diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
deleted file mode 100644
index e965bd291..000000000
--- a/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-BUILD_DIR = ${CURDIR}/build
-DIST_DIR = ${CURDIR}/dist
-VENDOR_DIR = ${CURDIR}/vendor
-
-JS_ENGINE ?= `which node nodejs 2>/dev/null`
-
-LODASH_TMP = ${BUILD_DIR}/lodash.tmp.js
-LODASH_COMPILER = ${DIST_DIR}/lodash.compiler.js
-LODASH_UGLIFY = ${DIST_DIR}/lodash.uglify.js
-
-UGLIFY = ${VENDOR_DIR}/uglifyjs/bin/uglifyjs
-CLOSURE_COMPILER = java -jar ${VENDOR_DIR}/closure-compiler/compiler.jar
-
-PRE_COMPILER = ${JS_ENGINE} ${BUILD_DIR}/pre-compile.js
-POST_COMPILER = ${JS_ENGINE} ${BUILD_DIR}/post-compile.js
-
-core:
-	mkdir -p ${DIST_DIR}
-	cp ${CURDIR}/lodash.js ${LODASH_TMP}
-	${PRE_COMPILER} ${LODASH_TMP}
-
-	${CLOSURE_COMPILER} \
-	  --compilation_level=ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS \
-	  --language_in=ECMASCRIPT5_STRICT \
-	  --warning_level=QUIET \
-	  --js ${LODASH_TMP} \
-	  --js_output_file ${LODASH_COMPILER}
-	${POST_COMPILER} ${LODASH_COMPILER}
-	gzip -9f -c ${LODASH_COMPILER} > ${LODASH_COMPILER}.gz
-
-	${UGLIFY} \
-	  --unsafe \
-      --max-line-len 500 \
-	  -o ${LODASH_UGLIFY} \
-	  ${LODASH_TMP}
-	${POST_COMPILER} ${LODASH_UGLIFY}
-	gzip -9f -c ${LODASH_UGLIFY} > ${LODASH_UGLIFY}.gz
-
-	rm -f ${LODASH_TMP}
diff --git a/build.js b/build.js
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..df17919d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build.js
@@ -0,0 +1,348 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+
+;(function () {
+  /* Load the Node file system, path, and child process modules. */
+  var fs = require("fs"), path = require("path"), spawn = require("child_process").spawn,
+
+  /* Load the UglifyJS compressor. */
+  uglifyJS = require(path.join(__dirname, "vendor", "uglifyjs", "uglify-js")),
+
+  /* The distribution directory. */
+  distribution = path.join(__dirname, "dist"),
+
+  /* The pre-processed Lodash source. */
+  source = preprocess(fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, "lodash.js"), "utf8"));
+
+  /* Create the destination directory if it doesn't exist. */
+  if (!path.existsSync(distribution)) {
+    fs.mkdirSync(distribution);
+  }
+
+  /* Compress and `gzip` Lodash using the Closure Compiler. */
+  compile(source, function (exception, results) {
+    if (exception) {
+      throw exception;
+    }
+    // Post-process the minified source.
+    var source = postprocess(results);
+    // Save the final minified version.
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(distribution, "lodash.compiler.js"), source);
+    gzip(source, function (exception, results) {
+      if (exception) {
+        throw exception;
+      }
+      // Save the `gzip`-ed version. The explicit `binary` encoding is
+      // necessary to ensure that the stream is written correctly.
+      fs.writeFileSync(path.join(distribution, "lodash.compiler.js.gz"), results, "binary");
+    });
+  });
+
+  /* Compress and `gzip` Lodash using UglifyJS. */
+  uglify(source, function (results) {
+    var source = postprocess(results);
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(distribution, "lodash.uglify.js"), source);
+    gzip(source, function (exception, results) {
+      if (exception) {
+        throw exception;
+      }
+      fs.writeFileSync(path.join(distribution, "lodash.uglify.js.gz"), results, "binary");
+    });
+  });
+
+  /* Compresses a `source` string using UglifyJS. Yields the result to a
+   * `callback` function. This function is synchronous; the `callback` is used
+   * for symmetry.
+  */
+  function uglify(source, callback) {
+    var results = uglifyJS.uglify.gen_code(
+      // Enable unsafe transformations.
