diff --git a/.eslintrc.js b/.eslintrc.js
index a8a6c5e68dd8c..62c2a97f53eea 100644
--- a/.eslintrc.js
+++ b/.eslintrc.js
@@ -495,7 +495,6 @@ module.exports = {
         '.eslintrc.js',
         '**/webpackShims/**/*.js',
         'packages/kbn-plugin-generator/**/*.js',
-        'packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/**/*.js',
         'packages/kbn-eslint-import-resolver-kibana/**/*.js',
         'packages/kbn-eslint-plugin-eslint/**/*',
         'x-pack/gulpfile.js',
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/bin/plugin-helpers.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/bin/plugin-helpers.js
index 18a08332605ea..175ff1019fa2d 100755
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/bin/plugin-helpers.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/bin/plugin-helpers.js
@@ -25,4 +25,4 @@ if (nodeMajorVersion < 6) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
-require('../cli');
+require('../target/cli');
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.d.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.d.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 6f1eb73505b05..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.d.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-export function babelRegister(): void;
-export function resolveKibanaPath(path: string): string;
-export function readFtrConfigFile(path: string): any;
-export function run(
-  task: 'build' | 'start' | 'testAll' | 'testKarma' | 'testMocha' | 'postinstall',
-  options: any
-): Promise<void>;
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 836d9de7849dc..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/index.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-const run = require('./run');
-const utils = require('./utils');
-
-module.exports = function() {
-  console.error(
-    'running tasks with the default export of @kbn/plugin-helpers is deprecated.' +
-      "use `require('@kbn/plugin-helpers').run()` instead"
-  );
-
-  return run.apply(this, arguments);
-};
-
-Object.assign(module.exports, { run: run }, utils);
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.test.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.test.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 4c87399319b3b..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.test.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,58 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-/*eslint-env jest*/
-
-jest.mock('./plugin_config', () => () => ({ id: 'testPlugin' }));
-
-jest.mock('./tasks', () => {
-  return { testTask: jest.fn() };
-});
-
-const run = require('./run');
-
-describe('lib/run', () => {
-  beforeEach(() => jest.resetAllMocks());
-
-  it('throw given an invalid task', function() {
-    const invalidTaskName = 'thisisnotavalidtasknameandneverwillbe';
-    const runner = () => run(invalidTaskName);
-
-    expect(runner).toThrow(/invalid task/i);
-  });
-
-  it('runs specified task with plugin and runner', function() {
-    run('testTask');
-
-    const { testTask } = require('./tasks');
-    const plugin = require('./plugin_config')();
-    const args = testTask.mock.calls[0];
-    expect(testTask.mock.calls).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(args[0]).toEqual(plugin);
-    expect(args[1]).toBe(run);
-  });
-
-  it('returns value returned by task', function() {
-    const { testTask } = require('./tasks');
-
-    const symbol = Symbol('foo');
-    testTask.mockReturnValue(symbol);
-    expect(run('testTask')).toBe(symbol);
-  });
-});
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/win_cmd.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/win_cmd.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 0bc672bed67c6..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/win_cmd.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-const platform = require('os').platform();
-
-module.exports = function winCmd(cmd) {
-  return /^win/.test(platform) ? cmd + '.cmd' : cmd;
-};
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/package.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/package.json
index 6ee56f9776c07..71d6234688eec 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/package.json
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/package.json
@@ -1,17 +1,16 @@
 {
   "name": "@kbn/plugin-helpers",
-  "private": true,
   "version": "9.0.2",
+  "private": true,
   "description": "Just some helpers for kibana plugin devs.",
-  "main": "lib/index.js",
+  "license": "Apache-2.0",
+  "main": "target/lib/index.js",
+  "scripts": {
+    "kbn:bootstrap": "tsc"
+  },
   "bin": {
     "plugin-helpers": "bin/plugin-helpers.js"
   },
-  "author": "Spencer Alger <email@spalger.com>",
-  "license": "Apache-2.0",
-  "peerDependencies": {
-    "@kbn/babel-preset": "1.0.0"
-  },
   "dependencies": {
     "@babel/core": "^7.9.0",
     "argv-split": "^2.0.1",
@@ -27,6 +26,20 @@
     "node-sass": "^4.13.1",
     "through2": "^2.0.3",
     "through2-map": "^3.0.0",
+    "vinyl": "^2.2.0",
     "vinyl-fs": "^3.0.3"
+  },
+  "devDependencies": {
+    "@types/gulp-rename": "^0.0.33",
+    "@types/gulp-zip": "^4.0.1",
+    "@types/inquirer": "^6.5.0",
+    "@types/node-sass": "^4.11.0",
+    "@types/through2": "^2.0.35",
+    "@types/through2-map": "^3.0.0",
+    "@types/vinyl": "^2.0.4",
+    "typescript": "3.7.2"
+  },
+  "peerDependencies": {
+    "@kbn/babel-preset": "1.0.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/cli.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/cli.ts
similarity index 87%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/cli.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/cli.ts
index 48b70535272fe..ee1bca0fe3ac2 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/cli.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/cli.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,16 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const program = require('commander');
+import Fs from 'fs';
+import Path from 'path';
 
-const pkg = require('./package.json');
-const createCommanderAction = require('./lib/commander_action');
-const docs = require('./lib/docs');
-const enableCollectingUnknownOptions = require('./lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options');
+import program from 'commander';
 
+import { createCommanderAction } from './lib/commander_action';
+import { docs } from './lib/docs';
+import { enableCollectingUnknownOptions } from './lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options';
+
+const pkg = JSON.parse(Fs.readFileSync(Path.resolve(__dirname, '../package.json'), 'utf8'));
 program.version(pkg.version);
 
 enableCollectingUnknownOptions(
@@ -55,7 +58,7 @@ program
       buildVersion: command.buildVersion,
       kibanaVersion: command.kibanaVersion,
       skipArchive: Boolean(command.skipArchive),
-      files: files,
+      files,
     }))
   );
 
@@ -84,7 +87,7 @@ program
   .on('--help', docs('test/mocha'))
   .action(
     createCommanderAction('testMocha', (command, files) => ({
-      files: files,
+      files,
     }))
   );
 
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/__snapshots__/commander_action.test.js.snap b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/__snapshots__/commander_action.test.js.snap
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/__snapshots__/commander_action.test.js.snap
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/__snapshots__/commander_action.test.js.snap
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.test.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.test.js
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.test.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.test.js
index 40ac6755f02e5..501c0bd061913 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.test.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.test.js
@@ -17,12 +17,10 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-/*eslint-env jest*/
+import { createCommanderAction } from './commander_action';
+import { run } from './run';
 
-const createCommanderAction = require('./commander_action');
-const run = require('./run');
-
-jest.mock('./run', () => jest.fn());
+jest.mock('./run');
 
 const STACK_TRACE_RE = /\n(?:\s+at .+(?:\n|$))+/g;
 expect.addSnapshotSerializer({
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.ts
similarity index 81%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.ts
index 497dee8edf740..ce585dd0a02c8 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/commander_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/commander_action.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,13 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const run = require('./run');
+import { run } from './run';
+import { Tasks } from './tasks';
 
