diff --git a/.vscode/launch.json b/.vscode/launch.json
index a1d23fdac8795..f7aaac0ea93ef 100644
--- a/.vscode/launch.json
+++ b/.vscode/launch.json
@@ -8,12 +8,13 @@
             "type": "node",
             "request": "launch",
             "name": "Launch Backend",
-            "program": "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/lib/backend/main.js",
+            "program": "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js",
             "args": [
                 "--loglevel=debug"
             ],
             "sourceMaps": true,
             "outFiles": [
+                "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js",
                 "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/lib/**/*.js",
                 "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/node_modules/theia-core/lib/**/*.js"
             ]
@@ -22,13 +23,14 @@
             "type": "node",
             "request": "launch",
             "name": "Launch Backend (eclipse.jdt.ls)",
-            "program": "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/lib/backend/main.js",
+            "program": "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js",
             "args": [
                 "--loglevel=debug",
                 "--root-dir=${workspaceRoot}/../eclipse.jdt.ls/org.eclipse.jdt.ls.core"
             ],
             "sourceMaps": true,
             "outFiles": [
+                "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js",
                 "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/lib/**/*.js",
                 "${workspaceRoot}/examples/browser/node_modules/theia-core/lib/**/*.js"
             ]
diff --git a/config/webpack/paths.js b/config/webpack/paths.js
index 464d2635c8864..a753927d64d1a 100644
--- a/config/webpack/paths.js
+++ b/config/webpack/paths.js
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ const path = require('path');
 module.exports = function (dirname) {
     return {
         PROJECT_ROOT: path.resolve(dirname, '.'),
-        SRC: path.resolve(dirname, 'src'),
+        SRC_GEN: path.resolve(dirname, 'src-gen'),
         BUILD_ROOT: path.resolve(dirname, 'lib'),
-        ENTRY: path.resolve(dirname, 'lib/frontend/index.js'),
+        ENTRY: path.resolve(dirname, 'src-gen/frontend/index.js'),
         NODE_MODULES: path.resolve(dirname, 'node_modules')
     };
 };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/config/webpack/webpack.config.js b/config/webpack/webpack.config.js
index bf8bcd1efee8a..f784c78d98e3d 100644
--- a/config/webpack/webpack.config.js
+++ b/config/webpack/webpack.config.js
@@ -9,14 +9,13 @@ const electronConfiguration = require('./webpack.config.electron');
 const webConfiguration = require('./webpack.config.web');
 const CopyWebpackPlugin = require('copy-webpack-plugin');
 
-const monacoEditorPath = './node_modules/monaco-editor-core/dev/vs';
+const monacoEditorPath = './node_modules/monaco-editor-core/min/vs';
 const monacoLanguagesPath = './node_modules/monaco-languages/release';
 const monacoCssLanguagePath = './node_modules/monaco-css/release/min';
 const monacoTsLanguagePath = './node_modules/monaco-typescript/release';
 const monacoJsonLanguagePath = './node_modules/monaco-json/release/min';
 const monacoHtmlLanguagePath = './node_modules/monaco-html/release/min';
 
-
 module.exports = function (dirname, config = {}) {
     const commonConfiguration = {
 
