diff --git a/bin/ansible b/bin/ansible
index ccd6bb8e17..59b4fec305 100755
--- a/bin/ansible
+++ b/bin/ansible
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ except Exception:
     pass
 
 import os
+import shutil
 import sys
 import traceback
 
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ import traceback
 from multiprocessing import Lock
 debug_lock = Lock()
 
+import ansible.constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleOptionsError, AnsibleParserError
 from ansible.utils.display import Display
 from ansible.utils.unicode import to_unicode
@@ -87,28 +89,28 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
 
         cli = mycli(sys.argv)
         cli.parse()
-        sys.exit(cli.run())
+        exit_code = cli.run()
 
     except AnsibleOptionsError as e:
         cli.parser.print_help()
         display.error(to_unicode(e), wrap_text=False)
-        sys.exit(5)
+        exit_code = 5
     except AnsibleParserError as e:
         display.error(to_unicode(e), wrap_text=False)
-        sys.exit(4)
+        exit_code = 4
 # TQM takes care of these, but leaving comment to reserve the exit codes
 #    except AnsibleHostUnreachable as e:
 #        display.error(str(e))
-#        sys.exit(3)
+#        exit_code = 3
 #    except AnsibleHostFailed as e:
 #        display.error(str(e))
-#        sys.exit(2)
+#        exit_code = 2
     except AnsibleError as e:
         display.error(to_unicode(e), wrap_text=False)
-        sys.exit(1)
+        exit_code = 1
     except KeyboardInterrupt:
         display.error("User interrupted execution")
-        sys.exit(99)
+        exit_code = 99
     except Exception as e:
         have_cli_options = cli is not None and cli.options is not None
         display.error("Unexpected Exception: %s" % to_unicode(e), wrap_text=False)
@@ -116,4 +118,9 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
             display.display(u"the full traceback was:\n\n%s" % to_unicode(traceback.format_exc()))
         else:
             display.display("to see the full traceback, use -vvv")
-        sys.exit(250)
+        exit_code = 250
+    finally:
+        # Remove ansible tempdir
+        shutil.rmtree(C.DEFAULT_LOCAL_TMP, True)
+
+    sys.exit(exit_code)
diff --git a/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst b/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
index d5820a5b5f..9628735087 100644
--- a/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
+++ b/docsite/rst/intro_configuration.rst
@@ -452,6 +452,22 @@ This is the default location Ansible looks to find modules::
 Ansible knows how to look in multiple locations if you feed it a colon separated path, and it also will look for modules in the
 "./library" directory alongside a playbook.
 
+.. _local_tmp:
+
+local_tmp
+=========
+
+When Ansible gets ready to send a module to a remote machine it usually has to
+add a few things to the module: Some boilerplate code, the module's
+parameters, and a few constants from the config file.  This combination of
+things gets stored in a temporary file until ansible exits and cleans up after
+itself.  The default location is a subdirectory of the user's home directory.
+If you'd like to change that, you can do so by altering this setting::
+
+    local_tmp = $HOME/.ansible/tmp
+
+Ansible will then choose a random directory name inside this location.
+
 .. _log_path:
 
 log_path
diff --git a/examples/ansible.cfg b/examples/ansible.cfg
index 672c99dfc3..2b50d71e24 100644
--- a/examples/ansible.cfg
+++ b/examples/ansible.cfg
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #inventory      = /etc/ansible/hosts
 #library        = /usr/share/my_modules/
 #remote_tmp     = $HOME/.ansible/tmp
+#local_tmp      = $HOME/.ansible/tmp
 #forks          = 5
 #poll_interval  = 15
 #sudo_user      = root
diff --git a/hacking/test-module b/hacking/test-module
index a3a6aa6fab..5d852f1eae 100755
--- a/hacking/test-module
+++ b/hacking/test-module
@@ -29,12 +29,14 @@
 #    test-module -m ../library/file/lineinfile -a "dest=/etc/exports line='/srv/home hostname1(rw,sync)'" --check
 #    test-module -m ../library/commands/command -a "echo hello" -n -o "test_hello"
 
-import sys
 import base64
+from multiprocessing import Lock
+import optparse
 import os
 import subprocess
+import sys
 import traceback
-import optparse
+
 import ansible.utils.vars as utils_vars
 from ansible.parsing.dataloader import DataLoader
 from ansible.parsing.utils.jsonify import jsonify
@@ -133,10 +135,12 @@ def boilerplate_module(modfile, args, interpreter, check, destfile):
 
     modname = os.path.basename(modfile)
     modname = os.path.splitext(modname)[0]
+    action_write_lock = Lock()
     (module_data, module_style, shebang) = module_common.modify_module(
         modname,
         modfile,
         complex_args,
+        action_write_lock,
         task_vars=task_vars
     )
 
diff --git a/lib/ansible/constants.py b/lib/ansible/constants.py
index cd7659a0c6..514fda8160 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/constants.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/constants.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import os
+import tempfile
 from string import ascii_letters, digits
 
 from ansible.compat.six import string_types
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ def shell_expand(path):
         path = os.path.expanduser(os.path.expandvars(path))
     return path
 
