diff --git a/packages/feathers/src/application.ts b/packages/feathers/src/application.ts
index 56b6e9fd5f..1346533ca7 100644
--- a/packages/feathers/src/application.ts
+++ b/packages/feathers/src/application.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import version from './version';
 import {
-  EventEmitter, stripSlashes, createDebug, HOOKS
+  EventEmitter, stripSlashes, createDebug, HOOKS, hooks, middleware
 } from './dependencies';
 import { eventHook, eventMixin } from './events';
 import { hookMixin } from './hooks/index';
@@ -12,10 +12,9 @@ import {
   ServiceOptions,
   ServiceInterface,
   Application,
-  HookOptions,
   FeathersService,
   HookMap,
-  RegularHookMap
+  ApplicationHookOptions
 } from './declarations';
 import { enableRegularHooks } from './hooks/regular';
 
@@ -36,6 +35,14 @@ export class Feathers<Services, Settings> extends EventEmitter implements Feathe
   constructor () {
     super();
     this.regularHooks = enableRegularHooks(this);
+    hooks(this, {
+      setup: middleware().params('server').props({
+        app: this
+      }),
+      teardown: middleware().params('server').props({
+        app: this
+      })
+    });
   }
 
   get<L extends keyof Settings & string> (name: L): Settings[L] {
@@ -117,14 +124,14 @@ export class Feathers<Services, Settings> extends EventEmitter implements Feathe
     return this;
   }
 
-  hooks (hookMap: HookOptions<this, any>) {
-    const regularMap = hookMap as RegularHookMap<this, any>;
+  hooks (hookMap: ApplicationHookOptions<this>) {
+    const untypedMap = hookMap as any;
 
-    if (regularMap.before || regularMap.after || regularMap.error) {
-      return this.regularHooks(regularMap);
-    }
-
-    if (Array.isArray(hookMap)) {
+    if (untypedMap.before || untypedMap.after || untypedMap.error) {
+      this.regularHooks(untypedMap);
+    } else if (untypedMap.setup || untypedMap.teardown) {
+      hooks(this, untypedMap);
+   } else if (Array.isArray(hookMap)) {
       this.appHooks[HOOKS].push(...hookMap as any);
     } else {
       const methodHookMap = hookMap as HookMap<Application<Services, Settings>, any>;
diff --git a/packages/feathers/src/declarations.ts b/packages/feathers/src/declarations.ts
index f1978ac474..00fafb00c3 100644
--- a/packages/feathers/src/declarations.ts
+++ b/packages/feathers/src/declarations.ts
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ export interface FeathersApplication<Services = any, Settings = any> {
    *
    * @param map The application hook settings.
    */
-  hooks (map: HookOptions<this, any>): this;
+  hooks (map: ApplicationHookOptions<this>): this;
 }
 
 // This needs to be an interface instead of a type
@@ -376,7 +376,17 @@ export type HookMap<A, S> = {
 export type HookOptions<A, S> =
   HookMap<A, S> | HookFunction<A, S>[] | RegularHookMap<A, S>;
 
-export type AppHookOptions<A> = HookOptions<A, any> & {
-  setup: any[],
-  teardown: any[]
+export interface ApplicationHookContext<A = Application> extends BaseHookContext {
+  app: A;
+  server: any;
 }
+
+export type ApplicationHookFunction<A> =
+  (context: ApplicationHookContext<A>, next: NextFunction) => Promise<void>;
+
+export type ApplicationHookMap<A> = {
+  setup?: ApplicationHookFunction<A>[],
+  teardown?: ApplicationHookFunction<A>[]
+}
+
+export type ApplicationHookOptions<A> = HookOptions<A, any> | ApplicationHookMap<A>
diff --git a/packages/feathers/test/hooks/app.test.ts b/packages/feathers/test/hooks/app.test.ts
index e6b7c6ce33..96c51473bd 100644
--- a/packages/feathers/test/hooks/app.test.ts
+++ b/packages/feathers/test/hooks/app.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import assert from 'assert';
 
-import { feathers, Application } from '../../src';
+import { feathers, Application, ApplicationHookMap } from '../../src';
 
 describe('app.hooks', () => {
   let app: Application;
@@ -25,6 +25,39 @@ describe('app.hooks', () => {
     assert.strictEqual(typeof app.hooks, 'function');
   });
 
+  it('.setup and .teardown special hooks', async () => {
+    const app = feathers();
+    const order: string[] = [];
+    const hooks: ApplicationHookMap<typeof app> = {
+      setup: [async (context, next) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(context.app, app);
+        order.push('setup 1');
+        await next();
+      }, async (_context, next) => {
+        order.push('setup 2');
+        await next();
+        order.push('setup after');
+      }],
+      teardown: [async (context, next) => {
+        assert.strictEqual(context.app, app);
+        order.push('teardown 1');
+        await next();
+      }, async (_context, next) => {
+        order.push('teardown 2');
+        await next();
+      }]
+    }
+
+    app.hooks(hooks);
+
+    await app.setup();
+    await app.teardown();
+
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(order, [
+      'setup 1', 'setup 2', 'setup after', 'teardown 1', 'teardown 2'
+    ])
+  });
+
   describe('app.hooks([ async ])', () => {
     it('basic app async hook', async () => {
       const service = app.service('todos');