diff --git a/src/bin/cargo/cli.rs b/src/bin/cargo/cli.rs
index cfa0a3a66da..d50c11673ea 100644
--- a/src/bin/cargo/cli.rs
+++ b/src/bin/cargo/cli.rs
@@ -69,14 +69,19 @@ Run with 'cargo -Z [FLAG] [SUBCOMMAND]'"
     if args.is_present("list") {
         println!("Installed Commands:");
         for command in list_commands(config) {
-            let (command, path) = command;
-            if is_verbose {
-                match path {
-                    Some(p) => println!("    {:<20} {}", command, p),
-                    None => println!("    {:<20}", command),
+            match command {
+                CommandInfo::BuiltIn { name, about } => {
+                    let summary = about.unwrap_or_default();
+                    let summary = summary.lines().next().unwrap_or(&summary); // display only the first line
+                    println!("    {:<20} {}", name, summary)
+                }
+                CommandInfo::External { name, path } => {
+                    if is_verbose {
+                        println!("    {:<20} {}", name, path.display())
+                    } else {
+                        println!("    {}", name)
+                    }
                 }
-            } else {
-                println!("    {}", command);
             }
         }
         return Ok(());
diff --git a/src/bin/cargo/command_prelude.rs b/src/bin/cargo/command_prelude.rs
index fa49bea8639..e40619b300e 100644
--- a/src/bin/cargo/command_prelude.rs
+++ b/src/bin/cargo/command_prelude.rs
@@ -411,3 +411,18 @@ pub fn values(args: &ArgMatches, name: &str) -> Vec<String> {
         .map(|s| s.to_string())
         .collect()
 }
+
+#[derive(PartialEq, PartialOrd, Eq, Ord)]
+pub enum CommandInfo {
+    BuiltIn { name: String, about: Option<String>, },
+    External { name: String, path: PathBuf },
+}
+
+impl CommandInfo {
+    pub fn name(&self) -> String {
+        match self {
+            CommandInfo::BuiltIn { name, .. } => name.to_string(),
+            CommandInfo::External { name, .. } => name.to_string(),
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/bin/cargo/commands/read_manifest.rs b/src/bin/cargo/commands/read_manifest.rs
index 1e54c79e87f..300bfe9c952 100644
--- a/src/bin/cargo/commands/read_manifest.rs
+++ b/src/bin/cargo/commands/read_manifest.rs
@@ -5,8 +5,11 @@ use cargo::print_json;
 pub fn cli() -> App {
     subcommand("read-manifest")
         .about(
-            "Deprecated, use `cargo metadata --no-deps` instead.
-Print a JSON representation of a Cargo.toml manifest.",
+            "\
+Print a JSON representation of a Cargo.toml manifest.
+
+Deprecated, use `cargo metadata --no-deps` instead.\
+",
         )
         .arg_manifest_path()
 }
diff --git a/src/bin/cargo/main.rs b/src/bin/cargo/main.rs
index 76efc09094c..18643a97e22 100644
--- a/src/bin/cargo/main.rs
+++ b/src/bin/cargo/main.rs
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ mod cli;
 mod command_prelude;
 mod commands;
 
+use command_prelude::*;
+
 fn main() {
     env_logger::init();
     cargo::core::maybe_allow_nightly_features();
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ fn aliased_command(config: &Config, command: &str) -> CargoResult<Option<Vec<Str
 }
 
 /// List all runnable commands
-fn list_commands(config: &Config) -> BTreeSet<(String, Option<String>)> {
+fn list_commands(config: &Config) -> BTreeSet<CommandInfo> {
     let prefix = "cargo-";
     let suffix = env::consts::EXE_SUFFIX;
     let mut commands = BTreeSet::new();
@@ -101,16 +103,19 @@ fn list_commands(config: &Config) -> BTreeSet<(String, Option<String>)> {
             }
             if is_executable(entry.path()) {
                 let end = filename.len() - suffix.len();
-                commands.insert((
-                    filename[prefix.len()..end].to_string(),
-                    Some(path.display().to_string()),
-                ));
+                commands.insert(CommandInfo::External {
+                    name: filename[prefix.len()..end].to_string(),
+                    path: path.clone(),
+                });
             }
         }
     }
 
     for cmd in commands::builtin() {
-        commands.insert((cmd.get_name().to_string(), None));
+        commands.insert(CommandInfo::BuiltIn {
+            name: cmd.get_name().to_string(),
+            about: cmd.p.meta.about.map(|s| s.to_string()),
+        });
     }
 
     commands
@@ -121,7 +126,8 @@ fn find_closest(config: &Config, cmd: &str) -> Option<String> {
     // Only consider candidates with a lev_distance of 3 or less so we don't
     // suggest out-of-the-blue options.
     cmds.into_iter()
-        .map(|(c, _)| (lev_distance(&c, cmd), c))
+        .map(|c| c.name())
+        .map(|c| (lev_distance(&c, cmd), c))
         .filter(|&(d, _)| d < 4)
         .min_by_key(|a| a.0)
         .map(|slot| slot.1)
diff --git a/tests/testsuite/cargo_command.rs b/tests/testsuite/cargo_command.rs
index a754eeefe47..646200a76c3 100644
--- a/tests/testsuite/cargo_command.rs
+++ b/tests/testsuite/cargo_command.rs
@@ -60,6 +60,24 @@ fn path() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
     env::split_paths(&env::var_os("PATH").unwrap_or_default()).collect()
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn list_commands_with_descriptions() {
+    let p = project().build();
+    let output = p.cargo("--list").exec_with_output().unwrap();
+    let output = str::from_utf8(&output.stdout).unwrap();
+    assert!(
+        output.contains("\n    build                Compile a local package and all of its dependencies"),
+        "missing build, with description: {}",
+        output
+    );
+    // assert read-manifest prints the right one-line description followed by another command, indented.
+    assert!(
+        output.contains("\n    read-manifest        Print a JSON representation of a Cargo.toml manifest.\n    "),
+        "missing build, with description: {}",
+        output
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn list_command_looks_at_path() {
     let proj = project().build();
@@ -152,7 +170,7 @@ error: no such subcommand: `biuld`
         cargo_process().arg("--list"),
         execs()
             .with_status(0)
-            .with_stdout_contains("    build\n")
+            .with_stdout_contains("    build                Compile a local package and all of its dependencies\n")
             .with_stdout_contains("    biuld\n"),
     );
 }