diff --git a/Annex.hs b/Annex.hs
index f5c3e4de45..2c8ea1d61d 100644
--- a/Annex.hs
+++ b/Annex.hs
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ data AnnexState = AnnexState
 	, output :: OutputType
 	, force :: Bool
 	, fast :: Bool
+	, auto :: Bool
 	, branchstate :: BranchState
 	, forcebackend :: Maybe String
 	, forcenumcopies :: Maybe Int
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ newState gitrepo = AnnexState
 	, output = NormalOutput
 	, force = False
 	, fast = False
+	, auto = False
 	, branchstate = startBranchState
 	, forcebackend = Nothing
 	, forcenumcopies = Nothing
diff --git a/Command.hs b/Command.hs
index 710f36ea3e..9d85fbe9d7 100644
--- a/Command.hs
+++ b/Command.hs
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ import qualified Git
 import qualified Git.LsFiles as LsFiles
 import Utility
 import Types.Key
+import Trust
+import LocationLog
+import Config
 
 {- A command runs in four stages.
  -
@@ -276,3 +279,19 @@ preserveOrder orig new = collect orig new
  -}
 runPreserveOrder :: ([FilePath] -> IO [FilePath]) -> [FilePath] -> IO [FilePath]
 runPreserveOrder a files = preserveOrder files <$> a files
+
+{- Used for commands that have an auto mode that checks the number of known
+ - copies of a key.
+ -
+ - In auto mode, first checks that the number of known
+ - copies of the key is > or < than the numcopies setting, before running
+ - the action. -}
+autoCopies :: Key -> (Int -> Int -> Bool) -> Maybe Int -> CommandStart -> CommandStart
+autoCopies key vs numcopiesattr a = do
+	auto <- Annex.getState Annex.auto
+	if auto
+		then do
+			needed <- getNumCopies numcopiesattr
+			(_, have) <- trustPartition UnTrusted =<< keyLocations key
+			if length have `vs` needed then a else stop
+		else a
diff --git a/Command/Drop.hs b/Command/Drop.hs
index 8f886f283c..32cb81e808 100644
--- a/Command/Drop.hs
+++ b/Command/Drop.hs
@@ -29,13 +29,15 @@ seek = [withNumCopies start]
 {- Indicates a file's content is not wanted anymore, and should be removed
  - if it's safe to do so. -}
 start :: CommandStartAttrFile
-start (file, numcopies) = isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
+start (file, attr) = isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
 	present <- inAnnex key
 	if present
-		then do
+		then autoCopies key (>) numcopies $ do
 			showStart "drop" file
-			next $ perform key $ readMaybe numcopies
+			next $ perform key numcopies
 		else stop
+	where
+		numcopies = readMaybe attr
 
 perform :: Key -> Maybe Int -> CommandPerform
 perform key numcopies = do
diff --git a/Command/Get.hs b/Command/Get.hs
index e0436a8680..1a50158e38 100644
--- a/Command/Get.hs
+++ b/Command/Get.hs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import qualified Remote
 import Types
 import Content
 import Messages
+import Utility
 import qualified Command.Move
 
 command :: [Command]
@@ -20,14 +21,14 @@ command = [repoCommand "get" paramPath seek
 		"make content of annexed files available"]
 
 seek :: [CommandSeek]
-seek = [withFilesInGit start]
+seek = [withNumCopies start]
 
-start :: CommandStartString
-start file = isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
+start :: CommandStartAttrFile
+start (file, attr) = isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
 	inannex <- inAnnex key
 	if inannex
 		then stop
-		else do
+		else autoCopies key (<) numcopies $ do
 			showStart "get" file
 			from <- Annex.getState Annex.fromremote
 			case from of
@@ -35,6 +36,8 @@ start file = isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
 				Just name -> do
 					src <- Remote.byName name
 					next $ Command.Move.fromPerform src False key
+	where
+		numcopies = readMaybe attr
 