diff --git a/examples/browser/package.json b/examples/browser/package.json
index eb587dc36d7ee..cdffced30ca35 100644
--- a/examples/browser/package.json
+++ b/examples/browser/package.json
@@ -13,23 +13,18 @@
     "bootstrap": "npm install ../../config/local-dependency-manager && npm run localinstall",
     "clean": "rimraf lib",
     "prepare": "npm run clean && npm run build",
-    "build": "npm run build:localdeps && npm run build:app",
-    "build:app": "npm run build:backend && npm run build:frontend",
-    "build:backend": "tsc && npm run lint",
-    "build:frontend": "webpack && cp src-gen/frontend/index.html lib/frontend",
+    "build": "npm run build:localdeps && npm run build:frontend",
+    "build:frontend": "webpack && cp src-gen/frontend/index.html lib",
     "start": "npm run start:app",
     "start:app": "concurrently --names backend,webpack-server --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run start:backend\" \"npm run start:frontend\"",
-    "start:backend": "node ./lib/backend/main.js | bunyan",
-    "start:backend:debug": "node ./lib/backend/main.js --loglevel=debug | bunyan",
+    "start:backend": "node ./src-gen/backend/main.js | bunyan",
+    "start:backend:debug": "node ./src-gen/backend/main.js --loglevel=debug | bunyan",
     "start:frontend": "webpack-dev-server --open",
     "cold:start": "npm run clean && npm run build && npm start",
-    "watch": "concurrently --names watch-deps,watch-app --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run watch:localdeps\" \"npm run watch:app\"",
-    "watch:app": "concurrently --names watch-backend,watch-frontend --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run watch:backend\"  \"npm run watch:frontend\"",
-    "watch:backend": "tsc --watch",
+    "watch": "concurrently --names watch-deps,watch-frontend --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run watch:localdeps\" \"npm run watch:frontend\"",
     "watch:frontend": "npm run build:frontend && webpack --watch",
     "localinstall": "ldm install --dev --original-sources",
     "build:localdeps": "ldm run build && ldm sync --original-sources",
-    "lint": "tslint -c ../../config/tslint/tslint.json --project ./tsconfig.json",
     "watch:localdeps": "ldm watch --sync --run=watch --original-sources",
     "test:ui": "wdio wdio.conf.js"
   },
@@ -65,4 +60,4 @@
   "localDevDependencies": {
     "local-dependency-manager": "../../config/local-dependency-manager"
   }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js b/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..9704e743a2925
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.js
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+// @ts-check
+require('reflect-metadata');
+const path = require('path');
+const express = require('express');
+const { Container, injectable } = require('inversify');
+
+const { BackendApplication, backendApplicationModule, loggerBackendModule } = require('theia-core/lib/application/node');
+const { messagingBackendModule } = require("theia-core/lib/messaging/node");
+
+const fileSystemBackendModule = require("theia-core/lib/filesystem/node/filesystem-backend-module").default;
+const workspaceBackendModule = require("theia-core/lib/workspace/node/workspace-backend-module").default;
+const terminalBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module').default;
+const languagesBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/languages/node/languages-backend-module').default;
+const javaBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/java/node/java-backend-module').default;
+const pythonBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/python/node/python-backend-module').default;
+const cppBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/cpp/node/cpp-backend-module').default;
+
+const container = new Container();
+container.load(backendApplicationModule);
+container.load(messagingBackendModule);
+container.load(loggerBackendModule);
+
+container.load(fileSystemBackendModule);
+container.load(workspaceBackendModule);
+container.load(languagesBackendModule);
+container.load(terminalBackendModule);
+container.load(javaBackendModule);
+container.load(pythonBackendModule);
+container.load(cppBackendModule);
+
+const application = container.get(BackendApplication);
+application.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, '../../lib'), {
+    index: 'index.html'
+}));
+application.start();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.ts b/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 1af0cfccaa002..0000000000000
--- a/examples/browser/src-gen/backend/main.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-import 'reflect-metadata';
-import * as path from 'path';
-import * as express from 'express';
-import { Container, injectable } from 'inversify';
-
-import { BackendApplication, BackendApplicationContribution, backendApplicationModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/node';
-import { messagingBackendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/messaging/node';
-import { loggerBackendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/node';
-
-import backend_1 from 'theia-core/lib/filesystem/node/filesystem-backend-module';
-import backend_2 from 'theia-core/lib/workspace/node/workspace-backend-module';
-import backend_3 from 'theia-core/lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module';
-import backend_4 from 'theia-core/lib/languages/node/languages-backend-module';
-import backend_5 from 'theia-core/lib/java/node/java-backend-module';
-import backend_6 from 'theia-core/lib/python/node/python-backend-module';
-import backend_7 from 'theia-core/lib/cpp/node/cpp-backend-module';
-
-@injectable()
-class StaticServer implements BackendApplicationContribution {
-    configure(app: express.Application): void {
-        app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, '..'), {
-            index: path.join('frontend', 'index.html')
-        }));
-    }
-}
-
-const container = new Container();
-container.load(backendApplicationModule);
-container.load(messagingBackendModule);
-container.load(loggerBackendModule);
-
-container.load(backend_1);
-container.load(backend_2);
-container.load(backend_3);
-container.load(backend_4);
-container.load(backend_5);
-container.load(backend_6);
-container.load(backend_7);
-
-container.bind(BackendApplicationContribution).to(StaticServer);
-const application = container.get(BackendApplication);
-application.start();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.html b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.html
index 6e26ac106bc52..5893d7984ed9c 100644
--- a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.html
+++ b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.html
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
   <meta charset="UTF-8">
   <link href="http://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.2.0/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
   <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.promisejs.org/polyfills/promise-6.1.0.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
-  <script type="text/javascript" src="../vs/loader.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
-  <script type="text/javascript" src="../bundle.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
+  <script type="text/javascript" src="./vs/loader.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
+  <script type="text/javascript" src="./bundle.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
         <style>
          .commit-tease,
          .user-profile-mini-avatar,
          .avatar,
          .vcard-details,
          .signup-prompt-bg {
            display: none !IMPORTANT;
          }
        </style>
         <script>
          document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
            this.querySelectorAll('a').forEach(anchor => {
              anchor.addEventListener('click', e => {
                e.preventDefault();