-module.exports = function createCommanderAction(taskName, getOptions = () => {}) {
-  return async (...args) => {
+type GetOptions = (command: any, ...args: string[]) => any;
+
+export function createCommanderAction(taskName: keyof Tasks, getOptions: GetOptions = () => {}) {
+  return async (...args: string[]) => {
     try {
       // command is the last arg passed by commander, but we move it to the front of the list
       const command = args.pop();
@@ -30,4 +33,4 @@ module.exports = function createCommanderAction(taskName, getOptions = () => {})
       process.exit(1);
     }
   };
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/config_file.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/config_file.ts
similarity index 70%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/config_file.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/config_file.ts
index 5b8be836998e4..1566932b65872 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/config_file.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/config_file.ts
@@ -17,33 +17,34 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
-const readFileSync = require('fs').readFileSync;
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
 
-const configFiles = ['.kibana-plugin-helpers.json', '.kibana-plugin-helpers.dev.json'];
-const configCache = {};
+const configFileNames = ['.kibana-plugin-helpers.json', '.kibana-plugin-helpers.dev.json'];
 
-module.exports = function(root) {
-  if (!root) root = process.cwd();
+interface Config {
+  [key: string]: unknown;
+}
 
-  if (configCache[root]) {
-    return configCache[root];
+const configCache = new Map<string, Config>();
+
+export function configFile(root: string = process.cwd()) {
+  if (configCache.has(root)) {
+    return configCache.get(root)!;
   }
 
   // config files to read from, in the order they are merged together
-  let config = (configCache[root] = {});
-
-  configFiles.forEach(function(configFile) {
+  let config: Config = {};
+  for (const name of configFileNames) {
     try {
-      const content = JSON.parse(readFileSync(resolve(root, configFile)));
-      config = Object.assign(config, content);
+      config = JSON.parse(readFileSync(resolve(root, name), 'utf8'));
     } catch (e) {
       // rethrow error unless it's complaining about file not existing
       if (e.code !== 'ENOENT') {
         throw e;
       }
     }
-  });
+  }
 
   const deprecationMsg =
     'has been removed from `@kbn/plugin-helpers`. ' +
@@ -59,8 +60,10 @@ module.exports = function(root) {
   }
 
   // use resolve to ensure correct resolution of paths
-  const { includePlugins } = config;
-  if (includePlugins) config.includePlugins = includePlugins.map(path => resolve(root, path));
+  if (Array.isArray(config.includePlugins)) {
+    config.includePlugins = config.includePlugins.map((path: string) => resolve(root, path));
+  }
 
+  configCache.set(root, config);
   return config;
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/docs.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/docs.ts
similarity index 72%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/docs.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/docs.ts
index f1b288c68c390..68c095209e817 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/docs.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/docs.ts
@@ -17,21 +17,19 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
-const readFileSync = require('fs').readFileSync;
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
 
-function indent(txt, n) {
+function indent(txt: string, n: number) {
   const space = new Array(n + 1).join(' ');
   return space + txt.split('\n').join('\n' + space);
 }
 
-module.exports = function docs(name) {
-  const md = readFileSync(resolve(__dirname, '../tasks', name, 'README.md'), 'utf8');
+export function docs(name: string) {
+  const md = readFileSync(resolve(__dirname, '../../src/tasks', name, 'README.md'), 'utf8');
 
   return function() {
-    console.log('\n  Docs:');
-    console.log('');
-    console.log(indent(md, 4));
-    console.log('');
+    /* eslint-disable-next-line no-console */
+    console.log(`\n  Docs:\n\n${indent(md, 4)}\n\n`);
   };
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.ts
similarity index 86%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.ts
index 8b855a8b8769d..77fa7f2fcae84 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/enable_collecting_unknown_options.ts
@@ -17,12 +17,14 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = function enableCollectingUnknownOptions(command) {
+import { Command } from 'commander';
+
+export function enableCollectingUnknownOptions(command: Command) {
   const origParse = command.parseOptions;
   command.allowUnknownOption();
-  command.parseOptions = function(argv) {
+  command.parseOptions = function(argv: string[]) {
     const opts = origParse.call(this, argv);
     this.unknownOptions = opts.unknown;
     return opts;
   };
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/index.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..acc7134308bec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+export * from './run';
+export * from './utils';
+export * from './win_cmd';
+export * from './plugin_config';
+export * from './pipeline';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/pipeline.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/pipeline.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d66e18f5239a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/pipeline.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import Stream from 'stream';
+import Util from 'util';
+
+export const pipeline = Util.promisify(Stream.pipeline);
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/plugin_config.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/plugin_config.ts
similarity index 64%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/plugin_config.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/plugin_config.ts
index 60baa7fc97660..dc3ef936e2164 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/plugin_config.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/plugin_config.ts
@@ -17,16 +17,26 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
-const readFileSync = require('fs').readFileSync;
-const configFile = require('./config_file');
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import { readFileSync } from 'fs';
 
-module.exports = function(root) {
-  if (!root) root = process.cwd();
+import { configFile } from './config_file';
 
+export interface PluginConfig {
+  root: string;
+  kibanaRoot: string;
+  serverTestPatterns: string[];
+  buildSourcePatterns: string[];
+  skipInstallDependencies: boolean;
+  id: string;
+  version: string;
+  pkg: any;
+  [k: string]: unknown;
+}
+
+export function pluginConfig(root: string = process.cwd()): PluginConfig {
   const pluginPackageJsonPath = resolve(root, 'package.json');
-  const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(pluginPackageJsonPath));
-  const config = configFile(root);
+  const pkg = JSON.parse(readFileSync(pluginPackageJsonPath, 'utf8'));
 
   const buildSourcePatterns = [
     'yarn.lock',
@@ -42,6 +52,7 @@ module.exports = function(root) {
   const isPluginXpack = pkg.name === 'x-pack';
 
   if (isPluginOnKibanaExtra && !isPluginXpack) {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
     console.warn(
       `In the future we will disable ../kibana-extra/{pluginName}. You should move your plugin ${pkg.name} as soon as possible to ./plugins/{pluginName}`
     );
@@ -49,17 +60,15 @@ module.exports = function(root) {
 
   const kibanaRootWhenNotXpackPlugin = isPluginOnKibanaExtra ? kibanaExtraDir : kibanaPluginsDir;
 
-  return Object.assign(
-    {
-      root: root,
-      kibanaRoot: isPluginXpack ? resolve(root, '..') : kibanaRootWhenNotXpackPlugin,
-      serverTestPatterns: ['server/**/__tests__/**/*.js'],
-      buildSourcePatterns: buildSourcePatterns,
-      skipInstallDependencies: false,
-      id: pkg.name,
-      pkg: pkg,
-      version: pkg.version,
-    },
-    config
-  );
-};
+  return {
+    root,
+    kibanaRoot: isPluginXpack ? resolve(root, '..') : kibanaRootWhenNotXpackPlugin,
+    serverTestPatterns: ['server/**/__tests__/**/*.js'],
+    buildSourcePatterns,
+    skipInstallDependencies: false,
+    id: pkg.name as string,
+    version: pkg.version as string,
+    pkg,
+    ...configFile(root),
+  };
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/run.ts
similarity index 75%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/run.ts
index 119b64f71e2f9..2b1a2a63c1074 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/run.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/run.ts
@@ -17,15 +17,21 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const pluginConfig = require('./plugin_config');
-const tasks = require('./tasks');
+import { pluginConfig, PluginConfig } from './plugin_config';
+import { tasks, Tasks } from './tasks';
 
