diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..55dd9e26d8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+GRUNT_DOCKER_NAME:=galaxy/client-builder:16.01
+
+all:
+	@echo "This makefile is primarily used for building Galaxy's JS client. A sensible all target is not yet implemented."
+
+npm-deps:
+	cd client && npm install
+
+grunt: npm-deps
+	cd client && grunt
+
+grunt-docker-image:
+	docker build -t ${GRUNT_DOCKER_NAME} client
+
+grunt-docker: grunt-docker-image
+	docker run -it -v `pwd`:/data ${GRUNT_DOCKER_NAME}
+
+clean-grunt-docker-image:
+	docker rmi ${GRUNT_DOCKER_NAME}
diff --git a/client/.docker-build.sh b/client/.docker-build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..7452b63adac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/.docker-build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+cd /data/client && \
+    npm install && \
+    grunt
diff --git a/client/Dockerfile b/client/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ad1a9c5884a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+FROM digitallyseamless/nodejs-bower-grunt
+RUN mkdir /gx
+
+COPY package.json /gx/package.json
+
+RUN cd /gx && \
+    npm install -g && \
+    cd / && \
+    rm -rf /gx
+
+WORKDIR /data/client
+ADD ./.docker-build.sh /build.sh
+CMD ["/build.sh"]
diff --git a/doc/source/dev/faq.rst b/doc/source/dev/faq.rst
index e60a0a9eea8..7139678c0a3 100644
--- a/doc/source/dev/faq.rst
+++ b/doc/source/dev/faq.rst
@@ -10,3 +10,16 @@ to provide relatively concrete answers for specific Galaxy development scenarios
 This can be done with either IPython/Jupyter or a plain python console, depending on your preferences::
 
     python -i scripts/db_shell.py
+
+... build Galaxy Javascript frontend client?
+--------------------------------------------
+
+We've added a makefile which will let you do this. If you have nodejs and npm installed, you can simple run::
+
+    make grunt
+
+If you prefer docker and aren't a JS developer primarily, you can run
+
+    make grunt-docker
+
+