                const redact = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get('redact');
                const hasExistingParams = anchor.href.includes('?');
                window.location.href = anchor.href + (hasExistingParams ? `&redact=${redact}` : `?redact=${redact}`);
              });
            });
          });
        </script>
 </head>
 
 <body>
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.js b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d70cd1cb70e9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+// @ts-check
+import { Container } from 'inversify';
+import { FrontendApplication, frontendApplicationModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
+import { messagingFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/messaging/browser';
+import { loggerFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
+
+const container = new Container();
+container.load(frontendApplicationModule);
+container.load(messagingFrontendModule);
+container.load(loggerFrontendModule);
+
+function load(raw) {
+    return Promise.resolve(raw.default).then(module =>
+        container.load(module)
+    )
+}
+
+function start() {
+    const application = container.get(FrontendApplication);
+    application.start();
+}
+
+import('theia-core/lib/application/browser/menu/browser-menu-module').then(load)
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/application/browser/clipboard/browser-clipboard-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/filesystem/browser/filesystem-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/workspace/browser/workspace-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/navigator/browser/navigator-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/monaco/browser/monaco-browser-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/languages/browser/languages-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/java/browser/java-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/python/browser/python-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/cpp/browser/cpp-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(start);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.ts b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index ec878a276294a..0000000000000
--- a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/index.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-window.onload = () => {
-    const w = <any>window;
-    w.require(["vs/editor/editor.main"], () => {
-        w.require([
-            'vs/basic-languages/src/monaco.contribution',
-            'vs/language/css/monaco.contribution',
-            'vs/language/typescript/src/monaco.contribution',
-            'vs/language/html/monaco.contribution',
-            'vs/language/json/monaco.contribution',
-            'vs/platform/commands/common/commands',
-            'vs/platform/actions/common/actions',
-            'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingsRegistry',
-            'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingResolver',
-            'vs/base/common/keyCodes',
-            'vs/editor/browser/standalone/simpleServices'
-        ], (basic: any, css: any, ts: any, html: any, json: any, commands: any, actions: any, registry: any, resolver: any,
-            keyCodes: any, simpleServices: any) => {
-
-                const global: any = self;
-                global.monaco.commands = commands;
-                global.monaco.actions = actions;
-                global.monaco.keybindings = Object.assign(registry, resolver, keyCodes);
-                global.monaco.services = simpleServices;
-                require('./main');
-            });
-    });
-};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/main.ts b/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/main.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index e71d6496bacc4..0000000000000
--- a/examples/browser/src-gen/frontend/main.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-import { Container } from 'inversify';
-import { FrontendApplication, frontendApplicationModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
-import { messagingFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/messaging/browser';
-import { loggerFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
-
-import frontend_1 from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser/menu/browser-menu-module';
-import frontend_2 from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser/clipboard/browser-clipboard-module';
-import frontend_3 from 'theia-core/lib/filesystem/browser/filesystem-frontend-module';
-import frontend_4 from 'theia-core/lib/workspace/browser/workspace-frontend-module';
-import frontend_5 from 'theia-core/lib/navigator/browser/navigator-frontend-module';
-import frontend_6 from 'theia-core/lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module';
-import frontend_7 from 'theia-core/lib/monaco/browser/monaco-frontend-module';
-import frontend_8 from 'theia-core/lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module';
-import frontend_9 from 'theia-core/lib/languages/browser/languages-frontend-module';
-import frontend_10 from 'theia-core/lib/java/browser/java-frontend-module';
-import frontend_11 from 'theia-core/lib/python/browser/python-frontend-module';
-import frontend_12 from 'theia-core/lib/cpp/browser/cpp-frontend-module';
-
-const container = new Container();
-container.load(frontendApplicationModule);
-container.load(messagingFrontendModule);
-container.load(loggerFrontendModule);
-
-container.load(frontend_1);
-container.load(frontend_2);
-container.load(frontend_3);