-def get_config(p, section, key, env_var, default, boolean=False, integer=False, floating=False, islist=False, isnone=False, ispath=False, ispathlist=False):
+def get_config(p, section, key, env_var, default, boolean=False, integer=False, floating=False, islist=False, isnone=False, ispath=False, ispathlist=False, istmppath=False):
     ''' return a configuration variable with casting '''
     value = _get_config(p, section, key, env_var, default)
     if boolean:
@@ -65,6 +66,11 @@ def get_config(p, section, key, env_var, default, boolean=False, integer=False,
                 value = None
         elif ispath:
             value = shell_expand(value)
+        elif istmppath:
+            value = shell_expand(value)
+            if not os.path.exists(value):
+                os.makedirs(value, 0o700)
+            value = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='ansible-local-tmp', dir=value)
         elif ispathlist:
             if isinstance(value, string_types):
                 value = [shell_expand(x) for x in value.split(os.pathsep)]
@@ -136,6 +142,7 @@ DEFAULT_HOST_LIST         = get_config(p, DEFAULTS,'inventory', 'ANSIBLE_INVENTO
 DEFAULT_MODULE_PATH       = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'library',          'ANSIBLE_LIBRARY',          None, ispathlist=True)
 DEFAULT_ROLES_PATH        = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'roles_path',       'ANSIBLE_ROLES_PATH',       '/etc/ansible/roles', ispathlist=True)
 DEFAULT_REMOTE_TMP        = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'remote_tmp',       'ANSIBLE_REMOTE_TEMP',      '$HOME/.ansible/tmp')
+DEFAULT_LOCAL_TMP         = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'local_tmp',        'ANSIBLE_LOCAL_TEMP',      '$HOME/.ansible/tmp', istmppath=True)
 DEFAULT_MODULE_NAME       = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'module_name',      None,                       'command')
 DEFAULT_FORKS             = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'forks',            'ANSIBLE_FORKS',            5, integer=True)
 DEFAULT_MODULE_ARGS       = get_config(p, DEFAULTS, 'module_args',      'ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS',      '')
diff --git a/lib/ansible/executor/module_common.py b/lib/ansible/executor/module_common.py
index a22e43f240..50b4947b59 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/executor/module_common.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/executor/module_common.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
+import ast
 import base64
 import json
 import os
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ from ansible import __version__
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
 from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes, to_unicode
+from ansible.plugins.strategy import action_write_locks
 
 try:
     from __main__ import display
@@ -48,7 +50,7 @@ REPLACER_SELINUX  = b"<<SELINUX_SPECIAL_FILESYSTEMS>>"
 
 # We could end up writing out parameters with unicode characters so we need to
 # specify an encoding for the python source file
-ENCODING_STRING = b'# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-'
+ENCODING_STRING = u'# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-'
 
 # we've moved the module_common relative to the snippets, so fix the path
 _SNIPPET_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'module_utils')
@@ -56,7 +58,7 @@ _SNIPPET_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..', 'module_utils')
 # ******************************************************************************
 
 ZIPLOADER_TEMPLATE = u'''%(shebang)s
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-'
+%(coding)s
 # This code is part of Ansible, but is an independent component.
 # The code in this particular templatable string, and this templatable string
 # only, is BSD licensed.  Modules which end up using this snippet, which is
@@ -87,17 +89,49 @@ ZIPLOADER_TEMPLATE = u'''%(shebang)s
 import os
 import sys
 import base64
+import shutil
+import zipfile
 import tempfile
 import subprocess
 
 if sys.version_info < (3,):
     bytes = str
+    PY3 = False
 else:
     unicode = str
+    PY3 = True
+try:
+    # Python-2.6+
+    from io import BytesIO as IOStream
+except ImportError:
+    # Python < 2.6
+    from StringIO import StringIO as IOStream
 
 ZIPDATA = """%(zipdata)s"""
 
