diff --git a/docs/docs/building-with-components.md b/docs/docs/building-with-components.md
index a0f848b3a2398..7290572fb0248 100644
--- a/docs/docs/building-with-components.md
+++ b/docs/docs/building-with-components.md
@@ -161,9 +161,10 @@ import React from "react";
 import favicon from "./favicon.png";
 
 let inlinedStyles = "";
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "production") {
   try {
-    inlinedStyles = require("!raw-loader!../public/styles.css");
+    inlinedStyles = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`);
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e);
   }
diff --git a/examples/client-only-paths/src/html.js b/examples/client-only-paths/src/html.js
index 432fc911a9a9b..cc09e9b4490cf 100644
--- a/examples/client-only-paths/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/client-only-paths/src/html.js
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 import typography from "./utils/typography"
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-postcss-sass/src/html.js b/examples/using-postcss-sass/src/html.js
index 7188509c8126b..7eaebce5af180 100644
--- a/examples/using-postcss-sass/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-postcss-sass/src/html.js
@@ -6,9 +6,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 const typography = new Typography()
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-remark/src/html.js b/examples/using-remark/src/html.js
index 0a5d44d48267d..23aa5d8332682 100644
--- a/examples/using-remark/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-remark/src/html.js
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 import typography from "./utils/typography"
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-sass/src/html.js b/examples/using-sass/src/html.js
index ddc1dfc0aefa0..9ce7cf3759fea 100644
--- a/examples/using-sass/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-sass/src/html.js
@@ -6,9 +6,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 const typography = new Typography()
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-styled-components/src/html.js b/examples/using-styled-components/src/html.js
index 5affc9b4f6904..e3b009ef3381a 100644
--- a/examples/using-styled-components/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-styled-components/src/html.js
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ import typography from "./utils/typography"
 let stylesStr
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-styletron/src/html.js b/examples/using-styletron/src/html.js
index 0b86d80857252..3ede7aa3d438e 100644
--- a/examples/using-styletron/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-styletron/src/html.js
@@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 import typography from "./utils/typography"
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-stylus/src/html.js b/examples/using-stylus/src/html.js
index fdaad9c7f9479..d8ab0ffd26e7d 100644
--- a/examples/using-stylus/src/html.js
+++ b/examples/using-stylus/src/html.js
@@ -6,9 +6,10 @@ import { TypographyStyle } from "react-typography"
 const typography = new Typography()
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/examples/using-typescript/src/html.tsx b/examples/using-typescript/src/html.tsx
index 34b85c777777e..0b2402c2ff327 100644
--- a/examples/using-typescript/src/html.tsx
+++ b/examples/using-typescript/src/html.tsx
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@ import * as React from "react";
 
 // Load production style
 let styles: string;
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    styles = require("!raw-loader!../public/styles.css");
+    styles = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`);
   } catch (err) {
     console.log(err);
   }
diff --git a/infrastructure/build-site.js b/infrastructure/build-site.js
index f0b6ad14968e1..1d3f7d99c7157 100644
--- a/infrastructure/build-site.js
+++ b/infrastructure/build-site.js
@@ -142,7 +142,8 @@ const Main = async () => {
       updateBuild(buildId, "FAILURE")
       process.exit(code)
     }
-    const publicDir = `${pathToSite}/public`
+    const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+    const publicDir = `${pathToSite}/${buildDirectory}`
     console.log(`uploading files from ${publicDir}`)
 