-container.load(frontend_4);
-container.load(frontend_5);
-container.load(frontend_6);
-container.load(frontend_7);
-container.load(frontend_8);
-container.load(frontend_9);
-container.load(frontend_10);
-container.load(frontend_11);
-container.load(frontend_12);
-
-const application = container.get(FrontendApplication);
-application.start();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/browser/tsconfig.json b/examples/browser/tsconfig.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 80907ed61195f..0000000000000
--- a/examples/browser/tsconfig.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "compilerOptions": {
-    "declaration": false,
-    "noImplicitAny": true,
-    "noEmitOnError": true,
-    "noImplicitThis": true,
-    "noUnusedLocals": true,
-    "strictNullChecks": true,
-    "experimentalDecorators": true,
-    "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
-    "module": "commonjs",
-    "moduleResolution": "node",
-    "target": "es5",
-    "outDir": "lib",
-    "lib": [
-      "es6",
-      "dom"
-    ],
-    "sourceMap": true
-  },
-  "include": [
-    "src-gen"
-  ]
-}
diff --git a/examples/electron/package.json b/examples/electron/package.json
index 9ea10da7671af..794738b7b72f6 100644
--- a/examples/electron/package.json
+++ b/examples/electron/package.json
@@ -17,17 +17,13 @@
     "clean": "rimraf lib",
     "postinstall": "electron-rebuild",
     "prepare": "npm run clean && npm run build",
-    "build": "npm run build:localdeps && npm run build:app",
-    "build:app": "npm run build:backend && npm run build:frontend",
-    "build:backend": "tsc && npm run lint",
-    "build:frontend": "webpack --target electron && cp src/frontend/index.html lib/frontend",
+    "build": "npm run build:localdeps && npm run build:frontend",
+    "build:frontend": "webpack --target electron && cp src-gen/frontend/index.html lib",
     "build:localdeps": "ldm run build && ldm sync --original-sources",
-    "lint": "tslint -c ../../config/tslint/tslint.json --project ./tsconfig.json",
-    "start": "electron ./lib/frontend/electron-main.js | bunyan",
-    "start:debug": "electron ./lib/frontend/electron-main.js --loglevel=debug | bunyan",
+    "start": "electron ./src-gen/frontend/electron-main.js | bunyan",
+    "start:debug": "electron ./src-gen/frontend/electron-main.js --loglevel=debug | bunyan",
     "cold:start": "npm run clean && npm run build && npm start",
-    "watch": "concurrently --names watch-deps,watch-backend,watch-frontend --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run watch:localdeps\" \"npm run watch:backend\"  \"npm run watch:frontend\"",
-    "watch:backend": "tsc --watch",
+    "watch": "concurrently --names watch-deps,watch-frontend --prefix \"[{name}]\" \"npm run watch:localdeps\" \"npm run watch:frontend\"",
     "watch:frontend": "npm run build:frontend && webpack --watch",
     "watch:localdeps": "ldm watch --sync --run=watch --original-sources",
     "test": "electron-mocha --timeout 60000 --require ts-node/register test/**/*.espec.ts",
diff --git a/examples/electron/src-gen/backend/main.js b/examples/electron/src-gen/backend/main.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1c424dfa5d9f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/electron/src-gen/backend/main.js
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+// @ts-check
+require('reflect-metadata');
+const path = require('path');
+const express = require('express');
+const { Container, injectable } = require("inversify");
+
+const { BackendApplication, backendApplicationModule, loggerBackendModule } = require("theia-core/lib/application/node");
+const { messagingBackendModule } = require("theia-core/lib/messaging/node");
+
+const fileSystemBackendModule = require("theia-core/lib/filesystem/node/filesystem-backend-module").default;
+const workspaceBackendModule = require("theia-core/lib/workspace/node/workspace-backend-module").default;
+const terminalBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module').default;
+const languagesBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/languages/node/languages-backend-module').default;
+const javaBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/java/node/java-backend-module').default;
+const pythonBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/python/node/python-backend-module').default;
+const cppBackendModule = require('theia-core/lib/cpp/node/cpp-backend-module').default;
+
+const container = new Container();
+container.load(backendApplicationModule);
+container.load(messagingBackendModule);
+container.load(loggerBackendModule);
+
+container.load(fileSystemBackendModule);
+container.load(workspaceBackendModule);
+container.load(languagesBackendModule);
+container.load(terminalBackendModule);
+container.load(javaBackendModule);
+container.load(pythonBackendModule);
+container.load(cppBackendModule);
+
+const application = container.get(BackendApplication);
+application.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, '../../lib'), {
+    index: 'index.html'
+}));
+application.start();
diff --git a/examples/electron/src/frontend/electron-main.ts b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/electron-main.js
similarity index 71%
rename from examples/electron/src/frontend/electron-main.ts
rename to examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/electron-main.js
index e95e0807510e8..4cb5fb4b52cfb 100644
--- a/examples/electron/src/frontend/electron-main.ts
+++ b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/electron-main.js
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
  * You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
  */
 
