diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSLSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSLSpec.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..df7574318b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSLSpec.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+
+package akka.actor
+
+import language.postfixOps
+
+import akka.testkit.{ AkkaSpec, EventFilter }
+import ActorDSL._
+import akka.event.Logging.Warning
+import scala.concurrent.{ Await, Future }
+import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
+
+class ActorDSLSpec extends AkkaSpec {
+
+  val echo = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
+    def receive = {
+      case x ⇒ sender ! x
+    }
+  }))
+
+  "An Inbox" must {
+
+    "function as implicit sender" in {
+      implicit val i = inbox()
+      echo ! "hello"
+      i.receive() must be("hello")
+    }
+
+    "support queueing multiple queries" in {
+      val i = inbox()
+      import system.dispatcher
+      val res = Future.sequence(Seq(
+        Future { i.receive() } recover { case x ⇒ x },
+        Future { Thread.sleep(100); i.select() { case "world" ⇒ 1 } } recover { case x ⇒ x },
+        Future { Thread.sleep(200); i.select() { case "hello" ⇒ 2 } } recover { case x ⇒ x }))
+      Thread.sleep(1000)
+      res.isCompleted must be(false)
+      i.receiver ! 42
+      i.receiver ! "hello"
+      i.receiver ! "world"
+      Await.result(res, 5 second) must be(Seq(42, 1, 2))
+    }
+
+    "support selective receives" in {
+      val i = inbox()
+      i.receiver ! "hello"
+      i.receiver ! "world"
+      val result = i.select() {
+        case "world" ⇒ true
+      }
+      result must be(true)
+      i.receive() must be("hello")
+    }
+
+    "have a maximum queue size" in {
+      val i = inbox()
+      system.eventStream.subscribe(testActor, classOf[Warning])
+      for (_ ← 1 to 1000) i.receiver ! 0
+      expectNoMsg(1 second)
+      EventFilter.warning(start = "dropping message", occurrences = 1) intercept {
+        i.receiver ! 42
+      }
+      expectMsgType[Warning]
+      i.receiver ! 42
+      expectNoMsg(1 second)
+      val gotit = for (_ ← 1 to 1000) yield i.receive()
+      gotit must be((1 to 1000) map (_ ⇒ 0))
+      intercept[TimeoutException] {
+        i.receive(1 second)
+      }
+    }
+
+    "have a default and custom timeouts" in {
+      val i = inbox()
+      within(5 seconds, 6 seconds) {
+        intercept[TimeoutException](i.receive())
+      }
+      within(1 second) {
+        intercept[TimeoutException](i.receive(100 millis))
+      }
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  "A lightweight creator" must {
+
+    "support creating regular actors" in {
+      val a = actor(new Act {
+        become {
+          case "hello" ⇒ sender ! "hi"
+        }
+      })
+
+      implicit val i = inbox()
+      a ! "hello"
+      i.receive() must be("hi")
+    }
+
+    "support setup/teardown" in {
+      val a = actor(new Act {
+        whenStarting { testActor ! "started" }
+        whenStopping { testActor ! "stopped" }
+      })
+
+      system stop a
+      expectMsg("started")
+      expectMsg("stopped")
+    }
+
+    "support restart" in {
+      val a = actor(new Act {
+        become {
+          case "die" ⇒ throw new Exception
+        }
+        whenFailing { (cause, msg) ⇒ testActor ! (cause, msg) }
+        whenRestarted { cause ⇒ testActor ! cause }
+      })
+
+      EventFilter[Exception](occurrences = 1) intercept {
+        a ! "die"
+      }
+      expectMsgPF() { case (x: Exception, Some("die")) ⇒ }
+      expectMsgPF() { case _: Exception ⇒ }
+    }
+
+    "support superviseWith" in {
+      val a = actor(new Act {
+        val system = null // shadow the implicit system
+        superviseWith(OneForOneStrategy() {
+          case e: Exception if e.getMessage == "hello" ⇒ SupervisorStrategy.Stop
+          case _: Exception                            ⇒ SupervisorStrategy.Resume
+        })
+        val child = actor("child")(new Act {
+          whenFailing { (_, _) ⇒ }
+          become {
+            case ref: ActorRef ⇒ whenStopping(ref ! "stopped")
+            case ex: Exception ⇒ throw ex
+          }
+        })
+        become {
+          case x ⇒ child ! x
+        }
+      })
+      a ! testActor
+      EventFilter[Exception](occurrences = 1) intercept {
+        a ! new Exception
