diff --git a/container-images/gerrit-init/README.md b/container-images/gerrit-init/README.md
index 669ae39..5266dbb 100644
--- a/container-images/gerrit-init/README.md
+++ b/container-images/gerrit-init/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 Kubernetes init container for initializing gerrit. The python script running in
 the container initializes Gerrit including the installation of configured
-core plugins.
+plugins.
 
 ## Content
 
diff --git a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/README.md b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/README.md
index 3e6d271..3dfe685 100644
--- a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/README.md
+++ b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/README.md
@@ -144,30 +144,31 @@
 is mandatory, if access to Gerrit is required!
 ***
 
-| Parameter                                    | Description                                                                                     | Default                           |
-|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
-| `gerritMaster.images.gerritInit`             | Image name of the Gerrit init container image                                                   | `k8s-gerrit/gerrit-init`          |
-| `gerritMaster.images.gerritMaster`           | Image name of the Gerrit master container image                                                 | `k8s-gerrit/gerrit-master`        |
-| `gerritMaster.replicas`                      | Number of replica pods to deploy                                                                | `1`                               |
-| `gerritMaster.maxSurge`                      | Max. percentage or number of pods allowed to be scheduled above the desired number              | `25%`                             |
-| `gerritMaster.maxUnavailable`                | Max. percentage or number of pods allowed to be unavailable at a time                           | `100%`                            |
-| `gerritMaster.resources`                     | Configure the amount of resources the pod requests/is allowed                                   | `requests.cpu: 1`                 |
-|                                              |                                                                                                 | `requests.memory: 5Gi`            |
-|                                              |                                                                                                 | `limits.cpu: 1`                   |
-|                                              |                                                                                                 | `limits.memory: 6Gi`              |
-| `gerritMaster.persistence.enabled`           | Whether to persist the Gerrit site                                                              | `true`                            |
-| `gerritMaster.persistence.size`              | Storage size for persisted Gerrit site                                                          | `10Gi`                            |
-| `gerritMaster.service.type`                  | Which kind of Service to deploy                                                                 | `NodePort`                        |
-| `gerritMaster.service.http.port`             | Port over which to expose HTTP                                                                  | `80`                              |
-| `gerritMaster.ingress.host`                  | REQUIRED: Host name to use for the Ingress (required for Ingress)                               | `nil`                             |
-| `gerritMaster.ingress.additionalAnnotations` | Additional annotations for the Ingress                                                          | `nil`                             |
-| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.enabled`           | Whether to enable TLS termination in the Ingress                                                | `false`                           |
-| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.cert`              | Public SSL server certificate                                                                   | `-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----`     |
-| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.key`               | Private SSL server certificate                                                                  | `-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----` |
-| `gerritMaster.keystore`                      | base64-encoded Java keystore (`cat keystore.jks | base64`) to be used by Gerrit, when using SSL | `nil`                             |
-| `gerritMaster.config.gerrit`                 | The contents of the gerrit.config                                                               | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)  |
-| `gerritMaster.config.secure`                 | The contents of the secure.config                                                               | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)  |
-| `gerritMaster.config.replication`            | The contents of the replication.config                                                          | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)  |
+| Parameter                                    | Description                                                                                     | Default                                                                                  |
+|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| `gerritMaster.images.gerritInit`             | Image name of the Gerrit init container image                                                   | `k8s-gerrit/gerrit-init`                                                                 |
+| `gerritMaster.images.gerritMaster`           | Image name of the Gerrit master container image                                                 | `k8s-gerrit/gerrit-master`                                                               |
+| `gerritMaster.replicas`                      | Number of replica pods to deploy                                                                | `1`                                                                                      |
+| `gerritMaster.maxSurge`                      | Max. percentage or number of pods allowed to be scheduled above the desired number              | `25%`                                                                                    |
+| `gerritMaster.maxUnavailable`                | Max. percentage or number of pods allowed to be unavailable at a time                           | `100%`                                                                                   |
+| `gerritMaster.resources`                     | Configure the amount of resources the pod requests/is allowed                                   | `requests.cpu: 1`                                                                        |
+|                                              |                                                                                                 | `requests.memory: 5Gi`                                                                   |
+|                                              |                                                                                                 | `limits.cpu: 1`                                                                          |
+|                                              |                                                                                                 | `limits.memory: 6Gi`                                                                     |
+| `gerritMaster.persistence.enabled`           | Whether to persist the Gerrit site                                                              | `true`                                                                                   |
+| `gerritMaster.persistence.size`              | Storage size for persisted Gerrit site                                                          | `10Gi`                                                                                   |
+| `gerritMaster.service.type`                  | Which kind of Service to deploy                                                                 | `NodePort`                                                                               |
+| `gerritMaster.service.http.port`             | Port over which to expose HTTP                                                                  | `80`                                                                                     |
+| `gerritMaster.ingress.host`                  | REQUIRED: Host name to use for the Ingress (required for Ingress)                               | `nil`                                                                                    |
+| `gerritMaster.ingress.additionalAnnotations` | Additional annotations for the Ingress                                                          | `nil`                                                                                    |
+| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.enabled`           | Whether to enable TLS termination in the Ingress                                                | `false`                                                                                  |
+| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.cert`              | Public SSL server certificate                                                                   | `-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----`                                                            |
+| `gerritMaster.ingress.tls.key`               | Private SSL server certificate                                                                  | `-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----`                                                        |
+| `gerritMaster.keystore`                      | base64-encoded Java keystore (`cat keystore.jks | base64`) to be used by Gerrit, when using SSL | `nil`                                                                                    |
+| `gerritMaster.plugins.packaged`              | List of Gerrit plugins that are packaged into the Gerrit-war-file to install                    | `["commit-message-length-validator", "download-commands", "replication", "reviewnotes"]` |
+| `gerritMaster.config.gerrit`                 | The contents of the gerrit.config                                                               | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)                                                         |
+| `gerritMaster.config.secure`                 | The contents of the secure.config                                                               | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)                                                         |
+| `gerritMaster.config.replication`            | The contents of the replication.config                                                          | [see here](#Gerrit-config-files)                                                         |
 