+// @ts-check
+
 // Workaround for https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/9225. Chrome has an issue where
 // in certain locales (e.g. PL), image metrics are wrongly computed. We explicitly set the
 // LC_NUMERIC to prevent this from happening (selects the numeric formatting category of the
@@ -14,23 +16,24 @@ if (process.env.LC_ALL) {
 }
 process.env.LC_NUMERIC = 'C';
 
-import * as electron from 'electron';
-import * as path from 'path';
+const electron = require('electron');
+const path = require('path');
 
-let mainWindow: Electron.BrowserWindow | undefined = undefined;
+let mainWindow = undefined;
 
-electron.app.on('window-all-closed', () => {
+electron.app.on('window-all-closed', function () {
     if (process.platform !== 'darwin') {
         electron.app.quit();
     }
 });
 
-electron.app.on('ready', () => {
-    require("../backend/main"); // start the express server
+electron.app.on('ready', function () {
+    // start the express server
+    require("../backend/main");
     mainWindow = new electron.BrowserWindow({ width: 1024, height: 728 });
     mainWindow.webContents.openDevTools();
-    mainWindow.loadURL(`file://${path.join(__dirname, 'index.html')}`);
-    mainWindow.on('closed', () => {
+    mainWindow.loadURL(`file://${path.join(__dirname, '../../lib/index.html')}`);
+    mainWindow.on('closed', function () {
         mainWindow = undefined;
     });
 });
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.html b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..6301020868a5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <link href="http://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.2.0/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
+    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.promisejs.org/polyfills/promise-6.1.0.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
+    <script type="text/javascript" src="./bundle.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
+        <style>
          .commit-tease,
          .user-profile-mini-avatar,
          .avatar,
          .vcard-details,
          .signup-prompt-bg {
            display: none !IMPORTANT;
          }
        </style>
         <script>
          document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
            this.querySelectorAll('a').forEach(anchor => {
              anchor.addEventListener('click', e => {
                e.preventDefault();

