diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 114956a07d99b..296c6fa548de2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ node_modules
 trash
 bundles
 target
+/build
 .jruby
 .idea
 *.iml
diff --git a/Gruntfile.js b/Gruntfile.js
index 9e837033d02c6..3f3dbeca4ab9b 100644
--- a/Gruntfile.js
+++ b/Gruntfile.js
@@ -26,16 +26,7 @@ module.exports = function (grunt) {
       }
     }()),
 
-    nodeVersion: '0.10.35',
-    platforms: ['darwin-x64', 'linux-x64', 'linux-x86', 'windows'],
-    services: [
-      ['launchd', '10.9'],
-      ['upstart', '1.5'],
-      ['systemd', 'default'],
-      ['sysv', 'lsb-3.1']
-    ],
-
-    devPlugins: 'devMode',
+    nodeVersion: '2.5.0',
 
     meta: {
       banner: '/*! <%= package.name %> - v<%= package.version %> - ' +
@@ -44,16 +35,40 @@ module.exports = function (grunt) {
         ' * Copyright (c) <%= grunt.template.today("yyyy") %> <%= package.author.company %>;' +
         ' Licensed <%= package.license %> */\n'
     },
+
     lintThese: [
       'Gruntfile.js',
       '<%= root %>/tasks/**/*.js',
       '<%= src %>/**/*.js',
       '!<%= src %>/fixtures/**/*.js'
-    ]
+    ],
+
+    deepModules: {
+      'caniuse-db': '1.0.30000265',
+      'chalk': '1.1.0',
+      'glob': '4.5.3',
+      'har-validator': '1.8.0',
+      'json5': '0.4.0',
+      'loader-utils': '0.2.11',
+      'micromatch': '2.2.0',
+      'postcss-normalize-url': '2.1.1',
+      'postcss-reduce-idents': '1.0.2',
+      'postcss-unique-selectors': '1.0.0',
+      'postcss-minify-selectors': '1.4.6',
+      'postcss-single-charset': '0.3.0',
+      'regenerator': '0.8.36'
+    }
   };
 
   grunt.config.merge(config);
 
+  config.userScriptsDir = __dirname + '/build/userScripts';
+  // ensure that these run first, other configs need them
+  config.services = require('./tasks/config/services')(grunt);
+  config.platforms = require('./tasks/config/platforms')(grunt);
+
+  grunt.config.merge(config);
+
   // load plugins
   require('load-grunt-config')(grunt, {
     configPath: __dirname + '/tasks/config',
@@ -66,4 +81,5 @@ module.exports = function (grunt) {
 
   // load task definitions
   grunt.task.loadTasks('tasks');
+  grunt.task.loadTasks('tasks/build');
 };
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7e2e8217d1a5f..3fb6a8c7da449 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -56,12 +56,12 @@
     "angular-nvd3": "panda01/angular-nvd3#kibana",
     "angular-route": "1.2.28",
     "ansicolors": "^0.3.2",
-    "auto-preload-rjscommon-deps-loader": "^1.0.4",
     "autoprefixer": "^5.2.0",
     "autoprefixer-loader": "^2.0.0",
     "babel": "^5.8.21",
     "babel-core": "^5.8.21",
     "babel-loader": "^5.3.2",
+    "babel-runtime": "^5.8.20",
     "bluebird": "^2.9.27",
     "boom": "^2.8.0",
     "bootstrap": "^3.3.5",
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@
     "less": "^2.5.1",
     "less-loader": "^2.2.0",
     "lodash": "^3.10.0",
-    "marked": "^0.3.3",
+    "marked": "0.3.3",
     "memory-fs": "^0.2.0",
     "minimatch": "^2.0.8",
     "mkdirp": "^0.5.1",
@@ -106,9 +106,10 @@
     "numeral": "^1.5.3",
     "nvd3": "panda01/nvd3#kibana",
     "raw-loader": "^0.5.1",
-    "request": "^2.40.0",
+    "request": "^2.60.0",
     "requirefrom": "^0.2.0",
     "rimraf": "^2.4.1",
+    "rjs-repack-loader": "^1.0.6",
     "script-loader": "^0.6.1",
     "semver": "^4.3.6",
     "style-loader": "^0.12.3",
@@ -126,9 +127,9 @@
     "expect.js": "^0.3.1",
     "faker": "^1.1.0",
     "grunt": "^0.4.5",
+    "grunt-babel": "^5.0.1",
     "grunt-cli": "0.1.13",
     "grunt-contrib-clean": "^0.6.0",
-    "grunt-contrib-compress": "^0.13.0",
     "grunt-contrib-copy": "^0.8.0",
     "grunt-esvm": "^1.1.3",
     "grunt-karma": "^0.12.0",
@@ -154,7 +155,8 @@
     "portscanner": "^1.0.0",
     "simple-git": "^1.3.0",
     "sinon": "^1.15.4",
-    "source-map": "^0.4.4"
+    "source-map": "^0.4.4",
+    "wreck": "^6.1.0"
   },
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=2"
diff --git a/src/cli/index.build.js b/src/cli/index.build.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5a6cc6a7b3a92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/index.build.js
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+var _ = require('lodash');
+var fromRoot = require('requirefrom')('src/utils')('fromRoot');
+
+var babelOpts = _.defaults({
+  ignore: [
+    fromRoot('src'),
+    /[\\\/](node_modules|bower_components)[\\\/]/
+  ]
+}, require('../optimize/babelOptions'));
+
+require('babel/register')(babelOpts);
+require('./cli');
diff --git a/src/cli/plugin/__tests__/npmInstall.js b/src/cli/plugin/__tests__/npmInstall.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 7a8ee7596b31b..0000000000000
--- a/src/cli/plugin/__tests__/npmInstall.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,69 +0,0 @@
-var expect = require('expect.js');
-var nock = require('nock');
-var glob = require('glob');
-var rimraf = require('rimraf');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var { join } = require('path');
-var sinon = require('sinon');
-
-var pluginLogger = require('../pluginLogger');
-var npmInstall = require('../npmInstall');
-
-describe('kibana cli', function () {
-
-  describe('plugin installer', function () {
-
-    describe('npmInstall', function () {
-
-      var testWorkingPath = join(__dirname, '.test.data');
-      var logger;
-      var statSyncStub;
-
-      beforeEach(function () {
-        statSyncStub = undefined;
-        logger = pluginLogger(false);
-        rimraf.sync(testWorkingPath);
-        sinon.stub(logger, 'log');
-        sinon.stub(logger, 'error');
-      });
-
-      afterEach(function () {
-        logger.log.restore();
-        logger.error.restore();
-        rimraf.sync(testWorkingPath);
-        if (statSyncStub) statSyncStub.restore();
-      });
-
-      it('should throw an error if there is no package.json file in the archive', function () {
-        fs.mkdirSync(testWorkingPath);
-
-        var errorStub = sinon.stub();
-        return npmInstall(testWorkingPath, logger)
-        .catch(errorStub)
-        .then(function (data) {
-          expect(errorStub.called).to.be(true);
-          expect(errorStub.lastCall.args[0].message).to.match(/package.json/);
-        });
-      });
-
-      it('should rethrow any errors other than "ENOENT" from fs.statSync', function () {
-        fs.mkdirSync(testWorkingPath);
-
-        statSyncStub = sinon.stub(fs, 'statSync', function () {
-          throw new Error('This is unexpected.');
-        });
-
-        var errorStub = sinon.stub();
-        return npmInstall(testWorkingPath, logger)
-        .catch(errorStub)
-        .then(function (data) {
-          expect(errorStub.called).to.be(true);
-          expect(errorStub.lastCall.args[0].message).to.match(/This is unexpected./);
-        });
-      });
-
-    });
-
-  });
-
-});
diff --git a/src/cli/plugin/npmInstall.js b/src/cli/plugin/npmInstall.js
deleted file mode 100644
index a8e1ee34c5de4..0000000000000
--- a/src/cli/plugin/npmInstall.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var path = require('path');
-var exec = require('child_process').exec;
-
-module.exports = function (dest, logger) {
-  return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
-    //throw an exception if package.json does not exist
-    try {
-      var packageFile = path.join(dest, 'package.json');
-      fs.statSync(packageFile);
-    } catch (e) {
-      if (e.code !== 'ENOENT') throw e;
-
-      return reject(new Error('Plugin does not contain package.json file'));
-    }
-
-    var cmd = '"' + path.resolve(path.dirname(process.execPath), 'npm').replace(/\\/g, '/') + '" install --production';
-
-    var child = exec(cmd, { cwd: dest });
-    child.on('error', function (err) {
-      reject(err);
-    });
-    child.on('exit', function (code, signal) {
-      if (code === 0) {
-        resolve();
-      } else {
-        reject(new Error('npm install failed with code ' + code));
-      }
-    });
-
-    logger.error(child.stderr);
-    logger.log(child.stdout);
-  });
-};
diff --git a/src/cli/plugin/pluginInstaller.js b/src/cli/plugin/pluginInstaller.js
index aedfc50dfb750..fae2d150d45ee 100644
--- a/src/cli/plugin/pluginInstaller.js
+++ b/src/cli/plugin/pluginInstaller.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 var pluginDownloader = require('./pluginDownloader');
 var pluginCleaner = require('./pluginCleaner');
-var npmInstall = require('./npmInstall');
 var fs = require('fs');
 
