diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3558ac7..a7bf681 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ _TESTPKGS := $(ROOT) $(foreach p,$(SUBPKGS),$(ROOT)/$(p))
 
 ARTIFACTDIR := artifacts
 
-build: generate
-		go build -o $(ARTIFACTDIR)/zrepl
-
-generate:
+generate: #not part of the build, must do that manually
 	@for pkg in $(_TESTPKGS); do\
 		go generate "$$pkg" || exit 1; \
 	done;
 
+build:
+		go build -o $(ARTIFACTDIR)/zrepl
+
 test:
 	@for pkg in $(_TESTPKGS); do \
 		echo "Testing $$pkg"; \
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ cover: artifacts
 artifacts:
 	mkdir artifacts
 
-release: generate artifacts vet test
+release: artifacts vet test
 	GOOS=linux GOARCH=amd64   go build -o "$(ARTIFACTDIR)/zrepl-linux-amd64"
 	GOOS=freebsd GOARCH=amd64 go build -o "$(ARTIFACTDIR)/zrepl-freebsd-amd64"
 
diff --git a/clone_and_build.sh b/clone_and_build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..779d9f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/clone_and_build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/bin/sh -e
+
+bold=$(tput bold)
+normal=$(tput sgr0)
+
+step() {
+    echo "${bold}$1${normal}"
+}
+
+if [ -z "$GOPATH" ]; then
+    step "Make sure you have your GOPATH configured correctly" 1>&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+step "Checkout sources to \$GOPATH/github.com/zrepl/zrepl"
+CHECKOUTPATH="${GOPATH}/src/github.com/zrepl/zrepl"
+if [ -e "$CHECKOUTPATH" ]; then
+    echo "${CHECKOUTPATH} already exists"
+    if [ ! -d "$CHECKOUTPATH" ]; then
+        echo "${CHECKOUTPATH} is not a directory, aborting" 1>&2
+    else
+        cd "$CHECKOUTPATH"
+    fi
+else
+    mkdir -p "$GOPATH/src/github.com/zrepl"
+    cd "$GOPATH/src/github.com/zrepl"
+    git clone https://github.com/zrepl/zrepl.git
+    cd zrepl
+fi
+
+step "Install build depdencies using 'go get' to \$GOPATH/bin"
+go get -u golang.org/x/tools/cmd/stringer
+go get -u github.com/golang/dep/cmd/dep
+if ! type stringer || ! type dep; then
+    echo "Installed dependencies but can't find them in \$PATH, adjust it to contain \$GOPATH/bin" 1>&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+step "Fetching dependencies using 'dep ensure'"
+dep ensure
+
+step "Making release"
+make release
+
+step "Release artifacts are available in $(pwd)/artifacts"
diff --git a/docs/installation.rst b/docs/installation.rst
index 42176d9..c612feb 100644
--- a/docs/installation.rst
+++ b/docs/installation.rst
@@ -38,22 +38,40 @@ The following list may be incomplete, feel free to submit a PR with an update:
 Compile From Source
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-Check out the sources yourself, fetch dependencies using ``dep``, compile and install to the zrepl user's ``$PATH``.
-You may want to switch to a tagged commit (we use `semver <http://semver.org>`_) although a checkout of ``master`` branch should generally work.
-**Note**: if the zrepl binary is not in ``$PATH``, the examples in the :ref:`tutorial` may need to be adjusted.
+Go 1.9 or newer and a configured ``$GOPATH`` environment variable and a few build dependencies are required to build zrepl.
+A tutorial is available over at `golang.org <https://golang.org/doc/install>`_.
+If Go 1.9 is not available on your distro consider build in Docker (see below).
+
+The following shell script checks out the zrepl project into your ``$GOPATH``,
+installs the build dependencies, installs dependencies using ``dep ensure`` and does a ``make release``.
+Build artifacts are placed into ``$GOPATH/github.com/zrepl/zrepl/artifacts/``.
+
+When doing builds afterwards, it should be sufficient to checkout the new revision, run ``dep ensure`` and ``make release``.
+You may want to switch to a tagged commit (we use `semver <http://semver.org>`_) but master should generally be considered stable.
+
+**Note**: it is your job to install the apropriate binary in the zrepl users's ``$PATH``, e.g. ``/usr/local/bin/zrepl``.
+Otherwise, the examples in the :ref:`tutorial` may need to be adjusted.
+
+**You are encouraged to understand what happens by auditing the script.**
+
+::
+
+    curl 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zrepl/zrepl/master/clone_and_build.sh' | sh
+
+You can also build in a Docker container if you want an isolated build environment or don't have a compatible Go version.
 
 ::
 
-    # NOTE: you may want to checkout & build as an unprivileged user
-    cd /root
     git clone https://github.com/zrepl/zrepl.git
     cd zrepl
-    dep ensure
-    go build -o zrepl
-    cp zrepl /usr/local/bin/zrepl
-    rehash
-    # see if it worked
-    zrepl help
+    sudo docker run -it --rm \
+        -v "${PWD}:/zrepl" \
+        --user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
+        golang:latest bash -c 'export CLONEPATH=/go/src/github.com/zrepl; mkdir -p "$CLONEPATH" && ln -s /zrepl $CLONEPATH/zrepl && ${CLONEPATH}/zrepl/clone_and_build.sh'
+
+.. literalinclude:: ../clone_and_build.sh
+    :language: sh
+
 
 .. _mainconfigfile: