diff --git a/Gopkg.lock b/Gopkg.lock
index ca40a829..4a544d93 100644
--- a/Gopkg.lock
+++ b/Gopkg.lock
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
   revision = "2315d5715e36303a941d907f038da7f7c44c773b"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:dafb48fd4fb82b3e0a15b789da6da152180e9c28b1b8846058903eff5eadc01d"
+  digest = "1:be364f871284e2e8f787235fe31d904cf9958f64b7b06fd52f97bf9af2672f91"
   name = "github.com/sensu/sensu-go"
   packages = [
     "api/core/v2",
@@ -127,7 +127,19 @@
     "util/strings",
   ]
   pruneopts = "UT"
-  revision = "2daf9d442deec0afd2c6f53c183460e879a10646"
+  revision = "32aea478ae74c3753710887d2ce2556b598d82bb"
+  version = "5.7.0"
+
+[[projects]]
+  digest = "1:8cd72fbcf8f18cf753ca9c40723eaef3356e166437f33d219d977581b7024d14"
+  name = "github.com/sensu/sensu-plugins-go-library"
+  packages = [
+    "args",
+    "sensu",
+  ]
+  pruneopts = "UT"
+  revision = "a4d9fcd58e069a1c9e51984b9f4b466accd366c8"
+  version = "0.2.0"
 
 [[projects]]
   digest = "1:645cabccbb4fa8aab25a956cbcbdf6a6845ca736b2c64e197ca7cbb9d210b939"
@@ -146,15 +158,15 @@
   version = "v1.0.3"
 
 [[projects]]
-  digest = "1:c40d65817cdd41fac9aa7af8bed56927bb2d6d47e4fea566a74880f5c2b1c41e"
+  digest = "1:5da8ce674952566deae4dbc23d07c85caafc6cfa815b0b3e03e41979cedb8750"
   name = "github.com/stretchr/testify"
   packages = [
     "assert",
     "require",
   ]
   pruneopts = "UT"
-  revision = "f35b8ab0b5a2cef36673838d662e249dd9c94686"
-  version = "v1.2.2"
+  revision = "ffdc059bfe9ce6a4e144ba849dbedead332c6053"
+  version = "v1.3.0"
 
 [[projects]]
   branch = "master"
@@ -263,7 +275,7 @@
   input-imports = [
     "github.com/bluele/slack",
     "github.com/sensu/sensu-go/types",
-    "github.com/spf13/cobra",
+    "github.com/sensu/sensu-plugins-go-library/sensu",
     "github.com/stretchr/testify/assert",
     "github.com/stretchr/testify/require",
   ]
diff --git a/Gopkg.toml b/Gopkg.toml
index f119e207..7948859f 100644
--- a/Gopkg.toml
+++ b/Gopkg.toml
@@ -31,11 +31,11 @@
 
 [[constraint]]
   name = "github.com/sensu/sensu-go"
-  revision = "2daf9d442deec0afd2c6f53c183460e879a10646"
+  version = "5.9.0"
 
 [[constraint]]
-  name = "github.com/spf13/cobra"
-  version = "0.0.3"
+  name = "github.com/sensu/sensu-plugins-go-library"
+  version = "0.2.0"
 
 [[constraint]]
   name = "github.com/stretchr/testify"
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 41123fd0..5c2210d5 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -1,168 +1,93 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"log"
-	"os"
-	"path"
+	corev2 "github.com/sensu/sensu-go/api/core/v2"
+	"github.com/sensu/sensu-plugins-go-library/sensu"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/bluele/slack"
-	"github.com/sensu/sensu-go/types"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-type HandlerConfigOption struct {
-	Value string
-	Path  string
-	Env   string
-}
-
 type HandlerConfig struct {
-	SlackWebhookUrl HandlerConfigOption
-	SlackChannel    HandlerConfigOption
-	SlackUsername   HandlerConfigOption
-	SlackIconUrl    HandlerConfigOption
-	Timeout         int
-	Keyspace        string
-}
+	sensu.PluginConfig
+	SlackWebhookUrl string
+	SlackChannel    string
+	SlackUsername   string
+	SlackIconUrl    string
+}
+
+const (
+	webHookUrl = "webhook-url"
+	channel    = "channel"
+	userName   = "username"
+	iconUrl    = "icon-url"
+)
 