 perform :: Key -> CommandPerform
 perform key = do
diff --git a/Command/Optimize.hs b/Command/Optimize.hs
deleted file mode 100644
index 1a2b2237ff..0000000000
--- a/Command/Optimize.hs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-{- git-annex command
- -
- - Copyright 2011 Joey Hess <joey@kitenet.net>
- -
- - Licensed under the GNU GPL version 3 or higher.
- -}
-
-module Command.Optimize where
-
-import Command
-import Utility
-import LocationLog
-import Trust
-import Config
-import qualified Command.Get
-import qualified Command.Drop
-
-command :: [Command]
-command = [repoCommand "optimize" (paramOptional $ paramRepeating paramPath) seek
-	"get or drop content to best use available space"]
-
-seek :: [CommandSeek]
-seek = [withNumCopies start]
-
-start :: CommandStartAttrFile
-start p@(file, attr) = notBareRepo $ isAnnexed file $ \(key, _) -> do
-	needed <- getNumCopies $ readMaybe attr
-	(_, safelocations) <- trustPartition UnTrusted =<< keyLocations key
-	dispatch needed (length safelocations)
-	where
-		dispatch needed present
-			| present < needed = Command.Get.start file
-			| present > needed = Command.Drop.start p
-			| otherwise = stop
diff --git a/GitAnnex.hs b/GitAnnex.hs
index 8b9e557500..6f4e5d4921 100644
--- a/GitAnnex.hs
+++ b/GitAnnex.hs
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ import qualified Command.Init
 import qualified Command.Describe
 import qualified Command.InitRemote
 import qualified Command.Fsck
-import qualified Command.Optimize
 import qualified Command.Unused
 import qualified Command.DropUnused
 import qualified Command.Unlock
@@ -78,7 +77,6 @@ cmds = concat
 	, Command.SetKey.command
 	, Command.Fix.command
 	, Command.Fsck.command
-	, Command.Optimize.command
 	, Command.Unused.command
 	, Command.DropUnused.command
 	, Command.Find.command
diff --git a/Options.hs b/Options.hs
index e0ca48c01b..ee3ce66203 100644
--- a/Options.hs
+++ b/Options.hs
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ commonOptions =
 		"allow actions that may lose annexed data"
 	, Option ['F'] ["fast"] (NoArg (setfast True))
 		"avoid slow operations"
+	, Option ['a'] ["auto"] (NoArg (setauto True))
+		"automatic mode"
 	, Option ['q'] ["quiet"] (NoArg (setoutput Annex.QuietOutput))
 		"avoid verbose output"
 	, Option ['v'] ["verbose"] (NoArg (setoutput Annex.NormalOutput))
@@ -40,6 +42,7 @@ commonOptions =
 	where
 		setforce v = Annex.changeState $ \s -> s { Annex.force = v }
 		setfast v = Annex.changeState $ \s -> s { Annex.fast = v }
+		setauto v = Annex.changeState $ \s -> s { Annex.auto = v }
 		setoutput v = Annex.changeState $ \s -> s { Annex.output = v }
 		setforcebackend v = Annex.changeState $ \s -> s { Annex.forcebackend = Just v }
 		setdebug = liftIO $ updateGlobalLogger rootLoggerName $
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index b02f6a15b2..a3ae839abf 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ git-annex (3.20110907) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
   * Fix build without S3.
   * addurl: Always use whole url as destination filename, rather than
     only its file component.
-  * optimize: A new subcommand that either gets or drops file content
-    as needed to work toward meeting the configured numcopies setting.
+  * get, drop: Added --auto option, which decides whether to get/drop
+    content as needed to work toward the configured numcopies.
 
  -- Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>  Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:59:15 -0400
 
diff --git a/doc/git-annex.mdwn b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
index 8264c31b3a..83bfc7e405 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex.mdwn
@@ -76,12 +76,19 @@ Many git-annex commands will stage changes for later `git commit` by you.
   will involve copying them from another repository, or downloading them,
   or transferring them from some kind of key-value store.
 
+  When the --auto switch is used, only gets content of files if needed
+  to satisfy the setting of annex.numcopies
+
 * drop [path ...]
 
   Drops the content of annexed files from this repository. 
 
-  git-annex may refuse to drop content if it does not think
-  it is safe to do so, typically because of the setting of annex.numcopies.
+  git-annex will refuse to drop content if it cannot verify it is
+  safe to do so. At least one copy of content needs to exist in another
+  remote. This can be overridden with the --force switch.
+
+  When the --auto switch is used, only tries to drop content if
+  more than annex.numcopies copies exist.
 
 * move [path ...]
   
@@ -157,11 +164,6 @@ Many git-annex commands will stage changes for later `git commit` by you.
 
   To avoid expensive checksum calculations, specify --fast
 
-* optimize [path ...]
-  
-  Either gets or drops file content, as needed, to work toward meeting the
-  configured numcopies setting.
-
 * unused
 
   Checks the annex for data that does not correspond to any files present
@@ -340,6 +342,12 @@ Many git-annex commands will stage changes for later `git commit` by you.
   Enables less expensive, but also less thorough versions of some commands.
   What is avoided depends on the command.
 