-module.exports = function run(name, options) {
+export interface TaskContext {
+  plugin: PluginConfig;
+  run: typeof run;
+  options?: any;
+}
+
+export function run(name: keyof Tasks, options?: any) {
   const action = tasks[name];
   if (!action) {
     throw new Error('Invalid task: "' + name + '"');
   }
 
   const plugin = pluginConfig();
-  return action(plugin, run, options);
-};
+  return action({ plugin, run, options });
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/tasks.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/tasks.ts
similarity index 64%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/tasks.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/tasks.ts
index afc9c056d51d7..7817838760a2e 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/tasks.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/tasks.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,22 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const buildTask = require('../tasks/build');
-const startTask = require('../tasks/start');
-const testAllTask = require('../tasks/test/all');
-const testKarmaTask = require('../tasks/test/karma');
-const testMochaTask = require('../tasks/test/mocha');
+import { buildTask } from '../tasks/build';
+import { startTask } from '../tasks/start';
+import { testAllTask } from '../tasks/test/all';
+import { testKarmaTask } from '../tasks/test/karma';
+import { testMochaTask } from '../tasks/test/mocha';
 
-module.exports = {
+// define a tasks interface that we can extend in the tests
+export interface Tasks {
+  build: typeof buildTask;
+  start: typeof startTask;
+  testAll: typeof testAllTask;
+  testKarma: typeof testKarmaTask;
+  testMocha: typeof testMochaTask;
+}
+
+export const tasks: Tasks = {
   build: buildTask,
   start: startTask,
   testAll: testAllTask,
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/utils.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/utils.ts
similarity index 74%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/utils.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/utils.ts
index 6e3d8969802a4..0348f9f8deda9 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/lib/utils.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -17,11 +17,11 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
+import { resolve } from 'path';
 
-const pluginConfig = require('./plugin_config');
+import { pluginConfig } from './plugin_config';
 
-function babelRegister() {
+export function babelRegister() {
   const plugin = pluginConfig();
 
   try {
@@ -36,18 +36,7 @@ function babelRegister() {
   }
 }
 
-function resolveKibanaPath(path) {
+export function resolveKibanaPath(path: string) {
   const plugin = pluginConfig();
   return resolve(plugin.kibanaRoot, path);
 }
-
-function readFtrConfigFile(log, path, settingOverrides) {
-  return require('@kbn/test') // eslint-disable-line import/no-dynamic-require
-    .readConfigFile(log, path, settingOverrides);
-}
-
-module.exports = {
-  babelRegister: babelRegister,
-  resolveKibanaPath: resolveKibanaPath,
-  readFtrConfigFile: readFtrConfigFile,
-};
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/win_cmd.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/win_cmd.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a3f5d144602ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/lib/win_cmd.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import Os from 'os';
+
+export function winCmd(cmd: string) {
+  return /^win/.test(Os.platform()) ? cmd + '.cmd' : cmd;
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/README.md b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/README.md
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/README.md
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/build_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/build_task.ts
similarity index 57%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/build_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/build_task.ts
index 32513958f66ab..16207f323ff71 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/build_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/build_task.ts
@@ -17,15 +17,14 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const join = require('path').join;
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
-const inquirer = require('inquirer');
+import { join, resolve } from 'path';
+import inquirer from 'inquirer';
 
-const createBuild = require('./create_build');
-const createPackage = require('./create_package');
+import { TaskContext } from '../../lib';
+import { createBuild } from './create_build';
+import { createPackage } from './create_package';
 
-module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
-  options = options || {};
+export async function buildTask({ plugin, options = {} }: TaskContext) {
   let buildVersion = plugin.version;
   let kibanaVersion = (plugin.pkg.kibana && plugin.pkg.kibana.version) || plugin.pkg.version;
   let buildFiles = plugin.buildSourcePatterns;
@@ -41,31 +40,24 @@ module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
   if (options.buildVersion) buildVersion = options.buildVersion;
   if (options.kibanaVersion) kibanaVersion = options.kibanaVersion;
 
-  let buildStep;
-  if (kibanaVersion === 'kibana') {
-    buildStep = askForKibanaVersion().then(function(customKibanaVersion) {
-      return createBuild(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion, customKibanaVersion, buildFiles);
-    });
-  } else {
-    buildStep = createBuild(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion, kibanaVersion, buildFiles);
+  const chosenKibanaVersion =
+    kibanaVersion === 'kibana' ? await askForKibanaVersion() : kibanaVersion;
+
+  await createBuild(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion, chosenKibanaVersion, buildFiles);
+
+  if (!options.skipArchive) {
+    await createPackage(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion);
   }
+}
 
-  return buildStep.then(function() {
-    if (options.skipArchive) return;
-    return createPackage(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion);
-  });
-};
+async function askForKibanaVersion() {
+  const answers = await inquirer.prompt([
+    {
+      type: 'input',
+      name: 'kibanaVersion',
+      message: 'What version of Kibana are you building for?',
+    },
+  ]);
 
-function askForKibanaVersion() {
-  return inquirer
-    .prompt([
-      {
-        type: 'input',
-        name: 'kibanaVersion',
-        message: 'What version of Kibana are you building for?',
-      },
-    ])
-    .then(function(answers) {
-      return answers.kibanaVersion;
-    });
+  return answers.kibanaVersion;
 }
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_build.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_build.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..a469e4fe67390
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_build.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,196 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+import { relative } from 'path';
+import path from 'path';
+
+import { readFileSync, writeFileSync, unlinkSync, existsSync } from 'fs';
+import execa from 'execa';
+import sass from 'node-sass';
+import del from 'del';
+import File from 'vinyl';
+import vfs from 'vinyl-fs';
+import rename from 'gulp-rename';
+import through from 'through2';
+import minimatch from 'minimatch';
+// @ts-ignore
+import gulpBabel from 'gulp-babel';
+
+import { PluginConfig, winCmd, pipeline } from '../../lib';
+import { rewritePackageJson } from './rewrite_package_json';
+
+// `link:` dependencies create symlinks, but we don't want to include symlinks
+// in the built zip file. Therefore we remove all symlinked dependencies, so we
+// can re-create them when installing the plugin.
+function removeSymlinkDependencies(root: string) {
+  const nodeModulesPattern = path.join(root, '**', 'node_modules', '**');
+
+  return through.obj((file: File, _, cb) => {
+    const isSymlink = file.symlink != null;
+    const isDependency = minimatch(file.path, nodeModulesPattern);
+
+    if (isSymlink && isDependency) {
+      unlinkSync(file.path);
+    }
+
+    cb();
+  });
+}
+
+// parse a ts config file
+function parseTsconfig(pluginSourcePath: string, configPath: string) {
+  // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-var-requires
+  const ts = require(path.join(pluginSourcePath, 'node_modules', 'typescript'));
+
+  const { error, config } = ts.parseConfigFileTextToJson(
+    configPath,
+    readFileSync(configPath, 'utf8')
+  );
+
+  if (error) {
+    throw error;
+  }
+
+  return config;
+}
+
+// transpile with babel
+async function transpileWithBabel(srcGlobs: string[], buildRoot: string, presets: string[]) {
+  await pipeline(
+    vfs.src(
+      srcGlobs.concat([
+        '!**/*.d.ts',
+        '!**/*.{test,test.mocks,mock,mocks}.{ts,tsx}',
+        '!**/node_modules/**',
+        '!**/bower_components/**',
+        '!**/__tests__/**',
+      ]),
+      {
+        cwd: buildRoot,
+      }
+    ),
+
+    gulpBabel({
+      babelrc: false,
+      presets,
+    }),
+
+    vfs.dest(buildRoot)
+  );
+}
+
+export async function createBuild(
+  plugin: PluginConfig,
+  buildTarget: string,
+  buildVersion: string,
+  kibanaVersion: string,
+  files: string[]
+) {
+  const buildSource = plugin.root;
+  const buildRoot = path.join(buildTarget, 'kibana', plugin.id);
+
+  await del(buildTarget);
+
+  // copy source files and apply some transformations in the process
+  await pipeline(
+    vfs.src(files, {
+      cwd: buildSource,
+      base: buildSource,
+      allowEmpty: true,
+    }),
+
+    // modify the package.json file
+    rewritePackageJson(buildSource, buildVersion, kibanaVersion),
+
+    // put all files inside the correct directories
+    rename(function nestFileInDir(filePath) {
+      const nonRelativeDirname = filePath.dirname!.replace(/^(\.\.\/?)+/g, '');
+      filePath.dirname = path.join(relative(buildTarget, buildRoot), nonRelativeDirname);
+    }),
+
+    // write files back to disk
+    vfs.dest(buildTarget)
+  );
+
+  // install packages in build
+  if (!plugin.skipInstallDependencies) {
+    execa.sync(winCmd('yarn'), ['install', '--production', '--pure-lockfile'], {
+      cwd: buildRoot,
+    });
+  }
+
+  // compile stylesheet
+  if (typeof plugin.styleSheetToCompile === 'string') {
+    const file = path.resolve(plugin.root, plugin.styleSheetToCompile);
+    if (!existsSync(file)) {
+      throw new Error(`Path provided for styleSheetToCompile does not exist: ${file}`);
+    }
+
+    const outputFileName = path.basename(file, path.extname(file)) + '.css';
+    const output = path.join(buildRoot, path.dirname(plugin.styleSheetToCompile), outputFileName);
+
+    const rendered = sass.renderSync({ file, output });
+    writeFileSync(output, rendered.css);
+
+    del.sync([path.join(buildRoot, '**', '*.s{a,c}ss')]);
+  }
+
+  // transform typescript to js and clean out typescript
+  const tsConfigPath = path.join(buildRoot, 'tsconfig.json');
+  if (existsSync(tsConfigPath)) {
+    // attempt to patch the extends path in the tsconfig file
+    const buildConfig = parseTsconfig(buildSource, tsConfigPath);
+
+    if (buildConfig.extends) {
+      buildConfig.extends = path.join(relative(buildRoot, buildSource), buildConfig.extends);
+
+      writeFileSync(tsConfigPath, JSON.stringify(buildConfig));
+    }
+
+    // Transpile ts server code
+    //
+    // Include everything except content from public folders
+    await transpileWithBabel(['**/*.{ts,tsx}', '!**/public/**'], buildRoot, [
+      require.resolve('@kbn/babel-preset/node_preset'),
+    ]);
+
+    // Transpile ts client code
+    //
+    // Include everything inside a public directory
+    await transpileWithBabel(['**/public/**/*.{ts,tsx}'], buildRoot, [
+      require.resolve('@kbn/babel-preset/webpack_preset'),
+    ]);
+
+    del.sync([
+      path.join(buildRoot, '**', '*.{ts,tsx,d.ts}'),
+      path.join(buildRoot, 'tsconfig.json'),
+    ]);
+  }
+
+  // remove symlinked dependencies
+  await pipeline(
+    vfs.src([relative(buildTarget, buildRoot) + '/**/*'], {
+      cwd: buildTarget,
+      base: buildTarget,
+      resolveSymlinks: false,
+    }),
+
+    removeSymlinkDependencies(buildRoot)
+  );
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_package.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_package.ts
similarity index 58%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_package.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_package.ts
index 6df55fda902b0..9fa2305a94eab 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_package.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/create_package.ts
@@ -17,28 +17,30 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const join = require('path').join;
-const relative = require('path').relative;
-const del = require('del');
-const vfs = require('vinyl-fs');
-const zip = require('gulp-zip');
+import { relative, join } from 'path';
 
-module.exports = function createPackage(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion) {
+import del from 'del';
+import vfs from 'vinyl-fs';
+import zip from 'gulp-zip';
+
+import { pipeline, PluginConfig } from '../../lib';
+
+export async function createPackage(
+  plugin: PluginConfig,
+  buildTarget: string,
+  buildVersion: string
+) {
   const buildId = `${plugin.id}-${buildVersion}`;
   const buildRoot = join(buildTarget, 'kibana', plugin.id);
+  const buildFiles = [relative(buildTarget, buildRoot) + '/**/*'];
 
   // zip up the package
-  return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
-    const buildFiles = [relative(buildTarget, buildRoot) + '/**/*'];
+  await pipeline(
+    vfs.src(buildFiles, { cwd: buildTarget, base: buildTarget }),
+    zip(`${buildId}.zip`),
+    vfs.dest(buildTarget)
+  );
 
-    vfs
-      .src(buildFiles, { cwd: buildTarget, base: buildTarget })
-      .pipe(zip(`${buildId}.zip`))
-      .pipe(vfs.dest(buildTarget))
-      .on('end', resolve)
-      .on('error', reject);
-  }).then(function() {
-    // clean up the build path
-    return del(join(buildTarget, 'kibana'));
-  });
-};
+  // clean up the build path
+  await del(join(buildTarget, 'kibana'));
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/git_info.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/git_info.ts
similarity index 92%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/git_info.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/git_info.ts
index 655b5c95a0102..e3a68f82e48b2 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/git_info.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/git_info.ts
@@ -17,16 +17,18 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const execFileSync = require('child_process').execFileSync;
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
 