     // 1. Push built files to s3 bucket
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-cli/src/create-cli.js b/packages/gatsby-cli/src/create-cli.js
index 756276652cd22..257c8ed94159e 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-cli/src/create-cli.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-cli/src/create-cli.js
@@ -115,10 +115,22 @@ function buildLocalCommands(cli, isLocalSite) {
           type: `string`,
           default: ``,
           describe: `Custom HTTPS key file (relative path; also required: --https, --cert-file). See https://www.gatsbyjs.org/docs/local-https/`,
+        })
+        .option(`build-dir`, {
+          alias: `buildDirectory`,
+          type: `string`,
+          default: `public`,
+          describe: `Set build directory. Defaults to public`,
         }),
     handler: handlerP(
       getCommandHandler(`develop`, (args, cmd) => {
         process.env.NODE_ENV = process.env.NODE_ENV || `development`
+
+        process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || path.resolve(args.buildDirectory)  || `public`
+        if (!fs.existsSync(process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR)) {
+          fs.mkdirSync(process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR)
+        }
+
         cmd(args)
         // Return an empty promise to prevent handlerP from exiting early.
         // The development server shouldn't ever exit until the user directly
@@ -140,10 +152,21 @@ function buildLocalCommands(cli, isLocalSite) {
         type: `boolean`,
         default: false,
         describe: `Build site without uglifying JS bundles (for debugging).`,
+      }).option(`build-dir`, {
+        alias: `buildDirectory`,
+        type: `string`,
+        default: `public`,
+        describe: `Set build directory. Defaults to public`,
       }),
     handler: handlerP(
       getCommandHandler(`build`, (args, cmd) => {
         process.env.NODE_ENV = `production`
+
+        process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || path.resolve(args.buildDirectory)  || `public`
+        if (!fs.existsSync(process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR)) {
+          fs.mkdirSync(process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR)
+        }
+        
         return cmd(args)
       })
     ),
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-feed/src/gatsby-node.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-feed/src/gatsby-node.js
index 6bc0f497e0240..482d84e6fbd2a 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-feed/src/gatsby-node.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-feed/src/gatsby-node.js
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ import RSS from "rss"
 import merge from "lodash.merge"
 import { defaultOptions, runQuery, writeFile } from "./internals"
 
-const publicPath = `./public`
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+const publicPath = `./${buildDirectory}`
 
 // A default function to transform query data into feed entries.
 const serialize = ({ query: { site, allMarkdownRemark } }) =>
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-manifest/src/gatsby-node.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-manifest/src/gatsby-node.js
index 951e992b4d5e3..cc969373ef0b4 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-manifest/src/gatsby-node.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-manifest/src/gatsby-node.js
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@ const path = require(`path`)
 const Promise = require(`bluebird`)
 const sharp = require(`sharp`)
 const defaultIcons = require(`./common.js`).defaultIcons
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
 sharp.simd(true)
 
 function generateIcons(icons, srcIcon) {
   return Promise.map(icons, icon => {
     const size = parseInt(icon.sizes.substring(0, icon.sizes.lastIndexOf(`x`)))
-    const imgPath = path.join(`public`, icon.src)
+    const imgPath = path.join(buildDirectory, icon.src)
 
     return sharp(srcIcon)
       .resize(size)
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ exports.onPostBuild = (args, pluginOptions) =>
 
     // Determine destination path for icons.
     const iconPath = path.join(
-      `public`,
+      buildDirectory,
       manifest.icons[0].src.substring(0, manifest.icons[0].src.lastIndexOf(`/`))
     )
 
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ exports.onPostBuild = (args, pluginOptions) =>
     }
 
     fs.writeFileSync(
-      path.join(`public`, `manifest.webmanifest`),
+      path.join(buildDirectory, `manifest.webmanifest`),
       JSON.stringify(manifest)
     )
 
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/README.md b/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/README.md
index 4e99b10ec2adf..b54ee1c356d21 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/README.md
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/README.md
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ An example:
 Link paths are specially handed by this plugin. Since most files are processed
 and cache-busted through Gatsby (with a file hash), the plugin will transform
 any base file names to the hashed variants. If the file is not hashed, it will
-ensure the path is valid relative to the output `public` folder. You should be
+ensure the path is valid relative to the build `public` folder. You should be
 able to reference assets imported through javascript in the `static` folder.
 
 Do not specify the public path in the config, as the plugin will provide it for
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/src/plugin-data.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/src/plugin-data.js
index 92fc471fc7991..083054ee5bfc9 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/src/plugin-data.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-netlify/src/plugin-data.js
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ function applyLayouts(pages, layouts) {
 // hashed filenames and ensure we pull in the componentChunkName and layoutComponentChunkName.
 export default function makePluginData(store, assetsManifest, pathPrefix) {
   const { program, layouts, pages: storePages } = store.getState()
-  const publicFolder = buildPrefixer(program.directory, `public`)
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+  const publicFolder = buildPrefixer(program.directory, buildDirectory)
   const stats = require(publicFolder(`stats.json`))
   const chunkManifest = normalizeStats(stats)
   const pages = applyLayouts(storePages, layouts)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-node.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-node.js
index 0ee8d770ac7f1..aee9e7c110db2 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-node.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-offline/src/gatsby-node.js
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ exports.createPages = ({ boundActionCreators }) => {
 }
 
