diff --git a/hmp.c b/hmp.c
index c6419da..41fb9ca 100644
--- a/hmp.c
+++ b/hmp.c
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 #include "qapi/string-output-visitor.h"
 #include "qapi/util.h"
 #include "qapi-visit.h"
+#include "qom/object_interfaces.h"
 #include "ui/console.h"
 #include "block/qapi.h"
 #include "qemu-io.h"
@@ -1655,58 +1656,27 @@ void hmp_netdev_del(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
 void hmp_object_add(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
 {
     Error *err = NULL;
-    Error *err_end = NULL;
     QemuOpts *opts;
-    char *type = NULL;
-    char *id = NULL;
     OptsVisitor *ov;
-    QDict *pdict;
-    Visitor *v;
+    Object *obj = NULL;
 
     opts = qemu_opts_from_qdict(qemu_find_opts("object"), qdict, &err);
     if (err) {
-        goto out;
+        hmp_handle_error(mon, &err);
+        return;
     }
 
     ov = opts_visitor_new(opts);
-    pdict = qdict_clone_shallow(qdict);
-    v = opts_get_visitor(ov);
-
-    visit_start_struct(v, NULL, NULL, 0, &err);
-    if (err) {
-        goto out_clean;
-    }
-
-    qdict_del(pdict, "qom-type");
-    visit_type_str(v, "qom-type", &type, &err);
-    if (err) {
-        goto out_end;
-    }
+    obj = user_creatable_add(qdict, opts_get_visitor(ov), &err);
+    opts_visitor_cleanup(ov);
+    qemu_opts_del(opts);
 
-    qdict_del(pdict, "id");
-    visit_type_str(v, "id", &id, &err);
     if (err) {
-        goto out_end;
+        hmp_handle_error(mon, &err);
     }
-
-    object_add(type, id, pdict, v, &err);
-
-out_end:
-    visit_end_struct(v, &err_end);
-    if (!err && err_end) {
-        qmp_object_del(id, NULL);
+    if (obj) {
+        object_unref(obj);
     }
-    error_propagate(&err, err_end);
-out_clean:
-    opts_visitor_cleanup(ov);
-
-    QDECREF(pdict);
-    qemu_opts_del(opts);
-    g_free(id);
-    g_free(type);
-
-out:
-    hmp_handle_error(mon, &err);
 }
 
 void hmp_getfd(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
@@ -1934,7 +1904,7 @@ void hmp_object_del(Monitor *mon, const QDict *qdict)
     const char *id = qdict_get_str(qdict, "id");
     Error *err = NULL;
 
-    qmp_object_del(id, &err);
+    user_creatable_del(id, &err);
     hmp_handle_error(mon, &err);
 }
 
diff --git a/include/monitor/monitor.h b/include/monitor/monitor.h
index 91b95ae..aa0f373 100644
--- a/include/monitor/monitor.h
+++ b/include/monitor/monitor.h
@@ -43,9 +43,6 @@ void monitor_read_command(Monitor *mon, int show_prompt);
 int monitor_read_password(Monitor *mon, ReadLineFunc *readline_func,
                           void *opaque);
 
-void object_add(const char *type, const char *id, const QDict *qdict,
-                Visitor *v, Error **errp);
-
 AddfdInfo *monitor_fdset_add_fd(int fd, bool has_fdset_id, int64_t fdset_id,
                                 bool has_opaque, const char *opaque,
                                 Error **errp);
diff --git a/include/qom/object_interfaces.h b/include/qom/object_interfaces.h
index 283ae0d..d579746 100644
--- a/include/qom/object_interfaces.h
+++ b/include/qom/object_interfaces.h
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 #define OBJECT_INTERFACES_H
 
 #include "qom/object.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp/qdict.h"
+#include "qapi/visitor.h"
 
 #define TYPE_USER_CREATABLE "user-creatable"
 
