diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index eb7b08655d1..961c8488c99 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -57,13 +57,13 @@ matrix:
            IMAGE=cross
     - env: TARGET=mips64-unknown-linux-gnuabi64
            IMAGE=cross
-      rust: nightly
+      rust: beta
     - env: TARGET=mips64el-unknown-linux-gnuabi64
            IMAGE=cross
-      rust: nightly
+      rust: beta
     - env: TARGET=s390x-unknown-linux-gnu
            IMAGE=cross
-      rust: nightly
+      rust: beta
     - env: TARGET=powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu
            IMAGE=cross
       rust: beta
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ matrix:
            IMAGE=dist
            MAKE_TARGETS="test distcheck doc install uninstall"
            DEPLOY=0
-      rust: nightly
+      rust: nightly-2016-11-26
 
   exclude:
     - rust: stable
@@ -125,10 +125,12 @@ branches:
   only:
   - master
   - auto-cargo
+  - beta
+  - stable
 
 before_deploy:
   - mkdir -p deploy/$TRAVIS_COMMIT
-  - cp target/$TARGET/release/dist/cargo-nightly-$TARGET.tar.gz
+  - cp target/$TARGET/release/dist/cargo-*-$TARGET.tar.gz
     deploy/$TRAVIS_COMMIT
 
 deploy:
diff --git a/Makefile.in b/Makefile.in
index fa9474e599c..79d9a52e094 100644
--- a/Makefile.in
+++ b/Makefile.in
@@ -8,13 +8,20 @@ include config.mk
 
 export PATH := $(dir $(CFG_RUSTC)):$(PATH)
 
-ifdef CFG_ENABLE_NIGHTLY
-CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)$(CFG_RELEASE_LABEL)-nightly
-CFG_PACKAGE_VERS = nightly
-else
-CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)$(CFG_RELEASE_LABEL)
-CFG_PACKAGE_VERS=$(CFG_RELEASE)
+ifeq ($(CFG_RELEASE_CHANNEL),stable)
+CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)
+CFG_PACKAGE_VERS=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)
+else ifeq ($(CFG_RELEASE_CHANNEL),beta)
+CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)-beta$(CFG_PRERELEASE_VERSION)
+CFG_PACKAGE_VERS=beta
+else ifeq ($(CFG_RELEASE_CHANNEL),nightly)
+CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)-nightly
+CFG_PACKAGE_VERS=nightly
+else ifeq ($(CFG_RELEASE_CHANNEL),dev)
+CFG_RELEASE=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)-dev
+CFG_PACKAGE_VERS=$(CFG_RELEASE_NUM)-dev
 endif
+
 CFG_BUILD_DATE = $(shell date +%F)
 
 ifeq ($(wildcard .git),)
@@ -240,7 +247,7 @@ OPENSSL_CFLAGS_i686-unknown-linux-musl := -m32
 
 define BUILD_OPENSSL
 
-ifdef CFG_ENABLE_NIGHTLY
+ifdef CFG_ENABLE_BUILD_OPENSSL
 
 cargo-$(1): export OPENSSL_STATIC := 1
 test-unit-$(1): export OPENSSL_STATIC := 1
@@ -274,7 +281,7 @@ target/openssl/$(1).stamp:
 
 endif
 
-else # !CFG_ENABLE_NIGHTLY
+else # !CFG_ENABLE_BUILD_OPENSSL
 target/openssl/$(1).stamp:
 endif
 
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index 7187fc0d5eb..905b35b9c32 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -49,16 +49,17 @@ cache:
 
 after_test:
   - mkdir %APPVEYOR_REPO_COMMIT%
-  - copy target\%TARGET%\release\dist\cargo-nightly-%TARGET%.tar.gz
-         %APPVEYOR_REPO_COMMIT%
+  - ps: Get-ChildItem -Path target\${env:TARGET}\release\dist -Filter '*.tar.gz' | Move-Item -Destination ${env:APPVEYOR_REPO_COMMIT}
 
 branches:
   only:
   - master
   - auto-cargo
+  - beta
+  - stable
 
 artifacts:
-  - path: $(APPVEYOR_REPO_COMMIT)\cargo-nightly-$(TARGET).tar.gz
+  - path: $(APPVEYOR_REPO_COMMIT)\cargo-*-$(TARGET).tar.gz
     name: cargo
 
 deploy:
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 1ead582545e..55e9bb0dbb5 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -300,10 +300,10 @@ VAL_OPTIONS=""
 
 opt debug 1 "build with extra debug fun"
 opt optimize 1 "build with optimizations"
-opt nightly 0 "build nightly packages"
 opt verify-install 1 "verify installed binaries work"
 opt option-checking 1 "complain about unrecognized options in this configure script"
 opt cross-tests 1 "run cross-compilation tests"
+opt build-openssl 0 "compile OpenSSL at build time to link to"
 valopt prefix "/usr/local" "set installation prefix"
 valopt local-rust-root "" "set prefix for local rust binary"
 
@@ -336,6 +336,14 @@ valopt docdir "${CFG_PREFIX}/share/doc/cargo" "install extra docs"
 valopt mandir "${CFG_PREFIX}/share/man" "install man pages in PATH"
 valopt libdir "${CFG_PREFIX}/lib" "install libraries"
 