 exports.onPostBuild = (args, pluginOptions) => {
-  const rootDir = `public`
+  const rootDir = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
   const options = {
     staticFileGlobs: [
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ exports.onPostBuild = (args, pluginOptions) => {
     ],
     stripPrefix: rootDir,
     // If `pathPrefix` is configured by user, we should replace
-    // the `public` prefix with `pathPrefix`.
+    // the build directory (default: `public`) prefix with `pathPrefix`.
     // See more at:
     // https://github.com/GoogleChrome/sw-precache#replaceprefix-string
     replacePrefix: args.pathPrefix || ``,
@@ -57,5 +57,5 @@ exports.onPostBuild = (args, pluginOptions) => {
 
   const combinedOptions = _.defaults(pluginOptions, options)
 
-  return precache.write(`public/sw.js`, combinedOptions)
+  return precache.write(`${rootDir}/sw.js`, combinedOptions)
 }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-sharp/src/index.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-sharp/src/index.js
index b8d9f9579779f..702847795e8b9 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-sharp/src/index.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-sharp/src/index.js
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ const processFile = (file, jobs, cb, reporter) => {
               ],
             })
             .then(imageminBuffer => {
-              fs.writeFile(job.outputPath, imageminBuffer, onFinish)
+              fs.writeFile(job.buildPath, imageminBuffer, onFinish)
             })
             .catch(onFinish)
         )
@@ -191,14 +191,14 @@ const processFile = (file, jobs, cb, reporter) => {
               plugins: [imageminWebp({ quality: args.quality })],
             })
             .then(imageminBuffer => {
-              fs.writeFile(job.outputPath, imageminBuffer, onFinish)
+              fs.writeFile(job.buildPath, imageminBuffer, onFinish)
             })
             .catch(onFinish)
         )
         .catch(onFinish)
       // any other format (jpeg, tiff) - don't compress it just handle output
     } else {
-      clonedPipeline.toFile(job.outputPath, onFinish)
+      clonedPipeline.toFile(job.buildPath, onFinish)
     }
   })
 }
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ const q = queue((task, callback) => {
 
 const queueJob = (job, reporter) => {
   const inputFileKey = job.file.absolutePath.replace(/\./g, `%2E`)
-  const outputFileKey = job.outputPath.replace(/\./g, `%2E`)
+  const outputFileKey = job.buildPath.replace(/\./g, `%2E`)
   const jobPath = `${inputFileKey}.${outputFileKey}`
 
   // Check if the job has already been queued. If it has, there's nothing
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ const queueJob = (job, reporter) => {
   }
 
   // Check if the output file already exists so we don't redo work.
-  if (fs.existsSync(job.outputPath)) {
+  if (fs.existsSync(job.buildPath)) {
     return
   }
 
@@ -304,7 +304,8 @@ function queueImageResizing({ file, args = {}, reporter }) {
   const imgSrc = `/${file.name}-${
     file.internal.contentDigest
   }-${argsDigestShort}.${fileExtension}`
-  const filePath = path.join(process.cwd(), `public`, `static`, imgSrc)
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+  const filePath = path.join(process.cwd(), buildDirectory, `static`, imgSrc)
 
   // Create function to call when the image is finished.
   let outsideResolve, outsideReject
@@ -342,7 +343,7 @@ function queueImageResizing({ file, args = {}, reporter }) {
     outsideResolve,
     outsideReject,
     inputPath: file.absolutePath,
-    outputPath: filePath,
+    buildPath: filePath,
   }
 
   queueJob(job, reporter)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-plugin-sitemap/src/gatsby-node.js b/packages/gatsby-plugin-sitemap/src/gatsby-node.js
index d4957c386579b..c75ad2a0b49a0 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-plugin-sitemap/src/gatsby-node.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-plugin-sitemap/src/gatsby-node.js
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ import path from "path"
 import sitemap from "sitemap"
 import { defaultOptions, runQuery, writeFile } from "./internals"
 
