diff --git a/docs/source/development.rst b/docs/source/development.rst
index 4a8683c325..cfcac8164b 100644
--- a/docs/source/development.rst
+++ b/docs/source/development.rst
@@ -3,30 +3,23 @@
 Development
 ===========
 
+Installing Javascript machinery
+-------------------------------
 
-CSS live reloading
-------------------
+Running the Notebook from the source code on Github requires some Javascript
+tools to build/minify the CSS and Javascript components. We do these steps when
+making releases, so there's no need for these tools when installing released
+versions of the Notebook.
 
-If you are working on notebook styling, you can use the live-reloading option
-of gulp to watch for changes in the `.less` files and automatically rebuild the
-`css` and reload the current page. 
+First, install `Node.js <https://nodejs.org/>`_. The installers on the
+Node.js website also include Node's package manager, *npm*. Alternatively,
+install both of these from your package manager. For example, on Ubuntu or Debian::
 
-To do so we rely on the livereaload extension of various browser (`for chrome
-<https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/livereload/jnihajbhpnppcggbcgedagnkighmdlei>`_),
-and the gulp-livereload extension. 
-
-
-To use the livereload extension, in the root of `notebook` project launch::
-
-    $ gulp watch
-    
-    
-Any changes to any of the less files under the `notebook/static`
-directory will trigger a rebuild of css and ask the reload extension to reload
-the current page. 
-
-Do not forget to activate the extension for the current page by clicking on it. 
-The dot at the center of the extension icon will be come darker when the extension is activated. 
+    sudo apt-get install nodejs-legacy npm
 
+You can then build the Javascript and CSS by running::
 
+    python setup.py css js
 
+This will automatically fetch the remaining dependencies (bower, less) and
+install them in a subdirectory.