diff --git a/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts b/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
index 2aab9956ea29a3a46e02857a347fb6d1b1ad80d8..a6343b7414c94bca64eee0e716d674103ed96446 100644
--- a/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
+++ b/src/vs/code/node/cliProcessMain.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { InstantiationService } from 'vs/platform/instantiation/common/instantia
 import { IEnvironmentService, ParsedArgs } from 'vs/platform/environment/common/environment';
 import { EnvironmentService } 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';
@@ -131,19 +131,30 @@ 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> {
+		function extension2id(extension): TPromise<string> {
+			if ( !/\.vsix$/i.test ( extension ) ) {
+				return TPromise.as ( extension );
+			} else {
+				const zipPath = path.isAbsolute(extension) ? extension : path.join(process.cwd(), extension);
+				return validateLocalExtension(zipPath).then(getId);
+			}
+		}
 
-				if (!extension) {
-					return TPromise.wrapError(new Error(`${notInstalled(id)}\n${useId}`));
-				}
+		return sequence(extensions.map(extension => () => {
+			return extension2id(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 7f81ffa9d2f12fb394bb9e2768a97f5e78be19f0..a04b43f306cf95e40043ad90031e321187172dff 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/environment/node/argv.ts
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ 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 e019353ebcec5f82897d5a19c483b6b431593ed3..2a1dcf95a9c2a3b03677b4c97af1d81fbca57802 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/extensionManagement/node/extensionManagementService.ts
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ 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));
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ 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 id = getLocalExtensionIdFromManifest(manifest);
 
 			return this.isObsolete(id).then(isObsolete => {
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ export class ExtensionManagementService implements IExtensionManagementService {
 		};
 
 		return this.galleryService.download(extension)
-			.then(zipPath => validate(zipPath).then(() => zipPath))
+			.then(zipPath => validateLocalExtension(zipPath).then(() => zipPath))
 			.then(zipPath => this.installExtension(zipPath, id, metadata));
 	}