diff --git a/build.ps1 b/build.ps1
index aef29dac05..b7081bc1c2 100644
--- a/build.ps1
+++ b/build.ps1
@@ -33,18 +33,17 @@ Arguments to be passed to MSBuild
 This function will create a file $PSScriptRoot/korebuild-lock.txt. This lock file can be committed to source, but does not have to be.
 When the lockfile is not present, KoreBuild will create one using latest available version from $Channel.
 
-The $ConfigFile is expected to be an XML file. It is optional, and the configuration values in it are optional as well.
+The $ConfigFile is expected to be an JSON file. It is optional, and the configuration values in it are optional as well. Any options set
+in the file are overridden by command line parameters.
 
 .EXAMPLE
 Example config file:
-```xml
-<!-- version.props -->
-<Project>
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <KoreBuildChannel>dev</KoreBuildChannel>
-    <KoreBuildToolsSource>https://aspnetcore.blob.core.windows.net/buildtools</KoreBuildToolsSource>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-</Project>
+```json
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aspnet/BuildTools/dev/tools/korebuild.schema.json",
+  "channel": "dev",
+  "toolsSource": "https://aspnetcore.blob.core.windows.net/buildtools"
+}
 ```
 #>
 [CmdletBinding(PositionalBinding = $false)]
@@ -58,7 +57,7 @@ param(
     [string]$ToolsSource,
     [Alias('u')]
     [switch]$Update,
-    [string]$ConfigFile = (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'version.props'),
+    [string]$ConfigFile = $null,
     [Parameter(ValueFromRemainingArguments = $true)]
     [string[]]$MSBuildArgs
 )
@@ -147,10 +146,20 @@ function Get-RemoteFile([string]$RemotePath, [string]$LocalPath) {
 
 # Load configuration or set defaults
 
+$Path = Resolve-Path $Path
+if (!$ConfigFile) { $ConfigFile = Join-Path $Path 'korebuild.json' }
+
 if (Test-Path $ConfigFile) {
-    [xml] $config = Get-Content $ConfigFile
-    if (!($Channel)) { [string] $Channel = Select-Xml -Xml $config -XPath '/Project/PropertyGroup/KoreBuildChannel' }
-    if (!($ToolsSource)) { [string] $ToolsSource = Select-Xml -Xml $config -XPath '/Project/PropertyGroup/KoreBuildToolsSource' }
+    try {
+        $config = Get-Content -Raw -Encoding UTF8 -Path $ConfigFile | ConvertFrom-Json
+        if ($config) {
+            if (!($Channel) -and (Get-Member -Name 'channel' -InputObject $config)) { [string] $Channel = $config.channel }
+            if (!($ToolsSource) -and (Get-Member -Name 'toolsSource' -InputObject $config)) { [string] $ToolsSource = $config.toolsSource}
+        }
+    } catch {
+        Write-Warning "$ConfigFile could not be read. Its settings will be ignored."
+        Write-Warning $Error[0]
+    }
 }
 
 if (!$DotNetHome) {
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index dc1cb5f14b..9e32358cf3 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 RESET="\033[0m"
 RED="\033[0;31m"
+YELLOW="\033[0;33m"
 MAGENTA="\033[0;95m"
 DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
 [ -z "${DOTNET_HOME:-}"] && DOTNET_HOME="$HOME/.dotnet"
-config_file="$DIR/version.props"
+config_file="$DIR/korebuild.json"
 verbose=false
 update=false
 repo_path="$DIR"
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ __usage() {
     echo "Options:"
     echo "    --verbose                Show verbose output."
     echo "    -c|--channel <CHANNEL>   The channel of KoreBuild to download. Overrides the value from the config file.."
-    echo "    --config-file <FILE>     TThe path to the configuration file that stores values. Defaults to version.props."
+    echo "    --config-file <FILE>     The path to the configuration file that stores values. Defaults to korebuild.json."
     echo "    -d|--dotnet-home <DIR>   The directory where .NET Core tools will be stored. Defaults to '\$DOTNET_HOME' or '\$HOME/.dotnet."
     echo "    --path <PATH>            The directory to build. Defaults to the directory containing the script."
     echo "    -s|--tools-source <URL>  The base url where build tools can be downloaded. Overrides the value from the config file."
@@ -81,7 +82,11 @@ get_korebuild() {
 }
 
 __error() {
-    echo -e "${RED}$@${RESET}" 1>&2
+    echo -e "${RED}error: $*${RESET}" 1>&2
+}
+
+__warn() {
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}warning: $*${RESET}"
 }
 
 __machine_has() {
@@ -113,8 +118,6 @@ __get_remote_file() {
     fi
 }
 
-__read_dom () { local IFS=\> ; read -d \< ENTITY CONTENT ;}
-
 #
 # main
 #
@@ -134,6 +137,10 @@ while [[ $# > 0 ]]; do
             shift
             config_file="${1:-}"
             [ -z "$config_file" ] && __usage
+            if [ ! -f "$config_file" ]; then
+                __error "Invalid value for --config-file. $config_file does not exist."
+                exit 1
+            fi
             ;;
         -d|--dotnet-home|-DotNetHome)
             shift
@@ -177,14 +184,28 @@ if ! __machine_has curl && ! __machine_has wget; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
-if [ -f $config_file ]; then
-    comment=false
-    while __read_dom; do
-        if [ "$comment" = true ]; then [[ $CONTENT == *'-->'* ]] && comment=false ; continue; fi
-        if [[ $ENTITY == '!--'* ]]; then comment=true; continue; fi
-        if [ -z "$channel" ] && [[ $ENTITY == "KoreBuildChannel" ]]; then channel=$CONTENT; fi
-        if [ -z "$tools_source" ] && [[ $ENTITY == "KoreBuildToolsSource" ]]; then tools_source=$CONTENT; fi
-    done < $config_file
+[ -z "${config_file:-}" ] && config_file="$repo_path/korebuild.json"
+if [ -f "$config_file" ]; then
+    if __machine_has jq ; then
+        if jq '.' "$config_file" >/dev/null ; then
+            config_channel="$(jq -r 'select(.channel!=null) | .channel' "$config_file")"
+            config_tools_source="$(jq -r 'select(.toolsSource!=null) | .toolsSource' "$config_file")"
+        else
+            __warn "$config_file is invalid JSON. Its settings will be ignored."
+        fi
+    elif __machine_has python ; then
+        if python -c "import json,codecs;obj=json.load(codecs.open('$config_file', 'r', 'utf-8-sig'))" >/dev/null ; then
+            config_channel="$(python -c "import json,codecs;obj=json.load(codecs.open('$config_file', 'r', 'utf-8-sig'));print(obj['channel'] if 'channel' in obj else '')")"
+            config_tools_source="$(python -c "import json,codecs;obj=json.load(codecs.open('$config_file', 'r', 'utf-8-sig'));print(obj['toolsSource'] if 'toolsSource' in obj else '')")"
+        else
+            __warn "$config_file is invalid JSON. Its settings will be ignored."
+        fi
+    else
+        __warn 'Missing required command: jq or pyton. Could not parse the JSON file. Its settings will be ignored.'
+    fi
+
+    [ ! -z "${config_channel:-}" ] && channel="$config_channel"
+    [ ! -z "${config_tools_source:-}" ] && tools_source="$config_tools_source"
 fi
 
 [ -z "$channel" ] && channel='dev'
diff --git a/korebuild-lock.txt b/korebuild-lock.txt
index 73a677fef7..3607f9fdd1 100644
--- a/korebuild-lock.txt
+++ b/korebuild-lock.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
-version:2.0.2-alpha-15495
-commithash:60338bc298ac6f70287e89256470cccf24c9bd80
+version:2.0.2-alpha-15498
+commithash:95739991d455287c157657744422cca9c023b0a2
diff --git a/korebuild.json b/korebuild.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6bbc5eeb9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/korebuild.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aspnet/BuildTools/rel/2.0.2/tools/korebuild.schema.json",
+  "channel": "rel/2.0.2"
+}