-module.exports = function gitInfo(rootPath) {
+export function gitInfo(rootPath: string) {
   try {
     const LOG_SEPARATOR = '||';
+
     const commitCount = execFileSync('git', ['rev-list', '--count', 'HEAD'], {
       cwd: rootPath,
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'ignore'],
       encoding: 'utf8',
     });
+
     const logLine = execFileSync('git', ['log', '--pretty=%h' + LOG_SEPARATOR + '%cD', '-n', '1'], {
       cwd: rootPath,
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'ignore'],
@@ -41,4 +43,4 @@ module.exports = function gitInfo(rootPath) {
   } catch (e) {
     return {};
   }
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/index.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/index.ts
index b76e91fd5f289..d22d544a95491 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/index.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/index.ts
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = require('./start_action');
+export * from './build_task';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/index.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/index.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/package.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/package.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/package.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/package.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/public/hack.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/public/hack.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/public/hack.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/public/hack.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/translations/es.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/translations/es.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/translations/es.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin/translations/es.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/index.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/index.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/package.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/package.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/package.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/package.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/hack.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/hack.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/hack.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/hack.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/styles.scss b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/styles.scss
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/styles.scss
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/public/styles.scss
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/translations/es.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/translations/es.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/translations/es.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin/translations/es.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/index.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/index.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/package.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/package.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/package.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/package.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/public/hack.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/public/hack.js
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/public/hack.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/public/hack.js
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/translations/es.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/translations/es.json
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/translations/es.json
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin/translations/es.json
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__snapshots__/build_action.test.js.snap b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__snapshots__/build_action.test.js.snap
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/__snapshots__/build_action.test.js.snap
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/__snapshots__/build_action.test.js.snap
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js
similarity index 74%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js
index 90deb0c4ac4a8..f596576fe7466 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/build_action.test.js
@@ -17,34 +17,34 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const resolve = require('path').resolve;
-const fs = require('fs');
-const del = require('del');
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import del from 'del';
+import { pluginConfig } from '../../../lib';
 
 const PLUGIN_FIXTURE = resolve(__dirname, '__fixtures__/build_action_test_plugin');
 const PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR = resolve(PLUGIN_FIXTURE, 'build');
-const PLUGIN = require('../../../lib/plugin_config')(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
-const noop = () => {};
+const plugin = pluginConfig(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
 
 describe('creating build zip', () => {
-  const buildAction = require('../build_action');
+  const { buildTask } = require('../build_task');
 
   beforeEach(() => del(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR));
   afterEach(() => del(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR));
 
   it('creates a zip in the build directory', async () => {
-    await buildAction(PLUGIN);
+    await buildTask({ plugin });
 
-    const buildFile = resolve(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR, PLUGIN.id + '-' + PLUGIN.version + '.zip');
+    const buildFile = resolve(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR, plugin.id + '-' + plugin.version + '.zip');
     if (!fs.existsSync(buildFile)) {
       throw new Error('Build file not found: ' + buildFile);
     }
   });
 
   it('skips zip creation based on flag', async () => {
-    await buildAction(PLUGIN, noop, { skipArchive: true });
+    await buildTask({ plugin, options: { skipArchive: true } });
 
-    const buildFile = resolve(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR, PLUGIN.id + '-' + PLUGIN.version + '.zip');
+    const buildFile = resolve(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR, plugin.id + '-' + plugin.version + '.zip');
     if (fs.existsSync(buildFile)) {
       throw new Error('Build file not found: ' + buildFile);
     }
@@ -53,13 +53,13 @@ describe('creating build zip', () => {
 
 describe('calling create_build', () => {
   let mockBuild;
-  let buildAction;
+  let buildTask;
 
   beforeEach(() => {
     jest.resetModules();
-    mockBuild = jest.fn(() => Promise.resolve());
-    jest.mock('../create_build', () => mockBuild);
-    buildAction = require('../build_action');
+    jest.mock('../create_build');
+    ({ createBuild: mockBuild } = require('../create_build'));
+    ({ buildTask } = require('../build_task'));
   });
 
   const nameArgs = ([plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion, kibanaVersion, files]) => ({
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ describe('calling create_build', () => {
       kibanaVersion: '4.5.6',
     };
 
-    await buildAction(PLUGIN, noop, options);
+    await buildTask({ plugin, options });
 
     expect(mockBuild.mock.calls).toHaveLength(1);
 
@@ -86,12 +86,12 @@ describe('calling create_build', () => {
   });
 
   it('uses default file list without files option', async () => {
-    await buildAction(PLUGIN);
+    await buildTask({ plugin });
 
     expect(mockBuild.mock.calls).toHaveLength(1);
 
     const { files } = nameArgs(mockBuild.mock.calls[0]);
-    PLUGIN.buildSourcePatterns.forEach(file => expect(files).toContain(file));
+    plugin.buildSourcePatterns.forEach(file => expect(files).toContain(file));
   });
 
   it('uses only files passed in', async () => {
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ describe('calling create_build', () => {
       files: ['index.js', 'LICENSE.txt', 'plugins/**/*', '{server,public}/**/*'],
     };
 
-    await buildAction(PLUGIN, noop, options);
+    await buildTask({ plugin, options });
 
     expect(mockBuild.mock.calls).toHaveLength(1);
 
@@ -112,6 +112,6 @@ describe('calling create_build', () => {
       throw new Error('foo bar');
     });
 
-    await expect(buildAction(PLUGIN, noop)).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingSnapshot();
+    await expect(buildTask({ plugin })).rejects.toThrowErrorMatchingSnapshot();
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js
index 42ad1c5ae0cfc..8a4a5a55ce237 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_build.test.js
@@ -17,13 +17,14 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const { resolve } = require('path');
-const { readdirSync, existsSync, unlinkSync } = require('fs');
-const del = require('del');
-const createBuild = require('../create_build');
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import { readdirSync, existsSync, unlinkSync } from 'fs';
+import del from 'del';
+import { createBuild } from '../create_build';
+import { pluginConfig } from '../../../lib';
 
 const PLUGIN_FIXTURE = resolve(__dirname, '__fixtures__/create_build_test_plugin');
-const PLUGIN = require('../../../lib/plugin_config')(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
+const PLUGIN = pluginConfig(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
 const PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR = resolve(PLUGIN_FIXTURE, 'build');
 const PLUGIN_BUILD_TARGET = resolve(PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR, 'kibana', PLUGIN.id);
 
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js
similarity index 85%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js
index 9659cfbaa2a30..13de8fa165c29 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/integration_tests/create_package.test.js
@@ -17,14 +17,15 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const { resolve } = require('path');
-const { statSync } = require('fs');
-const del = require('del');
-const createBuild = require('../create_build');
-const createPackage = require('../create_package');
+import { resolve } from 'path';
+import { statSync } from 'fs';
+import del from 'del';
+import { createBuild } from '../create_build';
+import { createPackage } from '../create_package';
+import { pluginConfig } from '../../../lib';
 
 const PLUGIN_FIXTURE = resolve(__dirname, '__fixtures__/create_package_test_plugin');
-const PLUGIN = require('../../../lib/plugin_config')(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
+const PLUGIN = pluginConfig(PLUGIN_FIXTURE);
 const PLUGIN_BUILD_DIR = resolve(PLUGIN_FIXTURE, 'build-custom');
 
 const buildVersion = PLUGIN.version;
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.ts
similarity index 81%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.ts
index 64656baee6fd2..255b2e6ef9992 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/build/rewrite_package_json.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,18 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const map = require('through2-map').obj;
-const gitInfo = require('./git_info');
+import Through2Map from 'through2-map';
+import File from 'vinyl';
+import { gitInfo } from './git_info';
 
-module.exports = function rewritePackage(buildSource, buildVersion, kibanaVersion) {
-  return map(function(file) {
+export function rewritePackageJson(
+  buildSource: string,
+  buildVersion: string,
+  kibanaVersion: string
+) {
+  return Through2Map.obj(function(file: File) {
     if (file.basename === 'package.json' && file.dirname === buildSource) {
-      const pkg = JSON.parse(file.contents.toString('utf8'));
+      const pkg = JSON.parse(file.contents!.toString('utf8'));
 
