diff --git a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.cxx b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.cxx
index 030641a357..2779a7906a 100644
--- a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.cxx
+++ b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.cxx
@@ -491,4 +491,13 @@ getopt_long_only(int argc, char *const argv[], const char *optstring,
   return pgetopt->process(opterr, longindex, optarg, optind, optopt);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resets the internal PandaGetopt state.
+ * This is a necessary step to reset getopt state in general.
+ */
+void
+pgetopt_reset() {
+  pgetopt = nullptr;
+}
+
 #endif  // defined(HAVE_GETOPT) && defined(HAVE_GETOPT_LONG_ONLY)
diff --git a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.h b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.h
index c1691ae069..46a5864a34 100644
--- a/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.h
+++ b/dtool/src/dtoolutil/panda_getopt_impl.h
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ getopt_long(int argc, char *const argv[], const char *optstring,
 extern EXPCL_DTOOL_DTOOLUTIL int
 getopt_long_only(int argc, char *const argv[], const char *optstring,
                  const struct option *longopts, int *longindex);
+extern EXPCL_DTOOL_DTOOLUTIL void
+pgetopt_reset();
 
 #ifdef  __cplusplus
 }
diff --git a/makepanda/makepanda.py b/makepanda/makepanda.py
index ab4aedcdef..50e92dc858 100755
--- a/makepanda/makepanda.py
+++ b/makepanda/makepanda.py
@@ -5769,6 +5769,8 @@ if not PkgSkip("PANDATOOL"):
 # DIRECTORY: pandatool/src/mayaprogs/
 #
 
+MAYA_BUILT = False
+
 for VER in MAYAVERSIONS:
     VNUM = VER[4:]
     if PkgSkip(VER) or PkgSkip("PANDATOOL") or PkgSkip("EGG"):
@@ -5785,6 +5787,8 @@ for VER in MAYAVERSIONS:
     else:
         ARCH_OPTS = []
 
+    MAYA_BUILT = True
+
     OPTS=['DIR:pandatool/src/mayaprogs', 'DIR:pandatool/src/maya', 'DIR:pandatool/src/mayaegg', 'BUILDING:MISC', VER] + ARCH_OPTS
     TargetAdd('mayaeggimport'+VNUM+'_mayaeggimport.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaEggImport.cxx')
     TargetAdd('mayaeggimport'+VNUM+'.mll', input='mayaegg'+VNUM+'_loader.obj')
@@ -5822,30 +5826,31 @@ for VER in MAYAVERSIONS:
     TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input='libmayaegg'+VNUM+'.lib')
     TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input='libmaya'+VNUM+'.lib')
     TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input='libp3framework.dll')
-    if GetTarget() == 'windows':
-      TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
-    else:
-      TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
+    TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
     TargetAdd('libmayapview'+VNUM+'.mll', opts=['ADVAPI', VER]+ARCH_OPTS)
 
-    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_mayaToEgg.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaToEgg.cxx')
-    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='maya2egg'+VNUM+'_mayaToEgg.obj')
+    TargetAdd('mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_eggToMaya.obj', opts=OPTS, input='eggToMaya.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_mayaToEgg.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaToEgg.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('mayaprogs_mayaConversionServer.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaConversionServer.cxx')
+
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_mayaToEggBin.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaToEggBin.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_eggToMaya.obj')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_mayaToEgg.obj')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs_mayaConversionServer.obj')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='maya2egg'+VNUM+'_mayaToEggBin.obj')
     TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='libmayaegg'+VNUM+'.lib')
     TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='libmaya'+VNUM+'.lib')
-    if GetTarget() == 'windows':
-      TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
-    else:
-      TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
     TargetAdd('maya2egg'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', opts=['ADVAPI', VER]+ARCH_OPTS)
 
-    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_eggToMaya.obj', opts=OPTS, input='eggToMaya.cxx')
-    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='egg2maya'+VNUM+'_eggToMaya.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_eggToMayaBin.obj', opts=OPTS, input='eggToMayaBin.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_eggToMaya.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs'+VNUM+'_mayaToEgg.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='mayaprogs_mayaConversionServer.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='egg2maya'+VNUM+'_eggToMayaBin.obj')
     TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='libmayaegg'+VNUM+'.lib')
     TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input='libmaya'+VNUM+'.lib')
-    if GetTarget() == 'windows':
-      TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
-    else:
-      TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
     TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'_bin.exe', opts=['ADVAPI', VER]+ARCH_OPTS)
 
     TargetAdd('mayasavepview'+VNUM+'_mayaSavePview.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaSavePview.cxx')
@@ -5864,6 +5869,19 @@ for VER in MAYAVERSIONS:
     TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'.exe', input=COMMON_DTOOL_LIBS)
     TargetAdd('egg2maya'+VNUM+'.exe', opts=['ADVAPI']+ARCH_OPTS)
 
+if MAYA_BUILT:
+    TargetAdd('mayaprogs_mayaConversionClient.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaConversionClient.cxx')
+
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg_mayaToEggClient.obj', opts=OPTS, input='mayaToEggClient.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg_client.exe', input='mayaprogs_mayaConversionClient.obj')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg_client.exe', input='maya2egg_mayaToEggClient.obj')
+    TargetAdd('maya2egg_client.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
+
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya_eggToMayaClient.obj', opts=OPTS, input='eggToMayaClient.cxx')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya_client.exe', input='mayaprogs_mayaConversionClient.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya_client.exe', input='egg2maya_eggToMayaClient.obj')
+    TargetAdd('egg2maya_client.exe', input=COMMON_EGG2X_LIBS)
+
 #
 # DIRECTORY: contrib/src/ai/
 #
diff --git a/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.cxx b/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.cxx
index 16c5e2ad28..4146189af9 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.cxx
+++ b/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.cxx
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ EggReader() {
 
   _got_tex_dirname = false;
   _got_tex_extension = false;
+  _exit_on_failure = true;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -124,6 +125,16 @@ add_delod_options(double default_delod) {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Sets whether the reader will quit the program upon encountering a fatal error.
+ *
+ * If true, the entire program will quit as soon as an egg loading error occurs.
+ */
+void EggReader::
+set_exit_on_failure(bool exit_on_failure) {
+  _exit_on_failure = exit_on_failure;
+}
+
 /**
  * Returns this object as an EggReader pointer, if it is in fact an EggReader,
  * or NULL if it is not.
@@ -175,18 +186,27 @@ handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args) {
         // Rather than returning false, we simply exit here, so the ProgramBase
         // won't try to tell the user how to run the program just because we got
         // a bad egg file.
-        exit(1);
+        if (_exit_on_failure) {
+          exit(1);
+        }
+        return false;
       }
     } else {
       if (!file_data.read(std::cin)) {
-        exit(1);
+        if (_exit_on_failure) {
+          exit(1);
+        }
+        return false;
       }
     }
 
     if (_noabs && file_data.original_had_absolute_pathnames()) {
       nout << filename.get_basename()
            << " includes absolute pathnames!\n";
-      exit(1);
+      if (_exit_on_failure) {
+        exit(1);
+      }
+      return false;
     }
 