-def debug(command, zipped_mod):
+def invoke_module(module, modlib_path, json_params):
+    pythonpath = os.environ.get('PYTHONPATH')
+    if pythonpath:
+        os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = ':'.join((modlib_path, pythonpath))
+    else:
+        os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = modlib_path
+
+    p = subprocess.Popen(['%(interpreter)s', module], env=os.environ, shell=False, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE, stdin=subprocess.PIPE)
+    (stdout, stderr) = p.communicate(json_params)
+
+    if not isinstance(stderr, (bytes, unicode)):
+        stderr = stderr.read()
+    if not isinstance(stdout, (bytes, unicode)):
+        stdout = stdout.read()
+    if PY3:
+        sys.stderr.buffer.write(stderr)
+        sys.stdout.buffer.write(stdout)
+    else:
+        sys.stderr.write(stderr)
+        sys.stdout.write(stdout)
+    return p.returncode
+
+def debug(command, zipped_mod, json_params):
     # The code here normally doesn't run.  It's only used for debugging on the
     # remote machine. Run with ANSIBLE_KEEP_REMOTE_FILES=1 envvar and -vvv
     # to save the module file remotely.  Login to the remote machine and use
@@ -105,7 +139,7 @@ def debug(command, zipped_mod):
     # files.  Edit the source files to instrument the code or experiment with
     # different values.  Then use /path/to/module execute to run the extracted
     # files you've edited instead of the actual zipped module.
-    #
+
     # Okay to use __file__ here because we're running from a kept file
     basedir = os.path.dirname(__file__)
     if command == 'explode':
@@ -113,11 +147,11 @@ def debug(command, zipped_mod):
         # print the path to the code.  This is an easy way for people to look
         # at the code on the remote machine for debugging it in that
         # environment
-        import zipfile
         z = zipfile.ZipFile(zipped_mod)
         for filename in z.namelist():
             if filename.startswith('/'):
                 raise Exception('Something wrong with this module zip file: should not contain absolute paths')
+
             dest_filename = os.path.join(basedir, filename)
             if dest_filename.endswith(os.path.sep) and not os.path.exists(dest_filename):
                 os.makedirs(dest_filename)
@@ -128,26 +162,17 @@ def debug(command, zipped_mod):
                 f = open(dest_filename, 'w')
                 f.write(z.read(filename))
                 f.close()
+
         print('Module expanded into:')
         print('%%s' %% os.path.join(basedir, 'ansible'))
+        exitcode = 0
+
     elif command == 'execute':
         # Execute the exploded code instead of executing the module from the
         # embedded ZIPDATA.  This allows people to easily run their modified
         # code on the remote machine to see how changes will affect it.
-        pythonpath = os.environ.get('PYTHONPATH')
-        if pythonpath:
-            os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = ':'.join((basedir, pythonpath))
-        else:
-            os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = basedir
-        p = subprocess.Popen(['%(interpreter)s', '-m', 'ansible.module_exec.%(ansible_module)s.__main__'], env=os.environ, shell=False, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
-        (stdout, stderr) = p.communicate()
-        if not isinstance(stderr, (bytes, unicode)):
-            stderr = stderr.read()
-        if not isinstance(stdout, (bytes, unicode)):
-            stdout = stdout.read()
-        sys.stderr.write(stderr)
-        sys.stdout.write(stdout)
-        sys.exit(p.returncode)
+        exitcode = invoke_module(os.path.join(basedir, 'ansible_module_%(ansible_module)s.py'), basedir, json_params)
+
     elif command == 'excommunicate':
         # This attempts to run the module in-process (by importing a main
         # function and then calling it).  It is not the way ansible generally
@@ -157,43 +182,78 @@ def debug(command, zipped_mod):
         # when using this that are only artifacts of how we're invoking here,
         # not actual bugs (as they don't affect the real way that we invoke
         # ansible modules)
+        sys.stdin = IOStream(json_params)
         sys.path.insert(0, basedir)
-        from ansible.module_exec.%(ansible_module)s.__main__ import main
+        from ansible_module_%(ansible_module)s import main
         main()
-
-os.environ['ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS'] = %(args)s
-os.environ['ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS'] = %(constants)s
-
-try:
-    temp_fd, temp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(prefix='ansible_')
-    os.write(temp_fd, base64.b64decode(ZIPDATA))
-    if len(sys.argv) == 2:
-        debug(sys.argv[1], temp_path)
+        print('WARNING: Module returned to wrapper instead of exiting')
+        sys.exit(1)
     else:
-        pythonpath = os.environ.get('PYTHONPATH')
-        if pythonpath:
-            os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = ':'.join((temp_path, pythonpath))
-        else:
-            os.environ['PYTHONPATH'] = temp_path
-        p = subprocess.Popen(['%(interpreter)s', '-m', 'ansible.module_exec.%(ansible_module)s.__main__'], env=os.environ, shell=False, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
-        (stdout, stderr) = p.communicate()
-        if not isinstance(stderr, (bytes, unicode)):
-            stderr = stderr.read()
-        if not isinstance(stdout, (bytes, unicode)):
-            stdout = stdout.read()
-        sys.stderr.write(stderr)
-        sys.stdout.write(stdout)
-        sys.exit(p.returncode)
+        print('WARNING: Unknown debug command.  Doing nothing.')
+        exitcode = 0
 
-finally:
+    return exitcode
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    ZIPLOADER_PARAMS = %(params)s
+    if PY3:
+        ZIPLOADER_PARAMS = ZIPLOADER_PARAMS.encode('utf-8')
     try:
-        os.close(temp_fd)
-        os.remove(temp_path)
-    except NameError:
-        # mkstemp failed
-        pass
+        temp_path = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='ansible_')
+        zipped_mod = os.path.join(temp_path, 'ansible_modlib.zip')
+        modlib = open(zipped_mod, 'wb')
+        modlib.write(base64.b64decode(ZIPDATA))
+        modlib.close()
+        if len(sys.argv) == 2:
+            exitcode = debug(sys.argv[1], zipped_mod, ZIPLOADER_PARAMS)
+        else:
+            z = zipfile.ZipFile(zipped_mod)
+            module = os.path.join(temp_path, 'ansible_module_%(ansible_module)s.py')
+            f = open(module, 'wb')
+            f.write(z.read('ansible_module_%(ansible_module)s.py'))
+            f.close()
+            exitcode = invoke_module(module, zipped_mod, ZIPLOADER_PARAMS)
+    finally:
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(temp_path)
+        except OSError:
+            # tempdir creation probably failed
+            pass
+    sys.exit(exitcode)
 '''
 
+class ModuleDepFinder(ast.NodeVisitor):
+    # Caveats:
+    # This code currently does not handle:
+    # * relative imports from py2.6+ from . import urls
+    # * python packages (directories with __init__.py in them)
+    IMPORT_PREFIX_SIZE = len('ansible.module_utils.')
+
+    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        super(ModuleDepFinder, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
+        self.module_files = set()
+
+    def visit_Import(self, node):
+        # import ansible.module_utils.MODLIB[.other]
+        for alias in (a for a in node.names if a.name.startswith('ansible.module_utils.')):
+            py_mod = alias.name[self.IMPORT_PREFIX_SIZE:].split('.', 1)[0]
+            self.module_files.add(py_mod)
+        self.generic_visit(node)
+
+    def visit_ImportFrom(self, node):
+        if node.module.startswith('ansible.module_utils'):
+            where_from = node.module[self.IMPORT_PREFIX_SIZE:]
+            # from ansible.module_utils.MODLIB[.other] import foo
+            if where_from:
+                py_mod = where_from.split('.', 1)[0]
+                self.module_files.add(py_mod)
+            else:
+                # from ansible.module_utils import MODLIB
+                for alias in node.names:
+                    self.module_files.add(alias.name)
+        self.generic_visit(node)
+
+
 def _strip_comments(source):
     # Strip comments and blank lines from the wrapper
     buf = []
@@ -242,6 +302,28 @@ def _get_facility(task_vars):
         facility = task_vars['ansible_syslog_facility']
     return facility
 