 module.exports = {
@@ -26,9 +25,6 @@ function install(settings, logger) {
   .then(function () {
     return downloader.download();
   })
-  .then(function () {
-    return npmInstall(settings.workingPath, logger);
-  })
   .then(function (curious) {
     fs.renameSync(settings.workingPath, settings.pluginPath);
     logger.log('Plugin installation complete');
diff --git a/src/cli/serve/serve.js b/src/cli/serve/serve.js
index 0af3b370a8a6b..6515aab6a07fe 100644
--- a/src/cli/serve/serve.js
+++ b/src/cli/serve/serve.js
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ let cwd = process.cwd();
 let src = require('requirefrom')('src');
 let fromRoot = src('utils/fromRoot');
 
+let canCluster;
+try {
+  require.resolve('../cluster/ClusterManager');
+  canCluster = true;
+} catch (e) {
+  canCluster = false;
+}
+
 let pathCollector = function () {
   let paths = [];
   return function (path) {
@@ -18,8 +26,9 @@ let pluginDirCollector = pathCollector();
 let pluginPathCollector = pathCollector();
 
 module.exports = function (program) {
-  program
-  .command('serve')
+  let command = program.command('serve');
+
+  command
   .description('Run the kibana server')
   .collectUnknownOptions()
   .option('-e, --elasticsearch <uri>', 'Elasticsearch instance')
@@ -47,11 +56,17 @@ module.exports = function (program) {
     pluginPathCollector,
     []
   )
-  .option('--plugins <path>', 'an alias for --plugin-dir', pluginDirCollector)
-  .option('--dev', 'Run the server with development mode defaults')
-  .option('--no-watch', 'Prevents automatic restarts of the server in --dev mode')
+  .option('--plugins <path>', 'an alias for --plugin-dir', pluginDirCollector);
+
+  if (canCluster) {
+    command
+    .option('--dev', 'Run the server with development mode defaults')
+    .option('--no-watch', 'Prevents automatic restarts of the server in --dev mode');
+  }
+
+  command
   .action(async function (opts) {
-    if (opts.dev && !isWorker) {
+    if (canCluster && opts.dev && !isWorker) {
       // stop processing the action and handoff to cluster manager
       let ClusterManager = require('../cluster/ClusterManager');
       new ClusterManager(opts);
diff --git a/src/optimize/BaseOptimizer.js b/src/optimize/BaseOptimizer.js
index 170a892f59b3f..f30f7b863cad7 100644
--- a/src/optimize/BaseOptimizer.js
+++ b/src/optimize/BaseOptimizer.js
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ class BaseOptimizer {
           { test: /\.(html|tmpl)$/, loader: 'raw' },
           { test: /\.png$/, loader: 'url?limit=10000&name=[path][name].[ext]' },
           { test: /\.(woff|woff2|ttf|eot|svg|ico)(\?|$)/, loader: 'file?name=[path][name].[ext]' },
-          { test: /[\/\\]src[\/\\](plugins|ui)[\/\\].+\.js$/, loader: `auto-preload-rjscommon-deps${mapQ}` },
+          { test: /[\/\\]src[\/\\](plugins|ui)[\/\\].+\.js$/, loader: `rjs-repack${mapQ}` },
           {
             test: /\.js$/,
             exclude: /[\/\\](node_modules|bower_components)[\/\\]/,
diff --git a/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/editor/styles/.editor.less b/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/editor/styles/_editor.less
similarity index 100%
rename from src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/editor/styles/.editor.less
rename to src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/editor/styles/_editor.less
diff --git a/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/styles/main.less b/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/styles/main.less
index 4dc46a0b3c75a..19bd8b643bcaa 100644
--- a/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/styles/main.less
+++ b/src/plugins/kibana/public/visualize/styles/main.less
@@ -56,4 +56,4 @@
 
