diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fb7f1509d4..ec03524e99 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ dispatcher:
 	@if [ "$(VENV_BASE)" ]; then \
 		. $(VENV_BASE)/awx/bin/activate; \
 	fi; \
-	$(PYTHON) manage.py run_dispatcher
+	$(PYTHON) manage.py dispatcherd
 
 ## Run to start the zeromq callback receiver
 receiver:
diff --git a/awx/main/apps.py b/awx/main/apps.py
index 16c76e6455..acb6c8ea93 100644
--- a/awx/main/apps.py
+++ b/awx/main/apps.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class MainConfig(AppConfig):
     def configure_dispatcherd(self):
         """This implements the default configuration for dispatcherd
 
-        If running the tasking service like awx-manage run_dispatcher,
+        If running the tasking service like awx-manage dispatcherd,
         some additional config will be applied on top of this.
         This configuration provides the minimum such that code can submit
         tasks to pg_notify to run those tasks.
diff --git a/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherctl.py b/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherctl.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b7283c9b2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherctl.py
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+import argparse
+import inspect
+import logging
+import os
+import sys
+
+import yaml
+
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django.db import connection
+
+from dispatcherd.cli import (
+    CONTROL_ARG_SCHEMAS,
+    DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE,
+    _base_cli_parent,
+    _control_common_parent,
+    _register_control_arguments,
+    _build_command_data_from_args,
+)
+from dispatcherd.config import setup as dispatcher_setup
+from dispatcherd.factories import get_control_from_settings
+from dispatcherd.service import control_tasks
+
+from awx.main.dispatch.config import get_dispatcherd_config
+from awx.main.management.commands.dispatcherd import ensure_no_dispatcherd_env_config
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    help = 'Dispatcher control operations'
+
+    def add_arguments(self, parser):
+        parser.description = 'Run dispatcherd control commands using awx-manage.'
+        base_parent = _base_cli_parent()
+        control_parent = _control_common_parent()
+        parser._add_container_actions(base_parent)
+        parser._add_container_actions(control_parent)
+
+        subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest='command', metavar='command')
+        subparsers.required = True
+        shared_parents = [base_parent, control_parent]
+        for command in control_tasks.__all__:
+            func = getattr(control_tasks, command, None)
+            doc = inspect.getdoc(func) or ''
+            summary = doc.splitlines()[0] if doc else None
+            command_parser = subparsers.add_parser(
+                command,
+                help=summary,
+                description=doc,
+                parents=shared_parents,
+            )
+            _register_control_arguments(command_parser, CONTROL_ARG_SCHEMAS.get(command))
+
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        command = options.pop('command', None)
+        if not command:
+            raise CommandError('No dispatcher control command specified')
+
+        for django_opt in ('verbosity', 'traceback', 'no_color', 'force_color', 'skip_checks'):
+            options.pop(django_opt, None)
+
+        log_level = options.pop('log_level', 'DEBUG')
+        config_path = os.path.abspath(options.pop('config', DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE))
+        expected_replies = options.pop('expected_replies', 1)
+
+        logging.basicConfig(level=getattr(logging, log_level), stream=sys.stdout)
+        logger.debug(f"Configured standard out logging at {log_level} level")
+
+        default_config = os.path.abspath(DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE)
+        ensure_no_dispatcherd_env_config()
+        if config_path != default_config:
+            raise CommandError('The config path CLI option is not allowed for the awx-manage command')
+        if connection.vendor == 'sqlite':
+            raise CommandError('dispatcherctl is not supported with sqlite3; use a PostgreSQL database')
+        else:
+            logger.info('Using config generated from awx.main.dispatch.config.get_dispatcherd_config')