-const publicPath = `./public`
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+const publicPath = `./${buildDirectory}`
 
 exports.onPostBuild = async ({ graphql, pathPrefix }, pluginOptions) => {
   const options = { ...pluginOptions }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/__tests__/index.js b/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/__tests__/index.js
index f5b0e5840b7c0..fc7526dcb3155 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/__tests__/index.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/__tests__/index.js
@@ -171,8 +171,9 @@ describe(`gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files`, () => {
 
   describe(`options.destinationDir`, () => {
     const imagePath = `images/sample-image.gif`
+    const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
-    it(`throws an error if the destination directory is not within 'public'`, async () => {
+    it(`throws an error if the destination directory is not within '${buildDirectory}'`, async () => {
       const markdownAST = remark.parse(`![some absolute image](${imagePath})`)
       const invalidDestinationDir = `../destination`
       expect.assertions(2)
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ describe(`gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files`, () => {
       const validDestinationDir = `path/to/dir`
       const expectedNewPath = path.posix.join(
         process.cwd(),
-        `public`,
+        buildDirectory,
         validDestinationDir,
         `/undefined-undefined.gif`
       )
@@ -246,7 +247,7 @@ describe(`gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files`, () => {
       const markdownAST = remark.parse(`![some absolute image](${imagePath})`)
       const expectedNewPath = path.posix.join(
         process.cwd(),
-        `public`,
+        buildDirectory,
         `/undefined-undefined.gif`
       )
       expect.assertions(3)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/index.js b/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/index.js
index 7fead4418b3df..b54beb807ff95 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/index.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files/src/index.js
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ const _ = require(`lodash`)
 const cheerio = require(`cheerio`)
 const imageSize = require(`probe-image-size`)
 
-const DEPLOY_DIR = `public`
-
 const invalidDestinationDirMessage = dir =>
   `[gatsby-remark-copy-linked-files You have supplied an invalid destination directory. The destination directory must be a child but was: ${dir}`
 
@@ -22,15 +20,16 @@ const newFileName = linkNode =>
   `${linkNode.name}-${linkNode.internal.contentDigest}.${linkNode.extension}`
 
 const newPath = (linkNode, destinationDir) => {
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
   if (destinationDir) {
     return path.posix.join(
       process.cwd(),
-      DEPLOY_DIR,
+      buildDirectory,
       destinationDir,
       newFileName(linkNode)
     )
   }
-  return path.posix.join(process.cwd(), DEPLOY_DIR, newFileName(linkNode))
+  return path.posix.join(process.cwd(), buildDirectory, newFileName(linkNode))
 }
 
 const newLinkURL = (linkNode, destinationDir, pathPrefix) => {
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-filesystem/src/extend-file-node.js b/packages/gatsby-source-filesystem/src/extend-file-node.js
index 38d07c0dd3e98..911d6ded547a8 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-source-filesystem/src/extend-file-node.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-filesystem/src/extend-file-node.js
@@ -7,11 +7,13 @@ module.exports = ({ type, getNodeAndSavePathDependency, pathPrefix = `` }) => {
     return {}
   }
 
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+
   return {
     publicURL: {
       type: GraphQLString,
       args: {},
-      description: `Copy file to static directory and return public url to it`,
+      description: `Copy file to static directory and return ${buildDirectory} url to it`,
       resolve: (file, fieldArgs, context) => {
         const details = getNodeAndSavePathDependency(file.id, context.path)
         const fileName = `${file.name}-${file.internal.contentDigest}${
@@ -20,7 +22,7 @@ module.exports = ({ type, getNodeAndSavePathDependency, pathPrefix = `` }) => {
 
         const publicPath = path.join(
           process.cwd(),
-          `public`,
+          buildDirectory,
           `static`,
           fileName
         )
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-transformer-sharp/src/extend-node-type.js b/packages/gatsby-transformer-sharp/src/extend-node-type.js
index b147b0a820c4c..1205f9d005185 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-transformer-sharp/src/extend-node-type.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-transformer-sharp/src/extend-node-type.js
@@ -73,9 +73,10 @@ module.exports = ({
         const imageName = `${details.name}-${image.internal.contentDigest}${
           details.ext
         }`
+        const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
         const publicPath = path.join(
           process.cwd(),
-          `public`,
+          buildDirectory,
           `static`,
           imageName
         )
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/default-html.js b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/default-html.js
index e668269bc66cf..e826761a9da57 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/default-html.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/default-html.js
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import React from "react"
 