 }
 
-@import "../editor/styles/.editor.less";
+@import "../editor/styles/_editor.less";
diff --git a/tasks/build.js b/tasks/build.js
deleted file mode 100644
index d0e796011ac48..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/build.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('build', [
-    'get_build_props',
-    'clean:target',
-    'clean:build',
-    'less:build',
-    'copy:kibana_src',
-    'clean:noDistPlugins',
-
-    'webpack:build',
-    'clean:unneeded_source_in_build',
-
-    'copy:dist',
-    'dist_readme',
-    'dist_package_json',
-    'chmod_kibana',
-    'make_plugin_dir',
-    'copy:plugin_readme',
-    'clean:test_from_node_modules',
-    'download_node_binaries',
-    'copy:versioned_dist',
-    'create_services',
-    'create_packages',
-    'create_shasums'
-  ]);
-};
diff --git a/tasks/build/archives.js b/tasks/build/archives.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..2639ab86e28fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/archives.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+module.exports = function createPackages(grunt) {
+  let { config } = grunt;
+  let { resolve } = require('path');
+  let { execFile } = require('child_process');
+  let { all, fromNode } = require('bluebird');
+
+  let buildPath = resolve(config.get('root'), 'build');
+  let exec = async (cmd, args) => {
+    grunt.log.writeln(` > ${cmd} ${args.join(' ')}`);
+    await fromNode(cb => execFile(cmd, args, { cwd: buildPath }, cb));
+  };
+
+
+  let archives = async (platform) => {
+    // kibana.tar.gz
+    await exec('tar', ['-zchf', platform.tarPath, platform.buildName]);
+
+    // kibana.zip
+    if (/windows/.test(platform.name)) {
+      await exec('zip', ['-rq', '-ll', platform.zipPath, platform.buildName]);
+    } else {
+      await exec('zip', ['-rq', platform.zipPath, platform.buildName]);
+    }
+  };
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:archives', function () {
+
+    all(
+      grunt.config.get('platforms')
+      .map(async platform => {
+
+        grunt.file.mkdir('target');
+        await archives(platform);
+      })
+    )
+    .nodeify(this.async());
+
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/cliIndex.js b/tasks/build/cliIndex.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d6850998c9228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/cliIndex.js
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+
+  var srcFile = 'build/kibana/src/cli/index.js';
+  var buildFile = 'build/kibana/src/cli/index.build.js';
+  var rename = require('fs').renameSync;
+  var unlink = require('fs').unlinkSync;
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:cliIndex', function () {
+    unlink(srcFile);
+    rename(buildFile, srcFile);
+  });
+
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/downloadNodes.js b/tasks/build/downloadNodes.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3de1cdfc39f91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/downloadNodes.js
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { map, fromNode } = require('bluebird');
+  let { resolve } = require('path');
+  let { pluck } = require('lodash');
+  let { createWriteStream } = require('fs');
+  let { createGunzip } = require('zlib');
+  let { Extract } = require('tar');
+  let { rename } = require('fs');
+  let wreck = require('wreck');
+
+  let platforms = grunt.config.get('platforms');
+  let activeDownloads = [];
+
+  let start = async (platform) => {
+    let finalDir = platform.nodeDir;
+    let downloadDir = `${finalDir}.temp`;
+
+    if (grunt.file.isDir(platform.nodeDir)) {
+      grunt.log.ok(`${platform.name} exists`);
+      return;
+    }
+
+    let resp = await fromNode(cb => {
+      let req = wreck.request('GET', platform.nodeUrl, null, function (err, resp) {
+        if (err) {
+          return cb(err);
+        }
+
+        if (resp.statusCode !== 200) {
+          return cb(new Error(`${platform.nodeUrl} failed with a ${resp.statusCode} response`));
+        }
+
+        return cb(null, resp);
+      });
+    });
+
+    // use an async iife to store promise for download
+    // then store platform in active downloads list
+    // which we will read from in the finish task
+    platform.downloadPromise = (async () => {
+      grunt.file.mkdir(downloadDir);
+
+      if (platform.name === 'windows') {
+        await fromNode(cb => {
+          resp
+          .pipe(createWriteStream(resolve(downloadDir, 'node.exe')))
+          .on('error', cb)
+          .on('finish', cb);
+        });
+      } else {
+        await fromNode(cb => {
+          resp
+          .pipe(createGunzip())
+          .on('error', cb)
+          .pipe(new Extract({ path: downloadDir, strip: 1 }))
+          .on('error', cb)
+          .on('end', cb);
+        });
+      }
+
+      await fromNode(cb => {
+        rename(downloadDir, finalDir, cb);
+      });
+    }());
+
+    activeDownloads.push(platform);
+
+    var bytes = parseInt(resp.headers['content-length'], 10) || 'unknown number of';
+    var mb = ((bytes / 1024) / 1024).toFixed(2);
+    grunt.log.ok(`downloading ${platform.name} - ${mb} mb`);
+  };
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:downloadNodes:start', function () {
+    map(platforms, start).nodeify(this.async());
+  });
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:downloadNodes:finish', function () {
+    map(activeDownloads, async (platform) => {
+      await platform.downloadPromise;
+      grunt.log.ok(`${platform.name} download complete`);
+    })
+    .nodeify(this.async());
+  });
+};
+
diff --git a/tasks/get_build_props.js b/tasks/build/getProps.js
similarity index 52%
rename from tasks/get_build_props.js
rename to tasks/build/getProps.js
index 9c2dc15476195..458139b7df9d8 100644
--- a/tasks/get_build_props.js
+++ b/tasks/build/getProps.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module.exports = function (grunt) {
   var exec = require('child_process').execSync;
-  grunt.registerTask('get_build_props', function () {
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:getProps', function () {
     grunt.config.set('buildSha', String(exec('git rev-parse HEAD')).trim());
-    grunt.config.set('buildNum', parseFloat(exec('git log --format="%h" | wc -l')).trim());
+    grunt.config.set('buildNum', parseFloat(String(exec('git log --format="%h" | wc -l')).trim()));
   });
 };
diff --git a/tasks/build/index.js b/tasks/build/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3fe9e53fce41f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { flatten } = require('lodash');
+
+  grunt.registerTask('build', flatten([
+    '_build:getProps',
+    'clean:build',
+    'clean:target',
+    '_build:downloadNodes:start',
+    'copy:devSource',
+    'babel:build',
+    '_build:cliIndex',
+    '_build:installedPlugins',
+    '_build:packageJson',
+    '_build:readme',
+    '_build:installNpmDeps',
+    'clean:testsFromModules',
+    'clean:deepModules',
+    'run:optimizeBuild',
+    'stop:optimizeBuild',
+    '_build:downloadNodes:finish',
+    '_build:versionedLinks',
+    '_build:archives',
+    !grunt.option('os-packages') ? [] : [
+      '_build:pleaseRun',
+      '_build:osPackages',
+    ],
+    '_build:shasums'
+  ]));