+def recursive_finder(data, snippet_names, snippet_data, zf):
+    """
+    Using ModuleDepFinder, make sure we have all of the module_utils files that
+    the module its module_utils files needs.
+    """
+    tree = ast.parse(data)
+    finder = ModuleDepFinder()
+    finder.visit(tree)
+
+    new_snippets = set()
+    for snippet_name in finder.module_files.difference(snippet_names):
+        fname = '%s.py' % snippet_name
+        new_snippets.add(snippet_name)
+        if snippet_name not in snippet_data:
+            snippet_data[snippet_name] = _slurp(os.path.join(_SNIPPET_PATH, fname))
+        zf.writestr(os.path.join("ansible/module_utils", fname), snippet_data[snippet_name])
+    snippet_names.update(new_snippets)
+
+    for snippet_name in tuple(new_snippets):
+        recursive_finder(snippet_data[snippet_name], snippet_names, snippet_data, zf)
+        del snippet_data[snippet_name]
+
 def _find_snippet_imports(module_name, module_data, module_path, module_args, task_vars, module_compression):
     """
     Given the source of the module, convert it to a Jinja2 template to insert
@@ -280,59 +362,87 @@ def _find_snippet_imports(module_name, module_data, module_path, module_args, ta
     if module_style in ('old', 'non_native_want_json'):
         return module_data, module_style, shebang
 
-    module_args_json = to_bytes(json.dumps(module_args))
-
     output = BytesIO()
-    lines = module_data.split(b'\n')
-
     snippet_names = set()
 
     if module_substyle == 'python':
         # ziploader for new-style python classes
-        python_repred_args = to_bytes(repr(module_args_json))
         constants = dict(
                 SELINUX_SPECIAL_FS=C.DEFAULT_SELINUX_SPECIAL_FS,
                 SYSLOG_FACILITY=_get_facility(task_vars),
                 )
-        python_repred_constants = to_bytes(repr(json.dumps(constants)), errors='strict')
+        params = dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS=module_args,
+                ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS=constants,
+                )
+        #python_repred_args = to_bytes(repr(module_args_json))
+        #python_repred_constants = to_bytes(repr(json.dumps(constants)), errors='strict')
+        python_repred_params = to_bytes(repr(json.dumps(params)), errors='strict')
 
         try:
             compression_method = getattr(zipfile, module_compression)
         except AttributeError:
             display.warning(u'Bad module compression string specified: %s.  Using ZIP_STORED (no compression)' % module_compression)
             compression_method = zipfile.ZIP_STORED
-        zipoutput = BytesIO()
-        zf = zipfile.ZipFile(zipoutput, mode='w', compression=compression_method)
-        zf.writestr('ansible/__init__.py', b''.join((b"__version__ = '", to_bytes(__version__), b"'\n")))
-        zf.writestr('ansible/module_utils/__init__.py', b'')
-        zf.writestr('ansible/module_exec/__init__.py', b'')
 
-        zf.writestr('ansible/module_exec/%s/__init__.py' % module_name, b"")
-        final_data = []
+        lookup_path = os.path.join(C.DEFAULT_LOCAL_TMP, 'ziploader_cache')
+        if not os.path.exists(lookup_path):
+            os.mkdir(lookup_path)
+        cached_module_filename = os.path.join(lookup_path, "%s-%s" % (module_name, module_compression))
 
-        for line in lines:
-            if line.startswith(b'from ansible.module_utils.'):
-                tokens=line.split(b".")
-                snippet_name = tokens[2].split()[0]
-                snippet_names.add(snippet_name)
-                fname = to_unicode(snippet_name + b".py")
-                zf.writestr(os.path.join("ansible/module_utils", fname), _slurp(os.path.join(_SNIPPET_PATH, fname)))
-                final_data.append(line)
-            else:
-                final_data.append(line)
+        zipdata = None
+        # Optimization -- don't lock if the module has already been cached
+        if os.path.exists(cached_module_filename):
+            zipdata = open(cached_module_filename, 'rb').read()
+            # Fool the check later... I think we should just remove the check
+            snippet_names.add('basic')
+        else:
+            with action_write_locks[module_name]:
+                # Check that no other process has created this while we were
+                # waiting for the lock
+                if not os.path.exists(cached_module_filename):
+                    # Create the module zip data
+                    zipoutput = BytesIO()
+                    zf = zipfile.ZipFile(zipoutput, mode='w', compression=compression_method)
+                    zf.writestr('ansible/__init__.py', b''.join((b"__version__ = '", to_bytes(__version__), b"'\n")))
+                    zf.writestr('ansible/module_utils/__init__.py', b'')
 