+      uglifyJS.uglify.ast_squeeze_more(
+        uglifyJS.uglify.ast_squeeze(
+          // Munge variable and function names, excluding the special `define`
+          // function exposed by asynchronous module loaders.
+          uglifyJS.uglify.ast_mangle(uglifyJS.parser.parse(source), {
+            "except": ["define"]
+          }
+      ))), {
+      "ascii_only": true
+    });
+    callback(uglifyJS.uglify.split_lines(results, 500));
+  }
+
+  /* Compresses a `source` string using the Closure Compiler. Yields the
+   * minified result to a `callback` function.
+  */
+  function compile(source, callback) {
+    var compiler = spawn("java", [
+      // Load the Closure Compiler and set the compression options.
+      "-jar", path.join(__dirname, "vendor", "closure-compiler", "compiler.jar"),
+      "--compilation_level=ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS",
+      "--language_in=ECMASCRIPT5_STRICT",
+      "--warning_level=QUIET"
+    ]), stdout = "", stderr = "";
+    // Explicitly set the encoding of the output and error streams.
+    compiler.stdout.setEncoding("utf8");
+    compiler.stderr.setEncoding("utf8");
+    compiler.stdout.on("data", function (data) {
+      stdout += data;
+    });
+    compiler.stderr.on("data", function (data) {
+      stderr += data;
+    });
+    compiler.on("exit", function (status) {
+      var exception = null;
+      if (status) {
+        exception = new Error(stderr);
+        exception.status = status;
+      }
+      callback(exception, stdout);
+    });
+    compiler.stdin.end(source);
+  }
+
+  /* Compresses a `source` string using the Unix `gzip` commands. Yields the
+   * result, and any exceptions encountered, to a `callback` function.
+  */
+  function gzip(source, callback) {
+    var compressor = spawn("gzip", ["-9f", "-c"]), stdout = "", stderr = "";
+    compressor.stdout.setEncoding("binary");
+    compressor.stderr.setEncoding("utf8");
+    compressor.stdout.on("data", function (data) {
+      stdout += data;
+    });
+    compressor.stderr.on("data", function (data) {
+      stderr += data;
+    });
+    compressor.on("exit", function (status) {
+      var exception = null;
+      if (status) {
+        exception = new Error(stderr);
+        exception.status = status;
+      }
+      callback(exception, stdout);
+    });
+    // Proxy the source string to the `gzip` executable.
+    compressor.stdin.end(source);
+  }
+
+  /* Post-processes a compressed `source` string. */
+  function postprocess(source) {
+    /** The minimal license/copyright header */
+    var license =
+      '/*!\n' +
+      ' Lo-Dash @VERSION github.com/bestiejs/lodash/blob/master/LICENSE.txt\n' +
+      ' Underscore.js 1.3.3 github.com/documentcloud/underscore/blob/master/LICENSE\n' +
+      '*/';
+
+    /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+
+    // set the version
+    license = license.replace('@VERSION', (/VERSION:([\'"])(.*?)\1/).exec(source).pop());
+
+    // move vars exposed by Closure Compiler into the IIFE
+    source = source.replace(/^([^(\n]+)\s*(\(function[^)]+\){)/, '$2$1');
+
+    // use double quotes consistently
+    source = source.replace(/'use strict'/, '"use strict"');
+
+    // add license
+    return license + '\n;' + source;
+  }
+
+  /* Pre-processes an uncompressed `source` string. */
+  function preprocess(source) {
+    /** Used to minify variables embedded in compiled strings */
+    var compiledVars = [
+      'accumulator',
+      'array',
+      'arrayClass',
+      'bind',
+      'callback',
+      'className',
+      'collection',
+      'computed',
+      'concat',
+      'current',
+      'false',
+      'funcClass',
+      'hasOwnProperty',
+      'identity',
+      'index',
+      'indexOf',
+      'Infinity',
+      'initial',
+      'isArray',
+      'isEmpty',
+      'length',
+      'object',
+      'Math',
+      'property',
+      'result',
+      'slice',
+      'source',
+      'stringClass',
+      'target',
+      'thisArg',
+      'toString',
+      'true',
+      'undefined',
+      'value',
+      'values'
+    ];
+
+    /** Used to minify string values embedded in compiled strings */
+    var compiledValues = [
+      'arrays',
+      'objects'
+    ];
+
+    /** Used to minify `iterationFactory` option properties */