 let stylesStr
+const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/static-entry.js b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/static-entry.js
index 61cd525188520..617a823a26fa3 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/static-entry.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/cache-dir/static-entry.js
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ module.exports = (locals, callback) => {
   let preBodyComponents = []
   let postBodyComponents = []
   let bodyProps = {}
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
   const replaceBodyHTMLString = body => {
     bodyHtml = body
@@ -139,7 +140,7 @@ module.exports = (locals, callback) => {
 
   let stats
   try {
-    stats = require(`../public/stats.json`)
+    stats = require(`../${buildDirectory}/stats.json`)
   } catch (e) {
     // ignore
   }
@@ -184,7 +185,7 @@ module.exports = (locals, callback) => {
   })
 
   // Add the chunk-manifest at the end of body element.
-  const chunkManifest = require(`!raw!../public/chunk-manifest.json`)
+  const chunkManifest = require(`!raw!../${buildDirectory}/chunk-manifest.json`)
   postBodyComponents.unshift(
     <script
       id="webpack-manifest"
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/bootstrap/index.js b/packages/gatsby/src/bootstrap/index.js
index 16ff2a7fb62e5..4e58274e78227 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/bootstrap/index.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/bootstrap/index.js
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ type BootstrapArgs = {
 }
 
 module.exports = async (args: BootstrapArgs) => {
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
   const program = {
     ...args,
     // Fix program directory path for windows env.
@@ -57,17 +58,17 @@ module.exports = async (args: BootstrapArgs) => {
     payload: program,
   })
 
-  // Delete html and css files from the public directory as we don't want
+  // Delete html and css files from the build directory (default: public) as we don't want
   // deleted pages and styles from previous builds to stick around.
   let activity = report.activityTimer(
     `delete html and css files from previous builds`
   )
   activity.start()
   await del([
-    `public/*.{html,css}`,
-    `public/**/*.{html,css}`,
-    `!public/static`,
-    `!public/static/**/*.{html,css}`,
+    `${buildDirectory}/*.{html,css}`,
+    `${buildDirectory}/**/*.{html,css}`,
+    `!${buildDirectory}/static`,
+    `!${buildDirectory}/static/**/*.{html,css}`,
   ])
   activity.end()
 
@@ -149,7 +150,7 @@ module.exports = async (args: BootstrapArgs) => {
   initCache()
 
   // Ensure the public/static directory is created.
-  await fs.ensureDirSync(`${program.directory}/public/static`)
+  await fs.ensureDirSync(`${program.directory}/${buildDirectory}/static`)
 
   // Copy our site files to the root of the site.
   activity = report.activityTimer(`copy gatsby files`)
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-css.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-css.js
index a2f1ff6329348..cc682384301a2 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-css.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-css.js
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ module.exports = async (program: any) => {
   const { directory } = program
 
   const compilerConfig = await webpackConfig(program, directory, `build-css`)
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     webpack(compilerConfig.resolve()).run(err => {
@@ -16,14 +17,14 @@ module.exports = async (program: any) => {
 
       // We don't want any javascript produced by this step in the process.
       try {
-        fs.unlinkSync(`${directory}/public/bundle-for-css.js`)
+        fs.unlinkSync(`${directory}/${buildDirectory}/bundle-for-css.js`)
       } catch (e) {
         // ignore.
       }
 
-      // Ensure there's a styles.css file in public so tools that expect it
+      // Ensure there's a styles.css file in build directory (default: public) so tools that expect it
       // can find it.
-      fs.ensureFile(`${directory}/public/styles.css`, err => {
+      fs.ensureFile(`${directory}/${buildDirectory}/styles.css`, err => {
         resolve(err)
       })
     })
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-html.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-html.js
index aba29d71de0ae..31c83451ecaa4 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-html.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build-html.js
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ module.exports = async (program: any) => {
       if (e) {
         return reject(e)
       }
-      const outputFile = `${directory}/public/render-page.js`
+      const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+      const outputFile = `${directory}/${buildDirectory}/render-page.js`
       if (stats.hasErrors()) {
         let webpackErrors = stats.toJson().errors.filter(Boolean)
         return reject(
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build.js
index 05533d41a32b6..e8314a80ae0fb 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/build.js
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ module.exports = async function build(program: BuildArgs) {
   await apiRunnerNode(`onPreBuild`, { graphql: graphqlRunner })
 