@@ -72,4 +74,94 @@ void user_creatable_complete(Object *obj, Error **errp);
  * from implements USER_CREATABLE interface.
  */
 bool user_creatable_can_be_deleted(UserCreatable *uc, Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_add:
+ * @qdict: the object definition
+ * @v: the visitor
+ * @errp: if an error occurs, a pointer to an area to store the error
+ *
+ * Create an instance of the user creatable object whose type
+ * is defined in @qdict by the 'qom-type' field, placing it
+ * in the object composition tree with name provided by the
+ * 'id' field. The remaining fields in @qdict are used to
+ * initialize the object properties.
+ *
+ * Returns: the newly created object or NULL on error
+ */
+Object *user_creatable_add(const QDict *qdict,
+                           Visitor *v, Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_add_type:
+ * @type: the object type name
+ * @id: the unique ID for the object
+ * @qdict: the object properties
+ * @v: the visitor
+ * @errp: if an error occurs, a pointer to an area to store the error
+ *
+ * Create an instance of the user creatable object @type, placing
+ * it in the object composition tree with name @id, initializing
+ * it with properties from @qdict
+ *
+ * Returns: the newly created object or NULL on error
+ */
+Object *user_creatable_add_type(const char *type, const char *id,
+                                const QDict *qdict,
+                                Visitor *v, Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_add_opts:
+ * @opts: the object definition
+ * @errp: if an error occurs, a pointer to an area to store the error
+ *
+ * Create an instance of the user creatable object whose type
+ * is defined in @opts by the 'qom-type' option, placing it
+ * in the object composition tree with name provided by the
+ * 'id' field. The remaining options in @opts are used to
+ * initialize the object properties.
+ *
+ * Returns: the newly created object or NULL on error
+ */
+Object *user_creatable_add_opts(QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp);
+
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_add_opts_predicate:
+ * @type: the QOM type to be added
+ *
+ * A callback function to determine whether an object
+ * of type @type should be created. Instances of this
+ * callback should be passed to user_creatable_add_opts_foreach
+ */
+typedef bool (*user_creatable_add_opts_predicate)(const char *type);
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_add_opts_foreach:
+ * @opaque: a user_creatable_add_opts_predicate callback or NULL
+ * @opts: options to create
+ * @errp: if an error occurs, a pointer to an area to store the error
+ *
+ * An iterator callback to be used in conjunction with
+ * the qemu_opts_foreach() method for creating a list of
+ * objects from a set of QemuOpts
+ *
+ * The @opaque parameter can be passed a user_creatable_add_opts_predicate
+ * callback to filter which types of object are created during iteration.
+ *
+ * Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
+ */
+int user_creatable_add_opts_foreach(void *opaque,
+                                    QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp);
+
+/**
+ * user_creatable_del:
+ * @id: the unique ID for the object
+ * @errp: if an error occurs, a pointer to an area to store the error
+ *
+ * Delete an instance of the user creatable object identified
+ * by @id.
+ */
+void user_creatable_del(const char *id, Error **errp);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/qmp.c b/qmp.c
index 6ae7230..9a93d5e 100644
--- a/qmp.c
+++ b/qmp.c
@@ -633,65 +633,13 @@ void qmp_add_client(const char *protocol, const char *fdname,
     close(fd);
 }
 
-void object_add(const char *type, const char *id, const QDict *qdict,
-                Visitor *v, Error **errp)
-{
-    Object *obj;
-    ObjectClass *klass;
-    const QDictEntry *e;
-    Error *local_err = NULL;
-
-    klass = object_class_by_name(type);
-    if (!klass) {
-        error_setg(errp, "invalid object type: %s", type);
-        return;
-    }
-
-    if (!object_class_dynamic_cast(klass, TYPE_USER_CREATABLE)) {
-        error_setg(errp, "object type '%s' isn't supported by object-add",
-                   type);
-        return;
-    }
-
-    if (object_class_is_abstract(klass)) {
-        error_setg(errp, "object type '%s' is abstract", type);
-        return;
-    }
-
-    obj = object_new(type);
-    if (qdict) {
-        for (e = qdict_first(qdict); e; e = qdict_next(qdict, e)) {
-            object_property_set(obj, v, e->key, &local_err);
-            if (local_err) {
-                goto out;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    object_property_add_child(object_get_objects_root(),
-                              id, obj, &local_err);
-    if (local_err) {
-        goto out;
-    }
-
-    user_creatable_complete(obj, &local_err);
-    if (local_err) {
-        object_property_del(object_get_objects_root(),
-                            id, &error_abort);
-        goto out;
-    }
-out:
-    if (local_err) {
-        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
-    }
-    object_unref(obj);
-}
 
