diff --git a/setup/migrate.py b/setup/migrate.py
index 1ddbd441..86788ffb 100755
--- a/setup/migrate.py
+++ b/setup/migrate.py
@@ -36,7 +36,16 @@ def migration_1(env):
 	except:
 		pass
 
-if __name__ == "__main__":
+def get_current_migration():
+	ver = 0
+	while True:
+		next_ver = (ver + 1)
+		migration_func = globals().get("migration_%d" % next_ver)
+		if not migration_func:
+			return ver
+		ver = next_ver
+
+def run_migrations():
 	if not os.access("/etc/mailinabox.conf", os.W_OK, effective_ids=True):
 		print("This script must be run as root.", file=sys.stderr)
 		sys.exit(1)
@@ -75,3 +84,11 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
 
 		# iterate and try next version...
 
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+	if sys.argv[-1] == "--current":
+		# Return the number of the highest migration.
+		print(str(get_current_migration()))
+	elif sys.argv[-1] == "--migrate":
+		# Perform migrations.
+		run_migrations()
+
diff --git a/setup/start.sh b/setup/start.sh
index b66377a9..fd8a3ddb 100755
--- a/setup/start.sh
+++ b/setup/start.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ fi
 if [ -f /etc/mailinabox.conf ]; then
 	# Run any system migrations before proceeding. Since this is a second run,
 	# we assume we have Python already installed.
-	setup/migrate.py
+	setup/migrate.py --migrate
 
 	# Okay now load the old .conf file to get existing configuration options.
 	cat /etc/mailinabox.conf | sed s/^/DEFAULT_/ > /tmp/mailinabox.prev.conf
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ if [ -f /etc/mailinabox.conf ]; then
 	MIGRATIONID=$DEFAULT_MIGRATIONID
 else
 	# What migration are we at for new installs?
-	MIGRATIONID=1
+	MIGRATIONID=$(setup/migrate.py --current)
 fi
 
 # The box needs a name.