diff --git a/.npmignore b/.npmignore
index e6c50e0f4..38955e8f0 100644
--- a/.npmignore
+++ b/.npmignore
@@ -17,3 +17,4 @@ src/util/inquire/
 src/util/path/
 src/util/pool/
 src/util/utf8/
+pbjs.png
diff --git a/cli/pbjs.js b/cli/pbjs.js
index c5ad4c342..52cefba49 100644
--- a/cli/pbjs.js
+++ b/cli/pbjs.js
@@ -1,14 +1,22 @@
+"use strict";
 var path     = require("path"),
     fs       = require("fs"),
     pkg      = require(path.join(__dirname, "..", "package.json")),
     util     = require("./util");
 
-var minimist = util.require("minimist", pkg.devDependencies.minimist),
-    chalk    = util.require("chalk", pkg.devDependencies.chalk),
-    glob     = util.require("glob", pkg.devDependencies.glob);
+util.setup([
+    "minimist",
+    "chalk",
+    "glob",
+    "uglify-js"
+], pkg.devDependencies);
 
 var protobuf = require(".."),
-    targets  = util.requireAll("./targets");
+    minimist = require("minimist"),
+    chalk = require("chalk"),
+    glob = require("glob");
+
+var targets  = util.requireAll("./targets");
 
 /**
  * Runs pbjs programmatically.
diff --git a/cli/pbts.js b/cli/pbts.js
index a29074126..7c2bf5107 100644
--- a/cli/pbts.js
+++ b/cli/pbts.js
@@ -1,17 +1,22 @@
-var path     = require("path"),
+"use strict";
+var child_process = require("child_process"),
+    path     = require("path"),
     fs       = require("fs"),
     pkg      = require(path.join(__dirname, "..", "package.json")),
     util     = require("./util");
-var child_process = require("child_process");
 
-var minimist = util.require("minimist", pkg.devDependencies.minimist),
-    chalk    = util.require("chalk", pkg.devDependencies.chalk),
-    glob     = util.require("glob", pkg.devDependencies.glob),
-    tmp      = util.require("tmp", pkg.devDependencies.tmp);
-
-var jsdoc    = util.require("jsdoc/package.json", pkg.devDependencies.jsdoc);
-
-var protobuf = require("..");
+util.setup([
+    "minimist",
+    "chalk",
+    "glob",
+    "tmp",
+    "jsdoc"
+], pkg.devDependencies);
+
+var minimist = require("minimist"),
+    chalk    = require("chalk"),
+    glob     = require("glob"),
+    tmp      = require("tmp");
 
 /**
  * Runs pbts programmatically.
diff --git a/cli/targets/static.js b/cli/targets/static.js
index 7a4447130..313e31270 100644
--- a/cli/targets/static.js
+++ b/cli/targets/static.js
@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@
 module.exports = static_target;
 
 var protobuf = require("../.."),
-    cliUtil  = require("../util");
-
-var UglifyJS = cliUtil.require("uglify-js", require(require("path").join(__dirname, "..", "..", "package.json")).devDependencies["uglify-js"]);
+    cliUtil  = require("../util"),
+    UglifyJS = require("uglify-js");
 
 var Type      = protobuf.Type,
     Service   = protobuf.Service,
diff --git a/cli/util.js b/cli/util.js
index aeee7fe80..e6002a8f6 100644
--- a/cli/util.js
+++ b/cli/util.js
@@ -69,25 +69,27 @@ exports.inspect = function inspect(object, indent) {
     return sb.join("\n");
 };
 
-exports.require = function(name, version) {
-    var sub = "";
-    var p = name.indexOf("/");
-    if (p > -1) {
-        sub = name.substring(p);
-        name = name.substring(0, p);
+exports.setup = function(modules, versions) {
+    for (var i = 0; i < modules.length;) {
+        try {
+            // do not feed the cache
+            require.resolve(path.join(modules[i], "package.json"));
+            modules.splice(i, 1);
+        } catch (e) {
+            ++i;
+        }
     }
-    var cwd = path.join(__dirname, "..");
-    var dir = path.join(cwd, "node_modules", name);
-    try {
-        // do not feed the cache
-        require.resolve(path.join(dir, "package.json"));
-    } catch (e) {
-        console.error("installing " + name + "@" + version + " ...");
-        child_process.execSync("npm --silent install " + name + "@" + version, {
-            cwd: cwd
-        });
-    }
-    return require(name + sub);
+    if (!modules.length)
+        return;
+    modules = modules.map(function(name) {
+        return name + "@" + versions[name];
+    });
+    var cmd = "npm --silent --only=prod install " + modules.join(" ");
+    process.stderr.write("setting up " + modules.join(", ") + " ...\n");
+    child_process.execSync(cmd, {
+        cwd: path.join(__dirname, ".."),
+        stdio: "ignore"
+    });
 };
 
 exports.wrap = function(OUTPUT, options) {