     DSearchPath file_path;
@@ -194,7 +214,10 @@ handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args) {
 
     if (_force_complete) {
       if (!file_data.load_externals(file_path)) {
-        exit(1);
+        if (_exit_on_failure) {
+          exit(1);
+        }
+        return false;
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.h b/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.h
index 134799431d..305b58a2ee 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.h
+++ b/pandatool/src/eggbase/eggReader.h
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ public:
 
   void add_texture_options();
   void add_delod_options(double default_delod = -1.0);
+  void set_exit_on_failure(bool exit_on_failure);
 
   virtual EggReader *as_reader();
   virtual void pre_process_egg_file();
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ private:
 
 protected:
   bool _force_complete;
+  bool _exit_on_failure;
 
 private:
   Filename _tex_dirname;
diff --git a/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.cxx b/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.cxx
index d3324279ee..ce24e72d68 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.cxx
+++ b/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.cxx
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
 using std::string;
 
-MayaApi *MayaApi::_global_api = nullptr;
+PT(MayaApi) MayaApi::_global_api = nullptr;
 
 // We need this bogus object just to force the application to link with
 // OpenMayaAnim.lib; otherwise, Maya will complain (when compiled on Windows)
@@ -217,6 +217,15 @@ open_api(string program_name, bool view_license, bool revertdir) {
   return _global_api;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Returns true if the global API has been successfully opened and may be used, or
+ * false if the API has not created yet or if there is some problem.
+ */
+bool MayaApi::
+is_api_valid() {
+  return _global_api != nullptr && _global_api->is_valid();
+}
+
 /**
  * Returns true if the API has been successfully opened and may be used, or
  * false if there is some problem.
diff --git a/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.h b/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.h
index 02cc421955..f4e19e45da 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.h
+++ b/pandatool/src/maya/mayaApi.h
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ public:
   ~MayaApi();
 
   static PT(MayaApi) open_api(std::string program_name = "", bool view_license = false, bool revertdir = true);
+  static bool is_api_valid();
   bool is_valid() const;
 
   bool read(const Filename &filename);
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ private:
   bool _is_valid;
   bool _plug_in;
   Filename _cwd;
-  static MayaApi *_global_api;
+  static PT(MayaApi) _global_api;
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.cxx
index da944e58e6..36be9362db 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.cxx
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.cxx
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "eggToMaya.h"
 #include "mayaEggLoader.h"
 #include "mayaApi.h"
+#include "mayaConversionServer.h"
 
 // We must define this to prevent Maya from doubly-declaring its MApiVersion
 // string in this file as well as in libmayaegg.
@@ -56,14 +57,40 @@ EggToMaya() :
      "respect vertex and polygon normals.",
      &EggToMaya::dispatch_none, &_respect_normals);
 
+  add_option("server", "", 0,
+    "Runs the Maya model conversion server. This server can be used in tandem "
+    "with the egg2maya_client and maya2egg_client utilities to batch convert "
+    "both Maya and Panda3D model files.",
+    &EggToMaya::dispatch_none, &_run_server);
+
   // Maya files always store centimeters.
   _output_units = DU_centimeters;
 }
 
 /**
- *
+ * Attempts to create the global Maya API.
+ * Exits the program if unsuccessful.
  */
-void EggToMaya::
+PT(MayaApi) EggToMaya::
+open_api() {
+  if (!MayaApi::is_api_valid()) {
+    nout << "Initializing Maya...\n";
+  }
+
+  PT(MayaApi) api = MayaApi::open_api(_program_name, true, true);
+
+  if (!api || !api->is_valid()) {
+    nout << "Unable to initialize Maya.\n";
+    exit(1);
+  }
+
+  return api;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns true if the model has been successfully converted.
+ */
+bool EggToMaya::
 run() {
   if (!_convert_anim && !_convert_model) {
     _convert_model = true;
@@ -73,18 +100,13 @@ run() {
   // since Maya now has a nasty habit of changing the current directory.
   _output_filename.make_absolute();
 
-  nout << "Initializing Maya.\n";
-  PT(MayaApi) maya = MayaApi::open_api(_program_name);
-  if (!maya->is_valid()) {
-    nout << "Unable to initialize Maya.\n";
-    exit(1);
-  }
+  PT(MayaApi) maya = open_api();
 
   MStatus status;
   status = MFileIO::newFile(true);
   if (!status) {
     status.perror("Could not initialize file");
-    exit(1);
+    return false;
   }
 
   // [gjeon] since maya's internal unit is fixed to cm and when we can't
@@ -101,12 +123,12 @@ run() {
   // Now convert the data.
   if (!MayaLoadEggData(_data, true, _convert_model, _convert_anim, _respect_normals)) {
     nout << "Unable to convert egg file.\n";
-    exit(1);
+    return false;
   }
 
   if (!maya->write(_output_filename)) {
     status.perror("Could not save file");
-    exit(1);
+    return false;
   }
 
   /*
@@ -119,14 +141,29 @@ run() {
   status = MFileIO::saveAs(os_specific.c_str(), file_type);
   if (!status) {
     status.perror("Could not save file");
-    exit(1);
+    return false;
   }
   */
+
+  return true;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  EggToMaya prog;
-  prog.parse_command_line(argc, argv);
-  prog.run();
-  return 0;
+/**
+ * Processes the arguments parsed by the program.
+ *
+ * If the server flag is specified, the Maya conversion server is started
+ * up rather than the usual conversion utility functionality.
+ */
+bool EggToMaya::
+handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args) {
+  if (_run_server) {
+    open_api();
+
+    MayaConversionServer server;
+    server.listen();
+    exit(0);
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  return EggToSomething::handle_args(args);
 }
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.h
index 3a103ffd2e..d18dc928d1 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.h
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMaya.h
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
 #include "pandatoolbase.h"
 
 #include "eggToSomething.h"
+#include "mayaApi.h"
+
+#include "programBase.h"
 
 /**
  * A program to read an egg file and write a maya file.
@@ -25,12 +28,17 @@ class EggToMaya : public EggToSomething {
 public:
   EggToMaya();
 
-  void run();
+  bool run();
 
 private:
+  virtual bool handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args);
+
+  PT(MayaApi) open_api();
+
   bool _convert_anim;
   bool _convert_model;
   bool _respect_normals;
+  bool _run_server;
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaBin.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaBin.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e388255aac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaBin.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file eggToMayaBin.cxx
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#include "eggToMaya.h"
+
+/**
+ * Entrypoint for egg2maya.
+ */
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+  EggToMaya prog;
+  prog.parse_command_line(argc, argv);
+
+  if (!prog.run()) {
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaClient.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaClient.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e3f95155f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/eggToMayaClient.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file eggToMayaClient.cxx
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#include "mayaConversionClient.h"
+
+/**
+ * Entrypoint for egg2maya_client.
+ */
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+    MayaConversionClient client;
+    return client.main(argc, argv, MayaConversionServer::ConversionType::CT_egg_to_maya);
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..900b7ca0d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaConversionClient.cxx
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#include "mayaConversionClient.h"
+#include "mayaConversionServer.h"
+#include "datagramIterator.h"
+
+/**
+ * Initializes the Maya conversion client.
+ */
+MayaConversionClient::
+MayaConversionClient()
+{
+  _qManager = new QueuedConnectionManager();
+  _qReader = new QueuedConnectionReader(_qManager, 0);
+  _cWriter = new ConnectionWriter(_qManager, 0);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cleans up the Maya conversison client's pending connections.
+ */
+MayaConversionClient::
+~MayaConversionClient() {
+  close();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Attempts to connect to a Maya conversion server.
+ * If a connection is already active, it will be removed.
+ *
+ * Returns true if the connection was created successfully.
+ */
+bool MayaConversionClient::
+connect(NetAddress server) {
+  if (_conn) {
+    // Remove this connection from the readers list
+    _qReader->remove_connection(_conn);
+    _conn = nullptr;
+  }
+
+  // Attempt to open a connection
+  _conn = _qManager->open_TCP_client_connection(server, 0);
+
+  if (!_conn ||  _conn.is_null()) {
+    // This connection could not be opened
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // Add this connection to the readers list
+  _qReader->add_connection(_conn);
+  return true;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Sends a conversion workload to the Maya conversion server.
+ * It will be processed as soon as the server's queue is empty.
+ *
+ * Specify the working directory in where the models are located,
+ * the command line arguments, and the conversion type.
+ *
+ * Returns true if the workload has been successfully sent.
+ */
+bool MayaConversionClient::
+queue(Filename working_directory, int argc, char *argv[], MayaConversionServer::ConversionType conversion_type) {
+  if (!_conn) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  std::string s_cwd = (std::string) working_directory.to_os_specific();
+  NetDatagram datagram;
+
+  // First part of the datagram is the argc
+  datagram.add_uint8(argc);
+
+  // Add the rest of the arguments as strings to the datagram
+  for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+    datagram.add_string(argv[i]);
+  }
+
+  // Add the current working dir as a string to the datagram
+  datagram.add_string(s_cwd);
+
+  // Lastly, add the conversion type
+  datagram.add_uint8(conversion_type);
+
+  // Send the conversion request
+  if (!_cWriter->send(datagram, _conn) || !_conn->flush()) {
+    nout << "Failed to send workload to server process.\n";
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // Wait for a response
+  while (_conn->get_socket()->Active() && !_qReader->data_available()) {
+    _qReader->poll();
+  }
+
+  if (!_qReader->data_available()) {
+    // No response has been given by the server.
+    nout << "No response has been given by the conversion server.\n";
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  NetDatagram response;
+
+  // Let's read the response now!
+  if (!_qReader->get_data(response)) {
+    nout << "The conversion response could not be read.\n";
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // Iterate through the response.
+  DatagramIterator response_data(response);
+
+  // Read the first and only argument.
+  // Did our conversion request succeed?
+  bool converted = response_data.get_bool();
+
+  if (!converted) {
+    nout << "The server reported that the conversion has failed.\n"
+         << "Please check the server logs for further information.\n";
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return true;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Closes the current connection to the Maya conversion server,
+ * waiting for all currently queued requests to finish.
+ *
+ * Does nothing if the connection has not been made yet.
+ */
+void MayaConversionClient::
+close() {
+  if (!_conn) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  while (true) {
+    _qReader->data_available();
+
+    if (_qManager->reset_connection_available()) {
+      PT(Connection) connection;
+
+      if (_qManager->get_reset_connection(connection)) {
+        _qManager->close_connection(_conn);
+        _conn = nullptr;
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+
+    Thread::sleep(0.1);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * The entrypoint to this Maya conversion client.
+ *
+ * Connects to the default server at port 4242, queues
+ * one conversion request and waits for its completion.
+ */
+int MayaConversionClient::
+main(int argc, char *argv[], MayaConversionServer::ConversionType conversion_type) {
+  NetAddress server;
+
+  // We assume the server is local and on port 4242
+  server.set_host("localhost", 4242);
+
+  if (!connect(server)) {
+    nout << "Failed to open port to server process.\n"
+         << "Make sure maya2egg -server or egg2maya -server is running on localhost!\n";
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  if (!queue(ExecutionEnvironment::get_cwd(), argc, argv, conversion_type)) {
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  nout << "Conversion successful!\n";
+  close();
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bd524a07eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionClient.h
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaConversionClient.h
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#ifndef MAYACONVERSIONCLIENT_H
+#define MAYACONVERSIONCLIENT_H
+
+#include "queuedConnectionManager.h"
+#include "queuedConnectionReader.h"
+#include "connectionWriter.h"
+#include "netAddress.h"
+#include "filename.h"
+#include "mayaConversionServer.h"
+
+/**
+ * The Maya conversion client sends batch conversion
+ * requests to the Maya conversion server.
+ *
+ * These utilities rely on the Maya conversion server.
+ * Use egg2maya or maya2egg to boot up the Maya conversion server.
+ * Use egg2maya_client and maya2egg_client as a replacement for
+ *
+ * Very useful in case you need to batch convert models.
+ * The regular utilities can only convert one model at a time.
+*/
+class MayaConversionClient {
+public:
+  MayaConversionClient();
+  ~MayaConversionClient();
+
+  bool connect(NetAddress server);
+  bool queue(Filename working_directory, int argc, char *argv[], MayaConversionServer::ConversionType conversion_type);
+  void close();
+
+  int main(int argc, char *argv[], MayaConversionServer::ConversionType conversion_type);
+
+private:
+  QueuedConnectionManager *_qManager;
+  QueuedConnectionReader *_qReader;
+  ConnectionWriter *_cWriter;
+  PT(Connection) _conn;
+};
+
+#endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0d6b7e8056
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaConversionServer.cxx
+ * @author cbrunner
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#include <direct.h>  // for chdir
+#endif
+
+#include "mayaConversionServer.h"
+#include "mayaToEgg.h"
+#include "eggToMaya.h"
+#include "virtualFileSystem.h"
+#include "filename.h"
+
+/**
+ * Initializes the Maya conversion server.
+ */
+MayaConversionServer::
+MayaConversionServer() {
+  _qManager = new QueuedConnectionManager();
+  _qListener = new QueuedConnectionListener(_qManager, 0);
+  _qReader = new QueuedConnectionReader(_qManager, 0);
+  _cWriter = new ConnectionWriter(_qManager, 0);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cleans up the connection managers for the Maya conversion server.
+ */
+MayaConversionServer::
+~MayaConversionServer() {
+  delete _qManager;
+  delete _qReader;
+  delete _qListener;
+  delete _cWriter;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Checks for any network activity and handles it, if appropriate, and then
+ * returns.  This must be called periodically
+ */
+void MayaConversionServer::
+poll() {
+  // Listen for new connections
+  _qListener->poll();
+
+  // If we have a new connection from a client create a new connection pointer
+  // and add it to the reader list
+  if (_qListener->new_connection_available()) {
+    PT(Connection) rendezvous;
+    PT(Connection) connection;
+    NetAddress address;
+
+    if (_qListener->get_new_connection(rendezvous, address, connection)) {
+      _qReader->add_connection(connection);
+      _clients.insert(connection);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Check for reset clients
+  if (_qManager->reset_connection_available()) {
+    PT(Connection) connection;
+
+    if (_qManager->get_reset_connection(connection)) {
+      _clients.erase(connection);
+      _qManager->close_connection(connection);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Poll the readers (created above) and if they have data process it
+  _qReader->poll();
+
+  if (_qReader->data_available()) {
+    // Grab the incoming data and unpack it
+    NetDatagram datagram;
+
+    if (_qReader->get_data(datagram)) {
+      DatagramIterator data(datagram);
+
+      // First data should be the "argc" (argument count) from the client
+      int argc = data.get_uint8();
+
+      // Now we have to get clever because the rest of the data comes as
+      // strings and parse_command_line() expects arguments of the standard
+      // argc, argv*[] variety.  First, we need a string vector to hold all
+      // the strings from the datagram.  We also need a char * array to keep
+      // track of all the pointers we're gonna malloc.  Needed later for
+      // cleanup.
+      vector_string vargv;
+      std::vector<char *> buffers;
+
+      // Get the strings from the datagram and put them into the string vector
+      for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        vargv.push_back(data.get_string().c_str());
+      }
+
+      // Last string is the current directory the client was run from.  Not
+      // part of the argument list, but we still need it
+      std::string cwd = data.get_string();
+
+      // We allocate some memory to hold the pointers to the pointers we're
+      // going to pass in to parse_command_line().
+      char **cargv = (char**) malloc(sizeof(char**) * argc);
+
+      // Loop through the string arguments we got from the datagram and
+      // convert them to const char *'s.  parse_command_line() expects char
+      // *'s, so we have to copy these const versions into fresh char *, since
+      // there is no casting from const char * to char *.
+      for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
+        // string to const char *
+        const char *cptr = vargv[i].c_str();
+        // memory allocated for a new char * of size of the string
+        char *buffer = (char *) malloc(vargv[i].capacity() + 1);
+
+        // Copy the const char * to the char *
+        strcpy(buffer, cptr);
+        // put this into the arry we defined above.  This is what will
+        // eventually be passed to parse_command_line()
+        cargv[i] = buffer;
+        // keep track of the pointers to the allocated memory for cleanup
+        // later
+        buffers.push_back(buffer);
+      }
+
+      // Change to the client's current dir
+#ifdef _WIN64
+      _chdir(cwd.c_str());
+#else
+      chdir(cwd.c_str());
+#endif
+
+      // Change the VirtualFileSystem's current dir as well
+      VirtualFileSystem *vfs = VirtualFileSystem::get_global_ptr();
+      vfs->chdir(Filename::from_os_specific(cwd));
+
+      // Next, we'll need to read the conversion type.
+      // Are we converting from egg to maya or from maya to egg?
+      int conversion_type = data.get_uint8();
+      bool converted = false;
+
+      switch (conversion_type) {
+        case ConversionType::CT_maya_to_egg:
+        {
+          MayaToEgg egg;
+
+          // Pass in the 'new' argc and argv we got from the client
+          if (egg.parse_command_line(argc, cargv, false) == ProgramBase::ExitCode::EC_not_exited) {
+            // Actually run the damn thing
+            converted = egg.run();
+          }
+
+          break;
+        }
+        case ConversionType::CT_egg_to_maya:
+        {
+          EggToMaya maya;
+          maya.set_exit_on_failure(false);
+
+          // Pass in the 'new' argc and argv we got from the client
+          if (maya.parse_command_line(argc, cargv, false) == ProgramBase::ExitCode::EC_not_exited) {
+            // Actually run the damn thing
+            converted = maya.run();
+          }
+
+          break;
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Let's send the result back to the client
+      NetDatagram response;
+
+      // The first and only part of the response is the success value
+      response.add_bool(converted);
+
+      // Send the response
+      if (!_cWriter->send(response, datagram.get_connection())) {
+        // Looks like we couldn't send the response
+        nout << "Could not send response to the client.\n";
+      }
+
+      std::cout.flush();
+
+      // Cleanup first, release the string vector
+      vargv.clear();
+      // No, iterate through the char * vector and cleanup the malloc'd
+      // pointers
+      std::vector<char *>::iterator vi;
+      for ( vi = buffers.begin() ; vi != buffers.end(); vi++) {
+        free(*vi);
+      }
+      // Clean up the malloc'd pointer pointer
+      free(cargv);
+    } // qReader->get_data
+
+    Clients::iterator ci;
+    for (ci = _clients.begin(); ci != _clients.end(); ++ci) {
+      _qManager->close_connection(*ci);
+    }
+  } // qReader->data_available
+} // poll
+
+/**
+ * Blocks the current thread and listens to conversion requests.
+ */
+void MayaConversionServer::
+listen() {
+  // Open a rendezvous port for receiving new connections from the client
+  PT(Connection) rend = _qManager->open_TCP_server_rendezvous(4242, 100);
+
+  if (rend.is_null()) {
+    nout << "Port opening failed!\n";
+    return;
+  }
+
+  nout << "Server opened on port 4242, waiting for requests...\n";
+
+  // Add this connection to the listeners list
+  _qListener->add_connection(rend);
+
+  // Main loop.  Keep polling for connections, but don't eat up all the CPU.
+  while (true) {
+    this->poll();
+    Thread::force_yield();
+  }
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..10212676a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaConversionServer.h
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaConversionServer.h
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#ifndef MAYACONVERSIONSERVER_H
+#define MAYACONVERSIONSERVER_H
+
+#include "queuedConnectionManager.h"
+#include "queuedConnectionListener.h"
+#include "queuedConnectionReader.h"
+#include "connectionWriter.h"
+
+/**
+ * The Maya conversion server listens for incoming requests to
+ * handle maya-to-egg and egg-to-maya model conversions.
+ *
+ * This server listens to port 4242 after being started with
+ * egg2maya -server or maya2egg -server.
+ *
+ * Use egg2maya_client and maya2egg_client as a replacement for
+ * the egg2maya and maya2egg utilities after starting the server.
+ *
+ * Very useful in case you need to batch convert models.
+ * The regular utilities can only convert one model at a time.
+*/
+class MayaConversionServer {
+public:
+  enum ConversionType {
+    CT_maya_to_egg = 0,
+    CT_egg_to_maya = 1
+  };
+
+  MayaConversionServer();
+  ~MayaConversionServer();
+
+  void listen();
+  void poll();
+
+protected:
+  typedef pset< PT(Connection) > Clients;
+  Clients _clients;
+
+  QueuedConnectionManager *_qManager;
+  QueuedConnectionListener *_qListener;
+  QueuedConnectionReader *_qReader;
+  ConnectionWriter *_cWriter;
+};
+
+#endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.cxx
index 1219f5389a..10a09d1798 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.cxx
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.cxx
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
 #include "config_mayaegg.h"
 #include "config_maya.h"  // for maya_cat
 #include "globPattern.h"
+#include "mayaConversionServer.h"
 