-        zf.writestr('ansible/module_exec/%s/__main__.py' % module_name, b"\n".join(final_data))
-        zf.close()
+                    zf.writestr('ansible_module_%s.py' % module_name, module_data)
+
+                    snippet_data = dict()
+                    recursive_finder(module_data, snippet_names, snippet_data, zf)
+                    zf.close()
+                    zipdata = base64.b64encode(zipoutput.getvalue())
+
+                    # Write the assembled module to a temp file (write to temp
+                    # so that no one looking for the file reads a partially
+                    # written file)
+                    with open(cached_module_filename + '-part', 'w') as f:
+                        f.write(zipdata)
+
+                    # Rename the file into its final position in the cache so
+                    # future users of this module can read it off the
+                    # filesystem instead of constructing from scratch.
+                    os.rename(cached_module_filename + '-part', cached_module_filename)
+
+            if zipdata is None:
+                # Another process wrote the file while we were waiting for
+                # the write lock.  Go ahead and read the data from disk
+                # instead of re-creating it.
+                zipdata = open(cached_module_filename, 'rb').read()
+                # Fool the check later... I think we should just remove the check
+                snippet_names.add('basic')
         shebang, interpreter = _get_shebang(u'/usr/bin/python', task_vars)
         if shebang is None:
             shebang = u'#!/usr/bin/python'
         output.write(to_bytes(STRIPPED_ZIPLOADER_TEMPLATE % dict(
-            zipdata=base64.b64encode(zipoutput.getvalue()),
+            zipdata=zipdata,
             ansible_module=module_name,
-            args=python_repred_args,
-            constants=python_repred_constants,
+            #args=python_repred_args,
+            #constants=python_repred_constants,
+            params=python_repred_params,
             shebang=shebang,
             interpreter=interpreter,
+            coding=ENCODING_STRING,
             )))
         module_data = output.getvalue()
 
@@ -340,11 +450,12 @@ def _find_snippet_imports(module_name, module_data, module_path, module_args, ta
         # modules that use ziploader may implement their own helpers and not
         # need basic.py.  All the constants that we substituted into basic.py
         # for module_replacer are now available in other, better ways.
-        if b'basic' not in snippet_names:
+        if 'basic' not in snippet_names:
             raise AnsibleError("missing required import in %s: Did not import ansible.module_utils.basic for boilerplate helper code" % module_path)
 
     elif module_substyle == 'powershell':
         # Module replacer for jsonargs and windows
+        lines = module_data.split(b'\n')
         for line in lines:
             if REPLACER_WINDOWS in line:
                 ps_data = _slurp(os.path.join(_SNIPPET_PATH, "powershell.ps1"))
@@ -353,6 +464,8 @@ def _find_snippet_imports(module_name, module_data, module_path, module_args, ta
                 continue
             output.write(line + b'\n')
         module_data = output.getvalue()
+
+        module_args_json = to_bytes(json.dumps(module_args))
         module_data = module_data.replace(REPLACER_JSONARGS, module_args_json)
 
         # Sanity check from 1.x days.  This is currently useless as we only
@@ -363,11 +476,14 @@ def _find_snippet_imports(module_name, module_data, module_path, module_args, ta
             raise AnsibleError("missing required import in %s: # POWERSHELL_COMMON" % module_path)
 
     elif module_substyle == 'jsonargs':
+        module_args_json = to_bytes(json.dumps(module_args))
+
         # these strings could be included in a third-party module but
         # officially they were included in the 'basic' snippet for new-style
         # python modules (which has been replaced with something else in
         # ziploader) If we remove them from jsonargs-style module replacer
         # then we can remove them everywhere.
+        python_repred_args = to_bytes(repr(module_args_json))
         module_data = module_data.replace(REPLACER_VERSION, to_bytes(repr(__version__)))
         module_data = module_data.replace(REPLACER_COMPLEX, python_repred_args)
         module_data = module_data.replace(REPLACER_SELINUX, to_bytes(','.join(C.DEFAULT_SELINUX_SPECIAL_FS)))
@@ -409,17 +525,6 @@ def modify_module(module_name, module_path, module_args, task_vars=dict(), modul
     which results in the inclusion of the common code from powershell.ps1
 
     """
-    ### TODO: Optimization ideas if this code is actually a source of slowness:
-    # * Fix comment stripping: Currently doesn't preserve shebangs and encoding info (but we unconditionally add encoding info)
-    # * Use pyminifier if installed
-    # * comment stripping/pyminifier needs to have config setting to turn it
-    #   off for debugging purposes (goes along with keep remote but should be
-    #   separate otherwise users wouldn't be able to get info on what the
-    #   minifier output)
-    # * Only split into lines and recombine into strings once
-    # * Cache the modified module?  If only the args are different and we do
-    #   that as the last step we could cache all the work up to that point.
-
     with open(module_path, 'rb') as f:
 
         # read in the module source
@@ -440,7 +545,7 @@ def modify_module(module_name, module_path, module_args, task_vars=dict(), modul
                 lines[0] = shebang = new_shebang
 
             if os.path.basename(interpreter).startswith(b'python'):
-                lines.insert(1, ENCODING_STRING)
+                lines.insert(1, to_bytes(ENCODING_STRING))
         else:
             # No shebang, assume a binary module?
             pass
diff --git a/lib/ansible/executor/process/worker.py b/lib/ansible/executor/process/worker.py
index ce5de460a1..d1bc56f637 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/executor/process/worker.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/executor/process/worker.py
@@ -95,12 +95,9 @@ class WorkerProcess(multiprocessing.Process):
 
     def run(self):
         '''
-        Called when the process is started, and loops indefinitely
-        until an error is encountered (typically an IOerror from the
-        queue pipe being disconnected). During the loop, we attempt
-        to pull tasks off the job queue and run them, pushing the result
-        onto the results queue. We also remove the host from the blocked
-        hosts list, to signify that they are ready for their next task.
+        Called when the process is started.  Pushes the result onto the
+        results queue. We also remove the host from the blocked hosts list, to
+        signify that they are ready for their next task.
         '''
 
         if HAS_ATFORK:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
index f202dba028..983fcb7ec6 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
@@ -223,23 +223,6 @@ from ansible import __version__
 # Backwards compat. New code should just import and use __version__
 ANSIBLE_VERSION = __version__
 
