diff --git a/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts b/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
index d3fe06e80822060e8e1b8ea761bbbc5049a8cc78..07bd80a27bb0dc741b5ca6db559b31bf40445bdd 100644
--- a/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
+++ b/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import { InstantiationService } from 'vs/platform/instantiation/common/instantia
 import { IEnvironmentService, ParsedArgs } from 'vs/platform/environment/common/environment';
 import { EnvironmentService, getInstallSourcePath } from 'vs/platform/environment/node/environmentService';
 import { IExtensionManagementService, IExtensionGalleryService, IExtensionManifest, IGalleryExtension, LocalExtensionType } from 'vs/platform/extensionManagement/common/extensionManagement';
-import { ExtensionManagementService } from 'vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService';
+import { ExtensionManagementService, validateLocalExtension } from 'vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService';
 import { ExtensionGalleryService } from 'vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionGalleryService';
 import { ITelemetryService } from 'vs/platform/telemetry/common/telemetry';
 import { combinedAppender, NullTelemetryService } from 'vs/platform/telemetry/common/telemetryUtils';
@@ -142,19 +142,31 @@ class Main {
 		return sequence([...vsixTasks, ...galleryTasks]);
 	}
 
-	private uninstallExtension(ids: string[]): TPromise<any> {
-		return sequence(ids.map(id => () => {
-			return this.extensionManagementService.getInstalled(LocalExtensionType.User).then(installed => {
-				const [extension] = installed.filter(e => getId(e.manifest) === id);
+	private uninstallExtension(extensions: string[]): TPromise<any> {
+		async function getExtensionId(extensionDescription: string): TPromise<string> {
+			if (!/\.vsix$/i.test(extensionDescription)) {
+				return extensionDescription;
+			}
 
-				if (!extension) {
-					return TPromise.wrapError(new Error(`${notInstalled(id)}\n${useId}`));
-				}
+			const zipPath = path.isAbsolute(extensionDescription) ? extensionDescription : path.join(process.cwd(), extensionDescription);
+			const manifest = await validateLocalExtension(zipPath);
+			return getId(manifest);
+		}
+
+		return sequence(extensions.map(extension => () => {
+			return getExtensionId(extension).then(id => {
+				return this.extensionManagementService.getInstalled(LocalExtensionType.User).then(installed => {
+					const [extension] = installed.filter(e => getId(e.manifest) === id);
+
+					if (!extension) {
+						return TPromise.wrapError(new Error(`${notInstalled(id)}\n${useId}`));
+					}
 
-				console.log(localize('uninstalling', "Uninstalling {0}...", id));
+					console.log(localize('uninstalling', "Uninstalling {0}...", id));
 
-				return this.extensionManagementService.uninstall(extension, true)
-					.then(() => console.log(localize('successUninstall', "Extension '{0}' was successfully uninstalled!", id)));
+					return this.extensionManagementService.uninstall(extension, true)
+						.then(() => console.log(localize('successUninstall', "Extension '{0}' was successfully uninstalled!", id)));
+				});
 			});
 		}));
 	}
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts b/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts
index 8914588e0da6e7399b6e7a01de49ead188c7bf5d..648d5c3f95b37a7c6bf35d26d0219b5cedbd5960 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ export const optionsHelp: { [name: string]: string; } = {
 	'--list-extensions': localize('listExtensions', "List the installed extensions."),
 	'--show-versions': localize('showVersions', "Show versions of installed extensions, when using --list-extension."),
 	'--install-extension (<extension-id> | <extension-vsix-path>)': localize('installExtension', "Installs an extension."),
-	'--uninstall-extension <extension-id>': localize('uninstallExtension', "Uninstalls an extension."),
+	'--uninstall-extension (<extension-id> | <extension-vsix-path>)': localize('uninstallExtension', "Uninstalls an extension."),
 	'--enable-proposed-api <extension-id>': localize('experimentalApis', "Enables proposed api features for an extension."),
 	'--disable-extensions': localize('disableExtensions', "Disable all installed extensions."),
 	'--disable-gpu': localize('disableGPU', "Disable GPU hardware acceleration."),
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts b/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts
index 8d8d9215728205e98d5955f7cfa63f0c072b1c96..c655d1e74b71145e482f845d848c62a39f25d2ee 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ function parseManifest(raw: string): TPromise<{ manifest: IExtensionManifest; me
 	});
 }
 
-function validate(zipPath: string): TPromise<IExtensionManifest> {
+export function validateLocalExtension(zipPath: string): TPromise<IExtensionManifest> {
 	return buffer(zipPath, 'extension/package.json')
 		.then(buffer => parseManifest(buffer.toString('utf8')))
 		.then(({ manifest }) => TPromise.as(manifest));
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ export class ExtensionManagementService implements IExtensionManagementService {
 	install(zipPath: string): TPromise<void> {
 		zipPath = path.resolve(zipPath);
 
-		return validate(zipPath).then<void>(manifest => {
+		return validateLocalExtension(zipPath).then<void>(manifest => {
 			const identifier = { id: getLocalExtensionIdFromManifest(manifest) };
 
 			return this.isObsolete(identifier.id).then(isObsolete => {
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ export class ExtensionManagementService implements IExtensionManagementService {
 			publisherDisplayName: extension.publisherDisplayName,
 		};
 		return this.galleryService.download(extension)
-			.then(zipPath => validate(zipPath).then(() => (<InstallableExtension>{ zipPath, id, metadata, current })));
+			.then(zipPath => validateLocalExtension(zipPath).then(() => (<InstallableExtension>{ zipPath, id, metadata, current })));
 	}
 
 	private rollback(extensions: IGalleryExtension[]): TPromise<void> {