 /**
  *
@@ -124,6 +125,12 @@ MayaToEgg() :
      "Legacy option.  Same as -pc.",
      &MayaToEgg::dispatch_filename, &_legacy_copytex, &_legacy_copytex_dir);
 
+  add_option("server", "", 0,
+    "Runs the Maya model conversion server. This server can be used in tandem "
+    "with the egg2maya_client and maya2egg_client utilities to batch convert "
+    "both Maya and Panda3D model files.",
+    &MayaToEgg::dispatch_none, &_run_server);
+
   add_option
     ("trans", "type", 0,
      "Specifies which transforms in the Maya file should be converted to "
@@ -203,7 +210,34 @@ MayaToEgg() :
 /**
  *
  */
-void MayaToEgg::
+MayaToEgg::
+~MayaToEgg() {
+}
+
+/**
+ * Attempts to create the global Maya API.
+ * Exits the program if unsuccessful.
+ */
+PT(MayaApi) MayaToEgg::
+open_api() {
+  if (!MayaApi::is_api_valid()) {
+    nout << "Initializing Maya...\n";
+  }
+
+  PT(MayaApi) api = MayaApi::open_api(_program_name, true, true);
+
+  if (!api || !api->is_valid()) {
+    nout << "Unable to initialize Maya.\n";
+    exit(1);
+  }
+
+  return api;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns true if the model has been successfully converted.
+ */
+bool MayaToEgg::
 run() {
   // Set the verbose level by using Notify.
   if (_verbose >= 3) {
@@ -229,14 +263,8 @@ run() {
     _path_replace->_path_directory.make_absolute();
   }
 
-  nout << "Initializing Maya.\n";
+  open_api();
   MayaToEggConverter converter(_program_name);
-  // reverting directories is really not needed for maya2egg.  It's more
-  // needed for mayaeggloader and such
-  if (!converter.open_api(false)) {
-    nout << "Unable to initialize Maya.\n";
-    exit(1);
-  }
 
   // Copy in the command-line parameters.
   converter._polygon_output = _polygon_output;
@@ -299,7 +327,7 @@ run() {
 
   if (!converter.convert_file(_input_filename)) {
     nout << "Errors in conversion.\n";
-    exit(1);
+    return false;
   }
 
   // Use the standard Maya units, if the user didn't specify otherwise.  This
@@ -310,8 +338,10 @@ run() {
     _input_units = converter.get_input_units();
   }
 
+  // Write output file
   write_egg_file();
-  nout << "\n";
+  close_output();
+  return true;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -332,9 +362,22 @@ dispatch_transform_type(const std::string &opt, const std::string &arg, void *va
   return true;
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  MayaToEgg prog;
-  prog.parse_command_line(argc, argv);
-  prog.run();
-  return 0;
+/**
+ * Processes the arguments parsed by the program.
+ *
+ * If the server flag is specified, the Maya conversion server is started
+ * up rather than the usual conversion utility functionality.
+ */
+bool MayaToEgg::
+handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args) {
+  if (_run_server) {
+    open_api();
+
+    MayaConversionServer server;
+    server.listen();
+    exit(0);
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  return SomethingToEgg::handle_args(args);
 }
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.h
index a6ec0453f2..237266f04e 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.h
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg.h
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
 #include "pandatoolbase.h"
 #include "somethingToEgg.h"
 #include "mayaToEggConverter.h"
+#include "mayaApi.h"
+
+#include "programBase.h"
 
 /**
  *
@@ -24,11 +27,15 @@
 class MayaToEgg : public SomethingToEgg {
 public:
   MayaToEgg();
+  ~MayaToEgg();
 
-  void run();
+  bool run();
 
 protected:
   static bool dispatch_transform_type(const std::string &opt, const std::string &arg, void *var);
+  virtual bool handle_args(ProgramBase::Args &args);
+
+  PT(MayaApi) open_api();
 