   // Copy files from the static directory to
-  // an equivalent static directory within public.
+  // an equivalent static directory within build directory (default: public).
   copyStaticDirectory()
 
   let activity
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop-html.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop-html.js
index d3d6d7845fe3d..e219a698163a0 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop-html.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop-html.js
@@ -24,17 +24,18 @@ module.exports = async (program: any) => {
       if (e) {
         return reject(e)
       }
-      const outputFile = `${directory}/public/render-page.js`
+      const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+      const buildFile = `${directory}/${buildDirectory}/render-page.js`
       if (stats.hasErrors()) {
         let webpackErrors = stats.toJson().errors
         return reject(
-          createErrorFromString(webpackErrors[0], `${outputFile}.map`)
+          createErrorFromString(webpackErrors[0], `${buildFile}.map`)
         )
       }
 
       // Remove the temp JS bundle file built for the static-site-generator-plugin
       try {
-        fs.unlinkSync(outputFile)
+        fs.unlinkSync(buildFile)
       } catch (e) {
         // This function will fail on Windows with no further consequences.
       }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop.js
index a25a01ad83e9d..4d7151dd2480c 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/develop.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ const getSslCert = require(`../utils/get-ssl-cert`)
 
 // const isInteractive = process.stdout.isTTY
 
-// Watch the static directory and copy files to public as they're added or
+// Watch the static directory and copy files to build directory (default: public) as they're added or
 // changed. Wait 10 seconds so copying doesn't interfer with the regular
 // bootstrap.
 setTimeout(() => {
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ rlInterface.on(`SIGINT`, () => {
 async function startServer(program) {
   const directory = program.directory
   const directoryPath = withBasePath(directory)
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
   const createIndexHtml = () =>
     developHtml(program).catch(err => {
       if (err.name !== `WebpackError`) {
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ async function startServer(program) {
     res.end()
   })
 
-  app.use(express.static(__dirname + `/public`))
+  app.use(express.static(__dirname + `/${buildDirectory}`))
 
   app.use(
     require(`webpack-dev-middleware`)(compiler, {
@@ -154,11 +155,11 @@ async function startServer(program) {
     })
   }
 
-  // Check if the file exists in the public folder.
+  // Check if the file exists in the output directory (default: public).
   app.get(`*`, (req, res, next) => {
     // Load file but ignore errors.
     res.sendFile(
-      directoryPath(`/public${decodeURIComponent(req.path)}`),
+      directoryPath(`/${buildDirectory}{decodeURIComponent(req.path)}`),
       err => {
         // No err so a file was sent successfully.
         if (!err || !err.path) {
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ async function startServer(program) {
       parsedPath.extname.startsWith(`.html`) ||
       parsedPath.path.endsWith(`/`)
     ) {
-      res.sendFile(directoryPath(`public/index.html`), err => {
+      res.sendFile(directoryPath(`${buildDirectory}/index.html`), err => {
         if (err) {
           res.status(500).end()
         }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/serve.js b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/serve.js
index 222f3c4ffeed9..ba2dfc83127d4 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/commands/serve.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/commands/serve.js
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ const signalExit = require(`signal-exit`)
 module.exports = program => {
   let { port, open, directory } = program
   port = typeof port === `string` ? parseInt(port, 10) : port
-
-  let server = serve(`${directory}/public`, { port, open })
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+  let server = serve(`${directory}/${buildDirectory}`, { port, open })
 
   signalExit((code, signal) => {
     server.stop()
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/copy-static-directory.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/copy-static-directory.js
index 5eaf5fc993bd1..c0a0fbdc77f22 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/copy-static-directory.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/copy-static-directory.js
@@ -3,14 +3,15 @@ const chokidar = require(`chokidar`)
 const nodePath = require(`path`)
 
