diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index ba6496c24..75386ef0e 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
  + Added burndown charts - burndown.daily, burndown.weekly, burndown.monthly,
    that use color.burndown.pending, color.burndown.started and
    color.burndown.done colors.
+ + Added feature #546, which is a 'count' command that counts tasks, and is
+   intended to help scripts that manipulate task output.
  + Fixed bug #529, where the 'depends' attribute was not mentioned in the
    task man page (thanks to Dirk Deimeke).
  + Fixed bug #535 which omitted the holidays-NO.rc file from the packages
diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index b6e17f3e2..c44725301 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 New Features in taskwarrior 1.9.4
 
   - New burndown charts.
+  - New 'count' helper command.
 
   Please refer to the ChangeLog file for full details.  There are too many to
   list here.
@@ -10,6 +11,8 @@ New commands in taskwarrior 1.9.4
 
   - 'burndown.daily', 'burndown.weekly', 'burndown.monthly', also with
     'burndown' that is an alias to burndown.weekly.
+  - 'count' accepts a filter, and simply returns a count of the tasks
+    matching the filter.  Used as a helper command by scripts.
 
 New configuration options in taskwarrior 1.9.4
 
diff --git a/doc/man/task.1 b/doc/man/task.1
index 0e3fbee37..e64ce913f 100644
--- a/doc/man/task.1
+++ b/doc/man/task.1
@@ -188,6 +188,10 @@ Overwrites the task database with those files found at the URL.
 Displays all possible colors, a named sample, or a legend containing all
 currently defined colors.
 
+.TP
+.B count [filter]
+Displays only a count of tasks matching the filter.
+
 .TP
 .B version
 Shows the taskwarrior version number
diff --git a/src/Cmd.cpp b/src/Cmd.cpp
index 288249084..fb2774bcf 100644
--- a/src/Cmd.cpp
+++ b/src/Cmd.cpp
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ void Cmd::load ()
     commands.push_back ("burndown.daily");
     commands.push_back ("burndown.weekly");
     commands.push_back ("burndown.monthly");
+    commands.push_back ("count");
 
     // Commands whose names are localized.
     commands.push_back (context.stringtable.get (CMD_ADD,         "add"));
@@ -250,6 +251,7 @@ bool Cmd::isReadOnlyCommand ()
       command == "burndown.daily"                                            ||
       command == "burndown.weekly"                                           ||
       command == "burndown.monthly"                                          ||
+      command == "count"                                                     ||
       command == context.stringtable.get (CMD_CALENDAR,    "calendar")       ||
       command == context.stringtable.get (CMD_COLORS,      "colors")         ||
       command == context.stringtable.get (CMD_DIAGNOSTICS, "diagnostics")    ||
diff --git a/src/Context.cpp b/src/Context.cpp
index a3ed18cb3..893dac89c 100644
--- a/src/Context.cpp
+++ b/src/Context.cpp
@@ -249,6 +249,7 @@ int Context::dispatch (std::string &out)
   else if (cmd.command == "push")             {      handlePush                  (out); }
   else if (cmd.command == "pull")             {      handlePull                  (out); }
   else if (cmd.command == "diagnostics")      {      handleDiagnostics           (out); }
+  else if (cmd.command == "count")            { rc = handleCount                 (out); }
   else if (cmd.command == "_projects")        { rc = handleCompletionProjects    (out); }
   else if (cmd.command == "_tags")            { rc = handleCompletionTags        (out); }
   else if (cmd.command == "_commands")        { rc = handleCompletionCommands    (out); }
diff --git a/src/Hooks.cpp b/src/Hooks.cpp
index 40ed5715c..1c868a4af 100644
--- a/src/Hooks.cpp
+++ b/src/Hooks.cpp
@@ -147,6 +147,8 @@ Hooks::Hooks ()
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("post-done-command");
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("pre-duplicate-command");
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("post-duplicate-command");
+  validProgramEvents.push_back ("pre-count-command");
+  validProgramEvents.push_back ("post-count-command");
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("pre-edit-command");
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("post-edit-command");
   validProgramEvents.push_back ("pre-export-command");
diff --git a/src/command.cpp b/src/command.cpp
index 0d01725bf..44de0e87f 100644
--- a/src/command.cpp
+++ b/src/command.cpp
@@ -2032,6 +2032,37 @@ int handleDuplicate (std::string& outs)
   return rc;
 }
 