+      }
+      expectNoMsg(1 second)
+      EventFilter[Exception]("hello", occurrences = 1) intercept {
+        a ! new Exception("hello")
+      }
+      expectMsg("stopped")
+    }
+
+    "supported nested declaration" in {
+      val system = this.system
+      val a = actor(system, "fred")(new Act {
+        val b = actor("barney")(new Act {
+          whenStarting { context.parent ! s"hello from $self" }
+        })
+        become {
+          case x ⇒ testActor ! x
+        }
+      })
+      expectMsg("hello from Actor[akka://ActorDSLSpec/user/fred/barney]")
+      lastSender must be(a)
+    }
+
+    "support Stash" in {
+      val a = actor(new ActWithStash {
+        become {
+          case 1 ⇒ stash()
+          case 2 ⇒
+            testActor ! 2; unstashAll(); become {
+              case 1 ⇒ testActor ! 1; unbecome()
+            }
+        }
+      })
+
+      a ! 1
+      a ! 2
+      expectMsg(2)
+      expectMsg(1)
+      a ! 1
+      a ! 2
+      expectMsg(2)
+      expectMsg(1)
+    }
+
+  }
+}
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 723347ce98..459c9bd216 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -157,6 +157,11 @@ akka {
       }
     }
 
+    # Default dispatcher for Actors that extend Stash
+    default-stash-dispatcher {
+      mailbox-type = "akka.dispatch.UnboundedDequeBasedMailbox"
+    }
+
     default-dispatcher {
       # Must be one of the following
       # Dispatcher, (BalancingDispatcher, only valid when all actors using it are of
@@ -302,6 +307,16 @@ akka {
     serialization-bindings {
       "java.io.Serializable" = java
     }
+    
+    # Configuration items which are used by the akka.actor.ActorDSL._ methods
+    dsl {
+      # Maximum queue size of the actor created by newInbox(); this protects against
+      # faulty programs which use select() and consistently miss messages
+      inbox-size = 1000
+      
+      # Default timeout to assume for operations like Inbox.receive et al
+      default-timeout = 5s
+    }
   }
 
   # Used to set the behavior of the scheduler.
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSL.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSL.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..196c794f27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorDSL.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+
+package akka.actor
+
+import scala.collection.mutable.Queue
+import scala.concurrent.util.Duration
+import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
+import akka.pattern.ask
+import scala.concurrent.Await
+import akka.util.Timeout
+import scala.collection.immutable.TreeSet
+import scala.concurrent.util.Deadline
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
+
+/**
+ * This object contains elements which make writing actors and related code
+ * more concise, e.g. when trying out actors in the REPL.
+ *
+ * For the communication of non-actor code with actors, you may use anonymous
+ * actors tailored to this job:
+ *
+ * {{{
+ * import ActorDSL._
+ * import concurrent.util.duration._
+ *
+ * implicit val system: ActorSystem = ...
+ *
+ * implicit val i = inbox()
+ * someActor ! someMsg // replies will go to `i`
+ *
+ * val reply = i.receive()
+ * val transformedReply = i.select(5 seconds) {
+ *   case x: Int => 2 * x
+ * }
+ * }}}
+ *
+ * The `receive` and `select` methods are synchronous, i.e. they block the
+ * calling thread until an answer from the actor is received or the timeout
+ * expires. The default timeout is taken from configuration item
+ * `akka.actor.dsl.default-timeout`.
+ *
+ * When defining actors in the REPL, say, you may want to have a look at the
+ * `Act` trait:
+ *
+ * {{{
+ * import ActorDSL._
+ *
+ * val system: ActorSystem = ...
+ *
+ * val a = actor(system, "fred")(new Act {
+ *     val b = actor("barney")(new Act {
+ *         ...
+ *       })
+ *
+ *     become {
+ *       case msg => ...
+ *     }
+ *   })
+ * }}}
+ *
+ * Note that `actor` can be used with an implicit [[akka.actor.ActorRefFactory]]
+ * as shown with `"barney"` (where the [[akka.actor.ActorContext serves this
+ * purpose), but since nested declarations share the same
+ * lexical context `"fred"`’s ActorContext would be ambiguous
+ * if the [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] were declared `implicit` (this could also
+ * be circumvented by shadowing the name `system` within `"fred"`).