+    var iterationFactoryOptions = [
+      'afterLoop',
+      'args',
+      'array',
+      'beforeLoop',
+      'bottom',
+      'exits',
+      'inLoop',
+      'init',
+      'iterate',
+      'loopExp',
+      'object',
+      'returns',
+      'top',
+      'useHas'
+    ];
+
+    /** Used to minify variables and string values to a single character */
+    var minNames = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ'.split('');
+
+    /** Used protect the specified properties from getting minified */
+    var propWhitelist = [
+      '_',
+      'amd',
+      'chain',
+      'clearInterval',
+      'criteria',
+      'escape',
+      'evaluate',
+      'interpolate',
+      'isEqual',
+      'isFinite',
+      'lodash',
+      'setTimeout',
+      'templateSettings',
+      'toArray',
+      'value',
+      'variable'
+    ];
+
+    /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+
+    /**
+     * Remove copyright to add later in post-compile.js
+     */
+    source = source.replace(/\/\*![\s\S]+?\*\//, '');
+
+    /**
+     * Correct JSDoc tags for Closure Compiler.
+     */
+    source = source.replace(/@(?:alias|category)[^\n]*/g, '');
+
+    /**
+     * Add brackets to whitelisted properties so Closure Compiler won't mung them.
+     * http://code.google.com/closure/compiler/docs/api-tutorial3.html#export
+     */
+    source = source.replace(RegExp('\\.(' + iterationFactoryOptions.concat(propWhitelist).join('|') + ')\\b', 'g'), "['$1']");
+
+    /**
+     * Minify `sortBy` and `template` methods.
+     */
+    ['sortBy', 'template'].forEach(function(methodName) {
+      var properties = ['criteria', 'value'],
+          snippet = source.match(RegExp('(\\n\\s*)function ' + methodName + '[\\s\\S]+?\\1}'))[0],
+          result = snippet;
+
+      // minify property strings
+      properties.forEach(function(property, index) {
+        result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
+      });
+
+      // remove escaped newlines in strings
+      result = result.replace(/\\n/g, '');
+
+      // replace with modified snippet
+      source = source.replace(snippet, result);
+    });
+
+    /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+
+    /**
+     * Minify all `iterationFactory` related snippets.
+     */
+    source.match(
+      RegExp([
+        // match variables storing `iterationFactory` options
+        'var [a-zA-Z]+FactoryOptions\\s*=\\s*\\{[\\s\\S]+?};\\n',
+        // match the the `iterationFactory` function
+        '(\\n\\s*)function iterationFactory[\\s\\S]+?\\1}',
+        // match methods created by `iterationFactor` calls
+        'iterationFactory\\((?:[\'{]|[a-zA-Z]+,)[\\s\\S]+?\\);\\n'
+      ].join('|'), 'g')
+    )
+    .forEach(function(snippet, index) {
+      var result = snippet;
+
+      // add `true` and `false` arguments to be minified
+      if (/function iterationFactory/.test(snippet)) {
+        result = result
+          .replace(/(Function\('[\s\S]+?)undefined/, '$1true,false,undefined')
+          .replace(/\)\([^)]+/, '$&,true,false');
+
+        // replace with modified snippet early and clip snippet
+        source = source.replace(snippet, result);
+        snippet = result = result.replace(/\)\([\s\S]+$/, '');
+      }
+
+      // minify snippet variables/arguments
+      compiledVars.forEach(function(variable, index) {
+        result = result.replace(RegExp('([^.]\\b|\\\\n)' + variable + '\\b(?!\'\\s*[\\]:])', 'g'), '$1' + minNames[index]);
+        // correct `typeof x == 'object'`
+        if (variable == 'object') {
+          result = result.replace(RegExp("(typeof [^']+')" + minNames[index] + "'", 'g'), "$1object'");
+        }
+        // correct boolean literals
+        if (variable == 'true' || variable == 'false') {
+          result = result
+            .replace(RegExp(':\\s*' + minNames[index] + '\\s*,', 'g'), ':' + variable + ',')
+            .replace(RegExp('\\s*' + minNames[index] + '\\s*;', 'g'), variable + ';');
+        }
+      });
+
+      // minify snippet values
+      compiledValues.forEach(function(value, index) {
+        result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + value + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
+      });
+