   int _verbose;
   bool _polygon_output;
@@ -49,6 +56,9 @@ protected:
   vector_string _excludes;
   vector_string _ignore_sliders;
   vector_string _force_joints;
+
+public:
+  bool _run_server;
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggBin.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggBin.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d65bdcae24
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggBin.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaToEggBin.cxx
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#include "mayaToEgg.h"
+
+/**
+ * Entrypoint for maya2egg.
+ */
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+  MayaToEgg prog;
+  prog.parse_command_line(argc, argv);
+
+  if (!prog.run()) {
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggClient.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggClient.cxx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..066b41ae31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEggClient.cxx
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
+ * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
+ * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
+ * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
+ *
+ * @file mayaToEggClient.cxx
+ * @author Derzsi Dániel
+ * @date 2020-10-01
+ */
+
+#include "mayaConversionClient.h"
+
+/**
+ * Entrypoint for maya2egg_client.
+ */
+int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+    MayaConversionClient client;
+    return client.main(argc, argv, MayaConversionServer::ConversionType::CT_maya_to_egg);
+}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.cxx
deleted file mode 100644
index a92e6195ec..0000000000
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.cxx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
- * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
- *
- * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
- * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
- * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
- *
- * @file mayaToEgg_client.cxx
- * @author cbrunner
- * @date 2009-11-09
- */
-
-#include "mayaToEgg_client.h"
-
-/**
- *
- */
-MayaToEggClient::
-MayaToEggClient() :
-  SomethingToEgg("Maya", ".mb")
-{
-  qManager = new QueuedConnectionManager();
-  qReader = new QueuedConnectionReader(qManager, 0);
-  cWriter = new ConnectionWriter(qManager, 0);
-  // We assume the server is local and on port 4242
-  server.set_host("localhost", 4242);
-}
-
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  MayaToEggClient prog;
-  // Open a connection to the server process
-  PT(Connection) con = prog.qManager->open_TCP_client_connection(prog.server,0);
-  if (con.is_null()) {
-    nout << "Failed to open port to server process.\nMake sure maya2egg_server is running on localhost\n";
-    exit(1);
-  }
-
-  // Add this connection to the readers list
-  prog.qReader->add_connection(con);
-
-  // Get the current working directory and make sure it's a string
-  Filename cwd = ExecutionEnvironment::get_cwd();
-  std::string s_cwd = (std::string)cwd.to_os_specific();
-  NetDatagram datagram;
-
-  // First part of the datagram is the argc
-  datagram.add_uint8(argc);
-
-  // Add the rest of the arguments as strings to the datagram
-  int i;
-  for (i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
-    datagram.add_string(argv[i]);
-  }
-
-  // Lastly, add the current working dir as a string to the datagram
-  datagram.add_string(s_cwd);
-
-  // Send it and close the connection
-  prog.cWriter->send(datagram, con);
-  con->flush();
-  while (true) {
-    prog.qReader->data_available();
-    if (prog.qManager->reset_connection_available()) {
-      PT(Connection) connection;
-      if (prog.qManager->get_reset_connection(connection)) {
-        prog.qManager->close_connection(con);
-        return 0;
-      }
-    }
-    Thread::sleep(0.1);
-  }
-}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.h
deleted file mode 100644
index f3c7192467..0000000000
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_client.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
- * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
- *
- * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
- * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
- * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
- *
- * @file mayaToEgg_client.h
- * @author cbrunner
- * @date 2009-11-09
- */
-
-#ifndef MAYATOEGGCLIENT_H
-#define MAYATOEGGCLIENT_H
-
-#include "somethingToEgg.h"
-#include "queuedConnectionManager.h"
-#include "queuedConnectionReader.h"
-#include "connectionWriter.h"
-
-/**
- *
- */
-class MayaToEggClient : public SomethingToEgg {
-public:
-  MayaToEggClient();
-
-  QueuedConnectionManager *qManager;
-  QueuedConnectionReader *qReader;
-  ConnectionWriter *cWriter;
-  NetAddress server;
-};
-
-#endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.cxx b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.cxx
deleted file mode 100644
index 11b33a20d4..0000000000
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.cxx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,474 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
- * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
- *
- * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
- * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
- * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
- *
- * @file mayaToEgg_server.cxx
- * @author cbrunner
- * @date 2009-11-09
- */
-
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#include <direct.h>  // for chdir
-#endif
-#include "mayaToEgg_server.h"
-#include "mayaToEggConverter.h"
-#include "config_mayaegg.h"
-#include "config_maya.h"  // for maya_cat
-#include "globPattern.h"
-
-/**
- *
- */
-MayaToEggServer::
-MayaToEggServer() :
-  SomethingToEgg("Maya", ".mb")
-{
-  add_path_replace_options();
-  add_path_store_options();
-  add_animation_options();
-  add_units_options();
-  add_normals_options();
-  add_transform_options();
-
-  set_program_brief("convert Maya model files to .egg");
-  set_program_description
-    ("This program converts Maya model files to egg.  Static and animatable "
-     "models can be converted, with polygon or NURBS output.  Animation tables "
-     "can also be generated to apply to an animatable model.");
-
-  add_option
-    ("p", "", 0,
-     "Generate polygon output only.  Tesselate all NURBS surfaces to "
-     "polygons via the built-in Maya tesselator.  The tesselation will "
-     "be based on the tolerance factor given by -ptol.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_polygon_output);
-
-  add_option
-    ("ptol", "tolerance", 0,
-     "Specify the fit tolerance for Maya polygon tesselation.  The smaller "
-     "the number, the more polygons will be generated.  The default is "
-     "0.01.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_double, nullptr, &_polygon_tolerance);
-
-  add_option
-    ("bface", "", 0,
-     "Respect the Maya \"double sided\" rendering flag to indicate whether "
-     "polygons should be double-sided or single-sided.  Since this flag "
-     "is set to double-sided by default in Maya, it is often better to "
-     "ignore this flag (unless your modelers are diligent in turning it "
-     "off where it is not desired).  If this flag is not specified, the "
-     "default is to treat all polygons as single-sided, unless an "
-     "egg object type of \"double-sided\" is set.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_respect_maya_double_sided);
-
-  add_option
-    ("suppress-vcolor", "", 0,
-     "Ignore vertex color for geometry that has a texture applied.  "
-     "(This is the way Maya normally renders internally.)  The egg flag "
-     "'vertex-color' may be applied to a particular model to override "
-     "this setting locally.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_suppress_vertex_color);
-
-  add_option
-    ("keep-uvs", "", 0,
-     "Convert all UV sets on all vertices, even those that do not appear "
-     "to be referenced by any textures.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_keep_all_uvsets);
-
-  add_option
-    ("round-uvs", "", 0,
-     "round up uv coordinates to the nearest 1/100th. i.e. -0.001 becomes"
-     "0.0; 0.444 becomes 0.44; 0.778 becomes 0.78.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_round_uvs);
-