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/installNpmDeps.js b/tasks/build/installNpmDeps.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e7198706f5c58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/installNpmDeps.js
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  var { exec } = require('child_process');
+  var { resolve } = require('path');
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:installNpmDeps', function () {
+    grunt.file.mkdir('build/kibana/node_modules');
+
+    exec('npm install  --production --no-optional', {
+      cwd: grunt.config.process('<%= root %>/build/kibana')
+    }, this.async());
+  });
+};
+
+
diff --git a/tasks/build/installedPlugins.js b/tasks/build/installedPlugins.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..7d8d6618ff488
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/installedPlugins.js
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:installedPlugins', function () {
+    grunt.file.mkdir('build/kibana/installedPlugins');
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/osPackages.js b/tasks/build/osPackages.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d62dcec88d2b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/osPackages.js
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { resolve } = require('path');
+  let { indexBy } = require('lodash');
+
+  let { config } = grunt;
+  let exec = require('../utils/exec');
+  let targetDir = config.get('target');
+  let version = config.get('pkg.version');
+  let userScriptsDir = config.get('userScriptsDir');
+  let servicesByName = indexBy(config.get('services'), 'name');
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:osPackages', function () {
+    grunt.config.get('platforms').forEach(({ name, buildDir }) => {
+      // TODO(sissel): Check if `fpm` is available
+
+      let arch = /x64$/.test(name) ? 'x86_64' : 'i686';
+      let fpm = args => exec('fpm', args);
+
+      let args = [
+        '--force',
+        '--package', targetDir,
+        '-s', 'dir', // input type
+        '--name', 'kibana',
+        '--version', version,
+        '--after-install', resolve(userScriptsDir, 'installer.sh'),
+        '--after-remove', resolve(userScriptsDir, 'remover.sh'),
+        '--config-files', '/opt/kibana/config/kibana.yml'
+      ];
+
+      let files = buildDir + '/=/opt/kibana';
+      grunt.file.mkdir(targetDir);
+
+      // kibana.rpm and kibana.deb
+      if (/linux-x(86|64)$/.test(name)) {
+        let sysv = servicesByName.sysv.outputDir + '/etc/=/etc/';
+        fpm(args.concat('-t', 'rpm', '-a', arch, '--rpm-os', 'linux', files, sysv));
+        fpm(args.concat('-t', 'deb', '-a', arch, files, sysv));
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // kibana.pkg
+      if (/darwin-x(86|64)$/.test(name)) {
+        let launchd = servicesByName.launchd.outputDir + '/=/';
+        fpm(args.concat('-t', 'osxpkg', '-a', arch, files, launchd));
+        return;
+      }
+
+    });
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/packageJson.js b/tasks/build/packageJson.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..edb8dd6b6d336
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/packageJson.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { defaults } = require('lodash');
+
+  let pkg = grunt.config.get('pkg');
+  let deepModules = grunt.config.get('deepModules');
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:packageJson', function () {
+
+    grunt.file.write(
+      'build/kibana/package.json',
+      JSON.stringify({
+        name: pkg.name,
+        description: pkg.description,
+        keywords: pkg.keywords,
+        version: pkg.version,
+        build: {
+          number: grunt.config.get('buildNum'),
+          sha: grunt.config.get('buildSha')
+        },
+        repository: pkg.repository,
+        dependencies: defaults({}, pkg.dependencies, deepModules)
+      }, null, '  ')
+    );
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/pleaserun.js b/tasks/build/pleaserun.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3b8b21da01b76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/pleaserun.js
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+module.exports = function createServices(grunt) {
+  var { resolve } = require('path');
+
+  let exec = require('../utils/exec');
+  let userScriptsPath = grunt.config.get('userScriptsPath');
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:pleaseRun', function () {
+    // TODO(sissel): Detect if 'pleaserun' is found, and provide a useful error
+    // to the user if it is missing.
+
+    grunt.config.get('services').forEach(function (service) {
+      grunt.file.mkdir(service.outputDir);
+      exec('pleaserun', [
+        '--install',
+        '--no-install-actions',
+        '--install-prefix', service.outputDir,
+        '--overwrite',
+        '--user', 'kibana',
+        '--sysv-log-path', '/var/log/kibana/',
+        '-p', service.name,
+        '-v', service.version,
+        '/opt/kibana/bin/kibana'
+      ]);
+    });
+
+    grunt.file.mkdir(userScriptsPath);
+    exec('please-manage-user', ['--output', userScriptsPath, 'kibana']);
+
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/build/readme.js b/tasks/build/readme.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a89039dba9f73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/readme.js
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+let marked = require('marked');
+let Promise = require('bluebird');
+let { join } = require('path');
+let TextRenderer = require('marked-text-renderer');
+let _ = require('lodash');
+let fs = require('fs');
+let { AllHtmlEntities } = require('html-entities');
+let entities = new AllHtmlEntities();
+
+TextRenderer.prototype.heading = function (text, level, raw) {
+  return '\n\n' + text + '\n' + _.map(text, function () { return '='; }).join('') + '\n';
+};
+
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:readme', function () {
+    let transform = function (input) {
+      let output = input.replace(/<\!\-\- [^\-]+ \-\->/g, '\n');
+      output = marked(output);
+      return entities.decode(output);
+    };
+
+    marked.setOptions({
+      renderer: new TextRenderer(),
+      tables: true,
+      breaks: false,
+      pedantic: false,
+      sanitize: false,
+      smartLists: true,
+      smartypants: false
+    });
+
+    grunt.file.write('build/kibana/README.txt', transform(grunt.file.read('README.md')));
+    grunt.file.write('build/kibana/LICENSE.txt', transform(grunt.file.read('LICENSE.md')));
+  });
+
+};
diff --git a/tasks/create_shasums.js b/tasks/build/shasums.js
similarity index 57%
rename from tasks/create_shasums.js
rename to tasks/build/shasums.js
index 3a32c53948d92..c5dcedeba8f29 100644
--- a/tasks/create_shasums.js
+++ b/tasks/build/shasums.js
@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
-var childProcess = require('child_process');
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var readdir = Promise.promisify(fs.readdir);
-var exec = Promise.promisify(childProcess.exec);
-var _ = require('lodash');
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
+var { promisify } = require('bluebird');
+var readdir = promisify(require('fs').readdir);
+var exec = promisify(require('child_process').exec);
 