       // rewrite the target kibana version while the
       // file is on it's way to the archive
@@ -46,4 +51,4 @@ module.exports = function rewritePackage(buildSource, buildVersion, kibanaVersio
 
     return file;
   });
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/README.md b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/README.md
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/README.md
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/index.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/index.ts
index b01a64c7f9be2..cf34bdbadf416 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/index.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/index.ts
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = require('./build_action');
+export * from './start_task';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/start_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/start_task.ts
similarity index 85%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/start_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/start_task.ts
index 08ef0914311f8..75affb6da8c6f 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/start/start_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/start/start_task.ts
@@ -17,11 +17,15 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const execFileSync = require('child_process').execFileSync;
-const { join } = require('path');
-const split = require('argv-split');
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
+import { join } from 'path';
 
-module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
+// @ts-ignore
+import split from 'argv-split';
+
+import { TaskContext } from '../../lib';
+
+export function startTask({ plugin, options }: TaskContext) {
   options = options || {};
 
   const cmd = 'node';
@@ -44,4 +48,4 @@ module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
     cwd: plugin.kibanaRoot,
     stdio: ['ignore', 1, 2],
   });
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/README.md b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/README.md
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/README.md
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/index.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/index.ts
index 0cdc615ee867f..be8db50825fc9 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/index.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/index.ts
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = require('./test_all_action');
+export * from './test_all_task';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/test_all_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/test_all_task.ts
similarity index 89%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/test_all_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/test_all_task.ts
index f16e391b2b211..d07c19291d2cb 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/all/test_all_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/all/test_all_task.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = function testAllAction(plugin, run) {
+import { TaskContext } from '../../../lib';
+
+export function testAllTask({ run }: TaskContext) {
   run('testMocha');
   run('testKarma');
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/README.md b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/README.md
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/README.md
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/index.ts
similarity index 94%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/index.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/index.ts
index 0472207948c3d..3089357b49991 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/index.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/index.ts
@@ -17,4 +17,4 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-module.exports = require('./test_karma_action');
+export * from './test_karma_task';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_task.ts
similarity index 86%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_task.ts
index e1ba8caee7f9a..2fe8134209894 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/karma/test_karma_task.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,12 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const execFileSync = require('child_process').execFileSync;
-const winCmd = require('../../../lib/win_cmd');
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
 
-module.exports = function testKarmaAction(plugin, run, options) {
+import { TaskContext } from '../../../lib';
+import { winCmd } from '../../../lib/win_cmd';
+
+export function testKarmaTask({ plugin, options }: TaskContext) {
   options = options || {};
 
   const kbnServerArgs = ['--kbnServer.plugin-path=' + plugin.root];
@@ -37,4 +39,4 @@ module.exports = function testKarmaAction(plugin, run, options) {
     cwd: plugin.kibanaRoot,
     stdio: ['ignore', 1, 2],
   });
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/README.md b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/README.md
similarity index 100%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/README.md
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/README.md
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/index.ts b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..74e53062d4f01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
+ * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ * this work for additional information regarding copyright
+ * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
+ * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
+ * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+export * from './test_mocha_task';
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_action.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_task.ts
similarity index 86%
rename from packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_action.js
rename to packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_task.ts
index 7cc9864baa975..a79ef0a59d19a 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_action.js
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/src/tasks/test/mocha/test_mocha_task.ts
@@ -17,10 +17,12 @@
  * under the License.
  */
 
-const execFileSync = require('child_process').execFileSync;
-const globby = require('globby');
+import { execFileSync } from 'child_process';
+import globby from 'globby';
 
-module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
+import { TaskContext } from '../../../lib';
+
+export function testMochaTask({ plugin, options }: TaskContext) {
   options = options || {};
   let testPatterns = plugin.serverTestPatterns;
 
