diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2693a712c7..284a7b1ee4 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # build
+*.swp
 /out/
 /target/
 *.pyc
diff --git a/.gn b/.gn
index 94ff452ac7..ce64e43d74 100644
--- a/.gn
+++ b/.gn
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ default_args = {
   # for now. See http://clang.llvm.org/docs/ControlFlowIntegrity.html
   is_cfi = false
 
-  is_component_build = false
   symbol_level = 1
   treat_warnings_as_errors = true
   rust_treat_warnings_as_errors = true
@@ -44,7 +43,7 @@ default_args = {
   v8_experimental_extra_library_files = []
   v8_extra_library_files = []
   v8_imminent_deprecation_warnings = false
-  v8_monolithic = true
+  v8_monolithic = false
   v8_untrusted_code_mitigations = false
   v8_use_external_startup_data = false
   v8_use_snapshot = true
diff --git a/BUILD.gn b/BUILD.gn
index 064f8d1463..060b024a1e 100644
--- a/BUILD.gn
+++ b/BUILD.gn
@@ -218,11 +218,23 @@ v8_executable("test_cc") {
   configs = [ ":deno_config" ]
 }
 
+v8_static_library("v8") {
+  public_deps = [
+    "third_party/v8:v8",
+    "third_party/v8:v8_libbase",
+    "third_party/v8:v8_libplatform",
+    "third_party/v8:v8_libsampler",
+    "//build/win:default_exe_manifest",
+  ]
+  configs = [ ":deno_config" ]
+}
+
 # Only functionality needed for libdeno_test and snapshot_creator
 # In particular no flatbuffers, no assets, no rust, no msg handlers.
 # Because snapshots are slow, it's important that snapshot_creator's
 # dependencies are minimal.
-static_library("libdeno") {
+v8_static_library("libdeno") {
+  configs = [ ":deno_config" ]
   sources = [
     "libdeno/api.cc",
     "libdeno/binding.cc",
@@ -231,30 +243,44 @@ static_library("libdeno") {
     "libdeno/file_util.h",
     "libdeno/internal.h",
   ]
-  public_deps = [
-    "third_party/v8:v8_monolith",
-  ]
-  configs += [ ":deno_config" ]
+  if (!use_prebuilt_v8) {
+    public_deps = [
+      ":v8",
+    ]
+  } else {
+    # TODO(ry) It would be nice to have a standalone target for the prebuilt
+    # library that could simply be added to the deps here, but it wasn't
+    # obvious how to accomplish that in gn.
+    if (is_mac) {
+      libs = [ "//prebuilt/mac/libv8.a" ]
+    } else if (is_linux) {
+      libs = [ "//prebuilt/linux64/libv8.a" ]
+    } else if (is_win) {
+      libs = [ "//prebuilt/win/v8.lib" ]
+    } else {
+      assert(false, "We don't have prebuilt binaries for this platform yet.")
+    }
+  }
 }
 
-static_library("deno_deps") {
+v8_static_library("deno_deps") {
   complete_static_lib = true
   public_deps = [
     ":libdeno",
     ":msg_rs",
     ":snapshot",
   ]
-  configs += [ ":deno_config" ]
+  configs = [ ":deno_config" ]
 }
 
-executable("snapshot_creator") {
+v8_executable("snapshot_creator") {
   sources = [
     "libdeno/snapshot_creator.cc",
   ]
   deps = [
     ":libdeno",
   ]
-  configs += [ ":deno_config" ]
+  configs = [ ":deno_config" ]
 }
 
 # Generates the core TypeScript type library for deno that will be
diff --git a/Docs.md b/Docs.md
index 9c0a0a8fd4..ee359e1c2b 100644
--- a/Docs.md
+++ b/Docs.md
@@ -332,6 +332,17 @@ We use Flatbuffers to define common structs and enums between TypeScript and
 Rust. These common data structures are defined in
 https://github.com/denoland/deno/blob/master/src/msg.fbs
 
+### Internal: Updating prebuilt binaries
+
+V8 takes a long time to build - on the order of an hour. We use pre-built V8
+libraries stored in a Google Storage bucket instead of rebuilding it from
+scratch each time. Our build system is however setup such that we can build V8
+as part of the Deno build if necessary (useful for debugging or changing various
+configurations in V8, or building the pre-built binaries themselves). To control
+whether to use a pre-built V8 or not use the `use_v8_prebuilt` GN argument.
+
+Use `tools/gcloud_upload.py` to upload new prebuilt files.
+
 ## Contributing
 
 See
diff --git a/build_extra/deno.gni b/build_extra/deno.gni
index 08cccfdea9..9e0d43cab6 100644
--- a/build_extra/deno.gni
+++ b/build_extra/deno.gni
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 # Copyright 2018 the Deno authors. All rights reserved. MIT license.
 import("//build/compiled_action.gni")
 
+declare_args() {
+  # Use prebuilt V8 libraries from //prebuilt/
+  use_prebuilt_v8 = true
+}
+
 template("run_node") {
   action(target_name) {
     forward_variables_from(invoker, "*")
diff --git a/tools/setup.py b/tools/setup.py
index b806267cbe..57f99f8a4e 100755
--- a/tools/setup.py
+++ b/tools/setup.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import os
 import re
 import sys
 from distutils.spawn import find_executable
+import prebuilt
 
 
 def main():
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ def main():
     third_party.download_gn()
     third_party.download_clang_format()
     third_party.download_clang()
+    prebuilt.load()
     third_party.maybe_download_sysroot()
 
     write_lastchange()