+      // minify iterationFactory option property strings
+      iterationFactoryOptions.forEach(function(property, index) {
+        if (property == 'array' || property == 'object') {
+          result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'(\\s*[\\]:])", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'$1");
+        } else {
+          result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
+        }
+      });
+
+      // remove escaped newlines in strings
+      result = result.replace(/\\n/g, '');
+
+      // replace with modified snippet
+      source = source.replace(snippet, result);
+    });
+
+    /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+
+    // write to the same file
+    return source;
+  }
+}());
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/build/post-compile.js b/build/post-compile.js
deleted file mode 100644
index e781fb7a2..000000000
--- a/build/post-compile.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env node
-;(function() {
-  'use strict';
-
-  /** The filesystem module */
-  var fs = require('fs');
-
-  /** The JavaScript source */
-  var src = fs.readFileSync(process.argv[2], 'utf8');
-
-  /** The minimal license/copyright header */
-  var license =
-    '/*!\n' +
-    ' Lo-Dash @VERSION github.com/bestiejs/lodash/blob/master/LICENSE.txt\n' +
-    ' Underscore.js 1.3.3 github.com/documentcloud/underscore/blob/master/LICENSE\n' +
-    '*/';
-
-  /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-
-  // set the version
-  license = license.replace('@VERSION', /VERSION:([\'"])(.*?)\1/.exec(src).pop());
-
-  // move vars exposed by Closure Compiler into the IIFE
-  src = src.replace(/^([^(\n]+)\s*(\(function[^)]+\){)/, '$2$1');
-
-  // use double quotes consistently
-  src = src.replace(/'use strict'/, '"use strict"');
-
-  // add license
-  src = license + '\n;' + src;
-
-  // write to the same file
-  fs.writeFileSync(process.argv[2], src, 'utf8');
-}());
diff --git a/build/pre-compile.js b/build/pre-compile.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 62c021878..000000000
--- a/build/pre-compile.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,204 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env node
-;(function() {
-  'use strict';
-
-  /** The filesystem module */
-  var fs = require('fs');
-
-  /** The JavaScript source */
-  var src = fs.readFileSync(process.argv[2], 'utf8');
-
-  /** Used to minify variables embedded in compiled strings */
-  var compiledVars = [
-    'accumulator',
-    'array',
-    'arrayClass',
-    'bind',
-    'callback',
-    'className',
-    'collection',
-    'computed',
-    'concat',
-    'current',
-    'false',
-    'funcClass',
-    'hasOwnProperty',
-    'identity',
-    'index',
-    'indexOf',
-    'Infinity',
-    'initial',
-    'isArray',
-    'isEmpty',
-    'length',
-    'object',
-    'Math',
-    'property',
-    'result',
-    'slice',
-    'source',
-    'stringClass',
-    'target',
-    'thisArg',
-    'toString',
-    'true',
-    'undefined',
-    'value',
-    'values'
-  ];
-
-  /** Used to minify string values embedded in compiled strings */
-  var compiledValues = [
-    'arrays',
-    'objects'
-  ];
-
-  /** Used to minify `iterationFactory` option properties */
-  var iterationFactoryOptions = [
-    'afterLoop',
-    'args',
-    'array',
-    'beforeLoop',
-    'bottom',
-    'exits',
-    'inLoop',
-    'init',
-    'iterate',
-    'loopExp',
-    'object',
-    'returns',
-    'top',
-    'useHas'
-  ];
-
-  /** Used to minify variables and string values to a single character */
-  var minNames = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ'.split('');
-
-  /** Used protect the specified properties from getting minified */
-  var propWhitelist = [
-    '_',
-    'amd',
-    'chain',
-    'clearInterval',
-    'criteria',
-    'escape',
-    'evaluate',
-    'interpolate',
-    'isEqual',
-    'isFinite',
-    'lodash',
-    'setTimeout',
-    'templateSettings',
-    'toArray',
-    'value',
-    'variable'
-  ];
-
-  /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-
-  /**
-   * Remove copyright to add later in post-compile.js
-   */
-  src = src.replace(/\/\*![\s\S]+?\*\//, '');
-
-  /**
-   * Correct JSDoc tags for Closure Compiler.