@@ -43,4 +45,4 @@ module.exports = function(plugin, run, options) {
       stdio: ['ignore', 1, 2],
     }
   );
-};
+}
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_build.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_build.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 7d42dc13ef278..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/build/create_build.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,205 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-const path = require('path');
-const relative = require('path').relative;
-const { readFileSync, writeFileSync, unlinkSync, existsSync } = require('fs');
-const execa = require('execa');
-const sass = require('node-sass');
-const del = require('del');
-const vfs = require('vinyl-fs');
-const rename = require('gulp-rename');
-const through = require('through2');
-const minimatch = require('minimatch');
-const gulpBabel = require('gulp-babel');
-const { promisify } = require('util');
-const { pipeline } = require('stream');
-
-const rewritePackageJson = require('./rewrite_package_json');
-const winCmd = require('../../lib/win_cmd');
-
-const asyncPipeline = promisify(pipeline);
-
-// `link:` dependencies create symlinks, but we don't want to include symlinks
-// in the built zip file. Therefore we remove all symlinked dependencies, so we
-// can re-create them when installing the plugin.
-function removeSymlinkDependencies(root) {
-  const nodeModulesPattern = path.join(root, '**', 'node_modules', '**');
-
-  return through.obj((file, enc, cb) => {
-    const isSymlink = file.symlink != null;
-    const isDependency = minimatch(file.path, nodeModulesPattern);
-
-    if (isSymlink && isDependency) {
-      unlinkSync(file.path);
-    }
-
-    cb();
-  });
-}
-
-// parse a ts config file
-function parseTsconfig(pluginSourcePath, configPath) {
-  const ts = require(path.join(pluginSourcePath, 'node_modules', 'typescript')); // eslint-disable-line import/no-dynamic-require
-
-  const { error, config } = ts.parseConfigFileTextToJson(
-    configPath,
-    readFileSync(configPath, 'utf8')
-  );
-
-  if (error) {
-    throw error;
-  }
-
-  return config;
-}
-
-// transpile with babel
-async function transpileWithBabel(srcGlobs, buildRoot, presets) {
-  await asyncPipeline(
-    vfs.src(
-      srcGlobs.concat([
-        '!**/*.d.ts',
-        '!**/*.{test,test.mocks,mock,mocks}.{ts,tsx}',
-        '!**/node_modules/**',
-        '!**/bower_components/**',
-        '!**/__tests__/**',
-      ]),
-      {
-        cwd: buildRoot,
-      }
-    ),
-
-    gulpBabel({
-      babelrc: false,
-      presets,
-    }),
-
-    vfs.dest(buildRoot)
-  );
-}
-
-module.exports = function createBuild(plugin, buildTarget, buildVersion, kibanaVersion, files) {
-  const buildSource = plugin.root;
-  const buildRoot = path.join(buildTarget, 'kibana', plugin.id);
-
-  return del(buildTarget)
-    .then(function() {
-      return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) {
-        vfs
-          .src(files, {
-            cwd: buildSource,
-            base: buildSource,
-            allowEmpty: true,
-          })
-          // modify the package.json file
-          .pipe(rewritePackageJson(buildSource, buildVersion, kibanaVersion))
-
-          // put all files inside the correct directories
-          .pipe(
-            rename(function nestFileInDir(filePath) {
-              const nonRelativeDirname = filePath.dirname.replace(/^(\.\.\/?)+/g, '');
-              filePath.dirname = path.join(relative(buildTarget, buildRoot), nonRelativeDirname);
-            })
-          )
-
-          .pipe(vfs.dest(buildTarget))
-          .on('end', resolve)
-          .on('error', reject);
-      });
-    })
-    .then(function() {
-      if (plugin.skipInstallDependencies) {
-        return;
-      }
-
-      // install packages in build
-      execa.sync(winCmd('yarn'), ['install', '--production', '--pure-lockfile'], {
-        cwd: buildRoot,
-      });
-    })
-    .then(function() {
-      if (!plugin.styleSheetToCompile) {
-        return;
-      }
-
-      const file = path.resolve(plugin.root, plugin.styleSheetToCompile);
-      if (!existsSync(file)) {
-        throw new Error(`Path provided for styleSheetToCompile does not exist: ${file}`);
-      }
-
-      const outputFileName = path.basename(file, path.extname(file)) + '.css';
-      const output = path.join(buildRoot, path.dirname(plugin.styleSheetToCompile), outputFileName);
-
-      const rendered = sass.renderSync({ file, output });
-      writeFileSync(output, rendered.css);
-
-      del.sync([path.join(buildRoot, '**', '*.s{a,c}ss')]);
-    })
-    .then(async function() {
-      const buildConfigPath = path.join(buildRoot, 'tsconfig.json');
-
-      if (!existsSync(buildConfigPath)) {
-        return;
-      }
-
-      // attempt to patch the extends path in the tsconfig file
-      const buildConfig = parseTsconfig(buildSource, buildConfigPath);
-
-      if (buildConfig.extends) {
-        buildConfig.extends = path.join(relative(buildRoot, buildSource), buildConfig.extends);
-
-        writeFileSync(buildConfigPath, JSON.stringify(buildConfig));
-      }
-
-      // Transpile ts server code
-      //
-      // Include everything except content from public folders
-      await transpileWithBabel(['**/*.{ts,tsx}', '!**/public/**'], buildRoot, [
-        require.resolve('@kbn/babel-preset/node_preset'),
-      ]);
-
-      // Transpile ts client code
-      //
-      // Include everything inside a public directory
-      await transpileWithBabel(['**/public/**/*.{ts,tsx}'], buildRoot, [
-        require.resolve('@kbn/babel-preset/webpack_preset'),
-      ]);
-
-      del.sync([
-        path.join(buildRoot, '**', '*.{ts,tsx,d.ts}'),
-        path.join(buildRoot, 'tsconfig.json'),
-      ]);
-    })
-    .then(function() {
-      const buildFiles = [relative(buildTarget, buildRoot) + '/**/*'];
-
-      return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-        vfs
-          .src(buildFiles, {
-            cwd: buildTarget,
-            base: buildTarget,
-            resolveSymlinks: false,
-          })
-          .pipe(removeSymlinkDependencies(buildRoot))
-          .on('finish', resolve)
-          .on('error', reject);
-      });
-    });
-};
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/index.js b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/index.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 1ab022db588f9..0000000000000
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tasks/test/mocha/index.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Licensed to Elasticsearch B.V. under one or more contributor
- * license agreements. See the NOTICE file distributed with
- * this work for additional information regarding copyright
- * ownership. Elasticsearch B.V. licenses this file to you under
- * the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may
- * not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- */
-
-module.exports = require('./test_mocha_action');
diff --git a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tsconfig.json b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tsconfig.json
index f5559aa7290c5..d0dbe1e44f0fa 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tsconfig.json
+++ b/packages/kbn-plugin-helpers/tsconfig.json
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
 {
   "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
-  "include": ["lib/index.d.ts"]
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "outDir": "target",
+    "declaration": true,
+    "sourceMap": true
+  },
+  "include": [
+    "src/**/*.ts"
+  ]
 }
diff --git a/packages/kbn-test/src/index.ts b/packages/kbn-test/src/index.ts
index b4219b3eefbe5..3a938280a90c5 100644
--- a/packages/kbn-test/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/kbn-test/src/index.ts
@@ -42,10 +42,8 @@ export { kbnTestConfig, kibanaServerTestUser, kibanaTestUser, adminTestUser } fr
 // @ts-ignore not typed yet
 export { setupUsers, DEFAULT_SUPERUSER_PASS } from './functional_tests/lib/auth';
 
-// @ts-ignore not typed yet
 export { readConfigFile } from './functional_test_runner/lib/config/read_config_file';
 
-// @ts-ignore not typed yet
 export { runFtrCli } from './functional_test_runner/cli';
 
 export { runFailedTestsReporterCli } from './failed_tests_reporter';
diff --git a/x-pack/tasks/build.ts b/x-pack/tasks/build.ts
index 38ebb0bad4bdc..8dbf6d212d5d2 100644
--- a/x-pack/tasks/build.ts
+++ b/x-pack/tasks/build.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import execa from 'execa';
 import { resolve } from 'path';
 import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';
 
-import pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
+import * as pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
 import { ToolingLog, REPO_ROOT } from '@kbn/dev-utils';
 import gulp from 'gulp';
 import del from 'del';
diff --git a/x-pack/tasks/dev.ts b/x-pack/tasks/dev.ts
index 6e398f231a27c..f43b67e288561 100644
--- a/x-pack/tasks/dev.ts
+++ b/x-pack/tasks/dev.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
 
-import pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
+import * as pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
 import gulp from 'gulp';
 
 import { prepareTask } from './prepare';
diff --git a/x-pack/tasks/test.ts b/x-pack/tasks/test.ts
index 61aee489e1b6b..d01cab7738f29 100644
--- a/x-pack/tasks/test.ts
+++ b/x-pack/tasks/test.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
 
-import pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
+import * as pluginHelpers from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
 import gulp from 'gulp';
 
 // @ts-ignore untyped, converted in a different location in master
diff --git a/x-pack/test/saved_object_api_integration/common/config.ts b/x-pack/test/saved_object_api_integration/common/config.ts
index eaf7230a832a8..56319913d1edf 100644
--- a/x-pack/test/saved_object_api_integration/common/config.ts
+++ b/x-pack/test/saved_object_api_integration/common/config.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
 
-// @ts-ignore
 import { resolveKibanaPath } from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
 import { FtrConfigProviderContext } from '@kbn/test/types/ftr';
 import path from 'path';
diff --git a/x-pack/test/spaces_api_integration/common/config.ts b/x-pack/test/spaces_api_integration/common/config.ts
index 19743e09f9420..a626aa5d35a2f 100644
--- a/x-pack/test/spaces_api_integration/common/config.ts
+++ b/x-pack/test/spaces_api_integration/common/config.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the Elastic License.
  */
 
-// @ts-ignore
 import { resolveKibanaPath } from '@kbn/plugin-helpers';
 import path from 'path';
 import { TestInvoker } from './lib/types';
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 07a86e1950298..7d44a1c24d70c 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -3943,6 +3943,11 @@
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/events/-/events-1.2.0.tgz#81a6731ce4df43619e5c8c945383b3e62a89ea86"
   integrity sha512-KEIlhXnIutzKwRbQkGWb/I4HFqBuUykAdHgDED6xqwXJfONCjF5VoE0cXEiurh3XauygxzeDzgtXUqvLkxFzzA==
 