+if [ -e ${CFG_SRC_DIR}.git ]
+then
+    valopt release-channel "dev" "the name of the release channel to build"
+else
+    msg "git: no git directory. Changing default release channel to stable"
+    valopt release-channel "stable" "the name of the release channel to build"
+fi
+
 if [ $HELP -eq 1 ]
 then
     echo
@@ -385,45 +393,6 @@ if [ "$CFG_SRC_DIR" != "$CFG_BUILD_DIR" ]; then
     putvar CFG_CUSTOM_BUILD_DIR
 fi
 
-if [ ! -z "$CFG_ENABLE_NIGHTLY" ]; then
-    need_cmd curl
-    if [ ! -f .cargo/config ]; then
-        mkdir -p .cargo
-        cat > .cargo/config <<-EOF
-[target.arm-unknown-linux-gnueabi]
-linker = "arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc"
-[target.arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf]
-linker = "arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc"
-[target.armv7-unknown-linux-gnueabihf]
-linker = "armv7-linux-gnueabihf-gcc"
-[target.aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc"
-[target.i686-unknown-freebsd]
-linker = "i686-unknown-freebsd10-gcc"
-[target.x86_64-unknown-freebsd]
-linker = "x86_64-unknown-freebsd10-gcc"
-[target.x86_64-unknown-netbsd]
-linker = "x86_64-unknown-netbsd-gcc"
-[target.powerpc-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "powerpc-linux-gnu-gcc"
-[target.powerpc64-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "powerpc64-linux-gnu-gcc-5"
-[target.powerpc64le-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "powerpc64le-linux-gnu-gcc"
-[target.mips-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "mips-linux-gnu-gcc"
-[target.mipsel-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "mipsel-linux-gnu-gcc"
-[target.mips64el-unknown-linux-gnuabi64]
-linker = "mips64el-linux-gnuabi64-gcc"
-[target.mips64-unknown-linux-gnuabi64]
-linker = "mips64-linux-gnuabi64-gcc"
-[target.s390x-unknown-linux-gnu]
-linker = "s390x-linux-gnu-gcc"
-EOF
-    fi
-fi
-
 step_msg "writing configuration"
 
 putvar CFG_SRC_DIR
diff --git a/src/ci/docker/cross/Dockerfile b/src/ci/docker/cross/Dockerfile
index e0a9840e05c..eb4818fed95 100644
--- a/src/ci/docker/cross/Dockerfile
+++ b/src/ci/docker/cross/Dockerfile
@@ -1,2 +1,18 @@
 FROM alexcrichton/rust-slave-linux-cross:2016-10-11c
 ENTRYPOINT []
+
+ENV CARGO_TARGET_ARM_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNUEABI_LINKER=arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_ARM_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNUEABIHF_LINKER=arm-linux-gnueabihf-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_ARMV7_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNUEABIHF_LINKER=armv7-linux-gnueabihf-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_AARCH64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_I686_UNKNOWN_FREEBSD_LINKER=i686-unknown-freebsd10-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_X86_64_UNKNOWN_FREEBSD_LINKER=x86_64-unknown-freebsd10-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_X86_64_UNKNOWN_NETBSD_LINKER=x86_64-unknown-netbsd-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_MIPS_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=mips-linux-gnu-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_MIPSEL_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=mipsel-linux-gnu-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_MIPS64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNUABI64_LINKER=mips64-linux-gnuabi64-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_MIPS64EL_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNUABI64_LINKER=mips64el-linux-gnuabi64-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_POWERPC_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=powerpc-linux-gnu-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_POWERPC64_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=powerpc64-linux-gnu-gcc-5 \
+    CARGO_TARGET_POWERPC64LE_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=powerpc64le-linux-gnu-gcc \
+    CARGO_TARGET_S390X_UNKNOWN_LINUX_GNU_LINKER=s390x-linux-gnu-gcc
diff --git a/src/ci/docker/run.sh b/src/ci/docker/run.sh
index a8f71fab1e7..1a0bb0c21c7 100755
--- a/src/ci/docker/run.sh
+++ b/src/ci/docker/run.sh
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ exec docker run \
   --env MAKE_TARGETS="$MAKE_TARGETS" \
   --env SRC=/checkout \
   --env CARGO_HOME=/cargo \
+  --env TRAVIS_BRANCH=$TRAVIS_BRANCH \
   --volume "$HOME/.cargo:/cargo" \
   --volume `rustc --print sysroot`:/rust:ro \
   --volume `pwd`/target:/tmp/target \
diff --git a/src/ci/run.sh b/src/ci/run.sh
index 456c3f8b2b1..a532757d9f3 100755
--- a/src/ci/run.sh
+++ b/src/ci/run.sh
@@ -17,10 +17,28 @@ if [ -z "$SRC" ]; then
     SRC=.
 fi
 
+BRANCH=$TRAVIS_BRANCH
+if [ "$BRANCH" = "" ]; then
+    BRANCH=$APPVEYOR_BRANCH
+fi
+
+if [ "$BRANCH" = "stable" ]; then
+    CHANNEL=stable
+elif [ "$BRANCH" = "beta" ]; then
+    CHANNEL=beta
+elif [ "$BRANCH" = "master" ]; then
+    CHANNEL=nightly
+elif [ "$BRANCH" = "auto-cargo" ]; then
+    CHANNEL=nightly
+else
+    CHANNEL=dev
+fi
+
 $SRC/configure \
     --prefix=/tmp/obj/install \
     --target=$TARGET \
-    --enable-nightly
+    --release-channel=$CHANNEL \
+    --enable-build-openssl
 
 make cargo-$TARGET
 make dist-$TARGET