diff --git a/samples/.gitignore b/samples/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f644f2e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+*/gradle
+*/gradlew
+*/gradlew.bat
diff --git a/samples/git-clone/README.md b/samples/git-clone/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8695f42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/git-clone/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+
+This sample shows how `grgit` can be used to clone a repository and 
+interact with it. 
+
+To run the sample, using bash, 
+````
+  git clone http://github.com/ajoberstar/grgit grgit
+  cd grgit/samples/git-clone
+  ../../gradlew clone
+  ../../gradlew log
+  ../../gradlew clean
+```
diff --git a/samples/git-clone/build.gradle b/samples/git-clone/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b865ba90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/git-clone/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+
+/*
+ Grgit can extend a Gradle project to support direct interaction with the
+ git repository the Gradle project is part of, but it can also be used to
+ create clones and carry out operations on any repository in the local
+ file system. This example shows how a clone can be created and manipulated
+ without applying the Grgit Gradle plugin.
+ 
+ The destination directory we're cloning into is the project build
+ directory by default, or can be set with -PdestinationDir=<path>.
+
+ The remote origin we're cloning from is a small test repository by default
+ or can be set with -Porigin=<URI>.
+
+ Set the number of commits to print from the git commit log; this is 10
+ commits by default or can be set with -PmaxCommits=<integer>.
+*/
+
+plugins {
+  // Include grgit on the class path without applying the plugin:
+  id 'org.ajoberstar.grgit' version '4.0.2' apply false
+}
+
+// An explicit import is necessary because the plugin was not applied:
+import org.ajoberstar.grgit.Grgit
+
+ext {
+  destinationDir = project.hasProperty('destinationDir') ? destinationDir : buildDir
+  origin = (project.hasProperty('origin')
+    ? origin
+    : 'https://github.com/ajoberstar/test-repo.git')
+  maxCommits = project.hasProperty('maxCommits') ? maxCommits : 10
+}
+
+// The example tasks create a clone, print the git log and destroy the clone:
+
+task clone {
+  group = 'Grgit Example'
+  description = 'Clones a test repository into the project build directory'
+  onlyIf { !new File(destinationDir, '.git').exists() }
+  doLast {
+    Grgit.clone(
+      dir: destinationDir,
+      uri: origin)
+    logger.lifecycle("Cloned ${origin} into ${destinationDir}")
+  }
+}
+
+task log(dependsOn: clone) {
+  group = 'Grgit Example'
+  description = 'Prints the test repository commit log.'
+  doLast {
+    Grgit.open(dir: destinationDir).log(maxCommits: project.maxCommits).each {
+      logger.lifecycle("""commit ${it.id}
+Author: ${it.author}
+Date:   ${it.dateTime}
+
+    ${it.shortMessage}
+
+""")
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+task clean {
+  group = 'Grgit Example'
+  description = 'Removes a previously created repository clone, if present.'
+  doLast {
+    if (destinationDir.exists())
+      delete(destinationDir)
+  }
+}
diff --git a/samples/git-clone/settings.gradle b/samples/git-clone/settings.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1a5f7d32
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/git-clone/settings.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+rootProject.name = 'grgit-git-clone'
diff --git a/samples/jar-manifest/README.md b/samples/jar-manifest/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..14247e9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/jar-manifest/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+
+This sample shows how `grgit` can be used to interact with the 
+repository the Gradle scripts belong to, by applying the plugin 
+and using the `project.grgit` object.
+
+To run the sample, using bash, 
+````
+  git clone http://github.com/ajoberstar/grgit grgit
+  cd grgit/samples/jar-manifest
+  ../../gradlew run
+  ../../gradlew runJar
+```
diff --git a/samples/jar-manifest/build.gradle b/samples/jar-manifest/build.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..944e2922
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/jar-manifest/build.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+
+/*
+ Grgit can extend a Gradle project to support direct interaction with the
+ git repository the Gradle project is part of. This minimal example shows
+ how the common use case of including repository information in jar manifests
+ can be implemented.