+"@types/expect@^1.20.4":
+  version "1.20.4"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/expect/-/expect-1.20.4.tgz#8288e51737bf7e3ab5d7c77bfa695883745264e5"
+  integrity sha512-Q5Vn3yjTDyCMV50TB6VRIbQNxSE4OmZR86VSbGaNpfUolm0iePBB4KdEEHmxoY5sT2+2DIvXW0rvMDP2nHZ4Mg==
+
 "@types/fancy-log@^1.3.1":
   version "1.3.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/fancy-log/-/fancy-log-1.3.1.tgz#dd94fbc8c2e2ab8ab402ca8d04bb8c34965f0696"
@@ -4038,6 +4043,20 @@
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/graphql/-/graphql-0.13.4.tgz#55ae9c29f0fd6b85ee536f5c72b4769d5c5e06b1"
   integrity sha512-B4yel4ro2nTb3v0pYO8vO6SjgvFJSrwUY+IO6TUSLdOSB+gQFslylrhRCHxvXMIhxB71mv5PEE9dAX+24S8sew==
 
+"@types/gulp-rename@^0.0.33":
+  version "0.0.33"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/gulp-rename/-/gulp-rename-0.0.33.tgz#38d146e97786569f74f5391a1b1f9b5198674b6c"
+  integrity sha512-FIZQvbZJj6V1gHPTzO+g/BCWpDur7fJrroae4gwV3LaoHBQ+MrR9sB+2HssK8fHv4WdY6hVNxkcft9bYatuPIA==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
+"@types/gulp-zip@^4.0.1":
+  version "4.0.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/gulp-zip/-/gulp-zip-4.0.1.tgz#96cd0b994219f9ae3bbbec7ec3baa043fba9d9ef"
+  integrity sha512-dYwGsHmwv4pnMD+jtyuIdZchJ0CIivnl8PIApHC+rYN7FMj01tJSAiQb+YN4T/pOn10pmmucBLEB9wXEhQX2Ug==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
 "@types/gulp@^4.0.6":
   version "4.0.6"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/gulp/-/gulp-4.0.6.tgz#68fe0e1f0ff3657cfca46fb564806b744a1bf899"
@@ -4135,6 +4154,14 @@
   dependencies:
     "@types/hapi" "*"
 
+"@types/inquirer@^6.5.0":
+  version "6.5.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/inquirer/-/inquirer-6.5.0.tgz#b83b0bf30b88b8be7246d40e51d32fe9d10e09be"
+  integrity sha512-rjaYQ9b9y/VFGOpqBEXRavc3jh0a+e6evAbI31tMda8VlPaSy0AZJfXsvmIe3wklc7W6C3zCSfleuMXR7NOyXw==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/through" "*"
+    rxjs "^6.4.0"
+
 "@types/intl-relativeformat@^2.1.0":
   version "2.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/intl-relativeformat/-/intl-relativeformat-2.1.0.tgz#3a2b0043380388f39c666665ec517e11412f1358"
@@ -4441,6 +4468,13 @@
   dependencies:
     "@types/node" "*"
 
+"@types/node-sass@^4.11.0":
+  version "4.11.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/node-sass/-/node-sass-4.11.0.tgz#b0372075546e83f39df52bd37359eab00165a04d"
+  integrity sha512-uNpVWhwVmbB5luE7b8vxcJwu5np75YkVTBJS0O3ar+hrxqLfyhOKXg9NYBwJ6mMQX/V6/8d6mMZTB7x2r5x9Bw==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
 "@types/node@*", "@types/node@8.10.54", "@types/node@>=10.17.17 <10.20.0", "@types/node@>=8.9.0", "@types/node@^12.0.2":
   version "10.17.17"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/node/-/node-10.17.17.tgz#7a183163a9e6ff720d86502db23ba4aade5999b8"
@@ -4934,6 +4968,28 @@
     "@types/react-dom" "*"
     "@types/testing-library__dom" "*"
 
+"@types/through2-map@^3.0.0":
+  version "3.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/through2-map/-/through2-map-3.0.0.tgz#2fda6049bf0ec16fd75394fc64536d73024d3189"
+  integrity sha512-r2m4v3Lggg30dCt7nG9uDl93LhImYRsAutECYNU7JenHTM3MdwMHudcC3sOqk/rEUEpN9CDNOIuOxRGzJUP1pg==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+    "@types/through2" "*"
+
+"@types/through2@*", "@types/through2@^2.0.35":
+  version "2.0.35"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/through2/-/through2-2.0.35.tgz#9add1643da9f936ecf0622311759b33e881047e8"
+  integrity sha512-5puhsegK8DdiZkVL71+iL67KxKd92l7kzzzeclc+idlp5L6PbjxDDQX9JCIA6jOUS9aNHgcmONyW5CRtZUvKFw==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
+"@types/through@*":
+  version "0.0.30"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/through/-/through-0.0.30.tgz#e0e42ce77e897bd6aead6f6ea62aeb135b8a3895"
+  integrity sha512-FvnCJljyxhPM3gkRgWmxmDZyAQSiBQQWLI0A0VFL0K7W1oRUrPJSqNO0NvTnLkBcotdlp3lKvaT0JrnyRDkzOg==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
 "@types/tinycolor2@^1.4.0":
   version "1.4.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/tinycolor2/-/tinycolor2-1.4.2.tgz#721ca5c5d1a2988b4a886e35c2ffc5735b6afbdf"
@@ -5030,6 +5086,14 @@
   dependencies:
     "@types/node" "*"
 
+"@types/vinyl@^2.0.4":
+  version "2.0.4"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/vinyl/-/vinyl-2.0.4.tgz#9a7a8071c8d14d3a95d41ebe7135babe4ad5995a"
+  integrity sha512-2o6a2ixaVI2EbwBPg1QYLGQoHK56p/8X/sGfKbFC8N6sY9lfjsMf/GprtkQkSya0D4uRiutRZ2BWj7k3JvLsAQ==
+  dependencies:
+    "@types/expect" "^1.20.4"
+    "@types/node" "*"
+
 "@types/watchpack@^1.1.5":
   version "1.1.5"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/watchpack/-/watchpack-1.1.5.tgz#e5622eb2a49e2239d94d8882275fbc7893147e97"
@@ -31218,7 +31282,7 @@ vinyl@^1.1.0:
     clone-stats "^0.0.1"
     replace-ext "0.0.1"
 
-vinyl@^2.0.0, vinyl@^2.0.1, vinyl@^2.1.0:
+vinyl@^2.0.0, vinyl@^2.0.1, vinyl@^2.1.0, vinyl@^2.2.0:
   version "2.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vinyl/-/vinyl-2.2.0.tgz#d85b07da96e458d25b2ffe19fece9f2caa13ed86"
   integrity sha512-MBH+yP0kC/GQ5GwBqrTPTzEfiiLjta7hTtvQtbxBgTeSXsmKQRQecjibMbxIXzVT3Y9KJK+drOz1/k+vsu8Nkg==