diff --git a/cmd/config/.golangci.yml b/cmd/config/.golangci.yml
index 26827c174..fc4b84297 100644
--- a/cmd/config/.golangci.yml
+++ b/cmd/config/.golangci.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ linters:
 #    - gochecknoinits
 #    - goconst
 #    - gocritic
-    - gocyclo
+#    - gocyclo
     - gofmt
     - goimports
 #    - golint
diff --git a/cmd/config/internal/commands/run-fns.go b/cmd/config/internal/commands/run-fns.go
index 4dfbc3e05..83a3ca7aa 100644
--- a/cmd/config/internal/commands/run-fns.go
+++ b/cmd/config/internal/commands/run-fns.go
@@ -42,14 +42,17 @@ func GetRunFnRunner(name string) *RunFnRunner {
 		&r.Image, "image", "",
 		"run this image as a function instead of discovering them.")
 	r.Command.Flags().BoolVar(
-		&r.EnableStar, "enable-star", false, "enable support for starlark functions.")
-	r.Command.Flags().MarkHidden("enable-star")
+		&r.EnableExec, "enable-exec", false, "enable support for exec functions. (Alpha)")
 	r.Command.Flags().StringVar(
-		&r.StarPath, "star-path", "", "run a starlark script as a function.")
-	r.Command.Flags().MarkHidden("star-path")
+		&r.ExecPath, "exec-path", "", "run an executable as a function. (Alpha)")
+	r.Command.Flags().StringArrayVar(
+		&r.ExecArgs, "exec-arg", nil, "arg for executable function. (Alpha)")
+	r.Command.Flags().BoolVar(
+		&r.EnableStar, "enable-star", false, "enable support for starlark functions. (Alpha)")
 	r.Command.Flags().StringVar(
-		&r.StarName, "star-name", "", "name of starlark program.")
-	r.Command.Flags().MarkHidden("star-name")
+		&r.StarPath, "star-path", "", "run a starlark script as a function. (Alpha)")
+	r.Command.Flags().StringVar(
+		&r.StarName, "star-name", "", "name of starlark program. (Alpha)")
 
 	r.Command.Flags().StringVar(
 		&r.ResultsDir, "results-dir", "", "write function results to this dir")
@@ -79,6 +82,9 @@ type RunFnRunner struct {
 	EnableStar         bool
 	StarPath           string
 	StarName           string
+	EnableExec         bool
+	ExecPath           string
+	ExecArgs           []string
 	RunFns             runfn.RunFns
 	ResultsDir         string
 	Network            bool
@@ -94,14 +100,13 @@ func (r *RunFnRunner) runE(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 // Functions to run.
 func (r *RunFnRunner) getContainerFunctions(c *cobra.Command, args, dataItems []string) (
 	[]*yaml.RNode, error) {
-	if r.Image == "" && r.StarPath == "" {
+	if r.Image == "" && r.StarPath == "" && r.ExecPath == "" {
 		return nil, nil
 	}
 
 	var fn *yaml.RNode
 	var err error
 
-	// if image isn't specified, then Functions is empty
 	if r.Image != "" {
 		// create the function spec to set as an annotation
 		fn, err = yaml.Parse(`container: {}`)
@@ -143,8 +148,29 @@ func (r *RunFnRunner) getContainerFunctions(c *cobra.Command, args, dataItems []
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-	} else {
-		return nil, nil
+	} else if r.EnableExec && r.ExecPath != "" {
+		// create the function spec to set as an annotation
+		fn, err = yaml.Parse(`exec: {}`)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		err = fn.PipeE(
+			yaml.Lookup("exec"),
+			yaml.SetField("path", yaml.NewScalarRNode(r.ExecPath)))
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		// add the arguments
+		for _, a := range r.ExecArgs {
+			err = fn.PipeE(
+				yaml.LookupCreate(yaml.SequenceNode, "exec", "args"),
+				yaml.Append(yaml.NewScalarRNode(a).YNode()))
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	// create the function config
@@ -221,8 +247,12 @@ func (r *RunFnRunner) preRunE(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		return errors.Errorf("must specify --enable-star with --star-path")
 	}
 
+	if !r.EnableExec && r.ExecPath != "" {
+		return errors.Errorf("must specify --enable-exec with --exec-path")
+	}
+
 	if c.ArgsLenAtDash() >= 0 && r.Image == "" &&
-		!(r.EnableStar && r.StarPath != "") {
+		!(r.EnableStar && r.StarPath != "") && !(r.EnableExec && r.ExecPath != "") {
 		return errors.Errorf("must specify --image")
 	}
 