+ *
+ * <b>Note:</b> If you want to use an `Act with Stash`, you should use the
+ * `ActWithStash` trait in order to have the actor run on a special dispatcher
+ * (`"akka.actor.default-stash-dispatcher"`) which has the necessary deque-based
+ * mailbox setting.
+ */
+object ActorDSL extends dsl.Inbox with dsl.Creators {
+
+  protected object Extension extends ExtensionKey[Extension]
+
+  protected class Extension(val system: ExtendedActorSystem) extends akka.actor.Extension with InboxExtension {
+
+    val boss = system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl].systemActorOf(Props.empty, "dsl").asInstanceOf[RepointableActorRef]
+
+    {
+      val timeout = system.settings.CreationTimeout.duration
+      val deadline = Deadline.now + timeout
+      while (!boss.isStarted) {
+        if (deadline.hasTimeLeft)
+          if (system.isTerminated) throw new IllegalStateException("actor system is already shutdown")
+          else Thread.sleep(10)
+        else throw new TimeoutException("failed to create /system/dsl actor within " + timeout)
+      }
+    }
+
+    lazy val config = system.settings.config.getConfig("akka.actor.dsl")
+
+    val DSLDefaultTimeout = Duration(config.getMilliseconds("default-timeout"), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS)
+
+    def mkChild(p: Props, name: String) = boss.underlying.asInstanceOf[ActorCell].attachChild(p, name, systemService = true)
+  }
+
+}
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
index d10f7ba29c..82fe2000b4 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
@@ -502,11 +502,11 @@ private[akka] class ActorSystemImpl(val name: String, applicationConfig: Config,
 
   protected def systemImpl: ActorSystemImpl = this
 
-  private[akka] def systemActorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = systemGuardian.underlying.attachChild(props, name)
+  private[akka] def systemActorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = systemGuardian.underlying.attachChild(props, name, systemService = true)
 
-  def actorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = guardian.underlying.attachChild(props, name)
+  def actorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = guardian.underlying.attachChild(props, name, systemService = false)
 
-  def actorOf(props: Props): ActorRef = guardian.underlying.attachChild(props)
+  def actorOf(props: Props): ActorRef = guardian.underlying.attachChild(props, systemService = false)
 
   def stop(actor: ActorRef): Unit = {
     val path = actor.path
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
index b2761519fe..89c506fd75 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
@@ -26,10 +26,14 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
   final def children: Iterable[ActorRef] = childrenRefs.children
   final def getChildren(): java.lang.Iterable[ActorRef] = children.asJava
 
-  def actorOf(props: Props): ActorRef = makeChild(this, props, randomName(), async = false)
-  def actorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = makeChild(this, props, checkName(name), async = false)
-  private[akka] def attachChild(props: Props): ActorRef = makeChild(this, props, randomName(), async = true)
-  private[akka] def attachChild(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef = makeChild(this, props, checkName(name), async = true)
+  def actorOf(props: Props): ActorRef =
+    makeChild(this, props, randomName(), async = false, systemService = false)
+  def actorOf(props: Props, name: String): ActorRef =
+    makeChild(this, props, checkName(name), async = false, systemService = false)
+  private[akka] def attachChild(props: Props, systemService: Boolean): ActorRef =
+    makeChild(this, props, randomName(), async = true, systemService = systemService)
+  private[akka] def attachChild(props: Props, name: String, systemService: Boolean): ActorRef =
+    makeChild(this, props, checkName(name), async = true, systemService = systemService)
 
   @volatile private var _nextNameDoNotCallMeDirectly = 0L
   final protected def randomName(): String = {
@@ -163,7 +167,7 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
     }
   }
 
-  private def makeChild(cell: ActorCell, props: Props, name: String, async: Boolean): ActorRef = {
+  private def makeChild(cell: ActorCell, props: Props, name: String, async: Boolean, systemService: Boolean): ActorRef = {
     if (cell.system.settings.SerializeAllCreators && !props.creator.isInstanceOf[NoSerializationVerificationNeeded]) {
       val ser = SerializationExtension(cell.system)
       ser.serialize(props.creator) match {
@@ -185,7 +189,7 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
       val actor =
         try {
           cell.provider.actorOf(cell.systemImpl, props, cell.self, cell.self.path / name,
-            systemService = false, deploy = None, lookupDeploy = true, async = async)
+            systemService = systemService, deploy = None, lookupDeploy = true, async = async)
         } catch {
           case NonFatal(e) ⇒
             unreserveChild(name)
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Creators.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Creators.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b81f733013
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Creators.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+
+package akka.actor.dsl
+
+import scala.concurrent.Await
+import akka.actor.ActorLogging
+import scala.concurrent.util.Deadline
+import scala.collection.immutable.TreeSet
+import scala.concurrent.util.{ Duration, FiniteDuration }
+import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
+import akka.actor.Cancellable
+import akka.actor.{ Actor, Stash, SupervisorStrategy }
+import scala.collection.mutable.Queue
+import akka.actor.{ ActorSystem, ActorRefFactory }
+import akka.actor.ActorRef
+import akka.util.Timeout
+import akka.actor.Status
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger
+import akka.pattern.ask
+import akka.actor.ActorDSL
+import akka.actor.Props
+import scala.reflect.ClassTag
+
+trait Creators { this: ActorDSL.type ⇒
+
+  /**
+   * This trait provides a DSL for writing the inner workings of an actor, e.g.