                const redact = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get('redact');
                const hasExistingParams = anchor.href.includes('?');
                window.location.href = anchor.href + (hasExistingParams ? `&redact=${redact}` : `?redact=${redact}`);
              });
            });
          });
        </script>
 </head>
+
+<body>
+</body>
+
+</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.js b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..20310ad0efece
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/electron/src-gen/frontend/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+// @ts-check
+import { Container } from 'inversify';
+import { FrontendApplication, frontendApplicationModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
+import { messagingFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/messaging/browser';
+import { loggerFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
+
+const container = new Container();
+container.load(frontendApplicationModule);
+container.load(messagingFrontendModule);
+container.load(loggerFrontendModule);
+
+function load(raw) {
+    return Promise.resolve(raw.default).then(module =>
+        container.load(module)
+    )
+}
+
+function start() {
+    const application = container.get(FrontendApplication);
+    application.start();
+}
+
+import('theia-core/lib/application/electron-browser/menu/electron-menu-module').then(load)
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/application/electron-browser/clipboard/electron-clipboard-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/filesystem/browser/filesystem-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/workspace/browser/workspace-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/navigator/browser/navigator-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/monaco/electron-browser/monaco-electron-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/languages/browser/languages-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/java/browser/java-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/python/browser/python-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(function () { return import('theia-core/lib/cpp/browser/cpp-frontend-module').then(load) })
+    .then(start);
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/src/backend/main.ts b/examples/electron/src/backend/main.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index a528db1b1881d..0000000000000
--- a/examples/electron/src/backend/main.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-import 'reflect-metadata';
-import * as path from 'path';
-import * as express from 'express';
-import { Container, injectable } from "inversify";
-
-import { BackendApplication, BackendApplicationContribution, backendApplicationModule } from "theia-core/lib/application/node";
-import { messagingBackendModule } from "theia-core/lib/messaging/node";
-import { loggerBackendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/node';
-
-import fileSystemBackendModule from "theia-core/lib/filesystem/node/filesystem-backend-module";
-import workspaceBackendModule from "theia-core/lib/workspace/node/workspace-backend-module";
-import terminalBackendModule from 'theia-core/lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module';
-import languagesBackendModule from 'theia-core/lib/languages/node/languages-backend-module';
-import javaBackendModule from 'theia-core/lib/java/node/java-backend-module';
-import pythonBackendModule from 'theia-core/lib/python/node/python-backend-module';
-import cppBackendModule from 'theia-core/lib/cpp/node/cpp-backend-module';
-
-@injectable()
-class StaticServer implements BackendApplicationContribution {
-    configure(app: express.Application): void {
-        app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, '..'), {
-            index: path.join('frontend', 'index.html')
-        }));
-    }
-}
-
-const container = new Container();
-container.load(backendApplicationModule);
-container.load(messagingBackendModule);
-container.load(loggerBackendModule);
-
-container.load(fileSystemBackendModule);
-container.load(workspaceBackendModule);
-container.load(languagesBackendModule);
-container.load(terminalBackendModule);
-container.load(javaBackendModule);
-container.load(pythonBackendModule);
-container.load(cppBackendModule);
-
-container.bind(BackendApplicationContribution).to(StaticServer);
-const application = container.get(BackendApplication);
-application.start();
diff --git a/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.html b/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.html
deleted file mode 100644
index da172b28ec5fd..0000000000000
--- a/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html>
-<html>
-
-<head>
-    <meta charset="UTF-8">
-    <link href="http://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.2.0/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
-    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.promisejs.org/polyfills/promise-6.1.0.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
-    <script>
-        // Monaco uses a custom amd loader that over-rides node's require.
-        // Keep a reference to node's require so we can restore it after executing the amd loader file.
-        var nodeRequire = global.require;
-    </script>
-    <script type="text/javascript" src="../vs/loader.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
-    <script>
-        // Save Monaco's amd require and restore Node's require
-        var amdRequire = global.require;
-        global.require = nodeRequire;
-    </script>
-    <script>
-        // require node modules before loader.js comes in
-        var path = require('path');
-        function uriFromPath(_path) {
-            var pathName = path.resolve(_path).replace(/\\/g, '/');
-            if (pathName.length > 0 && pathName.charAt(0) !== '/') {
-                pathName = '/' + pathName;
-            }
-            return encodeURI('file://' + pathName);
-        }
-        amdRequire.config({
-            baseUrl: uriFromPath(path.join(__dirname, '../../node_modules/monaco-editor/min'))
-        });
-        // workaround monaco-css not understanding the environment
-        self.module = undefined;
-        // workaround monaco-typescript not understanding the environment
-        self.process.browser = true;
-        amdRequire(['vs/editor/editor.main'], function () {
-            amdRequire([
-                'vs/basic-languages/src/monaco.contribution',
-                'vs/language/css/monaco.contribution',
-                'vs/language/typescript/src/monaco.contribution',
-                'vs/language/html/monaco.contribution',
-                'vs/language/json/monaco.contribution',
-                'vs/platform/commands/common/commands',
-                'vs/platform/actions/common/actions',
-                'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingsRegistry',
-                'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingResolver',
-                'vs/base/common/keyCodes',
-                'vs/editor/browser/standalone/simpleServices'
-            ], (basic, css, ts, html, json, commands, actions, registry, resolver, keyCodes, simpleServices) => {
-                const global = self;
-                global.monaco.commands = commands;
-                global.monaco.actions = actions;
-                global.monaco.keybindings = Object.assign(registry, resolver, keyCodes);
-                global.monaco.services = simpleServices;
-                require("../bundle.js");
-            });
-        });
-    </script>
-        <style>
          .commit-tease,
          .user-profile-mini-avatar,
          .avatar,
          .vcard-details,
          .signup-prompt-bg {
            display: none !IMPORTANT;
          }
        </style>
         <script>
          document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
            this.querySelectorAll('a').forEach(anchor => {
              anchor.addEventListener('click', e => {
                e.preventDefault();