 ### Gerrit config files
 
diff --git a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/templates/gerrit-master.stateful-set.yaml b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/templates/gerrit-master.stateful-set.yaml
index fdca7ed..2c05a00 100644
--- a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/templates/gerrit-master.stateful-set.yaml
+++ b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/templates/gerrit-master.stateful-set.yaml
@@ -73,11 +73,12 @@
           fi
 
           /var/tools/gerrit_init.py \
-            -s /var/gerrit \
-            -p replication \
-            -p commit-message-length-validator \
-            -p download-commands \
-            -p reviewnotes
+            {{- range .Values.gerritMaster.plugins.packaged }}
+            {{- if . }}
+            -p {{ . }} \
+            {{- end }}
+            {{- end }}
+            -s /var/gerrit
 
           symlink_config_to_site
         volumeMounts:
diff --git a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/values.yaml b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/values.yaml
index 44bf9ad..1637d42 100644
--- a/helm-charts/gerrit-master/values.yaml
+++ b/helm-charts/gerrit-master/values.yaml
@@ -129,6 +129,13 @@
   # automatic encoding using helm does not work here.
   keystore:
 
+  plugins:
+    packaged:
+    - commit-message-length-validator
+    - download-commands
+    - replication
+    - reviewnotes
+
   config:
     # Some values are expected to have a specific value for the deployment installed
     # by this chart to work. These are marked with `# FIXED`.
diff --git a/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/conftest.py b/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/conftest.py
index 510a4b2..1331fc3 100644
--- a/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/conftest.py
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 # limitations under the License.
 
 import os.path
-import time
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -26,8 +25,8 @@
 GERRIT_MASTER_STARTUP_TIMEOUT = 240
 