+   * for quickly trying things out in the REPL. It makes the following keywords
+   * available:
+   *
+   *  - `become` mapped to `context.become(_, discardOld = false)`
+   *
+   *  - `unbecome` mapped to `context.unbecome`
+   *
+   *  - `setup` for implementing `preStart()`
+   *
+   *  - `whenFailing` for implementing `preRestart()`
+   *
+   *  - `whenRestarted` for implementing `postRestart()`
+   *
+   *  - `teardown` for implementing `postStop`
+   *
+   * Using the life-cycle keywords multiple times results in replacing the
+   * content of the respective hook.
+   */
+  trait Act extends Actor {
+
+    private[this] var preStartFun: () ⇒ Unit = null
+    private[this] var postStopFun: () ⇒ Unit = null
+    private[this] var preRestartFun: (Throwable, Option[Any]) ⇒ Unit = null
+    private[this] var postRestartFun: Throwable ⇒ Unit = null
+    private[this] var strategy: SupervisorStrategy = null
+
+    /**
+     * Add the given behavior on top of the behavior stack for this actor. This
+     * stack is cleared upon restart. Use `unbecome()` to pop an element off
+     * this stack.
+     */
+    def become(r: Receive) = context.become(r, discardOld = false)
+
+    /**
+     * Pop the active behavior from the behavior stack of this actor. This stack
+     * is cleared upon restart.
+     */
+    def unbecome(): Unit = context.unbecome()
+
+    /**
+     * Set the supervisor strategy of this actor, i.e. how it supervises its children.
+     */
+    def superviseWith(s: SupervisorStrategy): Unit = strategy = s
+
+    /**
+     * Replace the `preStart` action with the supplied thunk. Default action
+     * is to call `super.preStart()`
+     */
+    def whenStarting(body: ⇒ Unit): Unit = preStartFun = () ⇒ body
+
+    /**
+     * Replace the `preRestart` action with the supplied function. Default
+     * action is to call `super.preRestart()`, which will kill all children
+     * and invoke `postStop()`.
+     */
+    def whenFailing(body: (Throwable, Option[Any]) ⇒ Unit): Unit = preRestartFun = body
+
+    /**
+     * Replace the `postRestart` action with the supplied function. Default
+     * action is to call `super.postRestart` which will call `preStart()`.
+     */
+    def whenRestarted(body: Throwable ⇒ Unit): Unit = postRestartFun = body
+
+    /**
+     * Replace the `postStop` action with the supplied thunk. Default action
+     * is to call `super.postStop`.
+     */
+    def whenStopping(body: ⇒ Unit): Unit = postStopFun = () ⇒ body
+
+    override def preStart(): Unit = if (preStartFun != null) preStartFun() else super.preStart()
+    override def preRestart(cause: Throwable, msg: Option[Any]): Unit = if (preRestartFun != null) preRestartFun(cause, msg) else super.preRestart(cause, msg)
+    override def postRestart(cause: Throwable): Unit = if (postRestartFun != null) postRestartFun(cause) else super.postRestart(cause)
+    override def postStop(): Unit = if (postStopFun != null) postStopFun() else super.postStop()
+    override def supervisorStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = if (strategy != null) strategy else super.supervisorStrategy
+
+    /**
+     * Default behavior of the actor is empty, use `become` to change this.
