diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncher.java b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncher.java
index b4263a1462c..01d560c61db 100644
--- a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncher.java
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncher.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -30,20 +30,28 @@ import org.springframework.boot.loader.archive.Archive.EntryFilter;
 
 /**
  * Base class for executable archive {@link Launcher}s.
- * 
+ *
  * @author Phillip Webb
+ * @author Andy Wilkinson
  */
 public abstract class ExecutableArchiveLauncher extends Launcher {
 
 	private final Archive archive;
 
+	private final JavaAgentDetector javaAgentDetector;
+
 	public ExecutableArchiveLauncher() {
+		this(new InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector());
+	}
+
+	public ExecutableArchiveLauncher(JavaAgentDetector javaAgentDetector) {
 		try {
 			this.archive = createArchive();
 		}
 		catch (Exception ex) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException(ex);
 		}
+		this.javaAgentDetector = javaAgentDetector;
 	}
 
 	protected final Archive getArchive() {
@@ -74,7 +82,9 @@ public abstract class ExecutableArchiveLauncher extends Launcher {
 		ClassLoader loader = getDefaultClassLoader();
 		if (loader instanceof URLClassLoader) {
 			for (URL url : ((URLClassLoader) loader).getURLs()) {
-				copy.add(url);
+				if (!this.javaAgentDetector.isJavaAgentJar(url)) {
+					copy.add(url);
+				}
 			}
 		}
 		for (URL url : urls) {
diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector.java b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..411bff41e5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector.java
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.loader;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.lang.management.ManagementFactory;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.security.AccessController;
+import java.security.PrivilegedAction;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link JavaAgentDetector} that detects jars supplied via the {@code -javaagent} JVM
+ * input argument.
+ *
+ * @author Andy Wilkinson
+ * @since 1.1.0
+ */
+public class InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector implements JavaAgentDetector {
+
+	private static final String JAVA_AGENT_PREFIX = "-javaagent:";
+
+	private final Set<URL> javaAgentJars;
+
+	public InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector() {
+		this(getInputArguments());
+	}
+
+	InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector(List<String> inputArguments) {
+		this.javaAgentJars = getJavaAgentJars(inputArguments);
+	}
+
+	private static List<String> getInputArguments() {
+		try {
+			return AccessController.doPrivileged(new PrivilegedAction<List<String>>() {
+				@Override
+				public List<String> run() {
+					return ManagementFactory.getRuntimeMXBean().getInputArguments();
+				}
+			});
+		}
+		catch (Exception ex) {
+			return Collections.<String> emptyList();
+		}
+	}
+
+	private Set<URL> getJavaAgentJars(List<String> inputArguments) {
+		Set<URL> javaAgentJars = new HashSet<URL>();
+		for (String argument : inputArguments) {
+			String path = getJavaAgentJarPath(argument);
+			if (path != null) {
+				try {
+					javaAgentJars.add(new File(path).getCanonicalFile().toURI().toURL());
+				}
+				catch (IOException ex) {
+					throw new IllegalStateException(
+							"Failed to determine canonical path of Java agent at path '"
+									+ path + "'");
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		return javaAgentJars;
+	}
+
+	private String getJavaAgentJarPath(String arg) {
+		if (arg.startsWith(JAVA_AGENT_PREFIX)) {
+			String path = arg.substring(JAVA_AGENT_PREFIX.length());
+			int equalsIndex = path.indexOf('=');
+			if (equalsIndex > -1) {
+				path = path.substring(0, equalsIndex);
+			}
+			return path;
+		}
+
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public boolean isJavaAgentJar(URL url) {
+		return this.javaAgentJars.contains(url);
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/JavaAgentDetector.java b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/JavaAgentDetector.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6166dfbb87a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/JavaAgentDetector.java
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.loader;
+
+import java.net.URL;
+
+/**
+ * A strategy for detecting Java agents
+ *
+ * @author Andy Wilkinson
+ *
+ * @since 1.1
+ */
+public interface JavaAgentDetector {
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns {@code true} if {@code url} points to a Java agent jar file, otherwise
+	 * {@code false} is returned.
+	 *
+	 * @param url The url to examine
+	 */
+	public boolean isJavaAgentJar(URL url);
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests.java b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d987ef0914c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.loader;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.net.URLClassLoader;
+import java.util.concurrent.Callable;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.mockito.Mock;
+import org.mockito.MockitoAnnotations;