+            dispatcher_setup(get_dispatcherd_config())
+
+        schema_namespace = argparse.Namespace(**options)
+        data = _build_command_data_from_args(schema_namespace, command)
+
+        ctl = get_control_from_settings()
+        returned = ctl.control_with_reply(command, data=data, expected_replies=expected_replies)
+        self.stdout.write(yaml.dump(returned, default_flow_style=False))
+        if len(returned) < expected_replies:
+            logger.error(f'Obtained only {len(returned)} of {expected_replies}, exiting with non-zero code')
+            raise CommandError('dispatcherctl returned fewer replies than expected')
diff --git a/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherd.py b/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherd.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..69a7625571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/main/management/commands/dispatcherd.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
+# All Rights Reserved
+import copy
+import hashlib
+import json
+import logging
+import logging.config
+import os
+
+from django.conf import settings
+from django.core.cache import cache as django_cache
+from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
+from django.db import connection
+
+from dispatcherd.config import setup as dispatcher_setup
+
+from awx.main.dispatch.config import get_dispatcherd_config
+
+logger = logging.getLogger('awx.main.dispatch')
+
+
+from dispatcherd import run_service
+
+
+def _json_default(value):
+    if isinstance(value, set):
+        return sorted(value)
+    if isinstance(value, tuple):
+        return list(value)
+    return str(value)
+
+
+def _hash_config(config):
+    serialized = json.dumps(config, sort_keys=True, separators=(',', ':'), default=_json_default)
+    return hashlib.sha256(serialized.encode('utf-8')).hexdigest()
+
+
+def ensure_no_dispatcherd_env_config():
+    if os.getenv('DISPATCHERD_CONFIG_FILE'):
+        raise CommandError('DISPATCHERD_CONFIG_FILE is set but awx-manage dispatcherd uses dynamic config from code')
+
+
+class Command(BaseCommand):
+    help = (
+        'Run the background task service, this is the supported entrypoint since the introduction of dispatcherd as a library. '
+        'This replaces the prior awx-manage run_dispatcher service, and control actions are at awx-manage dispatcherctl.'
+    )
+
+    def add_arguments(self, parser):
+        return
+
+    def handle(self, *arg, **options):
+        ensure_no_dispatcherd_env_config()
+
+        self.configure_dispatcher_logging()
+        config = get_dispatcherd_config(for_service=True)
+        config_hash = _hash_config(config)
+        logger.info(
+            'Using dispatcherd config generated from awx.main.dispatch.config.get_dispatcherd_config (sha256=%s)',
+            config_hash,
+        )
+
+        # Close the connection, because the pg_notify broker will create new async connection
+        connection.close()
+        django_cache.close()
+        dispatcher_setup(config)
+
+        run_service()
+
+    def configure_dispatcher_logging(self):
+        # Apply special log rule for the parent process
+        special_logging = copy.deepcopy(settings.LOGGING)
+        changed_handlers = []
+        for handler_name, handler_config in special_logging.get('handlers', {}).items():
+            filters = handler_config.get('filters', [])
+            if 'dynamic_level_filter' in filters:
+                handler_config['filters'] = [flt for flt in filters if flt != 'dynamic_level_filter']
+                changed_handlers.append(handler_name)
+        logger.info(f'Dispatcherd main process replaced log level filter for handlers: {changed_handlers}')
+
+        # Apply the custom logging level here, before the asyncio code starts
+        special_logging.setdefault('loggers', {}).setdefault('dispatcherd', {})
+        special_logging['loggers']['dispatcherd']['level'] = settings.LOG_AGGREGATOR_LEVEL
+
+        logging.config.dictConfig(special_logging)
diff --git a/awx/main/management/commands/run_dispatcher.py b/awx/main/management/commands/run_dispatcher.py
index a5e85abe33..1acd30c7bb 100644
--- a/awx/main/management/commands/run_dispatcher.py
+++ b/awx/main/management/commands/run_dispatcher.py
@@ -1,26 +1,20 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
 # All Rights Reserved.
 import logging
-import logging.config
-import yaml
-import copy
 