+     */
+    override def receive: Receive = Actor.emptyBehavior
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Use this trait when defining an [[akka.actor.Actor]] with [[akka.actor.Stash]],
+   * since just using `actor()(new Act with Stash{})` will not be able to see the
+   * Stash component due to type erasure.
+   */
+  trait ActWithStash extends Act with Stash
+
+  private def mkProps(classOfActor: Class[_], ctor: () ⇒ Actor): Props =
+    if (classOf[Stash].isAssignableFrom(classOfActor))
+      Props(creator = ctor, dispatcher = "akka.actor.default-stash-dispatcher")
+    else
+      Props(creator = ctor)
+
+  /**
+   * Create an actor from the given thunk which must produce an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   *
+   * @param ctor is a by-name argument which captures an [[akka.actor.Actor]]
+   *        factory; <b>do not make the generated object accessible to code
+   *        outside and do not return the same object upon subsequent invocations.</b>
+   * @param factory is an implicit [[akka.actor.ActorRefFactory]], which can
+   *        either be an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] or an [[akka.actor.ActorContext]],
+   *        where the latter is always implicitly available within an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   */
+  def actor[T <: Actor: ClassTag](ctor: ⇒ T)(implicit factory: ActorRefFactory): ActorRef = {
+    // configure dispatcher/mailbox based on runtime class
+    val classOfActor = implicitly[ClassTag[T]].runtimeClass
+    val props = mkProps(classOfActor, () ⇒ ctor)
+    factory.actorOf(props)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Create an actor from the given thunk which must produce an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   *
+   * @param name is the name, which must be unique within the context of its
+   *        parent.
+   * @param ctor is a by-name argument which captures an [[akka.actor.Actor]]
+   *        factory; <b>do not make the generated object accessible to code
+   *        outside and do not return the same object upon subsequent invocations.</b>
+   * @param factory is an implicit [[akka.actor.ActorRefFactory]], which can
+   *        either be an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] or an [[akka.actor.ActorContext]],
+   *        where the latter is always implicitly available within an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   */
+  def actor[T <: Actor: ClassTag](name: String)(ctor: ⇒ T)(implicit factory: ActorRefFactory): ActorRef = {
+    // configure dispatcher/mailbox based on runtime class
+    val classOfActor = implicitly[ClassTag[T]].runtimeClass
+    val props = mkProps(classOfActor, () ⇒ ctor)
+
+    if (name == null) factory.actorOf(props)
+    else factory.actorOf(props, name)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Create an actor from the given thunk which must produce an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   *
+   * @param name is the name, which must be unique within the context of its
+   *        parent; defaults to `null` which will assign a name automatically.
+   * @param ctor is a by-name argument which captures an [[akka.actor.Actor]]
+   *        factory; <b>do not make the generated object accessible to code
+   *        outside and do not return the same object upon subsequent invocations.</b>
+   * @param factory is an implicit [[akka.actor.ActorRefFactory]], which can
+   *        either be an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] or an [[akka.actor.ActorContext]],
+   *        where the latter is always implicitly available within an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   */
+  def actor[T <: Actor: ClassTag](factory: ActorRefFactory, name: String)(ctor: ⇒ T): ActorRef =
+    actor(name)(ctor)(implicitly[ClassTag[T]], factory)
+
+  /**
+   * Create an actor with an automatically generated name from the given thunk
+   * which must produce an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   *
+   * @param ctor is a by-name argument which captures an [[akka.actor.Actor]]
+   *        factory; <b>do not make the generated object accessible to code
+   *        outside and do not return the same object upon subsequent invocations.</b>
+   * @param factory is an implicit [[akka.actor.ActorRefFactory]], which can
+   *        either be an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] or an [[akka.actor.ActorContext]],
+   *        where the latter is always implicitly available within an [[akka.actor.Actor]].