+* --auto
+
+  Enable automatic mode, in which git-annex decides whether to perform
+  actions on files. See descriptions of individual commands to see what
+  they do in automatic mode.
+
 * --quiet
 
   Avoid the default verbose display of what is done; only show errors
diff --git a/doc/walkthrough.mdwn b/doc/walkthrough.mdwn
index b0eb258153..68f94a6f27 100644
--- a/doc/walkthrough.mdwn
+++ b/doc/walkthrough.mdwn
@@ -18,6 +18,6 @@ A walkthrough of the basic features of git-annex.
 	fsck:_verifying_your_data
 	fsck:_when_things_go_wrong
 	backups
-	optimizing_repositories
+	automatically_managing_content
 	more
 """]]
diff --git a/doc/walkthrough/automatically_managing_content.mdwn b/doc/walkthrough/automatically_managing_content.mdwn
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..74a4c1b5b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/walkthrough/automatically_managing_content.mdwn
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+Once you have multiple repositories, and have perhaps configured numcopies,
+any given file can have many more copies than is needed, or perhaps fewer
+than you would like. How to manage this?
+
+The whereis subcommand can be used to see how many copies of a file are known,
+but then you have to decide what to get or drop. In this example, there
+are rather too many copies of `other_file` and perhaps not enough of the
+other file.
+
+	# cd /media/usbdrive
+	# git annex whereis
+	whereis my_cool_big_file (1 copy)
+		0c443de8-e644-11df-acbf-f7cd7ca6210d  -- laptop
+	whereis other_file (3 copies)
+		0c443de8-e644-11df-acbf-f7cd7ca6210d  -- laptop
+		62b39bbe-4149-11e0-af01-bb89245a1e61  -- usb drive <-- here
+		7570b02e-15e9-11e0-adf0-9f3f94cb2eaa  -- backup drive
+
+What would be handy is some automated versions of get and drop, that only
+get a file if there are not yet enough copies of it, or only drop a file
+if there are too many copies. Well, these exist, just use the --auto
+option.
+
+	# git annex get --auto --numcopies=2
+	get my_cool_big_file (from laptop...) ok
+	# git annex drop --auto --numcopies=2
+	drop other_file ok
+
+With two quick commands, git-annex was able to decide for you how to
+work toward having two copies of your files.
+
+	# git annex whereis
+	whereis my_cool_big_file (2 copies)
+		0c443de8-e644-11df-acbf-f7cd7ca6210d  -- laptop
+		62b39bbe-4149-11e0-af01-bb89245a1e61  -- usb drive <-- here
+	whereis other_file (2 copies)
+		0c443de8-e644-11df-acbf-f7cd7ca6210d  -- laptop
+		7570b02e-15e9-11e0-adf0-9f3f94cb2eaa  -- backup drive
diff --git a/doc/walkthrough/optimizing_repositories.mdwn b/doc/walkthrough/optimizing_repositories.mdwn
deleted file mode 100644
index 0f17f1deae..0000000000
--- a/doc/walkthrough/optimizing_repositories.mdwn
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-Once you have multiple repositories, and have perhaps configured numcopies,
-any given file can have many more copies than is needed, or perhaps fewer
-than you would like. Fsck can detect the latter problem, but there's another
-command that can help deal with both problems.
-
-The optimize subcommand either gets or drops file content, as needed,
-to work toward meeting the configured numcopies setting.
-
-	# git annex optimize
-	get my_cool_big_file (from laptop...) ok
-	drop other_file ok
-	# git annex optimize --numcopies=2
-	get other_file ok
diff --git a/test.hs b/test.hs
index bd2e1e46c5..4d751a707b 100644
--- a/test.hs
+++ b/test.hs
@@ -93,7 +93,6 @@ blackbox = TestLabel "blackbox" $ TestList
 	, test_unannex
 	, test_drop
 	, test_get
-	, test_optimize
 	, test_move
 	, test_copy
 	, test_lock
@@ -217,17 +216,6 @@ test_get = "git-annex get" ~: TestCase $ intmpclonerepo $ do
 	inmainrepo $ unannexed ingitfile
 	unannexed ingitfile
 
-test_optimize :: Test
-test_optimize = "git-annex optimize" ~: TestCase $ intmpclonerepo $ do
-	inmainrepo $ annexed_present annexedfile
-	annexed_notpresent annexedfile
-	git_annex "optimize" ["-q", annexedfile, "--numcopies=2"] @? "optimize of file failed"
-	inmainrepo $ annexed_present annexedfile
-	annexed_present annexedfile
-	git_annex "optimize" ["-q", annexedfile] @? "optimize of file failed"
-	inmainrepo $ annexed_present annexedfile
-	annexed_notpresent annexedfile
-
 test_move :: Test
 test_move = "git-annex move" ~: TestCase $ intmpclonerepo $ do
 	annexed_notpresent annexedfile