-  grunt.registerTask('create_shasums', function () {
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:shasums', function () {
     var targetDir = grunt.config.get('target');
 
     readdir(targetDir)
diff --git a/tasks/build/versionedLinks.js b/tasks/build/versionedLinks.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c78b2b84bb1e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/build/versionedLinks.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { basename, resolve } = require('path');
+  let { forOwn } = require('lodash');
+
+  let exec = require('../utils/exec').silent;
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_build:versionedLinks', function () {
+    let rootPath = grunt.config.get('root');
+
+    let buildFiles = grunt.file.expand('build/kibana/{*,.*}')
+    .map(function (file) {
+      return resolve(rootPath, file);
+    });
+
+    let ln = (source, link) => exec('ln', ['-s', source, link]);
+
+    grunt.config.get('platforms').forEach(function (platform) {
+      grunt.file.mkdir(platform.buildDir);
+
+      // link all files at the root of the build
+      buildFiles.forEach(function (source) {
+        ln(source, resolve(platform.buildDir, basename(source)));
+      });
+
+      // link the node modules
+      ln(platform.nodeDir, resolve(platform.buildDir, 'node'));
+    });
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/config/babel.js b/tasks/config/babel.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..08a2e3a059a0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/config/babel.js
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+let { defaults } = require('lodash');
+let babelOptions = require('requirefrom')('src')('optimize/babelOptions');
+
+module.exports = {
+  build: {
+    options: defaults({
+      optional: ['runtime']
+    }, babelOptions),
+    src: [
+      'build/kibana/**/*.js',
+      '!**/public/**',
+      '!**/node_modules/**',
+      '!**/bower_components/**',
+      '!**/__tests__/**'
+    ],
+    dest: '.',
+    expand: true
+  }
+};
diff --git a/tasks/config/clean.js b/tasks/config/clean.js
index 291ba4e5f4bdf..db5f004f6a35d 100644
--- a/tasks/config/clean.js
+++ b/tasks/config/clean.js
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let modules = Object.keys(grunt.config.get('deepModules'));
   return {
-    build: '<%= build %>',
-    target: '<%= target %>'
+    build: 'build',
+    target: 'target',
+    testsFromModules: 'build/kibana/node_modules/**/*test*/**',
+    deepModules: 'build/kibana/node_modules/*/node_modules/**/{' + modules.join(',') + '}/**'
   };
 };
diff --git a/tasks/config/compress.js b/tasks/config/compress.js
deleted file mode 100644
index d38be88dc7629..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/config/compress.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  var _ = require('lodash');
-  var archiveName = function (plugin) {
-    return '<%= target %>/<%= pkg.name %>-' + (plugin ? 'plugin-' : '') + '<%= pkg.version %>';
-  };
-
-  return _.mapValues({
-    build_zip: archiveName() + '.zip',
-    build_tarball: archiveName() + '.tar.gz',
-    plugin: archiveName(true) + '.tar.gz'
-  }, function (filename, task) {
-    return {
-      options: {
-        archive: filename
-      },
-      files: [
-        {
-          flatten: true,
-          src: '<%= build %>/dist/bin/kibana',
-          dest: '<%= pkg.name %>/bin/kibana',
-          mode: 755
-        },
-        {
-          flatten: true,
-          src: '<%= build %>/dist/bin/kibana.bat',
-          dest: '<%= pkg.name %>/bin/kibana.bat'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= build %>/dist/config',
-          src: ['**/*'],
-          dest: '<%= pkg.name %>/config'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= build %>/dist/lib',
-          src: ['**/*'],
-          dest: '<%= pkg.name %>/lib'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= build %>/dist',
-          src: ['*.txt'],
-          dest: '<%= pkg.name %>'
-        }
-      ]
-    };
-  });
-};
diff --git a/tasks/config/copy.js b/tasks/config/copy.js
index a1d3c629983fc..d91005f8968d8 100644
--- a/tasks/config/copy.js
+++ b/tasks/config/copy.js
@@ -1,122 +1,20 @@
 module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  var version = grunt.config.get('pkg.version');
-  var platforms = grunt.config.get('platforms');
-  var config = {
-
-    kibana_src: {
-      expand: true,
-      cwd: '<%= app %>',
-      src: '**',
-      dest: '<%= build %>/src/'
-    },
-
-    server_src: {
-      files: [
-        {
-          src: '<%= root %>/package.json',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/package.json'
-        },
-        {
-          src: '<%= server %>/app.js',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/app.js'
-        },
-        {
-          src: '<%= server %>/index.js',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/index.js'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/bin/',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/bin'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/config/',
-          src: '*.yml',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/config'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/lib/',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/lib'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/plugins/',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/plugins'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/routes/',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/routes'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/views/',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/kibana/views'
-        }
-      ]
-    },
-
-    dist: {
-      options: { mode: true },
-      files: [
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= build %>/kibana',
-          src: '**',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana/src'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= server %>/config/',
-          src: 'kibana.yml',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana/config/'
-        },
-        {
-          expand: true,
-          cwd: '<%= bowerComponentsDir %>/ace-builds/src-noconflict/',
-          src: 'worker-json.js',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana/src/public/'
-        }
-      ]
-    },
-
-    versioned_dist: {
+  return {
+    devSource: {
       options: { mode: true },
-      files: []
+      src: [
+        'src/**',
+        'bin/**',
+        'config/kibana.yml',
+        '!src/**/__tests__/**',
+        '!src/testUtils/**',
+        '!src/fixtures/**',
+        '!src/plugins/devMode/**',
+        '!src/plugins/testsBundle/**',
+        '!src/cli/cluster/**',
+      ],
+      dest: 'build/kibana',
+      expand: true
     },
-
-    plugin_readme: {
-      files: [
-        {
-          src: '<%= build %>/kibana/public/plugins/README.txt',
-          dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana/plugins/README.txt'
-        }
-      ]
-    }
-
   };
-
-  platforms.forEach(function (platform) {
-    config.versioned_dist.files.push({
-      expand: true,
-      cwd: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana',
-      src: '**',
-      dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana-' + version + '-' + platform
-    });
-    config.versioned_dist.files.push({
-      expand: true,
-      cwd: '<%= root %>/.node_binaries/' + platform,
-      src: '**',
-      dest: '<%= build %>/dist/kibana-' + version + '-' + platform + '/node'
-    });
-  });
-
-  return config;
 };
diff --git a/tasks/config/platforms.js b/tasks/config/platforms.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..0d93bc6dd866a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/config/platforms.js
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { resolve } = require('path');
+
+  let version = grunt.config.get('pkg.version');
+  let nodeVersion = grunt.config.get('nodeVersion');
+  let rootPath = grunt.config.get('root');
+  let baseUri = `https://iojs.org/dist/v${nodeVersion}`;
+
+  return [
+    'darwin-x64',
+    'linux-x64',
+    'linux-x86',
+    'windows'
+  ].map(function (name) {
+    let win = name === 'windows';
+
+    let nodeUrl = win ? `${baseUri}/win-x86/iojs.exe` : `${baseUri}/iojs-v${nodeVersion}-${name}.tar.gz`;
+    let nodeDir = resolve(rootPath, `.node_binaries/${nodeVersion}/${name}`);
+
+    let buildName = `kibana-${version}-${name}`;
+    let buildDir = resolve(rootPath, `build/${buildName}`);
+
+    let tarName = `${buildName}.tar.gz`;
+    let tarPath = resolve(rootPath, `target/${tarName}`);
+
+    let zipName = `${buildName}.zip`;
+    let zipPath = resolve(rootPath, `target/${zipName}`);
+
+    return {
+      name, win,
+      nodeUrl, nodeDir,
+      buildName, buildDir,
+      tarName, tarPath,
+      zipName, zipPath,
+    };
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/config/run.js b/tasks/config/run.js
index 56ae1a7da48c5..056768f0f0bcc 100644
--- a/tasks/config/run.js
+++ b/tasks/config/run.js
@@ -17,6 +17,21 @@ module.exports = function (grunt) {
         '--optimize.tests=true',
         '--optimize.lazy=false'
       ]
+    },
+
+    optimizeBuild: {
+      options: {
+        wait: false,
+        ready: /Optimization .+ complete/,
+        quiet: true
+      },
+      cmd: './build/kibana/bin/kibana',
+      args: [
+        '--env.name=production',
+        '--logging.json=false',
+        '--plugins.initialize=false',
+        '--server.autoListen=false'
+      ]
     }
   };
 