 module.exports = () => {
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
   chokidar
     .watch(`${process.cwd()}/static`)
     .on(`add`, path => {
       const relativePath = nodePath.relative(`${process.cwd()}/static`, path)
-      fs.copy(path, `${process.cwd()}/public/${relativePath}`)
+      fs.copy(path, `${process.cwd()}/${buildDirectory}/${relativePath}`)
     })
     .on(`change`, path => {
       const relativePath = nodePath.relative(`${process.cwd()}/static`, path)
-      fs.copy(path, `${process.cwd()}/public/${relativePath}`)
+      fs.copy(path, `${process.cwd()}/${buildDirectory}/${relativePath}`)
     })
 }
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
index 2dd236a084e49..f0a6524ae5579 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ module.exports = async (
   pages = []
 ) => {
   const directoryPath = withBasePath(directory)
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
 
   // We combine develop & develop-html stages for purposes of generating the
   // webpack config.
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ module.exports = async (
 
     // Don't allow overwriting of NODE_ENV, PUBLIC_DIR as to not break gatsby things
     envObject.NODE_ENV = JSON.stringify(env)
-    envObject.PUBLIC_DIR = JSON.stringify(`${process.cwd()}/public`)
+    envObject.PUBLIC_DIR = JSON.stringify(`${process.cwd()}/${buildDirectory}`)
 
     return Object.assign(envObject, gatsbyVarObject)
   }
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ module.exports = async (
         // Webpack will always generate a resultant javascript file.
         // But we don't want it for this step. Deleted by build-css.js.
         return {
-          path: directoryPath(`public`),
+          path: directoryPath(buildDirectory),
           filename: `bundle-for-css.js`,
           publicPath: program.prefixPaths
             ? `${store.getState().config.pathPrefix}/`
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ module.exports = async (
         // A temp file required by static-site-generator-plugin. See plugins() below.
         // Deleted by build-html.js, since it's not needed for production.
         return {
-          path: directoryPath(`public`),
+          path: directoryPath(buildDirectory),
           filename: `render-page.js`,
           libraryTarget: `umd`,
           publicPath: program.prefixPaths
@@ -119,7 +120,7 @@ module.exports = async (
         return {
           filename: `[name]-[chunkhash].js`,
           chunkFilename: `[name]-[chunkhash].js`,
-          path: directoryPath(`public`),
+          path: directoryPath(buildDirectory),
           publicPath: program.prefixPaths
             ? `${store.getState().config.pathPrefix}/`
             : `/`,
@@ -397,7 +398,7 @@ module.exports = async (
       loaders: [`json`, `yaml`],
     })
 
-    // "file" loader makes sure those assets end up in the `public` folder.
+    // "file" loader makes sure the assets end up in the build folder (default: public).
     // When you `import` an asset, you get its filename.
     config.loader(`file-loader`, {
       test: /\.(ico|eot|otf|webp|pdf|ttf|woff(2)?)(\?.*)?$/,
diff --git a/www/gatsby-node.js b/www/gatsby-node.js
index 1938a87a2c578..bd10218eeeee1 100644
--- a/www/gatsby-node.js
+++ b/www/gatsby-node.js
@@ -272,8 +272,9 @@ exports.onCreateNode = ({ node, boundActionCreators, getNode }) => {
 }
 
 exports.onPostBuild = () => {
+  const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
   fs.copySync(
     `../docs/blog/2017-02-21-1-0-progress-update-where-came-from-where-going/gatsbygram.mp4`,
-    `./public/gatsbygram.mp4`
+    `./${buildDirectory}/gatsbygram.mp4`
   )
 }
diff --git a/www/src/html.js b/www/src/html.js
index d48a2c99322ed..88216e07d9912 100644
--- a/www/src/html.js
+++ b/www/src/html.js
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ import colors from "./utils/colors"
 let stylesStr
 if (process.env.NODE_ENV === `production`) {
   try {
-    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../public/styles.css`)
+    const buildDirectory = process.env.GATSBY_BUILD_DIR || `public`
+    stylesStr = require(`!raw-loader!../${buildDirectory}/styles.css`)
   } catch (e) {
     console.log(e)
   }