 var (
-	stdin  *os.File
 	config = HandlerConfig{
-		// default values
-		SlackWebhookUrl: HandlerConfigOption{Path: "webhook-url", Env: "SENSU_SLACK_WEHBOOK_URL"},
-		SlackChannel:    HandlerConfigOption{Path: "channel", Env: "SENSU_SLACK_CHANNEL"},
-		SlackUsername:   HandlerConfigOption{Path: "username", Env: "SENSU_SLACK_USERNAME"},
-		SlackIconUrl:    HandlerConfigOption{Path: "icon-url", Env: "SENSU_SLACK_ICON_URL"},
-		Timeout:         10,
-		Keyspace:        "sensu.io/plugins/slack/config",
+		PluginConfig: sensu.PluginConfig{
+			Name:     "sensu-slack-handler",
+			Short:    "The Sensu Go Slack handler for notifying a channel",
+			Timeout:  10,
+			Keyspace: "sensu.io/plugins/slack/config",
+		},
 	}
-	options = []*HandlerConfigOption{
-		// iterable slice of user-overridable configuration options
-		&config.SlackWebhookUrl,
-		&config.SlackChannel,
-		&config.SlackUsername,
-		&config.SlackIconUrl,
+
+	slackConfigOptions = []*sensu.PluginConfigOption{
+		{
+			Path:      webHookUrl,
+			Env:       "SENSU_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL",
+			Argument:  webHookUrl,
+			Shorthand: "w",
+			Default:   "",
+			Usage:     "The webhook url to send messages to, defaults to value of SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL env variable",
+			Value:     &config.SlackWebhookUrl,
+		},
+		{
+			Path:      channel,
+			Env:       "SENSU_SLACK_CHANNEL",
+			Argument:  channel,
+			Shorthand: "c",
+			Default:   "#general",
+			Usage:     "The channel to post messages to",
+			Value:     &config.SlackChannel,
+		},
+		{
+			Path:      userName,
+			Env:       "SENSU_SLACK_USERNAME",
+			Argument:  userName,
+			Shorthand: "u",
+			Default:   "sensu",
+			Usage:     "The username that messages will be sent as",
+			Value:     &config.SlackUsername,
+		},
+		{
+			Path:      iconUrl,
+			Env:       "SENSU_SLACK_ICON_URL",
+			Argument:  iconUrl,
+			Shorthand: "i",
+			Default:   "http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/sensuapp.org/sensu.png",
+			Usage:     "A URL to an image to use as the user avatar",
+			Value:     &config.SlackIconUrl,
+		},
 	}
 )
 
 func main() {
-	rootCmd := configureRootCommand()
-	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
-		log.Fatal(err)
-	}
-}
-
-func configureRootCommand() *cobra.Command {
-	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "sensu-slack-handler",
-		Short: "The Sensu Go Slack handler for notifying a channel",
-		RunE:  run,
-	}
-
-	/*
-		Sensitive flags
-		default to using envvar value
-		do not mark as required
-		manually test for empty value
-	*/
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&config.SlackWebhookUrl.Value,
-		"webhook-url",
-		"w",
-		os.Getenv("SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL"),
-		"The webhook url to send messages to, defaults to value of SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL env variable")
-
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&config.SlackChannel.Value,
-		"channel",
-		"c",
-		"#general",
-		"The channel to post messages to")
-
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&config.SlackUsername.Value,
-		"username",
-		"u",
-		"sensu",
-		"The username that messages will be sent as")
-
-	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&config.SlackIconUrl.Value,
-		"icon-url",
-		"i",
-		"http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/sensuapp.org/sensu.png",
-		"A URL to an image to use as the user avatar")
-
-	cmd.Flags().IntVarP(&config.Timeout,
-		"timeout",
-		"t",
-		10,
-		"The amount of seconds to wait before terminating the handler")
-
-	return cmd
+	goHandler := sensu.NewGoHandler(&config.PluginConfig, slackConfigOptions, checkArgs, sendMessage)
+	goHandler.Execute()
 }
 
-func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	if len(args) != 0 {
-		_ = cmd.Help()
-		return errors.New("invalid argument(s) received")
-	}
-
-	// load & parse stdin
-	if stdin == nil {
-		stdin = os.Stdin
-	}
-	eventJSON, err := ioutil.ReadAll(stdin)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to read stdin: %s", err.Error())
-	}
-	event := &types.Event{}
-	err = json.Unmarshal(eventJSON, event)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to unmarshal stdin data: %s", eventJSON)
-	}
-
-	// configuration validation & overrides
-	if config.SlackWebhookUrl.Value == "" {
-		_ = cmd.Help()
-		return fmt.Errorf("webhook url is empty")
-	}
-
-	configurationOverrides(&config, options, event)
-
-	if err = validateEvent(event); err != nil {
-		return errors.New(err.Error())
-	}
-
-	if err = sendMessage(event); err != nil {
-		return errors.New(err.Error())
+func checkArgs(_ *corev2.Event) error {
+	if len(config.SlackWebhookUrl) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("--webhook-url or SENSU_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL environment variable is required")
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
 
-func configurationOverrides(config *HandlerConfig, options []*HandlerConfigOption, event *types.Event) {
-	if config.Keyspace == "" {
-		return
-	}
-	for _, opt := range options {
-		if opt.Path != "" {
-			// compile the Annotation keyspace to look for configuration overrides
-			k := path.Join(config.Keyspace, opt.Path)
-			switch {
-			case event.Check.Annotations[k] != "":
-				opt.Value = event.Check.Annotations[k]
-				log.Printf("Overriding default handler configuration with value of \"Check.Annotations.%s\" (\"%s\")\n", k, event.Check.Annotations[k])
-			case event.Entity.Annotations[k] != "":
-				opt.Value = event.Entity.Annotations[k]
-				log.Printf("Overriding default handler configuration with value of \"Entity.Annotations.%s\" (\"%s\")\n", k, event.Entity.Annotations[k])
-			}
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func formattedEventAction(event *types.Event) string {
+func formattedEventAction(event *corev2.Event) string {
 	switch event.Check.Status {
 	case 0:
 		return "RESOLVED"
@@ -175,11 +100,11 @@ func chomp(s string) string {
 	return strings.Trim(strings.Trim(strings.Trim(s, "\n"), "\r"), "\r\n")
 }
 
-func eventKey(event *types.Event) string {
+func eventKey(event *corev2.Event) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", event.Entity.Name, event.Check.Name)
 }
 
-func eventSummary(event *types.Event, maxLength int) string {
+func eventSummary(event *corev2.Event, maxLength int) string {
 	output := chomp(event.Check.Output)
 	if len(event.Check.Output) > maxLength {
 		output = output[0:maxLength] + "..."
@@ -187,11 +112,11 @@ func eventSummary(event *types.Event, maxLength int) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", eventKey(event), output)
 }
 
-func formattedMessage(event *types.Event) string {
+func formattedMessage(event *corev2.Event) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s - %s", formattedEventAction(event), eventSummary(event, 100))
 }
 
-func messageColor(event *types.Event) string {
+func messageColor(event *corev2.Event) string {
 	switch event.Check.Status {
 	case 0:
 		return "good"
@@ -202,7 +127,7 @@ func messageColor(event *types.Event) string {
 	}
 }
 
-func messageStatus(event *types.Event) string {
+func messageStatus(event *corev2.Event) string {
 	switch event.Check.Status {
 	case 0:
 		return "Resolved"
@@ -213,24 +138,24 @@ func messageStatus(event *types.Event) string {
 	}
 }
 
-func messageAttachment(event *types.Event) *slack.Attachment {
+func messageAttachment(event *corev2.Event) *slack.Attachment {
 	attachment := &slack.Attachment{
 		Title:    "Description",
 		Text:     event.Check.Output,
 		Fallback: formattedMessage(event),
 		Color:    messageColor(event),
 		Fields: []*slack.AttachmentField{
-			&slack.AttachmentField{
+			{
 				Title: "Status",
 				Value: messageStatus(event),
 				Short: false,
 			},
-			&slack.AttachmentField{
+			{
 				Title: "Entity",
 				Value: event.Entity.Name,
 				Short: true,
 			},
-			&slack.AttachmentField{
+			{
 				Title: "Check",
 				Value: event.Check.Name,
 				Short: true,
@@ -240,36 +165,12 @@ func messageAttachment(event *types.Event) *slack.Attachment {
 	return attachment
 }
 
-func sendMessage(event *types.Event) error {
-	hook := slack.NewWebHook(config.SlackWebhookUrl.Value)
+func sendMessage(event *corev2.Event) error {
+	hook := slack.NewWebHook(config.SlackWebhookUrl)
 	return hook.PostMessage(&slack.WebHookPostPayload{
 		Attachments: []*slack.Attachment{messageAttachment(event)},
-		Channel:     config.SlackChannel.Value,
-		IconUrl:     config.SlackIconUrl.Value,
-		Username:    config.SlackUsername.Value,
+		Channel:     config.SlackChannel,
+		IconUrl:     config.SlackIconUrl,
+		Username:    config.SlackUsername,
 	})
 }
-
-func validateEvent(event *types.Event) error {
-	if event.Timestamp <= 0 {
-		return errors.New("timestamp is missing or must be greater than zero")
-	}
-
-	if event.Entity == nil {
-		return errors.New("entity is missing from event")
-	}
-
-	if !event.HasCheck() {
-		return errors.New("check is missing from event")
-	}
-
-	if err := event.Entity.Validate(); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	if err := event.Check.Validate(); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/main_test.go b/main_test.go
index 694be29b..5c2102b3 100644
--- a/main_test.go
+++ b/main_test.go
@@ -8,14 +8,14 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/sensu/sensu-go/types"
+	corev2 "github.com/sensu/sensu-go/api/core/v2"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestFormattedEventAction(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 
 	action := formattedEventAction(event)
 	assert.Equal("RESOLVED", action)
@@ -43,14 +43,14 @@ func TestChomp(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestEventKey(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 	eventKey := eventKey(event)
 	assert.Equal("entity1/check1", eventKey)
 }
 
 func TestEventSummary(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 	event.Check.Output = "disk is full"
 
 	eventKey := eventSummary(event, 100)
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func TestEventSummary(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestFormattedMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 	event.Check.Output = "disk is full"
 	event.Check.Status = 1
 	formattedMsg := formattedMessage(event)
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func TestFormattedMessage(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMessageColor(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 
 	event.Check.Status = 0
 	color := messageColor(event)
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ func TestMessageColor(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMessageStatus(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 
 	event.Check.Status = 0
 	status := messageStatus(event)
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func TestMessageStatus(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestSendMessage(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := assert.New(t)
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 
 	var apiStub = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		body, _ := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ func TestSendMessage(t *testing.T) {
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 	}))
 
-	config.SlackWebhookUrl.Value = apiStub.URL
-	config.SlackChannel.Value = "#test"
+	config.SlackWebhookUrl = apiStub.URL
+	config.SlackChannel = "#test"
 	err := sendMessage(event)
 	assert.NoError(err)
 }
@@ -129,14 +129,14 @@ func TestMain(t *testing.T) {
 		_ = os.Remove(file.Name())
 	}()
 
-	event := types.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
+	event := corev2.FixtureEvent("entity1", "check1")
 	eventJSON, _ := json.Marshal(event)
 	_, err := file.WriteString(string(eventJSON))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.NoError(t, file.Sync())
 	_, err = file.Seek(0, 0)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	stdin = file
+	os.Stdin = file
 	requestReceived := false
 
 	var apiStub = httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {