diff --git a/examples/mnist_classifier.py b/examples/mnist_classifier.py
index 0eac70541..6336ac675 100644
--- a/examples/mnist_classifier.py
+++ b/examples/mnist_classifier.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import itertools
 import numpy.random as npr
 
 import jax.numpy as np
+from jax.config import config
 from jax import jit, grad
 from jax.experimental import minmax
 from jax.experimental import stax
@@ -80,6 +81,7 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
   opt_state = opt_init(init_params)
   itercount = itertools.count()
 
+  print("\nStarting training...")
   for epoch in range(num_epochs):
     start_time = time.time()
     for _ in range(num_batches):
diff --git a/examples/mnist_classifier_fromscratch.py b/examples/mnist_classifier_fromscratch.py
index 1f675a68e..b0dfbb5cd 100644
--- a/examples/mnist_classifier_fromscratch.py
+++ b/examples/mnist_classifier_fromscratch.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import time
 import numpy.random as npr
 
 from jax.api import jit, grad
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.scipy.misc import logsumexp
 import jax.numpy as np
 import datasets
diff --git a/examples/mnist_vae.py b/examples/mnist_vae.py
index da7b4c717..aa2fd1725 100644
--- a/examples/mnist_vae.py
+++ b/examples/mnist_vae.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import time
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
 import jax.numpy as np
+from jax.config import config
 from jax import jit, grad, lax, random
 from jax.experimental import minmax
 from jax.experimental import stax
diff --git a/examples/resnet50.py b/examples/resnet50.py
index f384c2f30..2f92272e0 100644
--- a/examples/resnet50.py
+++ b/examples/resnet50.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import numpy.random as npr
 
 import jax.numpy as np
+from jax.config import config
 from jax import jit, grad
 from jax.experimental import minmax
 from jax.experimental import stax
diff --git a/jax/config.py b/jax/config.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e92dfb0eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/jax/config.py
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+# Copyright 2018 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+class Config(object):
+  def __init__(self):
+    self.values = {}
+    self.meta = {}
+    self.FLAGS = NameSpace(self.read)
+    self.use_absl = False
+
+  def update(self, name, val):
+    self.check_exists(name)
+    if name not in self.values:
+      raise Exception("Unrecognized config option: {}".format(name))
+    self.values[name] = val
+
+  def read(self, name):
+    if self.use_absl:
+      return getattr(self.absl_flags.FLAGS, name)
+    else:
+      self.check_exists(name)
+      return self.values[name]
+
+  def add_option(self, name, default, opt_type, meta_args, meta_kwargs):
+    if name in self.values:
+      raise Exception("Config option {} already defined".format(name))
+    self.values[name] = default
+    self.meta[name] = (opt_type, meta_args, meta_kwargs)
+
+  def check_exists(self, name):
+    if name not in self.values:
+      raise Exception("Unrecognized config option: {}".format(name))
+
+  def DEFINE_bool(self, name, default, *args, **kwargs):
+    self.add_option(name, default, bool, args, kwargs)
+
+  def DEFINE_integer(self, name, default, *args, **kwargs):
+    self.add_option(name, default, int, args, kwargs)
+
+  def DEFINE_string(self, name, default, *args, **kwargs):
+    self.add_option(name, default, str, args, kwargs)
+
+  def DEFINE_enum(self, name, default, *args, **kwargs):
+    self.add_option(name, default, 'enum', args, kwargs)
+
+  def config_with_absl(self):
+    # Run this before calling `app.run(main)` etc
+    import absl.flags as absl_FLAGS
+    from absl import app, flags as absl_flags
+
+    self.use_absl = True
+    self.absl_flags = absl_flags
+    absl_defs = { bool: absl_flags.DEFINE_bool,
+                  int:  absl_flags.DEFINE_integer,
+                  str:  absl_flags.DEFINE_string,
+                  'enum': absl_flags.DEFINE_enum }
+
+    for name, val in self.values.items():
+      flag_type, meta_args, meta_kwargs = self.meta[name]
+      absl_defs[flag_type](name, val, *meta_args, **meta_kwargs)
+
+  def complete_absl_config(self, absl_flags):
+    for name, _ in self.values.items():
+      self.update(name, getattr(absl_flags.FLAGS, name))
+
+
+class NameSpace(object):
+  def __init__(self, getter):
+    self._getter = getter
+
+  def __getattr__(self, name):
+    return self._getter(name)
+
+
+config = Config()
+flags = config
diff --git a/jax/interpreters/xla.py b/jax/interpreters/xla.py
index 2e559060f..8f99a7cc0 100644
--- a/jax/interpreters/xla.py
+++ b/jax/interpreters/xla.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import operator as op
 import six
 from six.moves import xrange
 
