diff --git a/doc/install/installation.md b/doc/install/installation.md
index 0f07085942a0b85ad94840fe1a6676c49239ed0a..1a4e45a65aa2c7d5e06ab02ceb4cffceeb8fae1d 100644
--- a/doc/install/installation.md
+++ b/doc/install/installation.md
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ The GitLab installation consists of setting up the following components:
 1. Packages / Dependencies
 1. Ruby
 1. Go
+1. Node
 1. System Users
 1. Database
 1. Redis
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ up-to-date and install it.
 
 Install the required packages (needed to compile Ruby and native extensions to Ruby gems):
 
-    sudo apt-get install -y build-essential zlib1g-dev libyaml-dev libssl-dev libgdbm-dev libreadline-dev libncurses5-dev libffi-dev curl openssh-server checkinstall libxml2-dev libxslt-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libicu-dev logrotate python-docutils pkg-config cmake nodejs
+    sudo apt-get install -y build-essential zlib1g-dev libyaml-dev libssl-dev libgdbm-dev libreadline-dev libncurses5-dev libffi-dev curl openssh-server checkinstall libxml2-dev libxslt-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libicu-dev logrotate python-docutils pkg-config cmake
 
 If you want to use Kerberos for user authentication, then install libkrb5-dev:
 
@@ -151,13 +152,26 @@ page](https://golang.org/dl).
     sudo ln -sf /usr/local/go/bin/{go,godoc,gofmt} /usr/local/bin/
     rm go1.5.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz
 
-## 4. System Users
+## 4. Node
+
+Since GitLab 8.17, GitLab requires the use of node >= v4.3.0 to compile
+javascript assets. In many distros the version provided by the official package
+repositories is out of date, so we'll need to install through the following
+commands:
+
+    # install node v7.x
+    curl --location https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_7.x | bash -
+    sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
+
+Visit the official website for [node](https://nodejs.org/en/download/package-manager/) if you have any trouble with this step.
+
+## 5. System Users
 
 Create a `git` user for GitLab:
 
     sudo adduser --disabled-login --gecos 'GitLab' git
 
-## 5. Database
+## 6. Database
 
 We recommend using a PostgreSQL database. For MySQL check the
 [MySQL setup guide](database_mysql.md).
@@ -218,7 +232,7 @@ We recommend using a PostgreSQL database. For MySQL check the
     gitlabhq_production> \q
     ```
 
-## 6. Redis
+## 7. Redis
 
 GitLab requires at least Redis 2.8.
 
@@ -263,7 +277,7 @@ sudo service redis-server restart
 sudo usermod -aG redis git
 ```
 
-## 7. GitLab
+## 8. GitLab
 
     # We'll install GitLab into home directory of the user "git"
     cd /home/git
@@ -451,7 +465,8 @@ Check if GitLab and its environment are configured correctly:
 
 ### Compile Assets
 
-    sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile RAILS_ENV=production
+    sudo -u git -H npm install --production
+    sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile RAILS_ENV=production NODE_ENV=production
 
 ### Start Your GitLab Instance
 
@@ -459,7 +474,7 @@ Check if GitLab and its environment are configured correctly:
     # or
     sudo /etc/init.d/gitlab restart
 
-## 8. Nginx
+## 9. Nginx
 
 **Note:** Nginx is the officially supported web server for GitLab. If you cannot or do not want to use Nginx as your web server, have a look at the [GitLab recipes](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-recipes/).
 
diff --git a/doc/update/8.16-to-8.17.md b/doc/update/8.16-to-8.17.md
index 53c2bc560e8203f69fc7c31e3df5341eaa3d5afb..ded5df26950b5aacf0307c922533e23fe82c5be6 100644
--- a/doc/update/8.16-to-8.17.md
+++ b/doc/update/8.16-to-8.17.md
@@ -49,7 +49,19 @@ Install Bundler:
 sudo gem install bundler --no-ri --no-rdoc
 ```
 
-### 4. Get latest code
+### 4. Update Node
+
+GitLab now runs [webpack](http://webpack.js.org) to compile frontend assets and
+it has a minimum requirement of node v4.3.0.
+
+You can check which version you are running with `node -v`. If you are running
+a version older than `v4.3.0` you will should update to a newer version.  You
+can find instructions to install from community maintained packages or compile
+from source at the nodejs.org website.
+
+<https://nodejs.org/en/download/>
+
+### 5. Get latest code
 
 ```bash
 cd /home/git/gitlab
@@ -76,7 +88,7 @@ cd /home/git/gitlab
 sudo -u git -H git checkout 8-17-stable-ee
 ```
 
-### 5. Install libs, migrations, etc.
+### 6. Install libs, migrations, etc.
 
 ```bash
 cd /home/git/gitlab
@@ -93,13 +105,16 @@ sudo -u git -H bundle clean
 # Run database migrations
 sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake db:migrate RAILS_ENV=production
 
+# Install/update frontend asset dependencies
+sudo -u git -H npm install --production
+
 # Clean up assets and cache
-sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake assets:clean assets:precompile cache:clear RAILS_ENV=production
+sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:clean gitlab:assets:compile cache:clear RAILS_ENV=production
 ```
 
 **MySQL installations**: Run through the `MySQL strings limits` and `Tables and data conversion to utf8mb4` [tasks](../install/database_mysql.md).
 
-### 6. Update gitlab-workhorse
+### 7. Update gitlab-workhorse
 
 Install and compile gitlab-workhorse. This requires
 [Go 1.5](https://golang.org/dl) which should already be on your system from
@@ -111,7 +126,7 @@ cd /home/git/gitlab
 sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake "gitlab:workhorse:install[/home/git/gitlab-workhorse]" RAILS_ENV=production
 ```
 
-### 7. Update gitlab-shell
+### 8. Update gitlab-shell
 
 ```bash
 cd /home/git/gitlab-shell
@@ -120,7 +135,7 @@ sudo -u git -H git fetch --all --tags
 sudo -u git -H git checkout v4.1.1
 ```
 
-### 8. Update configuration files
+### 9. Update configuration files
 
 #### New configuration options for `gitlab.yml`
 
@@ -194,14 +209,14 @@ For Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS:
 sudo systemctl daemon-reload
 ```
 
-### 9. Start application
+### 10. Start application
 
 ```bash
 sudo service gitlab start
 sudo service nginx restart
 ```
 
-### 10. Check application status
+### 11. Check application status
 
 Check if GitLab and its environment are configured correctly:
 
diff --git a/lib/gitlab/upgrader.rb b/lib/gitlab/upgrader.rb
index e78d0c34a02e5972ceafc7c43dd3e77311d4d01c..23a5a868d791280f21f9db098e76351750ff73df 100644
--- a/lib/gitlab/upgrader.rb
+++ b/lib/gitlab/upgrader.rb
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ module Gitlab
         "Switch to new version" => %W(#{Gitlab.config.git.bin_path} checkout v#{latest_version}),
         "Install gems" => %W(bundle),
         "Migrate DB" => %W(bundle exec rake db:migrate),
+        "Install node modules" => %W(npm install --production),
         "Recompile assets" => %W(bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:clean gitlab:assets:compile),
         "Clear cache" => %W(bundle exec rake cache:clear)
       }