 void qmp_object_add(const char *type, const char *id,
                     bool has_props, QObject *props, Error **errp)
 {
     const QDict *pdict = NULL;
     QmpInputVisitor *qiv;
+    Object *obj;
 
     if (props) {
         pdict = qobject_to_qdict(props);
@@ -702,27 +650,17 @@ void qmp_object_add(const char *type, const char *id,
     }
 
     qiv = qmp_input_visitor_new(props);
-    object_add(type, id, pdict, qmp_input_get_visitor(qiv), errp);
+    obj = user_creatable_add_type(type, id, pdict,
+                                  qmp_input_get_visitor(qiv), errp);
     qmp_input_visitor_cleanup(qiv);
+    if (obj) {
+        object_unref(obj);
+    }
 }
 
 void qmp_object_del(const char *id, Error **errp)
 {
-    Object *container;
-    Object *obj;
-
-    container = object_get_objects_root();
-    obj = object_resolve_path_component(container, id);
-    if (!obj) {
-        error_setg(errp, "object id not found");
-        return;
-    }
-
-    if (!user_creatable_can_be_deleted(USER_CREATABLE(obj), errp)) {
-        error_setg(errp, "%s is in use, can not be deleted", id);
-        return;
-    }
-    object_unparent(obj);
+    user_creatable_del(id, errp);
 }
 
 MemoryDeviceInfoList *qmp_query_memory_devices(Error **errp)
diff --git a/qom/object_interfaces.c b/qom/object_interfaces.c
index f1218f0..c2f6e29 100644
--- a/qom/object_interfaces.c
+++ b/qom/object_interfaces.c
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 #include "qemu/osdep.h"
 #include "qom/object_interfaces.h"
 #include "qemu/module.h"
+#include "qapi-visit.h"
+#include "qapi/qmp-output-visitor.h"
+#include "qapi/opts-visitor.h"
 
 void user_creatable_complete(Object *obj, Error **errp)
 {
@@ -31,6 +34,177 @@ bool user_creatable_can_be_deleted(UserCreatable *uc, Error **errp)
     }
 }
 
+
+Object *user_creatable_add(const QDict *qdict,
+                           Visitor *v, Error **errp)
+{
+    char *type = NULL;
+    char *id = NULL;
+    Object *obj = NULL;
+    Error *local_err = NULL, *end_err = NULL;
+    QDict *pdict;
+
+    pdict = qdict_clone_shallow(qdict);
+
+    visit_start_struct(v, NULL, NULL, 0, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto out;
+    }
+
+    qdict_del(pdict, "qom-type");
+    visit_type_str(v, "qom-type", &type, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto out_visit;
+    }
+
+    qdict_del(pdict, "id");
+    visit_type_str(v, "id", &id, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto out_visit;
+    }
+
+    obj = user_creatable_add_type(type, id, pdict, v, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto out_visit;
+    }
+
+ out_visit:
+    visit_end_struct(v, &end_err);
+    if (end_err) {
+        error_propagate(&local_err, end_err);
+        if (obj) {
+            user_creatable_del(id, NULL);
+        }
+        goto out;
+    }
+
+out:
+    QDECREF(pdict);
+    g_free(id);
+    g_free(type);
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        object_unref(obj);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    return obj;
+}
+
+
+Object *user_creatable_add_type(const char *type, const char *id,
+                                const QDict *qdict,
+                                Visitor *v, Error **errp)
+{
+    Object *obj;
+    ObjectClass *klass;
+    const QDictEntry *e;
+    Error *local_err = NULL;
+
+    klass = object_class_by_name(type);
+    if (!klass) {
+        error_setg(errp, "invalid object type: %s", type);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    if (!object_class_dynamic_cast(klass, TYPE_USER_CREATABLE)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "object type '%s' isn't supported by object-add",
+                   type);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    if (object_class_is_abstract(klass)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "object type '%s' is abstract", type);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    obj = object_new(type);
+    if (qdict) {
+        for (e = qdict_first(qdict); e; e = qdict_next(qdict, e)) {
+            object_property_set(obj, v, e->key, &local_err);
+            if (local_err) {
+                goto out;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    object_property_add_child(object_get_objects_root(),
+                              id, obj, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        goto out;
+    }
+
+    user_creatable_complete(obj, &local_err);
+    if (local_err) {
+        object_property_del(object_get_objects_root(),
+                            id, &error_abort);
+        goto out;
+    }
+out:
+    if (local_err) {
+        error_propagate(errp, local_err);
+        object_unref(obj);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    return obj;
+}
+
+
+Object *user_creatable_add_opts(QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp)
+{
+    OptsVisitor *ov;
+    QDict *pdict;
+    Object *obj = NULL;
+
+    ov = opts_visitor_new(opts);
+    pdict = qemu_opts_to_qdict(opts, NULL);
+
+    obj = user_creatable_add(pdict, opts_get_visitor(ov), errp);
+    opts_visitor_cleanup(ov);
+    QDECREF(pdict);
+    return obj;
+}
+
+
+int user_creatable_add_opts_foreach(void *opaque, QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp)
+{
+    bool (*type_predicate)(const char *) = opaque;
+    Object *obj = NULL;
+    const char *type;
+
+    type = qemu_opt_get(opts, "qom-type");
+    if (type && type_predicate &&
+        !type_predicate(type)) {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    obj = user_creatable_add_opts(opts, errp);
+    if (!obj) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+    object_unref(obj);
+    return 0;
+}
+
+
+void user_creatable_del(const char *id, Error **errp)
+{
+    Object *container;
+    Object *obj;
+
+    container = object_get_objects_root();
+    obj = object_resolve_path_component(container, id);
+    if (!obj) {
+        error_setg(errp, "object '%s' not found", id);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if (!user_creatable_can_be_deleted(USER_CREATABLE(obj), errp)) {
+        error_setg(errp, "object '%s' is in use, can not be deleted", id);
+        return;
+    }
+    object_unparent(obj);
+}
+
 static void register_types(void)
 {
     static const TypeInfo uc_interface_info = {
diff --git a/vl.c b/vl.c
index 175ebcc..9bd881e 100644
--- a/vl.c
+++ b/vl.c
@@ -2816,64 +2816,6 @@ static bool object_create_delayed(const char *type)
 }
 