+ */
+
+plugins {
+  id 'application'
+  // Apply the grgit plugin to create project.grgit:
+  id 'org.ajoberstar.grgit' version '4.0.2'
+}
+
+version = '1.0.0'
+group = 'org.ajoberstar.grgit.sample'
+
+application {
+  mainClassName = 'org.ajoberstar.grgit.samples.Main'
+}
+
+jar {
+  manifest {
+    attributes(
+      'Build-Date': new Date(),
+      'Git-Branch': grgit.branch.current.fullName,
+      'Git-Commit': grgit.log(maxCommits: 1).get(0).id,
+      'Main-Class': application.mainClassName)
+  }
+}
+
+// The run task results in an exception because no jar is generated.
+
+task runJar(type: JavaExec) {
+  group = 'Grgit Example'
+  description = 'Runs the sample application to print repository information.'
+  classpath = files(jar)
+}
diff --git a/samples/jar-manifest/settings.gradle b/samples/jar-manifest/settings.gradle
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1f9d3885
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/jar-manifest/settings.gradle
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+rootProject.name = 'grgit-jar-manifest'
diff --git a/samples/jar-manifest/src/main/java/org/ajoberstar/grgit/samples/Main.java b/samples/jar-manifest/src/main/java/org/ajoberstar/grgit/samples/Main.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..54f6cb46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/samples/jar-manifest/src/main/java/org/ajoberstar/grgit/samples/Main.java
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package org.ajoberstar.grgit.samples;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.util.jar.Attributes;
+import java.util.jar.Manifest;
+
+public class Main {
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
+        System.out.println(
+            String.format("Executing %s#main...", Main.class.getCanonicalName()));
+        try (InputStream stream = Manifests.openStream(Main.class)) {
+            Manifest manifest = new Manifest(stream);
+            Attributes attributes = manifest.getMainAttributes();
+            String date = attributes.getValue("Build-Date");
+            String branch = attributes.getValue("Git-Branch");
+            String commit = attributes.getValue("Git-Commit");
+            System.out.println(
+                String.format("Class: %s\nBuilt: %s\nBranch: %s\nCommit: %s",
+                    Main.class.getCanonicalName(), date, branch, commit));
+        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException x) {
+            System.out.println(
+                "Unable to open jar manifest to retrieve git commit and branch.");
+            System.out.println(
+                "Make sure you're running the generated jar, not from Gradle or an IDE.");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+class Manifests {
+
+    /**
+     * <p>Opens an input stream for the manifest resource of the jar the
+     * parameter class belongs to.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>Throws <code>UnsupportedOperationException</code> if the class
+     * does not belong to a jar.</p>
+     *
+     * @param clss The class to open the jar manifest strea for
+     * @return A jar manifest stream for the parameter class
+     * @throws IOException                   If unable to open the stream
+     * @throws UnsupportedOperationException If the class is not from a jar
+     */
+    public static InputStream openStream(Class<?> clss) throws IOException {
+        String manifestPath = getResourcePath(clss);
+        if (null == manifestPath)
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+        return new URL(manifestPath).openStream();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the manifest resource path for the jar the parameter class
+     * belongs to, or null if it is not part of a jar.
+     *
+     * @param clss The class to locate a jar manifest for
+     * @return The manifest resource path for the parameter class
+     */
+    public static String getResourcePath(Class<?> clss) {
+        String resourcePath = Classes.getResourcePath(clss);
+        if (!resourcePath.startsWith("jar"))
+            return null;
+        int offset = resourcePath.lastIndexOf("!") + 1;
+        return resourcePath.substring(0, offset) + "/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF";
+    }
+}
+
+class Classes {
+
+    public static String getResourcePath(Class<?> clss) {
+        return clss.getResource(getResourceName(clss)).toString();
+    }
+
+    public static String getResourceName(Class<?> clss) {
+        return clss.getSimpleName() + ".class";
+    }
+}
+