-   */
-  src = src.replace(/@(?:alias|category)[^\n]*/g, '');
-
-  /**
-   * Add brackets to whitelisted properties so Closure Compiler won't mung them.
-   * http://code.google.com/closure/compiler/docs/api-tutorial3.html#export
-   */
-  src = src.replace(RegExp('\\.(' + iterationFactoryOptions.concat(propWhitelist).join('|') + ')\\b', 'g'), "['$1']");
-
-  /**
-   * Minify `sortBy` and `template` methods.
-   */
-  ['sortBy', 'template'].forEach(function(methodName) {
-    var properties = ['criteria', 'value'],
-        snippet = src.match(RegExp('(\\n\\s*)function ' + methodName + '[\\s\\S]+?\\1}'))[0],
-        result = snippet;
-
-    // minify property strings
-    properties.forEach(function(property, index) {
-      result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
-    });
-
-    // remove escaped newlines in strings
-    result = result.replace(/\\n/g, '');
-
-    // replace with modified snippet
-    src = src.replace(snippet, result);
-  });
-
-  /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-
-  /**
-   * Minify all `iterationFactory` related snippets.
-   */
-  src.match(
-    RegExp([
-      // match variables storing `iterationFactory` options
-      'var [a-zA-Z]+FactoryOptions\\s*=\\s*\\{[\\s\\S]+?};\\n',
-      // match the the `iterationFactory` function
-      '(\\n\\s*)function iterationFactory[\\s\\S]+?\\1}',
-      // match methods created by `iterationFactor` calls
-      'iterationFactory\\((?:[\'{]|[a-zA-Z]+,)[\\s\\S]+?\\);\\n'
-    ].join('|'), 'g')
-  )
-  .forEach(function(snippet, index) {
-    var result = snippet;
-
-    // add `true` and `false` arguments to be minified
-    if (/function iterationFactory/.test(snippet)) {
-      result = result
-        .replace(/(Function\('[\s\S]+?)undefined/, '$1true,false,undefined')
-        .replace(/\)\([^)]+/, '$&,true,false');
-
-      // replace with modified snippet early and clip snippet
-      src = src.replace(snippet, result);
-      snippet = result = result.replace(/\)\([\s\S]+$/, '');
-    }
-
-    // minify snippet variables/arguments
-    compiledVars.forEach(function(variable, index) {
-      result = result.replace(RegExp('([^.]\\b|\\\\n)' + variable + '\\b(?!\'\\s*[\\]:])', 'g'), '$1' + minNames[index]);
-      // correct `typeof x == 'object'`
-      if (variable == 'object') {
-        result = result.replace(RegExp("(typeof [^']+')" + minNames[index] + "'", 'g'), "$1object'");
-      }
-      // correct boolean literals
-      if (variable == 'true' || variable == 'false') {
-        result = result
-          .replace(RegExp(':\\s*' + minNames[index] + '\\s*,', 'g'), ':' + variable + ',')
-          .replace(RegExp('\\s*' + minNames[index] + '\\s*;', 'g'), variable + ';');
-      }
-    });
-
-    // minify snippet values
-    compiledValues.forEach(function(value, index) {
-      result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + value + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
-    });
-
-    // minify iterationFactory option property strings
-    iterationFactoryOptions.forEach(function(property, index) {
-      if (property == 'array' || property == 'object') {
-        result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'(\\s*[\\]:])", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'$1");
-      } else {
-        result = result.replace(RegExp("'" + property + "'", 'g'), "'" + minNames[index] + "'");
-      }
-    });
-
-    // remove escaped newlines in strings
-    result = result.replace(/\\n/g, '');
-
-    // replace with modified snippet
-    src = src.replace(snippet, result);
-  });
-
-  /*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
-
-  // write to the same file
-  fs.writeFileSync(process.argv[2], src, 'utf8');
-}());