+import org.springframework.boot.loader.archive.Archive.Entry;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertArrayEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.when;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for {@link ExecutableArchiveLauncher}
+ *
+ * @author Andy Wilkinson
+ */
+public class ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests {
+
+	@Mock
+	private JavaAgentDetector javaAgentDetector;
+
+	private ExecutableArchiveLauncher launcher;
+
+	@Before
+	public void setupMocks() {
+		MockitoAnnotations.initMocks(this);
+
+		this.launcher = new UnitTestExecutableArchiveLauncher(this.javaAgentDetector);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void createdClassLoaderContainsUrlsFromThreadContextClassLoader()
+			throws Exception {
+		final URL[] urls = new URL[] { new URL("file:one"), new URL("file:two") };
+
+		doWithTccl(new URLClassLoader(urls), new Callable<Void>() {
+
+			@Override
+			public Void call() throws Exception {
+				ClassLoader classLoader = ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests.this.launcher
+						.createClassLoader(new URL[0]);
+				assertClassLoaderUrls(classLoader, urls);
+				return null;
+			}
+		});
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void javaAgentJarsAreExcludedFromClasspath() throws Exception {
+		URL javaAgent = new File("my-agent.jar").getCanonicalFile().toURI().toURL();
+		final URL one = new URL("file:one");
+
+		when(this.javaAgentDetector.isJavaAgentJar(javaAgent)).thenReturn(true);
+
+		doWithTccl(new URLClassLoader(new URL[] { javaAgent, one }), new Callable<Void>() {
+
+			@Override
+			public Void call() throws Exception {
+				ClassLoader classLoader = ExecutableArchiveLauncherTests.this.launcher
+						.createClassLoader(new URL[0]);
+				assertClassLoaderUrls(classLoader, new URL[] { one });
+				return null;
+			}
+		});
+	}
+
+	private void assertClassLoaderUrls(ClassLoader classLoader, URL[] urls) {
+		assertTrue(classLoader instanceof URLClassLoader);
+		assertArrayEquals(urls, ((URLClassLoader) classLoader).getURLs());
+	}
+
+	private static final class UnitTestExecutableArchiveLauncher extends
+	ExecutableArchiveLauncher {
+
+		public UnitTestExecutableArchiveLauncher(JavaAgentDetector javaAgentDetector) {
+			super(javaAgentDetector);
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		protected boolean isNestedArchive(Entry entry) {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	private void doWithTccl(ClassLoader classLoader, Callable<?> action) throws Exception {
+		ClassLoader old = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
+		try {
+			Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(classLoader);
+			action.call();
+		}
+		finally {
+			Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(old);
+		}
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetectorTests.java b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetectorTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f6123d4c527
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-boot-tools/spring-boot-loader/src/test/java/org/springframework/boot/loader/InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetectorTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.springframework.boot.loader;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.net.MalformedURLException;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+
+/**
+ * Tests for {@link InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector}
+ *
+ * @author Andy Wilkinson
+ */
+public class InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetectorTests {
+
+	@Test
+	public void nonAgentJarsDoNotProduceFalsePositives() throws MalformedURLException,
+			IOException {
+		InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector detector = new InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector(
+				Arrays.asList("-javaagent:my-agent.jar"));
+		assertFalse(detector.isJavaAgentJar(new File("something-else.jar")
+		.getCanonicalFile().toURI().toURL()));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void singleJavaAgent() throws MalformedURLException, IOException {
+		InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector detector = new InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector(
+				Arrays.asList("-javaagent:my-agent.jar"));
+		assertTrue(detector.isJavaAgentJar(new File("my-agent.jar").getCanonicalFile()
+				.toURI().toURL()));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void singleJavaAgentWithOptions() throws MalformedURLException, IOException {
+		InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector detector = new InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector(
+				Arrays.asList("-javaagent:my-agent.jar=a=alpha,b=bravo"));
+		assertTrue(detector.isJavaAgentJar(new File("my-agent.jar").getCanonicalFile()
+				.toURI().toURL()));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void multipleJavaAgents() throws MalformedURLException, IOException {
+		InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector detector = new InputArgumentsJavaAgentDetector(
+				Arrays.asList("-javaagent:my-agent.jar", "-javaagent:my-other-agent.jar"));
+		assertTrue(detector.isJavaAgentJar(new File("my-agent.jar").getCanonicalFile()
+				.toURI().toURL()));
+		assertTrue(detector.isJavaAgentJar(new File("my-other-agent.jar")
+				.getCanonicalFile().toURI().toURL()));
+	}
+
+}