
new file mode 120000
index 0000000000..670958bfa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/atlantic-animals
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+animals/sea/atlantic.txt
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/fruits/tropical.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/fruits/tropical.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4f331bc7d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/fruits/tropical.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+banana
+pineapple
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/mushroom.txt b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/mushroom.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8b248aa9c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/test-data/refs/mushroom.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+mushroom
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/utils/ipfs-exec.js b/test/utils/ipfs-exec.js
index 3f9572f2a3..4f634e6ff9 100644
--- a/test/utils/ipfs-exec.js
+++ b/test/utils/ipfs-exec.js
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ const expect = chai.expect
 chai.use(dirtyChai)
 
 const _ = require('lodash')
+const yargs = require('yargs')
 
 // This is our new test utility to easily check and execute ipfs cli commands.
 //
@@ -34,11 +35,7 @@ module.exports = (repoPath, opts) => {
   }))
 
   const execute = (exec, args) => {
-    if (args.length === 1) {
-      args = args[0].split(' ')
-    }
-
-    const cp = exec(args)
+    const cp = exec(yargs('-- ' + args[0]).argv._)
     const res = cp.then((res) => {
       // We can't escape the os.tmpdir warning due to:
       // https://github.com/shelljs/shelljs/blob/master/src/tempdir.js#L43