 
-@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
-def gerrit_master_deployment(
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def gerrit_master_deployment_factory(
     request,
     repository_root,
     test_cluster,
@@ -36,51 +35,70 @@
     gitgc_image,
     gerrit_init_image,
 ):
-    chart_path = os.path.join(repository_root, "helm-charts", "gerrit-master")
-    chart_name = "gerrit-master-" + utils.create_random_string()
+    def install_chart(chart_opts):
+        chart_path = os.path.join(repository_root, "helm-charts", "gerrit-master")
+        chart_name = "gerrit-master-" + utils.create_random_string()
+        namespace_name = utils.create_random_string()
+        test_cluster.create_namespace(namespace_name)
+
+        core_v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
+        core_v1.create_namespaced_persistent_volume_claim(
+            namespace_name,
+            body=client.V1PersistentVolumeClaim(
+                kind="PersistentVolumeClaim",
+                api_version="v1",
+                metadata=client.V1ObjectMeta(name="repo-storage"),
+                spec=client.V1PersistentVolumeClaimSpec(
+                    access_modes=["ReadWriteMany"],
+                    storage_class_name="shared-storage",
+                    resources=client.V1ResourceRequirements(
+                        requests={"storage": "1Gi"}
+                    ),
+                ),
+            ),
+        )
+
+        chart_opts["gitRepositoryStorage.externalPVC.use"] = "false"
+        chart_opts["gitRepositoryStorage.externalPVC.name"] = "repo-storage"
+
+        test_cluster.helm.install(
+            chart_path,
+            chart_name,
+            set_values=chart_opts,
+            fail_on_err=True,
+            namespace=namespace_name,
+        )
+
+        return {"chart": chart_path, "name": chart_name, "namespace": namespace_name}
+
+    return install_chart
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def gerrit_master_deployment(
+    request, docker_tag, test_cluster, gerrit_master_deployment_factory
+):
     chart_opts = {
         "images.registry.name": request.config.getoption("--registry"),
         "images.version": docker_tag,
         "gerritMaster.ingress.host": "master.%s"
         % request.config.getoption("--ingress-url"),
     }
-    namespace_name = utils.create_random_string()
-    test_cluster.create_namespace(namespace_name)
-    test_cluster.helm.install(
-        chart_path,
-        chart_name,
-        set_values=chart_opts,
-        fail_on_err=True,
-        namespace=namespace_name,
-    )
+    chart = gerrit_master_deployment_factory(chart_opts)
 
-    yield {"name": chart_name, "namespace": namespace_name}
+    yield chart
 
-    test_cluster.helm.delete(chart_name)
-    test_cluster.delete_namespace(namespace_name)
+    test_cluster.helm.delete(chart["name"])
+    test_cluster.delete_namespace(chart["namespace"])
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="module")
 def gerrit_master_ready_deployment(gerrit_master_deployment):
-    def wait_for_readiness():
-        pod_labels = "app=gerrit-master,release=%s" % gerrit_master_deployment["name"]
-        core_v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
-        pod_list = core_v1.list_pod_for_all_namespaces(
-            watch=False, label_selector=pod_labels
-        )
-        for condition in pod_list.items[0].status.conditions:
-            if condition.type == "Ready" and condition.status == "True":
-                return True
-        return False
 
-    timeout = time.time() + GERRIT_MASTER_STARTUP_TIMEOUT
-
-    finished_in_time = False
-
-    while time.time() <= timeout:
-        finished_in_time = wait_for_readiness()
-        if finished_in_time:
-            break
+    pod_labels = "app=gerrit-master,release=%s" % gerrit_master_deployment["name"]
+    finished_in_time = utils.wait_for_pod_readiness(
+        pod_labels, timeout=GERRIT_MASTER_STARTUP_TIMEOUT
+    )
 