-  add_option
-    ("trans", "type", 0,
-     "Specifies which transforms in the Maya file should be converted to "
-     "transforms in the egg file.  The option may be one of all, model, "
-     "dcs, or none.  The default is model, which means only transforms on "
-     "nodes that have the model flag or the dcs flag are preserved.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_transform_type, nullptr, &_transform_type);
-
-  add_option
-    ("subroot", "name", 0,
-     "Specifies that only a subroot of the geometry in the Maya file should "
-     "be converted; specifically, the geometry under the node or nodes whose "
-     "name matches the parameter (which may include globbing characters "
-     "like * or ?).  This parameter may be repeated multiple times to name "
-     "multiple roots.  If it is omitted altogether, the entire file is "
-     "converted.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_vector_string, nullptr, &_subroots);
-
-  add_option
-    ("subset", "name", 0,
-     "Specifies that only a subset of the geometry in the Maya file should "
-     "be converted; specifically, the geometry under the node or nodes whose "
-     "name matches the parameter (which may include globbing characters "
-     "like * or ?).  This parameter may be repeated multiple times to name "
-     "multiple roots.  If it is omitted altogether, the entire file is "
-     "converted.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_vector_string, nullptr, &_subsets);
-
-  add_option
-    ("exclude", "name", 0,
-     "Specifies that a subset of the geometry in the Maya file should "
-     "not be converted; specifically, the geometry under the node or nodes whose "
-     "name matches the parameter (which may include globbing characters "
-     "like * or ?).  This parameter may be repeated multiple times to name "
-     "multiple roots.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_vector_string, nullptr, &_excludes);
-
-  add_option
-    ("ignore-slider", "name", 0,
-     "Specifies the name of a slider (blend shape deformer) that maya2egg "
-     "should not process.  The slider will not be touched during conversion "
-     "and it will not become a part of the animation.  This "
-     "parameter may including globbing characters, and it may be repeated "
-     "as needed.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_vector_string, nullptr, &_ignore_sliders);
-
-  add_option
-    ("force-joint", "name", 0,
-     "Specifies the name of a DAG node that maya2egg "
-     "should treat as a joint, even if it does not appear to be a Maya joint "
-     "and does not appear to be animated.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_vector_string, nullptr, &_force_joints);
-
-  add_option
-    ("v", "", 0,
-     "Increase verbosity.  More v's means more verbose.",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_count, nullptr, &_verbose);
-
-  add_option
-    ("legacy-shaders", "", 0,
-     "Use this flag to turn off modern (Phong) shader generation"
-     "and treat all shaders as if they were Lamberts (legacy).",
-     &MayaToEggServer::dispatch_none, &_legacy_shader);
-
-  // Unfortunately, the Maya API doesn't allow us to differentiate between
-  // relative and absolute pathnames--everything comes out as an absolute
-  // pathname, even if it is stored in the Maya file as a relative path.  So
-  // we can't support -noabs.
-  remove_option("noabs");
-
-  _verbose = 0;
-  _polygon_tolerance = 0.01;
-  _transform_type = MayaToEggConverter::TT_model;
-  _got_tbnauto = true;
-  qManager = new QueuedConnectionManager();
-  qListener = new QueuedConnectionListener(qManager, 0);
-  qReader = new QueuedConnectionReader(qManager, 0);
-  cWriter = new ConnectionWriter(qManager, 0);
-  dummy = new MayaToEggConverter();
-
-  nout << "Initializing Maya...\n";
-  if (!dummy->open_api()) {
-    nout << "Unable to initialize Maya.\n";
-    exit(1);
-  }
-}
-/**
- *
- */
-MayaToEggServer::
-~MayaToEggServer() {
-  delete qManager;
-  delete qReader;
-  delete qListener;
-  delete cWriter;
-  delete dummy;
-}
-
-/**
- *
- */
-void MayaToEggServer::
-run() {
-  // Make sure we have good clean data to start with
-  _data = new EggData();
-
-  // Set the verbose level by using Notify.
-  if (_verbose >= 3) {
-    maya_cat->set_severity(NS_spam);
-    mayaegg_cat->set_severity(NS_spam);
-  } else if (_verbose >= 2) {
-    maya_cat->set_severity(NS_debug);
-    mayaegg_cat->set_severity(NS_debug);
-  } else if (_verbose >= 1) {
-    maya_cat->set_severity(NS_info);
-    mayaegg_cat->set_severity(NS_info);
-  }
-
-  // Let's convert the output file to a full path before we initialize Maya,
-  // since Maya now has a nasty habit of changing the current directory.
-  if (_got_output_filename) {
-    _output_filename.make_absolute();
-    _path_replace->_path_directory.make_absolute();
-  }
-
-  MayaToEggConverter converter(_program_name);
-
-  // Copy in the command-line parameters.
-  converter._polygon_output = _polygon_output;
-  converter._polygon_tolerance = _polygon_tolerance;
-  converter._respect_maya_double_sided = _respect_maya_double_sided;
-  converter._always_show_vertex_color = !_suppress_vertex_color;
-  converter._keep_all_uvsets = _keep_all_uvsets;
-  converter._round_uvs = _round_uvs;
-  converter._transform_type = _transform_type;
-  converter._legacy_shader = _legacy_shader;
-
-  vector_string::const_iterator si;
-  if (!_subroots.empty()) {
-    converter.clear_subroots();
-    for (si = _subroots.begin(); si != _subroots.end(); ++si) {
-      converter.add_subroot(GlobPattern(*si));
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (!_subsets.empty()) {
-    converter.clear_subsets();
-    for (si = _subsets.begin(); si != _subsets.end(); ++si) {
-      converter.add_subset(GlobPattern(*si));
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (!_excludes.empty()) {
-    converter.clear_excludes();
-    for (si = _excludes.begin(); si != _excludes.end(); ++si) {
-      converter.add_exclude(GlobPattern(*si));
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (!_ignore_sliders.empty()) {
-    converter.clear_ignore_sliders();
-    for (si = _ignore_sliders.begin(); si != _ignore_sliders.end(); ++si) {
-      converter.add_ignore_slider(GlobPattern(*si));
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (!_force_joints.empty()) {
-    converter.clear_force_joints();
-    for (si = _force_joints.begin(); si != _force_joints.end(); ++si) {
-      converter.add_force_joint(GlobPattern(*si));
-    }
-  }
-
-  // Copy in the path and animation parameters.
-  apply_parameters(converter);
-
-  // Set the coordinate system to match Maya's.
-  if (!_got_coordinate_system) {
-    _coordinate_system = converter._maya->get_coordinate_system();
-  }
-  _data->set_coordinate_system(_coordinate_system);
-
-  converter.set_egg_data(_data);
-
-  if (!converter.convert_file(_input_filename)) {
-    nout << "Errors in conversion.\n";
-    exit(1);
-  }
-
-  // Use the standard Maya units, if the user didn't specify otherwise.  This
-  // always returns centimeters, which is the way all Maya files are stored
-  // internally (and is the units returned by all of the API functions called
-  // here).
-  if (_input_units == DU_invalid) {
-    _input_units = converter.get_input_units();
-  }
-
-  // Add the command line comment at the top of the egg file
-  append_command_comment(_data);
-
-  write_egg_file();
-
-  // Clean and out
-  close_output();
-  _verbose = 0;
-  _polygon_tolerance = 0.01;
-  _polygon_output = 0;
-  _transform_type = MayaToEggConverter::TT_model;
-  _subsets.clear();
-  _subroots.clear();
-  _input_units = DU_invalid;
-  _output_units = DU_invalid;
-  _excludes.clear();
-  _ignore_sliders.clear();
-  _force_joints.clear();
-  _got_transform = false;
-  _transform = LMatrix4d::ident_mat();
-  _normals_mode = NM_preserve;
-  _normals_threshold = 0.0;
-  _got_start_frame = false;
-  _got_end_frame = false;
-  _got_frame_inc = false;
-  _got_neutral_frame = false;
-  _got_input_frame_rate = false;
-  _got_output_frame_rate = false;
-  _got_output_filename = false;
-  _merge_externals = false;
-  _got_tbnall = false;
-  _got_tbnauto = false;
-  _got_transform = false;
-  _coordinate_system = CS_yup_right;
-  _noabs = false;
-  _program_args.clear();
-  _data->clear();
-  _animation_convert = AC_none;
-  _character_name = "";
-  dummy->clear();