diff --git a/tasks/config/s3.js b/tasks/config/s3.js
index 21cb599c0f018..edea5f487f585 100644
--- a/tasks/config/s3.js
+++ b/tasks/config/s3.js
@@ -1,31 +1,27 @@
-var createPackages = require('../create_packages');
 var _ = require('lodash');
-var getBaseNames = createPackages.getBaseNames;
 module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  var upload = _(getBaseNames(grunt))
-  .map(function (basename) {
-    return [
-      basename + '.tar.gz',
-      basename + '.tar.gz.sha1.txt',
-      basename + '.zip',
-      basename + '.zip.sha1.txt'
-    ];
-  })
-  .flattenDeep()
-  .map(function (filename) {
-    return {
-      src: 'target/' + filename,
-      dest: 'kibana/kibana/' + filename
-    };
-  })
-  .value();
+  var { config } = grunt;
 
   return {
     release: {
       bucket: 'download.elasticsearch.org',
       access: 'private',
-      // debug: true, // uncommment to prevent actual upload
-      upload: upload
+      debug: false,
+      upload: config.get('platforms')
+      .reduce(function (files, platform) {
+        return files.concat(
+          platform.tarName,
+          platform.tarName + '.sha1.txt',
+          platform.zipName,
+          platform.zipName + '.sha1.txt'
+        );
+      }, [])
+      .map(function (filename) {
+        return {
+          src: 'target/' + filename,
+          dest: 'kibana/kibana/' + filename
+        };
+      })
     }
   };
 };
diff --git a/tasks/config/services.js b/tasks/config/services.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8b74b36c0319e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/config/services.js
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+module.exports = function (grunt) {
+  let { resolve } = require('path');
+  let rootDir = grunt.config.get('root');
+
+  return [
+    ['launchd', '10.9'],
+    ['upstart', '1.5'],
+    ['systemd', 'default'],
+    ['sysv', 'lsb-3.1']
+  ]
+  .map(function ([ name, version ]) {
+    return { name, version, outputDir: resolve(rootDir, `build/services/${name}`) };
+  });
+};
diff --git a/tasks/create_packages.js b/tasks/create_packages.js
deleted file mode 100644
index b706c02684f4a..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/create_packages.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-/* eslint camelcase:0 */
-
-var child_process = require('child_process');
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-var { join } = require('path');
-var mkdirp = Promise.promisifyAll(require('mkdirp'));
-
-var execFile = Promise.promisify(child_process.execFile);
-
-var getBaseNames = function (grunt) {
-  var packageName = grunt.config.get('pkg.name');
-  var version = grunt.config.get('pkg.version');
-  var platforms = grunt.config.get('platforms');
-  return platforms.map(function (platform) {
-    return packageName + '-' + version + '-' + platform;
-  });
-};
-
-function createPackages(grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('create_packages', function () {
-    var done = this.async();
-    var target = grunt.config.get('target');
-    var distPath = join(grunt.config.get('build'), 'dist');
-    var version = grunt.config.get('pkg.version');
-
-    var createPackage = function (name) {
-      var options = { cwd: distPath };
-      var archiveName = join(target, name);
-      var commands = [];
-      var arch = /x64$/.test(name) ? 'x86_64' : 'i686';
-
-      var fpm_options = [ 'fpm', '-f', '-p', target, '-s', 'dir', '-n', 'kibana', '-v', version,
-                          '--after-install', join(distPath, 'user', 'installer.sh'),
-                          '--after-remove', join(distPath, 'user', 'remover.sh'),
-                          '--config-files', '/opt/kibana/config/kibana.yml' ];
-      var fpm_files = join(distPath, name) + '/=/opt/kibana';
-
-      // kibana.tar.gz
-      commands.push([ 'tar', '-zcf', archiveName + '.tar.gz', name ]);
-
-      // kibana.zip
-      if (/windows/.test(name)) {
-        commands.push([ 'zip', '-rq', '-ll', archiveName + '.zip', name ]);
-      } else {
-        commands.push([ 'zip', '-rq', archiveName + '.zip', name ]);
-      }
-
-      if (grunt.option('os-packages')) {
-        // TODO(sissel): Add before-install scripts to create kibana user
-        // TODO(sissel): Check if `fpm` is available
-        if (/linux-x(86|64)$/.test(name)) {
-          // kibana.rpm and kibana.deb
-          var sysv_init = join(distPath, 'services', 'sysv') + '/etc/=/etc/';
-          commands.push(fpm_options.concat(['-t', 'rpm', '-a', arch, '--rpm-os', 'linux', fpm_files, sysv_init]));
-          commands.push(fpm_options.concat(['-t', 'deb', '-a', arch, fpm_files, sysv_init]));
-        } else if (/darwin-x(86|64)$/.test(name)) {
-          // kibana.pkg
-          var launchd = join(distPath, 'services', 'launchd') + '/=/';
-          commands.push(fpm_options.concat(['-t', 'osxpkg', '-a', arch, fpm_files, launchd]));
-        }
-      }
-
-      return mkdirp.mkdirpAsync(target)
-        .then(function (arg) {
-          return Promise.map(commands, function (cmd) {
-            return execFile(cmd.shift(), cmd, options);
-          });
-        }, function (err) { console.log('Failure on ' + name + ': ' + err); });
-    };
-
-    Promise.map(getBaseNames(grunt), createPackage).finally(done);
-  });
-}
-
-module.exports = createPackages;
-createPackages.getBaseNames = getBaseNames;
diff --git a/tasks/create_services.js b/tasks/create_services.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 52655a56cccf0..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/create_services.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-/* eslint camelcase:0 */
-
-var childProcess = require('child_process');
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-var { join } = require('path');
-var mkdirp = Promise.promisifyAll(require('mkdirp'));
-var execFile = Promise.promisify(childProcess.execFile);
-
-function createServices(grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('create_services', function () {
-    var done = this.async();
-    var target = grunt.config.get('target');
-    var distPath = join(grunt.config.get('build'), 'dist');
-    var services = grunt.config.get('services');
-
-    var createService = function (arg) {
-      var service = arg[0];
-      var service_version = arg[1];
-      var options = { cwd: distPath };
-      var output = join(distPath, 'services', service);
-      var pleaserun_args = ['--install', '--no-install-actions',
-                            '--install-prefix', output, '--overwrite',
-                            '--user', 'kibana',
-                            '--sysv-log-path', '/var/log/kibana/',
-                            '-p', service, '-v', service_version,
-                            '/opt/kibana/bin/kibana'];
-
-      return mkdirp.mkdirpAsync(target)
-        .then(function (arg) {