     if not finished_in_time:
         raise utils.TimeOutException(
diff --git a/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/test_chart_gerrit_master_plugins.py b/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/test_chart_gerrit_master_plugins.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..63edd10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/helm-charts/gerrit-master/test_chart_gerrit_master_plugins.py
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+# pylint: disable=W0613
+
+# Copyright (C) 2019 The Android Open Source Project
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+import json
+import time
+
+import pytest
+import requests
+
+import utils
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="class")
+def gerrit_master_deployment_with_plugins_factory(
+    request, gerrit_master_deployment_factory
+):
+    def install_chart(chart_opts):
+        chart = gerrit_master_deployment_factory(chart_opts)
+        pod_labels = "app=gerrit-master,release=%s" % chart["name"]
+        finished_in_time = utils.wait_for_pod_readiness(pod_labels, timeout=300)
+        if not finished_in_time:
+            raise utils.TimeOutException("Gerrit master pod was not ready in time.")
+
+        return chart
+
+    return install_chart
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(
+    scope="class",
+    params=[["replication"], ["replication", "download-commands"]],
+    ids=["single-packaged-plugin", "multiple-packaged-plugins"],
+)
+def gerrit_master_deployment_with_packaged_plugins(
+    request, docker_tag, test_cluster, gerrit_master_deployment_with_plugins_factory
+):
+
+    plugins_opts_string = "{%s}" % (",".join(request.param))
+    chart_opts = {
+        "images.registry.name": request.config.getoption("--registry"),
+        "images.version": docker_tag,
+        "images.ImagePullPolicy": "IfNotPresent",
+        "gerritMaster.ingress.host": "master.%s"
+        % request.config.getoption("--ingress-url"),
+        "gerritMaster.plugins.packaged": plugins_opts_string,
+    }
+    chart = gerrit_master_deployment_with_plugins_factory(chart_opts)
+    chart["installed_plugins"] = request.param
+
+    yield chart
+
+    test_cluster.helm.delete(chart["name"])
+    test_cluster.delete_namespace(chart["namespace"])
+
+
+def update_chart(helm, chart, opts):
+    helm.upgrade(
+        chart=chart["chart"],
+        name=chart["name"],
+        set_values=opts,
+        reuse_values=True,
+        recreate_pods=True,
+        fail_on_err=True,
+    )
+
+
+def get_gerrit_plugin_list(gerrit_url, user="admin", password="secret"):
+    list_plugins_url = "%s/a/plugins/?all" % gerrit_url
+    response = requests.get(list_plugins_url, auth=(user, password))
+    if not response.status_code == 200:
+        return None
+    body = response.text
+    return json.loads(body[body.index("\n") + 1 :])
+
+
+@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.incremental
+@pytest.mark.integration
+@pytest.mark.kubernetes
+class TestGerritMasterChartPackagedPluginInstall:
+    def _assert_installed_plugins(self, expected_plugins, installed_plugins):
+        for plugin in expected_plugins:
+            assert plugin in installed_plugins
+            assert installed_plugins[plugin]["filename"] == "%s.jar" % plugin
+
+    @pytest.mark.timeout(300)
+    def test_install_packaged_plugins(
+        self, request, test_cluster, gerrit_master_deployment_with_packaged_plugins
+    ):
+        response = None
+        while not response:
+            try:
+                response = get_gerrit_plugin_list(
+                    "http://master.%s" % (request.config.getoption("--ingress-url"))
+                )
+            except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError:
+                time.sleep(1)
+
+        self._assert_installed_plugins(
+            gerrit_master_deployment_with_packaged_plugins["installed_plugins"],
+            response,
+        )
+
+    @pytest.mark.timeout(300)
+    def test_install_packaged_plugins_are_removed_with_update(
+        self, request, test_cluster, gerrit_master_deployment_with_packaged_plugins
+    ):
+        chart = gerrit_master_deployment_with_packaged_plugins
+        chart["removed_plugin"] = chart["installed_plugins"].pop()
+        plugins_opts_string = "{%s}" % (",".join(chart["installed_plugins"]))
+        update_chart(
+            test_cluster.helm,
+            chart,
+            {"gerritMaster.plugins.packaged": plugins_opts_string},
+        )
+
+        response = None
+        while True:
+            try:
+                response = get_gerrit_plugin_list(
+                    "http://master.%s" % (request.config.getoption("--ingress-url"))
+                )
+                if response is not None and chart["removed_plugin"] not in response:
+                    break
+            except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError:
+                time.sleep(1)
+
+        assert chart["removed_plugin"] not in response
+        self._assert_installed_plugins(chart["installed_plugins"], response)
diff --git a/tests/helpers/helm.py b/tests/helpers/helm.py
index 28ed2f3..1c5eb3f 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/helm.py
+++ b/tests/helpers/helm.py
@@ -120,34 +120,38 @@
         values_file=None,
         set_values=None,
         reuse_values=True,
+        recreate_pods=False,
         fail_on_err=True,
     ):
         """Updates a chart on the cluster
 
-    Arguments:
-      chart {str} -- Release name or path of a helm chart
-      name {str} -- Name with which the chart will be installed on the cluster
+      Arguments:
+        chart {str} -- Release name or path of a helm chart
+        name {str} -- Name with which the chart will be installed on the cluster
 
-    Keyword Arguments:
-      values_file {str} -- Path to a custom values.yaml file (default: {None})
-      set_values {dict} -- Dictionary containing key-value-pairs that are used
-                           to overwrite values in the values.yaml-file.
-                           (default: {None})
-      reuse_values {bool} -- Whether to reuse existing not overwritten values
-                            (default: {True})
-      fail_on_err {bool} -- Whether to fail with an exception if the installation
-                            fails (default: {True})
+      Keyword Arguments:
+        values_file {str} -- Path to a custom values.yaml file (default: {None})
+        set_values {dict} -- Dictionary containing key-value-pairs that are used
+                            to overwrite values in the values.yaml-file.
+                            (default: {None})
+        reuse_values {bool} -- Whether to reuse existing not overwritten values
+                              (default: {True})
+        recreate_pods {bool} -- Whether to restart changed pods (default: {False})
+        fail_on_err {bool} -- Whether to fail with an exception if the installation
+                              fails (default: {True})
 