@@ -270,6 +300,7 @@ func (r *RunFnRunner) preRunE(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		Network:        r.Network,
 		NetworkName:    r.NetworkName,
 		EnableStarlark: r.EnableStar,
+		EnableExec:     r.EnableExec,
 		StorageMounts:  storageMounts,
 		ResultsDir:     r.ResultsDir,
 	}
diff --git a/kyaml/fn/runtime/runtimeutil/functiontypes.go b/kyaml/fn/runtime/runtimeutil/functiontypes.go
index 2bec8786f..634adaec5 100644
--- a/kyaml/fn/runtime/runtimeutil/functiontypes.go
+++ b/kyaml/fn/runtime/runtimeutil/functiontypes.go
@@ -30,10 +30,19 @@ type FunctionSpec struct {
 	// Starlark is the spec for running a function as a starlark script
 	Starlark StarlarkSpec `json:"starlark,omitempty" yaml:"starlark,omitempty"`
 
+	// ExecSpec is the spec for running a function as an executable
+	Exec ExecSpec `json:"exec,omitempty" yaml:"exec,omitempty"`
+
 	// Mounts are the storage or directories to mount into the container
 	StorageMounts []StorageMount `json:"mounts,omitempty" yaml:"mounts,omitempty"`
 }
 
+type ExecSpec struct {
+	Path string `json:"path,omitempty" yaml:"path,omitempty"`
+
+	Args []string `json:"args,omitempty" yaml:"args,omitempty"`
+}
+
 // ContainerSpec defines a spec for running a function as a container
 type ContainerSpec struct {
 	// Image is the container image to run
diff --git a/kyaml/runfn/runfn.go b/kyaml/runfn/runfn.go
index 4f5ed7f91..d5f27faed 100644
--- a/kyaml/runfn/runfn.go
+++ b/kyaml/runfn/runfn.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/errors"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/fn/runtime/container"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/fn/runtime/exec"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/fn/runtime/runtimeutil"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/fn/runtime/starlark"
 	"sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/kyaml/kio"
@@ -64,6 +65,9 @@ type RunFns struct {
 	// EnableStarlark will enable functions run as starlark scripts
 	EnableStarlark bool
 
+	// EnableExec will enable exec functions
+	EnableExec bool
+
 	// DisableContainers will disable functions run as containers
 	DisableContainers bool
 
@@ -333,16 +337,14 @@ func (r *RunFns) init() {
 
 // ffp provides function filters
 func (r *RunFns) ffp(spec runtimeutil.FunctionSpec, api *yaml.RNode) (kio.Filter, error) {
+	var resultsFile string
+	if r.ResultsDir != "" {
+		resultsFile = filepath.Join(r.ResultsDir, fmt.Sprintf(
+			"results-%v.yaml", r.resultsCount))
+		atomic.AddUint32(&r.resultsCount, 1)
+	}
 	if !r.DisableContainers && spec.Container.Image != "" {
-		var resultsFile string
 		// TODO: Add a test for this behavior
-
-		if r.ResultsDir != "" {
-			resultsFile = filepath.Join(r.ResultsDir, fmt.Sprintf(
-				"results-%v.yaml", r.resultsCount))
-			atomic.AddUint32(&r.resultsCount, 1)
-		}
-
 		cf := &container.Filter{
 			Image:         spec.Container.Image,
 			Network:       spec.Network,
@@ -372,11 +374,24 @@ func (r *RunFns) ffp(spec runtimeutil.FunctionSpec, api *yaml.RNode) (kio.Filter
 		}
 		p = path.Join(r.Path, path.Dir(p), spec.Starlark.Path)
 
-		return &starlark.Filter{
-			Name:           spec.Starlark.Name,
-			Path:           p,
-			FunctionFilter: runtimeutil.FunctionFilter{FunctionConfig: api},
-		}, nil
+		sf := &starlark.Filter{Name: spec.Starlark.Name, Path: p}
+
+		sf.FunctionConfig = api
+		sf.GlobalScope = r.GlobalScope
+		sf.ResultsFile = resultsFile
+		sf.DeferFailure = spec.DeferFailure
+		return sf, nil
 	}
+
+	if r.EnableExec && spec.Exec.Path != "" {
+		ef := &exec.Filter{Path: spec.Exec.Path, Args: spec.Exec.Args}
+
+		ef.FunctionConfig = api
+		ef.GlobalScope = r.GlobalScope
+		ef.ResultsFile = resultsFile
+		ef.DeferFailure = spec.DeferFailure
+		return ef, nil
+	}
+
 	return nil, nil
 }