-try:
-    # MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS is an old name kept for backwards compat
-    MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = os.environ.pop('ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS')
-except KeyError:
-    # This file might be used for its utility functions.  So don't fail if
-    # running outside of a module environment (will fail in _load_params()
-    # instead)
-    MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = None
-
-try:
-    # ARGS are for parameters given in the playbook.  Constants are for things
-    # that ansible needs to configure controller side but are passed to all
-    # modules.
-    MODULE_CONSTANTS = os.environ.pop('ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS')
-except KeyError:
-    MODULE_CONSTANTS = None
-
 FILE_COMMON_ARGUMENTS=dict(
     src = dict(),
     mode = dict(type='raw'),
@@ -560,7 +543,6 @@ class AnsibleModule(object):
                 if k not in self.argument_spec:
                     self.argument_spec[k] = v
 
-        self._load_constants()
         self._load_params()
         self._set_fallbacks()
 
@@ -1452,32 +1434,29 @@ class AnsibleModule(object):
                     continue
 
     def _load_params(self):
-        ''' read the input and set the params attribute'''
-        if MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS is None:
-            # This helper used too early for fail_json to work.
-            print('{"msg": "Error: ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS not found in environment.  Unable to figure out what parameters were passed", "failed": true}')
-            sys.exit(1)
-
-        params = json_dict_unicode_to_bytes(json.loads(MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS))
-        if params is None:
-            params = dict()
-        self.params = params
-
-    def _load_constants(self):
-        ''' read the input and set the constants attribute'''
-        if MODULE_CONSTANTS is None:
-            # This helper used too early for fail_json to work.
-            print('{"msg": "Error: ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS not found in environment.  Unable to figure out what constants were passed", "failed": true}')
-            sys.exit(1)
-
-        # Make constants into "native string"
-        if sys.version_info >= (3,):
-            constants = json_dict_bytes_to_unicode(json.loads(MODULE_CONSTANTS))
+        ''' read the input and set the params attribute.  Sets the constants as well.'''
+        # Avoid tracebacks when locale is non-utf8
+        if sys.version_info < (3,):
+            buffer = sys.stdin.read()
         else:
-            constants = json_dict_unicode_to_bytes(json.loads(MODULE_CONSTANTS))
-        if constants is None:
-            constants = dict()
-        self.constants = constants
+            buffer = sys.stdin.buffer.read()
+        try:
+            params = json.loads(buffer.decode('utf-8'))
+        except ValueError:
+            # This helper used too early for fail_json to work.
+            print('{"msg": "Error: Module unable to decode valid JSON on stdin.  Unable to figure out what parameters were passed", "failed": true}')
+            sys.exit(1)
+
+        if sys.version_info < (3,):
+            params = json_dict_unicode_to_bytes(params)
+
+        try:
+            self.params = params['ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS']
+            self.constants = params['ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS']
+        except KeyError:
+            # This helper used too early for fail_json to work.
+            print('{"msg": "Error: Module unable to locate ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS and ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS in json data from stdin.  Unable to figure out what parameters were passed", "failed": true}')
+            sys.exit(1)
 
     def _log_to_syslog(self, msg):
         if HAS_SYSLOG:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
index 7b2a40a71a..f06d4f6f75 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/strategy/__init__.py
@@ -19,15 +19,16 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-from ansible.compat.six.moves import queue as Queue
-from ansible.compat.six import iteritems, text_type, string_types
-
 import json
 import time
 import zlib
+from collections import defaultdict
+from multiprocessing import Lock
 
 from jinja2.exceptions import UndefinedError
 
+from ansible.compat.six.moves import queue as Queue
+from ansible.compat.six import iteritems, text_type, string_types
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleParserError, AnsibleUndefinedVariable
 from ansible.executor.play_iterator import PlayIterator
@@ -51,6 +52,8 @@ except ImportError:
 
 __all__ = ['StrategyBase']
 
+action_write_locks = defaultdict(Lock)
+
 
 # TODO: this should probably be in the plugins/__init__.py, with
 #       a smarter mechanism to set all of the attributes based on
@@ -141,6 +144,20 @@ class StrategyBase:
 
         display.debug("entering _queue_task() for %s/%s" % (host, task))
 
+         # Add a write lock for tasks.
+         # Maybe this should be added somewhere further up the call stack but
+         # this is the earliest in the code where we have task (1) extracted
+         # into its own variable and (2) there's only a single code path
+         # leading to the module being run.  This is called by three
+         # functions: __init__.py::_do_handler_run(), linear.py::run(), and
+         # free.py::run() so we'd have to add to all three to do it there.
+         # The next common higher level is __init__.py::run() and that has
+         # tasks inside of play_iterator so we'd have to extract them to do it
+         # there.
+        if not action_write_locks[task.action]:
+            display.warning('Python defaultdict did not create the Lock for us.  Creating manually')
+            action_write_locks[task.action] = Lock()
+
         # and then queue the new task
         display.debug("%s - putting task (%s) in queue" % (host, task))
         try:
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test__log_invocation.py b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test__log_invocation.py
index 5e7524e360..34037f963c 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test__log_invocation.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test__log_invocation.py
@@ -22,18 +22,38 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 
 import sys
 import json
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
+
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
 
 from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
 from ansible.compat.tests.mock import MagicMock
 
 class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+        args = json.dumps(
+            dict(
+                ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS=dict(
+                    foo=False, bar=[1,2,3], bam="bam", baz=u'baz'),
+                ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS=dict()
+                )
+            )
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
+
     @unittest.skipIf(sys.version_info[0] >= 3, "Python 3 is not supported on targets (yet)")
     def test_module_utils_basic__log_invocation(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
         # test basic log invocation
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = json.dumps(dict(foo=False, bar=[1,2,3], bam="bam", baz=u'baz'))
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec=dict(
                 foo = dict(default=True, type='bool'),
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_exit_json.py b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_exit_json.py
index ffb98e0b58..249dc380d9 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_exit_json.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_exit_json.py
@@ -23,8 +23,10 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 import copy
 import json
 import sys
-from io import BytesIO
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
 