-          return execFile('pleaserun', pleaserun_args, options);
-        }, function (err) { console.log('pleaserun failed: ' + err + '. Args: ' + pleaserun_args.join(' ')); });
-    };
-
-    // TODO(sissel): Detect if 'pleaserun' is found, and provide a useful error
-    // to the user if it is missing.
-    mkdirp.mkdirpAsync(distPath)
-      .then(function () {
-        return Promise.map(services, createService);
-      })
-      .then(function (arg) {
-        // Create the user-management scripts
-        var output = join(distPath, 'user');
-        return mkdirp.mkdirpAsync(output).then(function () {
-          return execFile('please-manage-user', ['--output', output, 'kibana'], { cwd: distPath });
-        });
-      }, function (err) { console.log('please-manage-user failed: ' + err + '.'); })
-      .finally(done);
-  });
-}
-
-module.exports = createServices;
diff --git a/tasks/dist_package_json.js b/tasks/dist_package_json.js
deleted file mode 100644
index fca775f089e6a..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/dist_package_json.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('dist_package_json', function () {
-    var path = grunt.config.process('<%= build %>/kibana/package.json');
-    var pkg = grunt.config.get('pkg');
-
-    grunt.file.write(path, JSON.stringify({
-      name: pkg.name,
-      description: pkg.description,
-      keywords: pkg.keywords,
-      version: pkg.version,
-      build: {
-        number: grunt.config.get('buildNum'),
-        sha: grunt.config.get('buildSha')
-      },
-      repository: pkg.repository,
-      dependencies: pkg.dependencies
-    }, null, '  '));
-  });
-};
diff --git a/tasks/dist_readme.js b/tasks/dist_readme.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 23445a485bdfd..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/dist_readme.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-var marked = require('marked');
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-var { join } = require('path');
-var TextRenderer = require('marked-text-renderer');
-var _ = require('lodash');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var { AllHtmlEntities } = require('html-entities');
-var entities = new AllHtmlEntities();
-
-var readFile = Promise.promisify(fs.readFile);
-var writeFile = Promise.promisify(fs.writeFile);
-
-TextRenderer.prototype.heading = function (text, level, raw) {
-  return '\n\n' + text + '\n' + _.map(text, function () { return '='; }).join('') + '\n';
-};
-
-var process = function (input) {
-  var output = input.replace(/<\!\-\- [^\-]+ \-\->/g, '\n');
-  output = marked(output);
-  return entities.decode(output);
-};
-
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-
-  grunt.registerTask('dist_readme', function () {
-    var done = this.async();
-    var root = grunt.config.get('root');
-    var build = grunt.config.get('build');
-
-    var srcReadme = join(root, 'README.md');
-    var distReadme = join(build, 'dist', 'kibana', 'README.txt');
-
-    var srcLicense = join(root, 'LICENSE.md');
-    var distLicense = join(build, 'dist', 'kibana', 'LICENSE.txt');
-
-    marked.setOptions({
-      renderer: new TextRenderer(),
-      tables: true,
-      breaks: false,
-      pedantic: false,
-      sanitize: false,
-      smartLists: true,
-      smartypants: false
-    });
-
-    readFile(srcReadme, 'utf-8')
-    .then(function (data) {
-      return writeFile(distReadme, process(data.toString()));
-    })
-    .then(function () {
-      return readFile(srcLicense, 'utf-8');
-    })
-    .then(function (data) {
-      return writeFile(distLicense, process(data.toString()));
-    })
-    .then(done)
-    .catch(done);
-
-  });
-
-};
diff --git a/tasks/download_node_binaries.js b/tasks/download_node_binaries.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 758803c01d31c..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/download_node_binaries.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-var _ = require('lodash');
-var zlib = require('zlib');
-var tar = require('tar');
-var request = require('request');
-var mkdirp = require('mkdirp');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var { join } = require('path');
-var filesPatern = _.template('node-v<%- version %>-<%- platform %>.tar.gz');
-var urlPattern = _.template('http://nodejs.org/dist/v<%- version %>/<%- file %>');
-var Promise = require('bluebird');
-
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('download_node_binaries', 'Download the node.js binaries', function () {
-    var platforms = _.without(grunt.config.get('platforms'), 'windows');
-    var rootPath = grunt.config.get('root');
-    var version = grunt.config.get('nodeVersion');
-
-    var handle404 = function (response) {
-      if (response.statusCode !== 200) {
-        throw new Error(response.request.href + ' failed with a ' + response.statusCode);
-      }
-    };
-
-    var downloadWindows = function (cb) {
-      return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
-        var dest = join(rootPath, '.node_binaries', 'windows');
-        fs.stat(dest, function (err) {
-          if (!err) return resolve(); // skip downloading if we already have them
-          var url = urlPattern({ version: version, file: 'node.exe'});
-          mkdirp(dest, function (err) {
-            if (err) return reject(err);
-            var out = fs.createWriteStream(join(dest, 'node.exe'));
-            out.on('close', resolve).on('error', reject);
-            var req = request.get(url);
-            req.on('response', handle404);
-            req.pipe(out);
-          });
-        });
-      });
-    };
-
-    var download = function (platform) {
-      return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
-        var dest = join(rootPath, '.node_binaries', platform);
-        fs.stat(dest, function (err) {
-          if (!err) return resolve(); // skip downloading if we already have them
-          var file = filesPatern({ version: version, platform: platform });
-          var url = urlPattern({ version: version, file: file });
-          mkdirp(dest, function (err) {
-            if (err) return reject(err);
-            var unzip = zlib.createGunzip();
-            var out = new tar.Extract({ path: dest, strip: 1 });
-            out.on('close', resolve).on('error', reject);
-            var req = request.get(url);
-            req.on('response', handle404);
-            req.pipe(unzip).pipe(out);
-          });
-        });
-      });
-    };
-
-    return Promise.map(platforms, download).then(downloadWindows).nodeify(this.async());
-  });
-};
-
diff --git a/tasks/licenses.js b/tasks/licenses.js
index d0dabe0adf26f..b7977b418630b 100644
--- a/tasks/licenses.js
+++ b/tasks/licenses.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ module.exports = function (grunt) {
     var done = this.async();
 