                const redact = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get('redact');
                const hasExistingParams = anchor.href.includes('?');
                window.location.href = anchor.href + (hasExistingParams ? `&redact=${redact}` : `?redact=${redact}`);
              });
            });
          });
        </script>
 </head>
-
-<body>
-</body>
-
-</html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.ts b/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index e2399eb1cd859..0000000000000
--- a/examples/electron/src/frontend/index.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-require('./main');
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/src/frontend/main.ts b/examples/electron/src/frontend/main.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4b21d4e3d639f..0000000000000
--- a/examples/electron/src/frontend/main.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
- *
- * Licensed 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
- */
-
-import { Container } from 'inversify';
-import { FrontendApplication, frontendApplicationModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
-import { messagingFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/messaging/browser';
-import { loggerFrontendModule } from 'theia-core/lib/application/browser';
-
-import electronMenuModule from 'theia-core/lib/application/electron-browser/menu/electron-menu-module';
-import electronClipboardModule from 'theia-core/lib/application/electron-browser/clipboard/electron-clipboard-module';
-import fileSystemFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/filesystem/browser/filesystem-frontend-module';
-import workspaceFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/workspace/browser/workspace-frontend-module';
-import navigatorFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/navigator/browser/navigator-frontend-module';
-import editorFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module';
-import monacoFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/monaco/browser/monaco-frontend-module';
-import terminalFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module';
-import languagesFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/languages/browser/languages-frontend-module';
-import javaFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/java/browser/java-frontend-module';
-import pythonFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/python/browser/python-frontend-module';
-import cppFrontendModule from 'theia-core/lib/cpp/browser/cpp-frontend-module';
-
-const container = new Container();
-container.load(frontendApplicationModule);
-container.load(messagingFrontendModule);
-container.load(loggerFrontendModule);
-
-container.load(electronMenuModule);
-container.load(electronClipboardModule);
-container.load(fileSystemFrontendModule);
-container.load(workspaceFrontendModule);
-container.load(navigatorFrontendModule);
-container.load(editorFrontendModule);
-container.load(monacoFrontendModule);
-container.load(terminalFrontendModule);
-container.load(languagesFrontendModule);
-container.load(javaFrontendModule);
-container.load(pythonFrontendModule);
-container.load(cppFrontendModule);
-
-const application = container.get(FrontendApplication);
-application.start();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/examples/electron/tsconfig.json b/examples/electron/tsconfig.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 2fdd135835bcf..0000000000000
--- a/examples/electron/tsconfig.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "compilerOptions": {
-    "declaration": false,
-    "noImplicitAny": true,
-    "noEmitOnError": true,
-    "noImplicitThis": true,
-    "noUnusedLocals": true,
-    "strictNullChecks": true,
-    "experimentalDecorators": true,
-    "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
-    "module": "commonjs",
-    "moduleResolution": "node",
-    "target": "es5",
-    "outDir": "lib",
-    "lib": [
-      "es6",
-      "dom"
-    ],
-    "sourceMap": true
-  },
-  "include": [
-    "src"
-  ]
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index d25eb4637e244..4958020fc8e7f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -133,14 +133,15 @@
       "frontend": "lib/navigator/browser/navigator-frontend-module"
     },
     {
-      "frontend": "lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module"
+      "frontend": "lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module",
+      "backend": "lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module"
     },
     {
-      "frontend": "lib/monaco/browser/monaco-frontend-module"
+      "frontend": "lib/editor/browser/editor-frontend-module"
     },
     {
-      "frontend": "lib/terminal/browser/terminal-frontend-module",
-      "backend": "lib/terminal/node/terminal-backend-module"
+      "frontend": "lib/monaco/browser/monaco-browser-module",
+      "frontendElectron": "lib/monaco/electron-browser/monaco-electron-module"
     },
     {
       "frontend": "lib/languages/browser/languages-frontend-module",
diff --git a/src/application/node/backend-application.ts b/src/application/node/backend-application.ts
index 31dde3212e8fb..db6ffed055f9c 100644
--- a/src/application/node/backend-application.ts
+++ b/src/application/node/backend-application.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export interface BackendApplicationContribution {
 @injectable()
 export class BackendApplication {
 