-from absl import flags
+from ..config import flags
 from .. import core
 from .. import ad_util
 from ..abstract_arrays import ConcreteArray, ShapedArray, make_shaped_array, array_types
diff --git a/jax/lib/xla_bridge.py b/jax/lib/xla_bridge.py
index 442a1f935..053c6bbe9 100644
--- a/jax/lib/xla_bridge.py
+++ b/jax/lib/xla_bridge.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import os
 import warnings
 
-from absl import flags
+from ..config import flags
 import numpy as onp  # 'onp' rather than 'np' to distinguish from autograd.numpy
 
 from . import xla_data_pb2
@@ -206,21 +206,8 @@ _dtype_to_32bit_dtype = {
 }
 
 
-def canonicalize_dtype(dtype):
-  """Convert from a dtype to a canonical dtype based on FLAGS.jax_enable_x64."""
-  # This function is a thin wrapper around the memoized _canonicalize_dtype to
-  # handle the case where FLAGS haven't been parsed yet, for example because
-  # this function is called at module loading time. This situation can't obtain
-  # during tracing and instead can arise when there are module-level constants
-  # computed using lax or lax_numpy.
-  if FLAGS.is_parsed():
-    return _canonicalize_dtype(dtype)
-  else:
-    return dtype
-
-
 @memoize
-def _canonicalize_dtype(dtype):
+def canonicalize_dtype(dtype):
   """Convert from a dtype to a canonical dtype based on FLAGS.jax_enable_x64."""
   dtype = onp.dtype(dtype)
   if FLAGS.jax_enable_x64:
diff --git a/jax/test_util.py b/jax/test_util.py
index 4c01b612a..2c05a0b65 100644
--- a/jax/test_util.py
+++ b/jax/test_util.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import functools
 import re
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -27,6 +26,7 @@ import numpy as onp
 import numpy.random as npr
 
 from . import api
+from .config import flags
 from .util import partial
 from .tree_util import tree_multimap, tree_all, tree_map, tree_reduce
 
diff --git a/tests/api_test.py b/tests/api_test.py
index 188fff8e9..39eb326b7 100644
--- a/tests/api_test.py
+++ b/tests/api_test.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ from absl.testing import absltest
 from jax import test_util as jtu
 
 import jax.numpy as np
+from jax.config import config
 from jax import jit, grad, device_get, device_put
 from jax.core import Primitive
 from jax.interpreters.partial_eval import def_abstract_eval
@@ -239,4 +240,5 @@ class APITest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/batching_test.py b/tests/batching_test.py
index d42012f51..fd372bc47 100644
--- a/tests/batching_test.py
+++ b/tests/batching_test.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from jax.abstract_arrays import ShapedArray
 from jax import lax
 from jax.api import jit, grad, jvp, vjp, trace_to_jaxpr
 from jax.api import vmap
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.core import unit
 from jax.interpreters import partial_eval as pe
 from jax.util import partial
@@ -195,4 +196,5 @@ class BatchingTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/core_test.py b/tests/core_test.py
index 52383a6ac..6091d92ef 100644
--- a/tests/core_test.py
+++ b/tests/core_test.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ from jax import core
 from jax import numpy as np
 from jax import test_util as jtu
 from jax.api import jvp, linearize, vjp, jit
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.lax import UnshapedArray, ShapedArray, ConcreteArray
 from jax.tree_util import tree_flatten, tree_unflatten, tree_multimap, tree_reduce
 from jax.util import partial
@@ -331,4 +332,5 @@ class CoreTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/lapax_test.py b/tests/lapax_test.py
index 07ef0ad20..444156171 100644
--- a/tests/lapax_test.py
+++ b/tests/lapax_test.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from absl.testing import parameterized
 
 from jax import jit
 from jax import test_util as jtu
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.experimental import lapax
 