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
 from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
 
 from ansible.module_utils import basic
@@ -37,9 +39,13 @@ empty_invocation = {u'module_args': {}}
 class TestAnsibleModuleExitJson(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.COMPLEX_ARGS = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        self.old_stdin = sys.stdin
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
 
         self.old_stdout = sys.stdout
         self.fake_stream = BytesIO()
@@ -48,8 +54,8 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleExitJson(unittest.TestCase):
         self.module = basic.AnsibleModule(argument_spec=dict())
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.COMPLEX_ARGS
         sys.stdout = self.old_stdout
+        sys.stdin = self.old_stdin
 
     def test_exit_json_no_args_exits(self):
         with self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as ctx:
@@ -118,19 +124,31 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleExitValuesRemoved(unittest.TestCase):
             )
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.COMPLEX_ARGS = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
+        self.old_stdin = sys.stdin
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.old_stdout = sys.stdout
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.COMPLEX_ARGS
+        sys.stdin = self.old_stdin
         sys.stdout = self.old_stdout
 
     def test_exit_json_removes_values(self):
         self.maxDiff = None
         for args, return_val, expected in self.dataset:
             sys.stdout = BytesIO()
-            basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = json.dumps(args)
-            basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+            params = dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS=args, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={})
+            params = json.dumps(params)
+            if PY3:
+                sys.stdin = StringIO(params)
+                sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(params))
+            else:
+                sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(params))
             module = basic.AnsibleModule(
                 argument_spec = dict(
                     username=dict(),
@@ -149,8 +167,13 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleExitValuesRemoved(unittest.TestCase):
             del expected['changed']
             expected['failed'] = True
             sys.stdout = BytesIO()
-            basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = json.dumps(args)
-            basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+            params = dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS=args, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={})
+            params = json.dumps(params)
+            if PY3:
+                sys.stdin = StringIO(params)
+                sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(params))
+            else:
+                sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(params))
             module = basic.AnsibleModule(
                 argument_spec = dict(
                     username=dict(),
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_log.py b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_log.py
index 0a78ffb96d..0452ce7d90 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_log.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_log.py
@@ -21,7 +21,12 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import sys
+import json
 import syslog
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
+
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
 
 from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
 from ansible.compat.tests.mock import patch, MagicMock
@@ -41,10 +46,14 @@ except ImportError:
 class TestAnsibleModuleSysLogSmokeTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.complex_args_token = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
-        self.constants_sentinel = basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -55,8 +64,7 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleSysLogSmokeTest(unittest.TestCase):
             basic.has_journal = False
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.complex_args_token
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = self.constants_sentinel
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
         basic.has_journal = self.has_journal
 
     def test_smoketest_syslog(self):
@@ -75,17 +83,21 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleSysLogSmokeTest(unittest.TestCase):
 class TestAnsibleModuleJournaldSmokeTest(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.complex_args_token = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
-        self.constants_sentinel = basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
+
         self.am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.complex_args_token
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = self.constants_sentinel
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
 
     @unittest.skipUnless(basic.has_journal, 'python systemd bindings not installed')
     def test_smoketest_journal(self):
@@ -121,10 +133,15 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleLogSyslog(unittest.TestCase):
             }
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.complex_args_token = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
-        self.constants_sentinel = basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
+
         self.am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -134,8 +151,7 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleLogSyslog(unittest.TestCase):
             basic.has_journal = False
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.complex_args_token
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = self.constants_sentinel
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
         basic.has_journal = self.has_journal
 
     @patch('syslog.syslog', autospec=True)
@@ -176,10 +192,14 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleLogJournal(unittest.TestCase):
             }
 
     def setUp(self):
-        self.complex_args_token = basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS
-        self.constants_sentinel = basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -198,8 +218,8 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleLogJournal(unittest.TestCase):
                 self._fake_out_reload(basic)
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = self.complex_args_token
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = self.constants_sentinel
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
+
         basic.has_journal = self.has_journal
         if self.module_patcher:
             self.module_patcher.stop()
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_run_command.py b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_run_command.py
index 8a17f7e55a..3c56365816 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_run_command.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_run_command.py
@@ -20,9 +20,13 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import errno
+import json
 import sys
 import time
-from io import BytesIO
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
+
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
 
 from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
 from ansible.compat.tests.mock import call, MagicMock, Mock, patch, sentinel
@@ -61,8 +65,12 @@ class TestAnsibleModuleRunCommand(unittest.TestCase):
             if path == '/inaccessible':
                 raise OSError(errno.EPERM, "Permission denied: '/inaccessible'")
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
         self.module = AnsibleModule(argument_spec=dict())
         self.module.fail_json = MagicMock(side_effect=SystemExit)
 
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_safe_eval.py b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_safe_eval.py
index cb28e9063f..36e9e1e399 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_safe_eval.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/basic/test_safe_eval.py
@@ -20,16 +20,32 @@
 from __future__ import (absolute_import, division)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
-from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
+import sys
+import json
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
 