+   */
+  def actor[T <: Actor: ClassTag](factory: ActorRefFactory)(ctor: ⇒ T): ActorRef =
+    actor(null: String)(ctor)(implicitly[ClassTag[T]], factory)
+
+}
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Inbox.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Inbox.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9857023e82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/dsl/Inbox.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+
+package akka.actor.dsl
+
+import scala.concurrent.Await
+import akka.actor.ActorLogging
+import scala.concurrent.util.Deadline
+import scala.collection.immutable.TreeSet
+import scala.concurrent.util.{ Duration, FiniteDuration }
+import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
+import akka.actor.Cancellable
+import akka.actor.Actor
+import scala.collection.mutable.Queue
+import akka.actor.ActorSystem
+import akka.actor.ActorRef
+import akka.util.Timeout
+import akka.actor.Status
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger
+import akka.pattern.ask
+import akka.actor.ActorDSL
+import akka.actor.Props
+
+trait Inbox { this: ActorDSL.type ⇒
+
+  protected trait InboxExtension { this: Extension ⇒
+    val DSLInboxQueueSize = config.getInt("inbox-size")
+
+    val inboxNr = new AtomicInteger
+    val inboxProps = Props(new InboxActor(DSLInboxQueueSize))
+
+    def newReceiver: ActorRef = mkChild(inboxProps, "inbox-" + inboxNr.incrementAndGet)
+  }
+
+  private sealed trait Query {
+    def deadline: Deadline
+    def withClient(c: ActorRef): Query
+    def client: ActorRef
+  }
+  private case class Get(deadline: Deadline, client: ActorRef = null) extends Query {
+    def withClient(c: ActorRef) = copy(client = c)
+  }
+  private case class Select(deadline: Deadline, predicate: PartialFunction[Any, Any], client: ActorRef = null) extends Query {
+    def withClient(c: ActorRef) = copy(client = c)
+  }
+  private case object Kick
+  private implicit val deadlineOrder: Ordering[Query] = new Ordering[Query] {
+    def compare(left: Query, right: Query): Int = left.deadline.time compare right.deadline.time
+  }
+
+  private class InboxActor(size: Int) extends Actor with ActorLogging {
+    var clients = Queue.empty[Query]
+    val messages = Queue.empty[Any]
+    var clientsByTimeout = TreeSet.empty[Query]
+    var printedWarning = false
+
+    def enqueueQuery(q: Query) {
+      val query = q withClient sender
+      clients enqueue query
+      clientsByTimeout += query
+    }
+
+    def enqueueMessage(msg: Any) {
+      if (messages.size < size) messages enqueue msg
+      else {
+        if (!printedWarning) {
+          log.warning("dropping message: either your program is buggy or you might want to increase akka.actor.dsl.inbox-size, current value is " + size)
+          printedWarning = true
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    var currentMsg: Any = _
+    val clientPredicate: (Query) ⇒ Boolean = {
+      case _: Get          ⇒ true
+      case Select(_, p, _) ⇒ p isDefinedAt currentMsg
+      case _               ⇒ false
+    }
+
+    var currentSelect: Select = _
+    val messagePredicate: (Any ⇒ Boolean) = (msg) ⇒ currentSelect.predicate.isDefinedAt(msg)
+
+    var currentDeadline: Option[(Deadline, Cancellable)] = None
+
+    def receive = ({
+      case g: Get ⇒
+        if (messages.isEmpty) enqueueQuery(g)
+        else sender ! messages.dequeue()
+      case s @ Select(_, predicate, _) ⇒
+        if (messages.isEmpty) enqueueQuery(s)
+        else {
+          currentSelect = s
+          messages.dequeueFirst(messagePredicate) match {
+            case Some(msg) ⇒ sender ! msg
+            case None      ⇒ enqueueQuery(s)
+          }
+          currentSelect = null
+        }
+      case Kick ⇒
+        val now = Deadline.now
+        val pred = (q: Query) ⇒ q.deadline.time < now.time
+        val overdue = clientsByTimeout.iterator.takeWhile(pred)
+        while (overdue.hasNext) {
+          val toKick = overdue.next()
+          toKick.client ! Status.Failure(new TimeoutException("deadline passed"))
+        }
+        // TODO: this wants to lose the `Queue.empty ++=` part when SI-6208 is fixed
+        clients = Queue.empty ++= clients.filterNot(pred)
+        clientsByTimeout = clientsByTimeout.from(Get(now))
+      case msg ⇒
+        if (clients.isEmpty) enqueueMessage(msg)
+        else {
+          currentMsg = msg
+          clients.dequeueFirst(clientPredicate) match {
+            case Some(q) ⇒ clientsByTimeout -= q; q.client ! msg
+            case None    ⇒ enqueueMessage(msg)
+          }
+          currentMsg = null
+        }
+    }: Receive) andThen { _ ⇒
+      if (clients.isEmpty) {
+        if (currentDeadline.isDefined) {
+          currentDeadline.get._2.cancel()
+          currentDeadline = None
+        }
+      } else {
+        val next = clientsByTimeout.head.deadline
+        import context.dispatcher
+        if (currentDeadline.isEmpty) {
+          currentDeadline = Some((next, context.system.scheduler.scheduleOnce(next.timeLeft, self, Kick)))
+        } else if (currentDeadline.get._1 != next) {
+          currentDeadline.get._2.cancel()
+          currentDeadline = Some((next, context.system.scheduler.scheduleOnce(next.timeLeft, self, Kick)))
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  /*
+   * make sure that AskTimeout does not accidentally mess up message reception
+   * by adding this extra time to the real timeout
+   */
+  private val extraTime = 1.minute
+
+  /**
+   * Create a new actor which will internally queue up messages it gets so that
+   * they can be interrogated with the [[akka.actor.dsl.Inbox!.Inbox!.receive]]
+   * and [[akka.actor.dsl.Inbox!.Inbox!.select]] methods. It will be created as
+   * a system actor in the ActorSystem which is implicitly (or explicitly)
+   * supplied.