 
@@ -202,4 +203,5 @@ class LapaxTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/lax_numpy_indexing_test.py b/tests/lax_numpy_indexing_test.py
index 6b4db39dd..024c3e991 100644
--- a/tests/lax_numpy_indexing_test.py
+++ b/tests/lax_numpy_indexing_test.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import collections
 from functools import partial
 import itertools
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -30,8 +29,9 @@ from jax import api
 from jax import lax
 from jax import numpy as lnp
 from jax import test_util as jtu
+from jax.config import config
 
-FLAGS = flags.FLAGS
+FLAGS = config.FLAGS
 
 # We disable the whitespace continuation check in this file because otherwise it
 # makes the test name formatting unwieldy.
@@ -587,4 +587,5 @@ class IndexingTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/lax_numpy_test.py b/tests/lax_numpy_test.py
index 70280c0c6..3881dc06b 100644
--- a/tests/lax_numpy_test.py
+++ b/tests/lax_numpy_test.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import collections
 import functools
 import itertools
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -29,8 +28,9 @@ import numpy as onp
 from jax import api
 from jax import numpy as lnp
 from jax import test_util as jtu
+from jax.config import config
 
-FLAGS = flags.FLAGS
+FLAGS = config.FLAGS
 
 all_shapes = [(), (4,), (3, 4), (3, 1), (1, 4), (2, 1, 4), (2, 3, 4)]
 
@@ -542,4 +542,5 @@ class LaxBackedNumpyTests(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/lax_scipy_test.py b/tests/lax_scipy_test.py
index bd587d98c..53c1e688f 100644
--- a/tests/lax_scipy_test.py
+++ b/tests/lax_scipy_test.py
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import collections
 import functools
 import itertools
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -31,11 +30,12 @@ import scipy.stats as osp_stats
 
 from jax import api
 from jax import test_util as jtu
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.scipy import misc as lsp_misc
 from jax.scipy import special as lsp_special
 from jax.scipy import stats as lsp_stats
 
-FLAGS = flags.FLAGS
+FLAGS = config.FLAGS
 
 all_shapes = [(), (4,), (3, 4), (3, 1), (1, 4), (2, 1, 4)]
 
@@ -154,4 +154,5 @@ class LaxBackedScipyTests(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/lax_test.py b/tests/lax_test.py
index 800709fef..f1c3d8580 100644
--- a/tests/lax_test.py
+++ b/tests/lax_test.py
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import functools
 from functools import partial
 import itertools
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -33,10 +32,11 @@ from jax import core
 from jax import lax
 from jax import test_util as jtu
 from jax import lax_reference
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.interpreters import xla
 from jax.lib import xla_bridge
 
-FLAGS = flags.FLAGS
+FLAGS = config.FLAGS
 
 
 def num_float_bits(dtype):
@@ -1986,4 +1986,5 @@ class LaxAutodiffTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/minmax_test.py b/tests/minmax_test.py
index 5eee658ce..a548d1362 100644
--- a/tests/minmax_test.py
+++ b/tests/minmax_test.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 import functools
 
 from absl.testing import absltest
-
+from jax.config import config
 import jax.numpy as np
 import jax.test_util as jtu
 from jax import jit, grad
@@ -170,4 +170,5 @@ class OptimizerTests(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/random_test.py b/tests/random_test.py
index c5ac91106..e90582b92 100644
--- a/tests/random_test.py
+++ b/tests/random_test.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ from __future__ import absolute_import
 from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import print_function
 
-from absl import flags
 from absl.testing import absltest
 from absl.testing import parameterized
 
@@ -28,8 +27,9 @@ from jax import api
 from jax import lax
 from jax import random
 from jax import test_util as jtu
+from jax.config import config
 
-FLAGS = flags.FLAGS
+FLAGS = config.FLAGS
 
 
 class LaxRandomTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
@@ -150,4 +150,5 @@ class LaxRandomTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()
diff --git a/tests/stax_test.py b/tests/stax_test.py
index 1689301f9..3b48dadfb 100644
--- a/tests/stax_test.py
+++ b/tests/stax_test.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import numpy as onp
 
 from jax import test_util as jtu
 from jax import random
+from jax.config import config
 from jax.experimental import stax
 
 
@@ -129,4 +130,5 @@ class StaxTest(jtu.JaxTestCase):
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
+  config.config_with_absl()
   absltest.main()