-from django.conf import settings
-from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
-from django.core.cache import cache as django_cache
-from django.db import connection
+import yaml
+
+from django.core.management.base import CommandError
 
 from dispatcherd.factories import get_control_from_settings
-from dispatcherd import run_service
-from dispatcherd.config import setup as dispatcher_setup
 
-from awx.main.dispatch.config import get_dispatcherd_config
+from awx.main.management.commands.dispatcherd import Command as DispatcherdCommand
 
 logger = logging.getLogger('awx.main.dispatch')
 
 
-class Command(BaseCommand):
-    help = 'Launch the task dispatcher'
+class Command(DispatcherdCommand):
+    help = 'Launch the task dispatcher (deprecated; use awx-manage dispatcherd)'
 
     def add_arguments(self, parser):
         parser.add_argument('--status', dest='status', action='store_true', help='print the internal state of any running dispatchers')
@@ -34,8 +28,10 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
                 'Only running tasks can be canceled, queued tasks must be started before they can be canceled.'
             ),
         )
+        super().add_arguments(parser)
 
-    def handle(self, *arg, **options):
+    def handle(self, *args, **options):
+        logger.warning('awx-manage run_dispatcher is deprecated; use awx-manage dispatcherd')
         if options.get('status'):
             ctl = get_control_from_settings()
             running_data = ctl.control_with_reply('status')
@@ -65,27 +61,4 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
                 results.append(result)
             print(yaml.dump(results, default_flow_style=False))
             return
-
-        self.configure_dispatcher_logging()
-        # Close the connection, because the pg_notify broker will create new async connection
-        connection.close()
-        django_cache.close()
-        dispatcher_setup(get_dispatcherd_config(for_service=True))
-        run_service()
-
-    def configure_dispatcher_logging(self):
-        # Apply special log rule for the parent process
-        special_logging = copy.deepcopy(settings.LOGGING)
-        changed_handlers = []
-        for handler_name, handler_config in special_logging.get('handlers', {}).items():
-            filters = handler_config.get('filters', [])
-            if 'dynamic_level_filter' in filters:
-                handler_config['filters'] = [flt for flt in filters if flt != 'dynamic_level_filter']
-                changed_handlers.append(handler_name)
-        logger.info(f'Dispatcherd main process replaced log level filter for handlers: {changed_handlers}')
-
-        # Apply the custom logging level here, before the asyncio code starts
-        special_logging.setdefault('loggers', {}).setdefault('dispatcherd', {})
-        special_logging['loggers']['dispatcherd']['level'] = settings.LOG_AGGREGATOR_LEVEL
-
-        logging.config.dictConfig(special_logging)
+        return super().handle(*args, **options)
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/functional/management/test_dispatcherd.py b/awx/main/tests/functional/management/test_dispatcherd.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..92f1d208d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/main/tests/functional/management/test_dispatcherd.py
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import pytest
+
+from awx.main.dispatch.config import get_dispatcherd_config
+from awx.main.management.commands.dispatcherd import _hash_config
+
+
+@pytest.mark.django_db
+def test_dispatcherd_config_hash_is_stable(settings, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv('AWX_COMPONENT', 'dispatcher')
+    settings.CLUSTER_HOST_ID = 'test-node'
+    settings.JOB_EVENT_WORKERS = 1
+    settings.DISPATCHER_SCHEDULE = {}
+
+    config_one = get_dispatcherd_config(for_service=True)
+    config_two = get_dispatcherd_config(for_service=True)
+
+    assert _hash_config(config_one) == _hash_config(config_two)
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/functional/tasks/test_tasks_system.py b/awx/main/tests/functional/tasks/test_tasks_system.py
index 73f751ee51..96ce7aa413 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/functional/tasks/test_tasks_system.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/functional/tasks/test_tasks_system.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ from unittest import mock
 import pytest
 
 from awx.main.tasks.system import CleanupImagesAndFiles, execution_node_health_check, inspect_established_receptor_connections, clear_setting_cache
-from awx.main.management.commands.run_dispatcher import Command
+from awx.main.management.commands.dispatcherd import Command
 from awx.main.models import Instance, Job, ReceptorAddress, InstanceLink
 