+   */
+  def inbox()(implicit system: ActorSystem): Inbox = new Inbox(system)
+
+  class Inbox(system: ActorSystem) {
+
+    val receiver: ActorRef = Extension(system).newReceiver
+    private val defaultTimeout: FiniteDuration = Extension(system).DSLDefaultTimeout
+
+    /**
+     * Receive a single message from the internal `receiver` actor. The supplied
+     * timeout is used for cleanup purposes and its precision is subject to the
+     * resolution of the system’s scheduler (usually 100ms, but configurable).
+     *
+     * <b>Warning:</b> This method blocks the current thread until a message is
+     * received, thus it can introduce dead-locks (directly as well as
+     * indirectly by causing starvation of the thread pool). <b>Do not use
+     * this method within an actor!</b>
+     */
+    def receive(timeout: FiniteDuration = defaultTimeout): Any = {
+      implicit val t = Timeout(timeout + extraTime)
+      Await.result(receiver ? Get(Deadline.now + timeout), Duration.Inf)
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Receive a single message for which the given partial function is defined
+     * and return the transformed result, using the internal `receiver` actor.
+     * The supplied timeout is used for cleanup purposes and its precision is
+     * subject to the resolution of the system’s scheduler (usually 100ms, but
+     * configurable).
+     *
+     * <b>Warning:</b> This method blocks the current thread until a message is
+     * received, thus it can introduce dead-locks (directly as well as
+     * indirectly by causing starvation of the thread pool). <b>Do not use
+     * this method within an actor!</b>
+     */
+    def select[T](timeout: FiniteDuration = defaultTimeout)(predicate: PartialFunction[Any, T]): T = {
+      implicit val t = Timeout(timeout + extraTime)
+      predicate(Await.result(receiver ? Select(Deadline.now + timeout, predicate), Duration.Inf))
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Overridden finalizer which will try to stop the actor once this Inbox
+     * is no longer referenced.
+     */
+    override def finalize() {
+      system.stop(receiver)
+    }
+  }
+
+  implicit def senderFromInbox(implicit inbox: Inbox): ActorRef = inbox.receiver
+}
diff --git a/project/AkkaBuild.scala b/project/AkkaBuild.scala
index 47f58bdce6..8527b28f8e 100644
--- a/project/AkkaBuild.scala
+++ b/project/AkkaBuild.scala
@@ -40,13 +40,15 @@ object AkkaBuild extends Build {
       initialCommands in ThisBuild :=
         """|import language.postfixOps
            |import akka.actor._
-           |import akka.dispatch._
+           |import ActorDSL._
+           |import scala.concurrent._
            |import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
            |import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
            |import akka.util.Timeout
            |val config = ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.stdout-loglevel=INFO,akka.loglevel=DEBUG")
            |val remoteConfig = ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.remote.netty{port=0,use-dispatcher-for-io=akka.actor.default-dispatcher,execution-pool-size=0},akka.actor.provider=RemoteActorRefProvider").withFallback(config)
            |var system: ActorSystem = null
+           |implicit def _system = system
            |def startSystem(remoting: Boolean = false) { system = ActorSystem("repl", if(remoting) remoteConfig else config); println("don’t forget to system.shutdown()!") }
            |implicit def ec = system.dispatcher
            |implicit val timeout = Timeout(5 seconds)