     var result = {};
-    var options = {start: process.cwd(), json: true };
+    var options = { start: process.cwd(), json: true };
     var checkQueueLength = 2;
 
     function processPackage(info, dependency) {
diff --git a/tasks/npm_install_kibana.js b/tasks/npm_install_kibana.js
deleted file mode 100644
index b70a878503512..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/npm_install_kibana.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  var childProcess = require('child_process');
-  var { join } = require('path');
-
-  grunt.registerTask('npm_install_kibana', 'NPM install kibana server into dist', function () {
-    var done = this.async();
-    var cwd = join(grunt.config.get('build'), 'dist', 'kibana', 'src');
-    var command = 'npm install  --production --no-optional';
-    var options = { cwd: cwd };
-    childProcess.exec(command, options, function (err, stdout, stderr) {
-      if (err) {
-        grunt.log.error(stderr);
-        return done(err);
-      }
-      grunt.log.writeln(stdout);
-      return done();
-    });
-  });
-};
-
-
diff --git a/tasks/plugins.js b/tasks/plugins.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 43d06f04be103..0000000000000
--- a/tasks/plugins.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-module.exports = function (grunt) {
-  grunt.registerTask('make_plugin_dir', function () {
-    var dir = grunt.config.process('<%= build %>/dist/kibana/plugins');
-    grunt.file.mkdir(dir);
-  });
-
-  grunt.registerTask('describe_bundled_plugins', function () {
-    var configKey = 'bundled_plugin_ids';
-    var file = grunt.config.process('<%= build %>/dist/kibana/config/kibana.yml');
-    var idList = grunt.config.get('bundled_plugin_module_ids').map(function (id) {
-      return ' - ' + id;
-    }).join('\n');
-
-    var contents = grunt.file.read(file);
-    if (contents.indexOf(configKey) !== -1) {
-      grunt.log.error('bundled plugin ids already written to config/kibana.yml');
-      return;
-    }
-
-    contents +=
-      '\n# Plugins that are included in the build, and no longer found in the plugins/ folder' +
-      '\n' + configKey + ':' +
-      '\n' + idList;
-
-    grunt.file.write(file, contents);
-  });
-};
diff --git a/tasks/release.js b/tasks/release.js
index b6d4207875cc8..563b57673537d 100644
--- a/tasks/release.js
+++ b/tasks/release.js
@@ -1,18 +1,51 @@
 module.exports = function (grunt) {
 
+  var readline = require('readline');
+
   // build, then zip and upload to s3
   grunt.registerTask('release', [
-    'distribute:load_s3_config',
+    '_release:confirmUpload',
+    '_release:loadS3Config',
     'build',
     's3:release',
+    '_release:complete'
   ]);
 
+  grunt.registerTask('_release:confirmUpload', function () {
+    var rl = readline.createInterface({
+      input: process.stdin,
+      output: process.stdout
+    });
+
+    rl.on('close', this.async());
+    rl.question('Do you want to actually upload the files to s3 after building?, [N/y] ', function (resp) {
+      var debug = resp.toLowerCase().trim()[0] !== 'y';
+      grunt.config.set('s3.release.debug', debug);
+      rl.close();
+    });
+  });
+
   // collect the key and secret from the .aws-config.json file, finish configuring the s3 task
-  grunt.registerTask('distribute:load_s3_config', function () {
+  grunt.registerTask('_release:loadS3Config', function () {
     var config = grunt.file.readJSON('.aws-config.json');
     grunt.config('s3.options', {
       key: config.key,
       secret: config.secret
     });
   });
+
+  grunt.registerTask('_release:complete', function () {
+    grunt.log.ok('Builds released');
+    grunt.log.write(
+`
+${grunt.config.get('platforms').reduce((t, p) => {
+  return (
+`${t}https://download.elastic.co/kibana/kibana/${p.buildName}.tar.gz
+https://download.elastic.co/kibana/kibana/${p.buildName}.zip
+`
+  );
+}, '')}
+`
+);
+  });
 };
diff --git a/tasks/utils/exec.js b/tasks/utils/exec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..ec63ada6f9afd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tasks/utils/exec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+let { execFileSync } = require('child_process');
+
+function exec(cmd, args, opts) {
+  console.log(' >', cmd, args.join(' '));
+  exec.silent(cmd, args, opts);
+};
+
+exec.silent = function (cmd, args, opts) {
+  opts = opts || {};
+  if (!opts.stdio) opts.stdio = ['ignore', 1, 2];
+  try {
+    execFileSync(cmd, args, opts);
+  } catch (e) {
+    if (opts.stdio[1] !== 1) {
+      console.log(e.stdout + '');
+    }
+
+    if (opts.stdio[2] !== 2) {
+      console.log(e.stderr + '');
+    }
+
+    throw e;
+  }
+};
+
+module.exports = exec;