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+int handleCount (std::string& outs)
+{
+  int rc = 0;
+
+  if (context.hooks.trigger ("pre-count-command"))
+  {
+    // Scan the pending tasks, applying any filter.
+    std::vector <Task> tasks;
+    context.tdb.lock (context.config.getBoolean ("locking"));
+    handleRecurrence ();
+    context.tdb.load (tasks, context.filter);
+    context.tdb.commit ();
+    context.tdb.unlock ();
+
+    // Find number of matching tasks.  Skip recurring parent tasks.
+    int count = 0;
+    std::vector <Task>::iterator it;
+    for (it = tasks.begin (); it != tasks.end (); ++it)
+      if (it->getStatus () != Task::recurring)
+        ++count;
+
+    std::stringstream out;
+    out << count << "\n";
+    outs = out.str ();
+    context.hooks.trigger ("post-count-command");
+  }
+
+  return rc;
+}
+
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 #ifdef FEATURE_SHELL
 void handleShell ()
diff --git a/src/main.h b/src/main.h
index 8f91473aa..e28399bac 100644
--- a/src/main.h
+++ b/src/main.h
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@ int handleColor (std::string&);
 int handleAnnotate (std::string&);
 int handleDenotate (std::string&);
 int handleDuplicate (std::string&);
+int handleCount (std::string&);
 void handleUndo ();
 void handleMerge (std::string&);
 void handlePush (std::string&);
diff --git a/src/report.cpp b/src/report.cpp
index 759d2a856..53c872857 100644
--- a/src/report.cpp
+++ b/src/report.cpp
@@ -244,6 +244,10 @@ int shortUsage (std::string& outs)
   table.addCell (row, 2, "Displays all possible colors, a named sample, or a "
                          "legend containing all currently defined colors.");
 
+  row = table.addRow ();
+  table.addCell (row, 1, "task count [filter]");
+  table.addCell (row, 2, "Shows only the number of matching tasks.");
+
   row = table.addRow ();
   table.addCell (row, 1, "task version");
   table.addCell (row, 2, "Shows the task version number.");
diff --git a/src/tests/count.t b/src/tests/count.t
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..c98a7a14c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tests/count.t
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#! /usr/bin/perl
+################################################################################
+## taskwarrior - a command line task list manager.
+##
+## Copyright 2010, Paul Beckingham, Federico Hernandez.
+## All rights reserved.
+##
+## This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
+## the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+## Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
+## version.
+##
+## This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+## ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS
+## FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more
+## details.
+##
+## You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+## this program; if not, write to the
+##
+##     Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
+##     51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+##     Boston, MA
+##     02110-1301
+##     USA
+##
+################################################################################
+
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+use Test::More tests => 10;
+
+# Create the rc file.
+if (open my $fh, '>', 'count.rc')
+{
+  print $fh "data.location=.\n",
+            "confirmation=off\n";
+  close $fh;
+  ok (-r 'count.rc', 'Created count.rc');
+}
+
+# Test the count command.
+qx{../task rc:count.rc add one};
+qx{../task rc:count.rc log two};
+qx{../task rc:count.rc add three};
+qx{../task rc:count.rc delete 3};
+qx{../task rc:count.rc add four wait:eom};
+qx{../task rc:count.rc add five due:eom recur:monthly};
+
+my $output = qx{../task rc:count.rc count};
+like ($output, qr/^5$/ms, 'count');
+
+$output = qx{../task rc:count.rc count status:deleted};
+like ($output, qr/^1$/ms, 'count status:deleted');
+
+$output = qx{../task rc:count.rc count e};
+like ($output, qr/^3$/ms, 'count e');
+
+$output = qx{../task rc:count.rc count description.startswith:f};
+like ($output, qr/^2$/ms, 'count description.startswith:f');
+
+$output = qx{../task rc:count.rc count due.any:};
+like ($output, qr/^1$/ms, 'count due.any:');
+
+# Cleanup.
+unlink 'pending.data';
+ok (!-r 'pending.data', 'Removed pending.data');
+
+unlink 'completed.data';
+ok (!-r 'completed.data', 'Removed completed.data');
+
+unlink 'undo.data';
+ok (!-r 'undo.data', 'Removed undo.data');
+
+unlink 'count.rc';
+ok (!-r 'count.rc', 'Removed count.rc');
+
+exit 0;
+