-}
-
-/**
- * Dispatches a parameter that expects a MayaToEggConverter::TransformType
- * option.
- */
-bool MayaToEggServer::
-dispatch_transform_type(const std::string &opt, const std::string &arg, void *var) {
-  MayaToEggConverter::TransformType *ip = (MayaToEggConverter::TransformType *)var;
-  (*ip) = MayaToEggConverter::string_transform_type(arg);
-
-  if ((*ip) == MayaToEggConverter::TT_invalid) {
-    nout << "Invalid type for -" << opt << ": " << arg << "\n"
-         << "Valid types are all, model, dcs, and none.\n";
-    return false;
-  }
-
-  return true;
-}
-
-/**
- * Checks for any network activity and handles it, if appropriate, and then
- * returns.  This must be called periodically
- */
-void MayaToEggServer::
-poll() {
-  // Listen for new connections
-  qListener->poll();
-
-  // If we have a new connection from a client create a new connection pointer
-  // and add it to the reader list
-  if (qListener->new_connection_available()) {
-    PT(Connection) con;
-    PT(Connection) rv;
-    NetAddress address;
-    if (qListener->get_new_connection(rv, address, con)) {
-      qReader->add_connection(con);
-      _clients.insert(con);
-    }
-  }
-
-  // Check for reset clients
-  if (qManager->reset_connection_available()) {
-    PT(Connection) connection;
-    if (qManager->get_reset_connection(connection)) {
-      _clients.erase(connection);
-      qManager->close_connection(connection);
-    }
-  }
-
-  // Poll the readers (created above) and if they have data process it
-  qReader->poll();
-  if (qReader->data_available()) {
-    // Grab the incomming data and unpack it
-    NetDatagram datagram;
-    if (qReader->get_data(datagram)) {
-      DatagramIterator data(datagram);
-      // First data should be the "argc" (argument count) from the client
-      int argc = data.get_uint8();
-
-      // Now we have to get clever because the rest of the data comes as
-      // strings and parse_command_line() expects arguments of the standard
-      // argc, argv*[] variety.  First, we need a string vector to hold all
-      // the strings from the datagram.  We also need a char * array to keep
-      // track of all the pointers we're gonna malloc.  Needed later for
-      // cleanup.
-      vector_string vargv;
-      std::vector<char *> buffers;
-
-      // Get the strings from the datagram and put them into the string vector
-      int i;
-      for ( i = 0; i < argc; i++ ) {
-        vargv.push_back(data.get_string());
-      }
-
-      // Last string is the current directory the client was run from.  Not
-      // part of the argument list, but we still need it
-      std::string cwd = data.get_string();
-
-      // We allocate some memory to hold the pointers to the pointers we're
-      // going to pass in to parse_command_line().
-      char ** cargv = (char**) malloc(sizeof(char**) * argc);
-
-      // Loop through the string arguments we got from the datagram and
-      // convert them to const char *'s.  parse_command_line() expects char
-      // *'s, so we have to copy these const versions into fresh char *, since
-      // there is no casting from const char * to char *.
-      for ( i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
-        // string to const char *
-        const char * cptr = vargv[i].c_str();
-        // memory allocated for a new char * of size of the string
-        char * buffer = (char*) malloc(vargv[i].capacity()+1);
-        // Copy the const char * to the char *
-        strcpy(buffer, cptr);
-        // put this into the arry we defined above.  This is what will
-        // eventually be passed to parse_command_line()
-        cargv[i] = buffer;
-        // keep track of the pointers to the  allocated memory for cleanup
-        // later
-        buffers.push_back(buffer);
-      }
-      // Change to the client's current dir
-#ifdef _WIN64
-      _chdir(cwd.c_str());
-#else
-      chdir(cwd.c_str());
-#endif
-
-      // Pass in the 'new' argc and argv we got from the client
-      this->parse_command_line(argc, cargv);
-      // Actually run the damn thing
-      this->run();
-
-      // Cleanup First, release the string vector
-      vargv.clear();
-      // No, iterate through the char * vector and cleanup the malloc'd
-      // pointers
-      std::vector<char *>::iterator vi;
-      for ( vi = buffers.begin() ; vi != buffers.end(); vi++) {
-        free(*vi);
-      }
-      // Clean up the malloc'd pointer pointer
-      free(cargv);
-    } // qReader->get_data
-
-    Clients::iterator ci;
-    for (ci = _clients.begin(); ci != _clients.end(); ++ci) {
-      qManager->close_connection(*ci);
-    }
-  } // qReader->data_available
-} // poll
-
-int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
-  MayaToEggServer prog;
-  // Open a rendezvous port for receiving new connections from the client
-  PT(Connection) rend = prog.qManager->open_TCP_server_rendezvous(4242, 50);
-  if (rend.is_null()) {
-    nout << "port opened fail";
-  }
-
-  // Add this connection to the listeners list
-  prog.qListener->add_connection(rend);
-
-  // Main loop.  Keep polling for connections, but don't eat up all the CPU.
-  while (true) {
-    prog.poll();
-    Thread::force_yield();
-  }
-  return 0;
-}
diff --git a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.h b/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.h
deleted file mode 100644
index ba014f4846..0000000000
--- a/pandatool/src/mayaprogs/mayaToEgg_server.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,67 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * PANDA 3D SOFTWARE
- * Copyright (c) Carnegie Mellon University.  All rights reserved.
- *
- * All use of this software is subject to the terms of the revised BSD
- * license.  You should have received a copy of this license along
- * with this source code in a file named "LICENSE."
- *
- * @file mayaToEgg_server.h
- * @author cbrunner
- * @date 2009-11-09
- */
-
-#ifndef MAYATOEGGSERVER_H
-#define MAYATOEGGSERVER_H
-
-#include "pandatoolbase.h"
-#include "somethingToEgg.h"
-#include "mayaToEggConverter.h"
-#include "queuedConnectionManager.h"
-#include "queuedConnectionListener.h"
-#include "queuedConnectionReader.h"
-#include "connectionWriter.h"
-
-/**
- *
- */
-class MayaToEggServer : public SomethingToEgg {
-public:
-  MayaToEggServer();
-  ~MayaToEggServer();
-
-  void run();
-  void poll();
-
-  void add_reader(Connection *connection, QueuedConnectionReader *reader);
-  void remove_reader(Connection *connection, QueuedConnectionReader *reader);
-  QueuedConnectionManager *qManager;
-  QueuedConnectionListener *qListener;
-  QueuedConnectionReader *qReader;
-  ConnectionWriter *cWriter;
-  MayaToEggConverter *dummy;
-
-
-protected:
-  static bool dispatch_transform_type(const std::string &opt, const std::string &arg, void *var);
-  typedef pset< PT(Connection) > Clients;
-  Clients _clients;
-
-  int _verbose;
-  bool _polygon_output;
-  double _polygon_tolerance;
-  bool _respect_maya_double_sided;
-  bool _suppress_vertex_color;
-  bool _keep_all_uvsets;
-  bool _round_uvs;
-  bool _legacy_shader;
-
-  MayaToEggConverter::TransformType _transform_type;
-  vector_string _subroots;
-  vector_string _subsets;
-  vector_string _excludes;
-  vector_string _ignore_sliders;
-  vector_string _force_joints;
-};
-
-#endif
diff --git a/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.cxx b/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.cxx
index a509e93edf..fb6a4458ba 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.cxx
+++ b/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.cxx
@@ -268,10 +268,16 @@ write_man_page(std::ostream &out) {
 /**
  * Dispatches on each of the options on the command line, and passes the
  * remaining parameters to handle_args().  If an error on the command line is
- * detected, will automatically call show_usage() and exit(1).
+ * detected, will automatically call show_usage() and exit(1). If exit_on_complete
+ * is not set, will return the program's exit code instead of exiting.
  */
-void ProgramBase::
-parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
+ProgramBase::ExitCode ProgramBase::
+parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv, bool exit_on_complete) {
+  if (!exit_on_complete) {
+    // The help option should not be available in programmatic environments.
+    remove_option("h");
+  }
+
   preprocess_argv(argc, argv);
 