-    Returns:
-      CompletedProcess -- CompletedProcess-object returned by subprocess
-                          containing details about the result and output of the
-                          executed command.
-    """
+      Returns:
+        CompletedProcess -- CompletedProcess-object returned by subprocess
+                            containing details about the result and output of the
+                            executed command.
+      """
         helm_cmd = ["upgrade", name, chart, "--wait"]
         if values_file:
             helm_cmd.extend(("-f", values_file))
         if reuse_values:
             helm_cmd.append("--reuse-values")
+        if recreate_pods:
+            helm_cmd.append("--recreate-pods")
         if set_values:
             opt_list = ["%s=%s" % (k, v) for k, v in set_values.items()]
             helm_cmd.extend(("--set", ",".join(opt_list)))
@@ -156,18 +160,18 @@
     def delete(self, name, purge=True):
         """Deletes a chart from the cluster
 
-    Arguments:
-      name {str} -- Name of the chart to delete
+      Arguments:
+        name {str} -- Name of the chart to delete
 
-    Keyword Arguments:
-      purge {bool} -- Whether to also remove the release metadata as well
-                      (default: {True})
+      Keyword Arguments:
+        purge {bool} -- Whether to also remove the release metadata as well
+                        (default: {True})
 
-    Returns:
-      CompletedProcess -- CompletedProcess-object returned by subprocess
-                          containing details about the result and output of the
-                          executed command.
-    """
+      Returns:
+        CompletedProcess -- CompletedProcess-object returned by subprocess
+                            containing details about the result and output of the
+                            executed command.
+      """
 
         helm_cmd = ["delete", name]
         if purge:
diff --git a/tests/helpers/utils.py b/tests/helpers/utils.py
index 7b9bf72..9db934e 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/utils.py
+++ b/tests/helpers/utils.py
@@ -14,12 +14,71 @@
 
 import random
 import string
+import time
+
+from kubernetes import client
 
 
 class TimeOutException(Exception):
     """ Exception to be raised, if some action does not finish in time. """
 
 
+def exec_fn_with_timeout(func, limit=60):
+    """Helper function that executes a given function until it returns True or a
+     given time limit is reached.
+
+  Arguments:
+    func {function} -- Function to execute. The function can return some output
+                    (or None) and as a second return value a boolean indicating,
+                    whether the event the function was waiting for has happened.
+
+  Keyword Arguments:
+    limit {int} -- Maximum time in seconds to wait for a positive response of
+                   the function (default: {60})
+
+  Returns:
+    boolean -- False, if the timeout was reached
+    any -- Last output of fn
+  """
+
+    timeout = time.time() + limit
+    while time.time() < timeout:
+        is_finished = func()
+        if is_finished:
+            return True
+    return False
+
+
+def wait_for_pod_readiness(pod_labels, timeout=180):
+    """Helper function that can be used to wait for all pods with a given set of
+     labels to be ready.
+
+  Arguments:
+    pod_labels {str} -- Label selector string to be used to select pods.
+      (https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/labels/#label-selectors)
+
+  Keyword Arguments:
+    timeout {int} -- Time in seconds to wait for the pod status to become ready.
+      (default: {180})
+
+  Returns:
+    boolean -- Whether pods were ready in time.
+  """
+
+    def check_pod_readiness():
+        core_v1 = client.CoreV1Api()
+        pod_list = core_v1.list_pod_for_all_namespaces(
+            watch=False, label_selector=pod_labels
+        )
+        for pod in pod_list.items:
+            for condition in pod.status.conditions:
+                if condition.type != "Ready" and condition.status != "True":
+                    return False
+        return True
+
+    return exec_fn_with_timeout(check_pod_readiness, limit=timeout)
+
+
 def check_if_ancestor_image_is_inherited(image, ancestor):
     """Helper function that looks for a given ancestor image in the layers of a
     provided image. It can be used to check, whether an image uses the expected