+from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
 
 class TestAnsibleModuleExitJson(unittest.TestCase):
 
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
+
     def test_module_utils_basic_safe_eval(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec=dict(),
         )
diff --git a/test/units/module_utils/test_basic.py b/test/units/module_utils/test_basic.py
index 39d9efe065..f8c96c6536 100644
--- a/test/units/module_utils/test_basic.py
+++ b/test/units/module_utils/test_basic.py
@@ -21,14 +21,19 @@ from __future__ import (absolute_import, division)
 __metaclass__ = type
 
 import errno
+import json
 import os
 import sys
+from io import BytesIO, StringIO
 
 try:
     import builtins
 except ImportError:
     import __builtin__ as builtins
 
+from ansible.compat.six import PY3
+from ansible.utils.unicode import to_bytes
+
 from ansible.compat.tests import unittest
 from ansible.compat.tests.mock import patch, MagicMock, mock_open, Mock, call
 
@@ -37,10 +42,10 @@ realimport = builtins.__import__
 class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
  
     def setUp(self):
-        pass
+        self.real_stdin = sys.stdin
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        pass
+        sys.stdin = self.real_stdin
 
     def clear_modules(self, mods):
         for mod in mods:
@@ -266,8 +271,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_creation(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec=dict(),
         )
@@ -282,8 +292,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
         req_to = (('bam', 'baz'),)
 
         # should test ok
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{"foo":"hello"}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={"foo": "hello"}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = arg_spec,
             mutually_exclusive = mut_ex,
@@ -297,8 +312,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
         # FIXME: add asserts here to verify the basic config
 
         # fail, because a required param was not specified
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.assertRaises(
             SystemExit,
             basic.AnsibleModule,
@@ -312,8 +332,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
         )
 
         # fail because of mutually exclusive parameters
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{"foo":"hello", "bar": "bad", "bam": "bad"}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={"foo":"hello", "bar": "bad", "bam": "bad"}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.assertRaises(
             SystemExit, 
             basic.AnsibleModule,
@@ -327,8 +352,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
         )
 
         # fail because a param required due to another param was not specified
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{"bam":"bad"}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={"bam": "bad"}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         self.assertRaises(
             SystemExit,
             basic.AnsibleModule,
@@ -344,8 +374,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_load_file_common_arguments(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -394,8 +429,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_selinux_mls_enabled(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -415,8 +455,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_selinux_initial_context(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -430,8 +475,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_selinux_enabled(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -463,8 +513,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_selinux_default_context(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -500,8 +555,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_selinux_context(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -543,8 +603,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_is_special_selinux_path(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{"SELINUX_SPECIAL_FS": "nfs,nfsd,foos"}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={"SELINUX_SPECIAL_FS": "nfs,nfsd,foos"}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -585,20 +650,30 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_to_filesystem_str(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
 
         self.assertEqual(am._to_filesystem_str(u'foo'), b'foo')
         self.assertEqual(am._to_filesystem_str(u'föö'), b'f\xc3\xb6\xc3\xb6')
-        
+
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_user_and_group(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -613,8 +688,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_find_mount_point(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -638,8 +718,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_set_context_if_different(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -684,8 +769,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_set_owner_if_different(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -724,7 +814,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_set_group_if_different(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -763,8 +859,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_module_utils_basic_ansible_module_set_mode_if_different(self):
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -852,8 +953,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
 
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
@@ -1031,8 +1137,13 @@ class TestModuleUtilsBasic(unittest.TestCase):
 
         from ansible.module_utils import basic
 
-        basic.MODULE_COMPLEX_ARGS = '{}'
-        basic.MODULE_CONSTANTS = '{}'
+        args = json.dumps(dict(ANSIBLE_MODULE_ARGS={}, ANSIBLE_MODULE_CONSTANTS={}))
+        if PY3:
+            sys.stdin = StringIO(args)
+            sys.stdin.buffer = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+        else:
+            sys.stdin = BytesIO(to_bytes(args))
+
         am = basic.AnsibleModule(
             argument_spec = dict(),
         )
diff --git a/test/units/plugins/action/test_action.py b/test/units/plugins/action/test_action.py
index dc6324d924..d0ea6ac789 100644
--- a/test/units/plugins/action/test_action.py
+++ b/test/units/plugins/action/test_action.py
@@ -212,14 +212,15 @@ class TestActionBase(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # test python module formatting
         with patch.object(builtins, 'open', mock_open(read_data=to_bytes(python_module_replacers.strip(), encoding='utf-8'))) as m:
-            mock_task.args = dict(a=1, foo='fö〩')
-            mock_connection.module_implementation_preferences = ('',)
-            (style, shebang, data) = action_base._configure_module(mock_task.action, mock_task.args)
-            self.assertEqual(style, "new")
-            self.assertEqual(shebang, b"#!/usr/bin/python")
+            with patch.object(os, 'rename') as m:
+                mock_task.args = dict(a=1, foo='fö〩')
+                mock_connection.module_implementation_preferences = ('',)
+                (style, shebang, data) = action_base._configure_module(mock_task.action, mock_task.args)
+                self.assertEqual(style, "new")
+                self.assertEqual(shebang, b"#!/usr/bin/python")
 
-            # test module not found
-            self.assertRaises(AnsibleError, action_base._configure_module, 'badmodule', mock_task.args)
+                # test module not found
+                self.assertRaises(AnsibleError, action_base._configure_module, 'badmodule', mock_task.args)
 
         # test powershell module formatting
         with patch.object(builtins, 'open', mock_open(read_data=to_bytes(powershell_module_replacers.strip(), encoding='utf-8'))) as m: