diff --git a/src/application.coffee b/src/application.coffee
index 8439e480..3b9b83e8 100644
--- a/src/application.coffee
+++ b/src/application.coffee
@@ -292,6 +292,16 @@ joinErrorMessages = (failures) ->
 		err.message or err
 	"#{failures.length} error#{s}: #{messages.join(' - ')}"
 
+# Example callback function to enable/disable vpn
+# enableVpn = (val) ->
+# 	if val == '1' then console.log('Enabling VPN') else console.log('Disabling VPN')
+
+specialActionEnvVars = {
+	'RESIN_OVERRIDE_LOCK': null
+	# @Praneeth: maybe add your vars here with a callback as value? e.g:
+	# 'RESIN_ENABLE_VPN': enableVpn
+}
+
 UPDATE_IDLE = 0
 UPDATE_UPDATING = 1
 UPDATE_REQUIRED = 2
@@ -351,6 +361,8 @@ application.update = update = (force) ->
 					if app.environment_variable?
 						_.extend(env, app.environment_variable)
 					remoteAppEnvs[app.id] = env
+					env = _.pick env, (val, key) ->
+						!_.includes(key, _.keys(specialActionEnvVars))
 					return {
 						appId: '' + app.id
 						commit: app.commit
@@ -361,6 +373,13 @@ application.update = update = (force) ->
 				remoteApps = _.indexBy(remoteApps, 'appId')
 				remoteAppIds = _.keys(remoteApps)
 
+				# @Praneeth: looks like this might be a good place to run the special functions,
+				# like turning vpn on/off if remoteAppEnvs has the corresponding variable.
+				_.map specialActionEnvVars, (specialActionCallback, key) ->
+					_.map remoteAppIds, (appId) ->
+						if remoteAppEnvs[appId][key]? && specialActionCallback?
+							specialActionCallback(remoteAppEnvs[appId][key])
+
 				apps = _.indexBy(apps, 'appId')
 				localApps = _.mapValues apps, (app) ->
 					_.pick(app, [ 'appId', 'commit', 'imageId', 'env' ])