diff --git a/api/api.go b/api/api.go
index ee7cecfeb..f291ad78e 100644
--- a/api/api.go
+++ b/api/api.go
@@ -346,13 +346,18 @@ func NewClient(config *Config) (*Client, error) {
 		config.HttpClient = defConfig.HttpClient
 	}
 
-	if parts := strings.SplitN(config.Address, "unix://", 2); len(parts) == 2 {
-		trans := cleanhttp.DefaultTransport()
-		trans.Dial = func(_, _ string) (net.Conn, error) {
-			return net.Dial("unix", parts[1])
-		}
-		config.HttpClient = &http.Client{
-			Transport: trans,
+	parts := strings.SplitN(config.Address, "://", 2)
+	if len(parts) == 2 {
+		if parts[0] == "https" {
+			config.Scheme = "https"
+		} else if parts[0] == "unix" {
+			trans := cleanhttp.DefaultTransport()
+			trans.Dial = func(_, _ string) (net.Conn, error) {
+				return net.Dial("unix", parts[1])
+			}
+			config.HttpClient = &http.Client{
+				Transport: trans,
+			}
 		}
 		config.Address = parts[1]
 	}
diff --git a/command/base/command.go b/command/base/command.go
index a9fd6db66..744fa066b 100644
--- a/command/base/command.go
+++ b/command/base/command.go
@@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ func (c *Command) httpFlagsClient(f *flag.FlagSet) *flag.FlagSet {
 		"The `address` and port of the Consul HTTP agent. The value can be an IP "+
 			"address or DNS address, but it must also include the port. This can "+
 			"also be specified via the CONSUL_HTTP_ADDR environment variable. The "+
-			"default value is 127.0.0.1:8500.")
+			"default value is http://127.0.0.1:8500. The scheme can also be set to "+
+			"HTTPS by setting the environment variable CONSUL_HTTP_SSL=true.")
 	f.Var(&c.token, "token",
 		"ACL token to use in the request. This can also be specified via the "+
 			"CONSUL_HTTP_TOKEN environment variable. If unspecified, the query will "+