-    protected app: express.Application;
+    protected readonly app: express.Application = express();
 
     constructor(
         @inject(ContributionProvider) @named(BackendApplicationContribution)
@@ -35,22 +35,24 @@ export class BackendApplication {
                 logger.error(error.stack);
             }
         });
+        for (const contribution of this.contributionsProvider.getContributions()) {
+            if (contribution.configure) {
+                contribution.configure(this.app);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    use(...handlers: express.Handler[]): void {
+        this.app.use(...handlers);
     }
 
     start(port: number = 3000): Promise<void> {
-        const contributions = this.contributionsProvider.getContributions()
-        this.app = express();
-        for (const contrib of contributions) {
-            if (contrib.configure) {
-                contrib.configure(this.app);
-            }
-        }
         return new Promise<void>(resolve => {
             const server = this.app.listen(port, () => {
                 this.logger.info(`Theia app listening on port ${port}.`);
                 resolve();
             });
-            for (const contrib of contributions) {
+            for (const contrib of this.contributionsProvider.getContributions()) {
                 if (contrib.onStart) {
                     contrib.onStart(server);
                 }
diff --git a/src/monaco/browser/monaco-browser-module.ts b/src/monaco/browser/monaco-browser-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1b6ad63457e78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/monaco/browser/monaco-browser-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+import { ContainerModule } from "inversify";
+import { loadMonaco } from "./monaco-loader";
+
+export { ContainerModule };
+
+const amdRequire = (<any>window).require;
+export default loadMonaco(amdRequire)
+    .then(() =>
+        import('./monaco-frontend-module')
+    ).then(module =>
+        module.default
+    );
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/monaco/browser/monaco-loader.ts b/src/monaco/browser/monaco-loader.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..03bca342dd88e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/monaco/browser/monaco-loader.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+export function loadMonaco(vsRequire: any): Promise<void> {
+    return new Promise<void>(resolve => {
+        vsRequire(["vs/editor/editor.main"], () => {
+            vsRequire([
+                'vs/basic-languages/src/monaco.contribution',
+                'vs/language/css/monaco.contribution',
+                'vs/language/typescript/src/monaco.contribution',
+                'vs/language/html/monaco.contribution',
+                'vs/language/json/monaco.contribution',
+                'vs/platform/commands/common/commands',
+                'vs/platform/actions/common/actions',
+                'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingsRegistry',
+                'vs/platform/keybinding/common/keybindingResolver',
+                'vs/base/common/keyCodes',
+                'vs/editor/browser/standalone/simpleServices'
+            ], (basic: any, css: any, ts: any, html: any, json: any, commands: any, actions: any, registry: any, resolver: any,
+                keyCodes: any, simpleServices: any) => {
+                    const global: any = self;
+                    global.monaco.commands = commands;
+                    global.monaco.actions = actions;
+                    global.monaco.keybindings = Object.assign(registry, resolver, keyCodes);
+                    global.monaco.services = simpleServices;
+                    resolve();
+                });
+        });
+    });
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/monaco/electron-browser/monaco-electron-module.ts b/src/monaco/electron-browser/monaco-electron-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..c8692ba52cdd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/monaco/electron-browser/monaco-electron-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2017 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * Licensed 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
+ */
+
+import { ContainerModule } from "inversify";
+import { loadMonaco } from "../browser/monaco-loader";
+import { FileUri } from "../../application/node/file-uri";
+
+export { ContainerModule };
+
+const g = <any>global;
+const s = <any>self;
+
+// Monaco uses a custom amd loader that over-rides node's require.
+// Keep a reference to node's require so we can restore it after executing the amd loader file.
+const nodeRequire = g.require;
+
+const loadAmdRequire = new Promise<any>(resolve => {
+    const vsLoader = document.createElement('script');
+    vsLoader.type = 'text/javascript';
+    vsLoader.src = './vs/loader.js';
+    vsLoader.charset = 'utf-8';
+    vsLoader.addEventListener('load', () => {
+        // Save Monaco's amd require and restore Node's require
+        const amdRequire = g.require;
+        g.require = nodeRequire;
+
+        const baseUrl = FileUri.create(__dirname).toString();
+        amdRequire.config({ baseUrl });
+
+        // workaround monaco-css not understanding the environment
+        s.module = undefined;
+
+        // workaround monaco-typescript not understanding the environment
+        s.process.browser = true;
+
+        resolve(amdRequire);
+    });
+    document.body.appendChild(vsLoader);
+});
+
+export default loadAmdRequire
+    .then(amdRequire => loadMonaco(amdRequire))
+    .then(() => import('../browser/monaco-frontend-module'))
+    .then(module => module.default);
\ No newline at end of file