 
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/commands/test_dispatcherctl.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/commands/test_dispatcherctl.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..50804577c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/commands/test_dispatcherctl.py
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+import io
+
+import pytest
+
+from django.core.management.base import CommandError
+
+from awx.main.management.commands import dispatcherctl
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def clear_dispatcher_env(monkeypatch, mocker):
+    monkeypatch.delenv('DISPATCHERD_CONFIG_FILE', raising=False)
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl.logging, 'basicConfig')
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'connection', mocker.Mock(vendor='postgresql'))
+
+
+def test_dispatcherctl_runs_control_with_generated_config(mocker):
+    command = dispatcherctl.Command()
+    command.stdout = io.StringIO()
+
+    data = {'foo': 'bar'}
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, '_build_command_data_from_args', return_value=data)
+    dispatcher_setup = mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'dispatcher_setup')
+    config_data = {'setting': 'value'}
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'get_dispatcherd_config', return_value=config_data)
+
+    control = mocker.Mock()
+    control.control_with_reply.return_value = [{'status': 'ok'}]
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'get_control_from_settings', return_value=control)
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl.yaml, 'dump', return_value='payload\n')
+
+    command.handle(
+        command='running',
+        config=dispatcherctl.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE,
+        expected_replies=1,
+        log_level='INFO',
+    )
+
+    dispatcher_setup.assert_called_once_with(config_data)
+    control.control_with_reply.assert_called_once_with('running', data=data, expected_replies=1)
+    assert command.stdout.getvalue() == 'payload\n'
+
+
+def test_dispatcherctl_rejects_custom_config_path():
+    command = dispatcherctl.Command()
+    command.stdout = io.StringIO()
+
+    with pytest.raises(CommandError):
+        command.handle(
+            command='running',
+            config='/tmp/dispatcher.yml',
+            expected_replies=1,
+            log_level='INFO',
+        )
+
+
+def test_dispatcherctl_rejects_sqlite_db(mocker):
+    command = dispatcherctl.Command()
+    command.stdout = io.StringIO()
+
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'connection', mocker.Mock(vendor='sqlite'))
+
+    with pytest.raises(CommandError, match='sqlite3'):
+        command.handle(
+            command='running',
+            config=dispatcherctl.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE,
+            expected_replies=1,
+            log_level='INFO',
+        )
+
+
+def test_dispatcherctl_raises_when_replies_missing(mocker):
+    command = dispatcherctl.Command()
+    command.stdout = io.StringIO()
+
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, '_build_command_data_from_args', return_value={})
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'dispatcher_setup')
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'get_dispatcherd_config', return_value={})
+    control = mocker.Mock()
+    control.control_with_reply.return_value = [{'status': 'ok'}]
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl, 'get_control_from_settings', return_value=control)
+    mocker.patch.object(dispatcherctl.yaml, 'dump', return_value='- status: ok\n')
+
+    with pytest.raises(CommandError):
+        command.handle(
+            command='running',
+            config=dispatcherctl.DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE,
+            expected_replies=2,
+            log_level='INFO',
+        )
+
+    control.control_with_reply.assert_called_once_with('running', data={}, expected_replies=2)
diff --git a/docs/tasks.md b/docs/tasks.md
index 6c3b7e3c71..5796bed730 100644
--- a/docs/tasks.md
+++ b/docs/tasks.md
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ associated Python code:
 
 Dispatcher Implementation
 -------------------------
-Every node in an AWX install runs `awx-manage run_dispatcher`, a Python process
+Every node in an AWX install runs `awx-manage dispatcherd`, a Python process
 that uses the `kombu` library to consume messages from the appropriate queues
 for that node (the default shared queue, a queue specific to the node's
 hostname, and the broadcast queue).  The Dispatcher process manages a pool of
@@ -121,11 +121,11 @@ the associated Python code.
 
 Debugging
 ---------
-`awx-manage run_dispatcher` includes a few flags that allow interaction and
+`awx-manage dispatcherctl` includes a few flags that allow interaction and
 debugging:
 
 ```
-[root@awx /]# awx-manage run_dispatcher --status
+[root@awx /]# awx-manage dispatcherctl status
 2018-09-14 18:39:22,223 WARNING  awx.main.dispatch checking dispatcher status for awx
 awx[pid:9610] workers total=4 min=4 max=60
 .  worker[pid:9758] sent=12 finished=12 qsize=0 rss=106.730MB [IDLE]
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ This outputs running and queued task UUIDs handled by a specific dispatcher
 (which corresponds to `main_unifiedjob.celery_task_id` in the database):
 
 ```
-[root@awx /]# awx-manage run_dispatcher --running
+[root@awx /]# awx-manage dispatcherctl running
 2018-09-14 18:39:22,223 WARNING  awx.main.dispatch checking dispatcher running for awx
 ['eb3b0a83-86da-413d-902a-16d7530a6b25', 'f447266a-23da-42b4-8025-fe379d2db96f']
 ```
diff --git a/tools/ansible/roles/dockerfile/templates/supervisor_task.conf.j2 b/tools/ansible/roles/dockerfile/templates/supervisor_task.conf.j2
index b102a50977..2f75a26124 100644
--- a/tools/ansible/roles/dockerfile/templates/supervisor_task.conf.j2
+++ b/tools/ansible/roles/dockerfile/templates/supervisor_task.conf.j2
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ pidfile = /var/run/supervisor/supervisor.task.pid
 command = make dispatcher
 directory = /awx_devel
 {% else %}
-command = awx-manage run_dispatcher
+command = awx-manage dispatcherd
 directory = /var/lib/awx
 {% endif %}
 autorestart = true
diff --git a/tools/docker-compose/supervisor.conf b/tools/docker-compose/supervisor.conf
index 9541b54531..b670af40ae 100644
--- a/tools/docker-compose/supervisor.conf
+++ b/tools/docker-compose/supervisor.conf
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ minfds = 4096
 nodaemon=true
 
 [program:awx-dispatcher]
-command = awx-manage run_dispatcher
+command = awx-manage dispatcherd
 autorestart = true
 stopasgroup=true
 killasgroup=true
diff --git a/tools/grafana/dashboards/services_dashboard.json b/tools/grafana/dashboards/services_dashboard.json
index bcf9140724..51694cee12 100644
--- a/tools/grafana/dashboards/services_dashboard.json
+++ b/tools/grafana/dashboards/services_dashboard.json
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@
             "-b",
             "provision_instance",
             "run_callback_receiver",
-            "run_dispatcher",
+            "dispatcherd",
             "run_rsyslog_configurer",
             "run_ws_heartbeat",
             "run_wsrelay",
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
             "-b",
             "provision_instance",
             "run_callback_receiver",
-            "run_dispatcher",
+            "dispatcherd",
             "run_rsyslog_configurer",
             "run_ws_heartbeat",
             "run_wsrelay",
diff --git a/tools/sosreport/controller.py b/tools/sosreport/controller.py
index 318e2cc7ef..f369b71fea 100644
--- a/tools/sosreport/controller.py
+++ b/tools/sosreport/controller.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ except ImportError:
 SOSREPORT_CONTROLLER_COMMANDS = [
     "awx-manage --version",  # controller version
     "awx-manage list_instances",  # controller cluster configuration
-    "awx-manage run_dispatcher --status",  # controller dispatch worker status
+    "awx-manage dispatcherctl status",  # controller dispatch comprehensive status
     "awx-manage run_callback_receiver --status",  # controller callback worker status
     "awx-manage check_license --data",  # controller license status
     "awx-manage run_wsrelay --status",  # controller websocket relay status