 
-static int object_create(void *opaque, QemuOpts *opts, Error **errp)
-{
-    Error *err = NULL;
-    Error *err_end = NULL;
-    char *type = NULL;
-    char *id = NULL;
-    OptsVisitor *ov;
-    QDict *pdict;
-    bool (*type_predicate)(const char *) = opaque;
-    Visitor *v;
-
-    ov = opts_visitor_new(opts);
-    pdict = qemu_opts_to_qdict(opts, NULL);
-    v = opts_get_visitor(ov);
-
-    visit_start_struct(v, NULL, NULL, 0, &err);
-    if (err) {
-        goto out;
-    }
-
-    qdict_del(pdict, "qom-type");
-    visit_type_str(v, "qom-type", &type, &err);
-    if (err) {
-        goto out;
-    }
-    if (!type_predicate(type)) {
-        visit_end_struct(v, NULL);
-        goto out;
-    }
-
-    qdict_del(pdict, "id");
-    visit_type_str(v, "id", &id, &err);
-    if (err) {
-        goto out_end;
-    }
-
-    object_add(type, id, pdict, v, &err);
-
-out_end:
-    visit_end_struct(v, &err_end);
-    if (!err && err_end) {
-        qmp_object_del(id, NULL);
-    }
-    error_propagate(&err, err_end);
-
-out:
-    opts_visitor_cleanup(ov);
-
-    QDECREF(pdict);
-    g_free(id);
-    g_free(type);
-    if (err) {
-        error_report_err(err);
-        return -1;
-    }
-    return 0;
-}
-
 static void set_memory_options(uint64_t *ram_slots, ram_addr_t *maxram_size,
                                MachineClass *mc)
 {
@@ -4299,8 +4241,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     socket_init();
 
     if (qemu_opts_foreach(qemu_find_opts("object"),
-                          object_create,
-                          object_create_initial, NULL)) {
+                          user_creatable_add_opts_foreach,
+                          object_create_initial, &err)) {
+        error_report_err(err);
         exit(1);
     }
 
@@ -4417,8 +4360,9 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv, char **envp)
     }
 
     if (qemu_opts_foreach(qemu_find_opts("object"),
-                          object_create,
-                          object_create_delayed, NULL)) {
+                          user_creatable_add_opts_foreach,
+                          object_create_delayed, &err)) {
+        error_report_err(err);
         exit(1);
     }
 