   // Setting this variable to zero reinitializes the options parser This is
@@ -280,6 +286,11 @@ parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
   extern int optind;
   optind = 0;
 
+#if !defined(HAVE_GETOPT) || !defined(HAVE_GETOPT_LONG_ONLY)
+  // We're using a Panda implementation of getopt. Let's reset that as well.
+  pgetopt_reset();
+#endif
+
   _program_name = Filename::from_os_specific(argv[0]);
   int i;
   for (i = 1; i < argc; i++) {
@@ -310,9 +321,16 @@ parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
       }
     } else {
       cerr << "Invalid number of options for -write-man!\n";
-      exit(1);
+      if (exit_on_complete) {
+        exit(1);
+      }
+      return ExitCode::EC_failure;
     }
-    exit(0);
+
+    if (exit_on_complete) {
+      exit(0);
+    }
+    return ExitCode::EC_clean_exit;
   }
 
   // Build up the long options list and the short options string for
@@ -395,7 +413,10 @@ parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
     case '?':
       // Invalid option or parameter.
       show_usage();
-      exit(1);
+      if (exit_on_complete) {
+        exit(1);
+      }
+      return ExitCode::EC_failure;
 
     case '\x1':
       // A special return value from getopt() indicating a non-option
@@ -427,7 +448,10 @@ parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
 
         if (!okflag) {
           show_usage();
-          exit(1);
+          if (exit_on_complete) {
+            exit(1);
+          }
+          return ExitCode::EC_failure;
         }
       }
     }
@@ -438,13 +462,21 @@ parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv) {
 
   if (!handle_args(remaining_args)) {
     show_usage();
-    exit(1);
+    if (exit_on_complete) {
+      exit(1);
+    }
+    return ExitCode::EC_failure;
   }
 
   if (!post_command_line()) {
     show_usage();
-    exit(1);
+    if (exit_on_complete) {
+      exit(1);
+    }
+    return ExitCode::EC_failure;
   }
+
+  return ExitCode::EC_not_exited;
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.h b/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.h
index d3d06eb67a..a245e99951 100644
--- a/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.h
+++ b/pandatool/src/progbase/programBase.h
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@
  */
 class ProgramBase {
 public:
+  enum ExitCode {
+    EC_not_exited = -1,
+    EC_clean_exit = 0,
+    EC_failure = 1
+  };
+
   ProgramBase(const std::string &name = std::string());
   virtual ~ProgramBase();
 
@@ -45,7 +51,7 @@ public:
 
   void write_man_page(std::ostream &out);
 
-  virtual void parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv);
+  virtual ExitCode parse_command_line(int argc, char **argv, bool exit_on_complete = true);
 
   std::string get_exec_command() const;