diff --git a/dist/tools/openocd/openocd.sh b/dist/tools/openocd/openocd.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..b7471ecb5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dist/tools/openocd/openocd.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+#
+# Unified OpenOCD script for RIOT
+#
+# This script is supposed to be called from RIOTs make system,
+# as it depends on certain environment variables. An OpenOCD
+# configuration file must be present in a the boards dist folder.
+#
+# The script supports the following actions:
+#
+# flash:        flash a given hexfile to the target.
+#               hexfile is expected in ihex format and is pointed to
+#               by HEXFILE environment variable
+#
+#               options:
+#               HEXFILE: path to the hexfile that is flashed
+#
+# debug:        starts OpenOCD as GDB server in the background and
+#               connects to the server with the GDB client specified by
+#               the board (DBG environment variable)
+#
+#               options:
+#               GDB_PORT:       port opened for GDB connections
+#               TCL_PORT:       port opened for TCL connections
+#               TELNET_PORT:    port opened for telnet connections
+#               TUI:            if TUI!=null, the -tui option will be used
+#
+# debug-server: starts OpenOCD as GDB server, but does not connect to
+#               to it with any frontend. This might be useful when using
+#               IDEs.
+#
+#               options:
+#               GDB_PORT:       port opened for GDB connections
+#               TCL_PORT:       port opened for TCL connections
+#               TELNET_PORT:    port opened for telnet connections
+#
+# reset:        triggers a hardware reset of the target board
+#
+#
+# @author       Hauke Peteresen <hauke.petersen@fu-berlin.de>
+
+# default GDB port
+_GDB_PORT=3333
+# default telnet port
+_TELNET_PORT=4444
+# default TCL port
+_TCL_PORT=6333
+# path to OpenOCD configuration file
+CONFIG=${RIOTBOARD}/${BOARD}/dist/openocd.cfg
+
+#
+# a couple of tests for certain configuration options
+#
+test_config() {
+    if [ ! -f ${CONFIG} ]; then
+        echo "Error: Unable to locate OpenOCD configuration file"
+        echo "       (${CONFIG})"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+test_hexfile() {
+    if [ ! -f ${HEXFILE} ]; then
+        echo "Error: Unable to locate HEXFILE"
+        echo "       (${HEXFILE})"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+test_elffile() {
+    if [ ! -f ${ELFFILE} ]; then
+        echo "Error: Unable to locate ELFFILE"
+        echo "       (${ELFFILE})"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+test_ports() {
+    if [ -z ${GDB_PORT} ]; then
+        GDB_PORT=${_GDB_PORT}
+    fi
+    if [ -z ${TELNET_PORT} ]; then
+        TELNET_PORT=${_TELNET_PORT}
+    fi
+    if [ -z ${TCL_PORT} ]; then
+        TCL_PORT=${_TCL_PORT}
+    fi
+}
+
+test_tui() {
+    if [ -n "${TUI}" ]; then
+        TUI=-tui
+    fi
+}
+
+#
+# now comes the actual actions
+#
+do_flash() {
+    test_config
+    test_hexfile
+    # flash device
+    openocd -f ${CONFIG} \
+            -c "tcl_port 0" \
+            -c "telnet_port 0" \
+            -c "gdb_port 0" \
+            -c "init" \
+            -c "targets" \
+            -c "reset halt" \
+            -c "program ${HEXFILE} verify" \
+            -c "reset run"
+}
+
+do_debug() {
+    test_config
+    test_elffile
+    test_ports
+    test_tui
+    # start OpenOCD as GDB server
+    openocd -f ${CONFIG} \
+            -c "tcl_port ${TCL_PORT}" \
+            -c "telnet_port ${TELNET_PORT}" \
+            -c "gdb_port ${GDB_PORT}" \
+            -c "init" \
+            -c "targets" \
+            -c "reset halt" \
+            -l /dev/null &
+    # save PID for terminating the server afterwards
+    OCD_PID=$?
+    # connect to the GDB server
+    ${DBG} ${TUI} -ex "tar ext :${GDB_PORT}" ${ELFFILE}
+    # clean up
+    kill ${OCD_PID}
+}
+
+do_debugserver() {
+    test_config
+    test_ports
+    # start OpenOCD as GDB server
+    openocd -f ${CONFIG} \
+            -c "tcl_port ${TCL_PORT}" \
+            -c "telnet_port ${TELNET_PORT}" \
+            -c "gdb_port ${GDB_PORT}" \
+            -c "init" \
+            -c "targets" \
+            -c "reset halt"
+}
+
+do_reset() {
+    test_config
+    # start OpenOCD and invoke board reset
+    openocd -f ${CONFIG} \
+            -c "tcl_port 0" \
+            -c "telnet_port 0" \
+            -c "gdb_port 0" \
+            -c "init" \
+            -c "reset run" \
+            -c "shutdown"
+}
+
+#
+# parameter dispatching
+#
+case "$1" in
+  flash)
+    echo "### Flashing Target ###"
+    do_flash
+    ;;
+  debug)
+    echo "### Starting Debugging ###"
+    do_debug
+    ;;
+  debug-server)
+    echo "### Starting GDB Server ###"
+    do_debugserver
+    ;;
+  reset)
+    echo "### Resetting Target ###"
+    do_reset
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo "Usage: $0 {flash|debug|debug-server|reset} [PARAM]"
+    ;;
+esac