diff --git a/python/tank/platform/engine.py b/python/tank/platform/engine.py
index fb6b833545..127f32e210 100644
--- a/python/tank/platform/engine.py
+++ b/python/tank/platform/engine.py
@@ -504,7 +504,8 @@ def register_command(self, name, callback, properties=None):
     def register_panel(self, callback, panel_name="main", properties=None):
         """
         Similar to register_command, but instead of registering a menu item in the form of a
-        command, this method registers a UI panel.
+        command, this method registers a UI panel. A register_panel call should
+        be used in conjunction with a register_command call.
         
         Panels need to be registered if they should persist between DCC sessions (e.g. 
         for example 'saved layouts').
@@ -538,17 +539,17 @@ def register_panel(self, callback, panel_name="main", properties=None):
         # similar to register_command, track which app this request came from
         properties["app"] = current_app 
         
-        # now compose a unique id for this panel
-        # this is done based on the app instance name plus the given
-        # panel name. By using the instance name rather than the app name,
-        # we support the use case where more than one instance of an app exists 
-        # within a config.
+        # now compose a unique id for this panel.
+        # This is done based on the app instance name plus the given panel name.
+        # By using the instance name rather than the app name, we support the
+        # use case where more than one instance of an app exists within a
+        # config.
         panel_id = "%s_%s" % (current_app.instance_name, panel_name)
-        # to ensure the string is safe to use in most engines, 
+        # to ensure the string is safe to use in most engines,
         # sanitize to simple alpha-numeric form
         panel_id = re.sub("\W", "_", panel_id)
         panel_id = panel_id.lower()
-         
+
         # add it to the list of registered panels
         self.__panels[panel_id] = {"callback": callback, "properties": properties}
         
@@ -628,6 +629,68 @@ def threaded_work(val):
             # we don't have an invoker so just call the function:
             return func(*args, **kwargs)
 
+    def get_matching_commands(self, command_selectors):
+        """
+        Finds all the commands that match the given selectors.
+
+        Command selector structures are typically found in engine configurations
+        and are typically defined on the following form in yaml:
+
+        menu_favourites:
+        - {app_instance: tk-multi-workfiles, name: Shotgun File Manager...}
+        - {app_instance: tk-multi-snapshot,  name: Snapshot...}
+        - {app_instance: tk-multi-workfiles, name: Shotgun Save As...}
+        - {app_instance: tk-multi-publish,   name: Publish...}
+
+        Note that selectors that do not match a command will output a warning.
+
+        :param command_selectors: A list of command selectors, with each
+                                  selector having the following structure:
+                                    {
+                                      name: command-name,
+                                      app_instance: instance-name
+                                    }
+                                  An empty name ('') will select all the
+                                  commands of the given instance-name.
+
+        :returns:                 A list of tuples for all commands that match
+                                  the selectors. Each tuple has the format:
+                                    (instance-name, command-name, callback)
+        """
+        # return a dictionary grouping all the commands by instance name
+        commands_by_instance = {}
+        for (name, value) in self.commands.iteritems():
+            app_instance = value["properties"].get("app")
+            if app_instance is None:
+                continue
+            instance_name = app_instance.instance_name
+            commands_by_instance.setdefault(instance_name, []).append(
+                (name, value["callback"]))
+
+        # go through the selectors and return any matching commands
+        ret_value = []
+        for selector in command_selectors:
+            command_name = selector["name"]
+            instance_name = selector["app_instance"]
+            instance_commands = commands_by_instance.get(instance_name, [])
+
+            # add the commands if the name of the settings is ''
+            # or the name matches
+            matching_commands = [(instance_name, name, callback)
+                                 for (name, callback) in instance_commands
+                                 if not command_name or (command_name == name)]
+            ret_value.extend(matching_commands)
+
+            # give feedback if no commands were found
+            if not matching_commands:
+                self._engine.log_warning(
+                    "The requested command '%s' from app instance '%s' could "
+                    "not be matched.\nPlease make sure that you have the app "
+                    "installed and that it has successfully initialized." %
+                    (command_name, instance_name))
+
+        return ret_value
+
     ##########################################################################################
     # logging interfaces