diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5b77cf0..bc20e9d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -159,15 +159,28 @@ base directory (that is specified when running the installer).
 
 #### Format
 
-Shell commands are specified as an array of commands, where each command is a
-two element array containing the actual shell command as the first element and
-a human-readable description as the second element.
+Shell commands can be specified in several different ways. The simplest way is
+just to specify a command as a string containing the command to be run. Another
+way is to specify a two element array where the first element is the shell
+command and the second is an optional human-readable description. Shell
+commands support an extended syntax as well, which provides more fine-grained
+control. A command can be specified as a dictionary that contains the command
+to be run, a description, and whether stdin, stdout, and stderr are enabled. In
+this syntax, all keys are optional except for the command itself.
 
 ##### Example (YAML)
 
 ```yaml
 - shell:
+  - mkdir -p ~/src
   - [mkdir -p ~/downloads, Creating downloads directory]
+  -
+    command: read var && echo Your variable is $var
+    stdin: true
+    stdout: true
+  -
+    command: read fail
+    stderr: true
 ```
 
 ##### Example (JSON)
@@ -175,7 +188,17 @@ a human-readable description as the second element.
 ```json
 [{
     "shell": [
-        ["mkdir -p ~/downloads", "Creating downloads directory"]
+        "mkdir -p ~/src",
+        ["mkdir -p ~/downloads", "Creating downloads directory"],
+        {
+            "command": "read var && echo Your variable is $var",
+            "stdin": true,
+            "stdout": true
+        },
+        {
+            "command": "read fail",
+            "stderr": true
+        }
     ]
 }]
 ```
diff --git a/dotbot/executor/commandrunner.py b/dotbot/executor/commandrunner.py
index af4d1ef..fd44e49 100644
--- a/dotbot/executor/commandrunner.py
+++ b/dotbot/executor/commandrunner.py
@@ -20,10 +20,29 @@ class CommandRunner(Executor):
     def _process_commands(self, data):
         success = True
         with open(os.devnull, 'w') as devnull:
-            for cmd, msg in data:
-                self._log.lowinfo('%s [%s]' % (msg, cmd))
-                ret = subprocess.call(cmd, shell = True, stdout = devnull,
-                    stderr = devnull, cwd = self._base_directory)
+            for item in data:
+                stdin = stdout = stderr = devnull
+                if isinstance(item, dict):
+                    cmd = item['command']
+                    msg = item.get('description', None)
+                    if item.get('stdin', False) is True:
+                        stdin = None
+                    if item.get('stdout', False) is True:
+                        stdout = None
+                    if item.get('stderr', False) is True:
+                        stderr = None
+                elif isinstance(item, list):
+                    cmd = item[0]
+                    msg = item[1] if len(item) > 1 else None
+                else:
+                    cmd = item
+                    msg = None
+                if msg is None:
+                    self._log.lowinfo(cmd)
+                else:
+                    self._log.lowinfo('%s [%s]' % (msg, cmd))
+                ret = subprocess.call(cmd, shell = True, stdin = stdin, stdout = stdout,
+                    stderr = stderr, cwd = self._base_directory)
                 if ret != 0:
                     success = False
                     self._log.warning('Command [%s] failed' % cmd)