diff --git a/packages/app/package.json b/packages/app/package.json
index 4a7d0a5e4c..90ff7fa0b9 100644
--- a/packages/app/package.json
+++ b/packages/app/package.json
@@ -20,13 +20,12 @@
     "react": "^16.12.0",
     "react-dom": "^16.12.0",
     "react-router-dom": "^5.1.2",
-    "react-scripts": "^3.4.0",
     "react-use": "^13.24.0",
     "zen-observable": "^0.8.15"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "start": "cross-env EXTEND_ESLINT=true SKIP_PREFLIGHT_CHECK=true backstage-cli watch-deps -- react-scripts start",
-    "build": "cross-env EXTEND_ESLINT=true SKIP_PREFLIGHT_CHECK=true react-scripts build",
+    "start": "backstage-cli app:serve",
+    "build": "backstage-cli app:build",
     "test": "backstage-cli test",
     "lint": "backstage-cli lint"
   },
diff --git a/packages/cli/package.json b/packages/cli/package.json
index 7612ab1c35..9cc9ee6aa7 100644
--- a/packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/packages/cli/package.json
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@
     "inquirer": "^7.0.4",
     "ora": "^4.0.3",
     "react-dev-utils": "^10.2.0",
+    "react-scripts": "^3.4.0",
     "recursive-readdir": "^2.2.2",
     "replace-in-file": "^5.0.2",
     "ts-loader": "^6.2.1",
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5dc623831e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/build.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * 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
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { run } from '../../helpers/run';
+
+export default async () => {
+  const args = ['build'];
+
+  await run('react-scripts', args, {
+    env: {
+      EXTEND_ESLINT: 'true',
+      SKIP_PREFLIGHT_CHECK: 'true',
+    },
+  });
+};
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21241c99e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/app/serve.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2020 Spotify AB
+ *
+ * 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
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+import { run } from '../../helpers/run';
+import { watchDeps } from '../watch-deps';
+
+export default async () => {
+  const args = ['start'];
+
+  // Start dynamic watch and build of dependencies, then serve the app
+  await watchDeps();
+  await run('react-scripts', args, {
+    env: {
+      EXTEND_ESLINT: 'true',
+      SKIP_PREFLIGHT_CHECK: 'true',
+    },
+  });
+};
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/commands/watch-deps/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/commands/watch-deps/index.ts
index 6ea1fae23b..e5993ae9d6 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/commands/watch-deps/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/commands/watch-deps/index.ts
@@ -31,16 +31,9 @@ const PACKAGE_BLACKLIST = [
 
 const WATCH_LOCATIONS = ['package.json', 'src', 'assets'];
 
-/*
- * The watch-deps command is meant to improve iteration speed while working in a large monorepo
- * with packages that are built independently, meaning packages depends on each other's build output.
- *
- * The command traverses all dependencies of the current package within the monorepo, and starts
- * watching for updates in all those packages. If a change is detected, we stop listening for changes,
- * and instead start up watch mode for that package. Starting watch mode means running the first
- * available yarn script out of "build:watch", "watch", or "build" --watch.
- */
-export default async (_command: any, args: string[]) => {
+// Start watching for dependency changes.
+// The returned promise resolves when watchers have started for all current dependencies.
+export async function watchDeps() {
   const localPackagePath = resolvePath('package.json');
 
   // Rotate through different prefix colors to make it easier to differenciate between different deps
@@ -66,6 +59,19 @@ export default async (_command: any, args: string[]) => {
     const newDeps = await getPackageDeps(localPackagePath, PACKAGE_BLACKLIST);
     await watcher.update(newDeps);
   });
+}
+
+/*
+ * The watch-deps command is meant to improve iteration speed while working in a large monorepo
+ * with packages that are built independently, meaning packages depends on each other's build output.
+ *
+ * The command traverses all dependencies of the current package within the monorepo, and starts
+ * watching for updates in all those packages. If a change is detected, we stop listening for changes,
+ * and instead start up watch mode for that package. Starting watch mode means running the first
+ * available yarn script out of "build:watch", "watch", or "build" --watch.
+ */
+export default async (_command: any, args: string[]) => {
+  await watchDeps();
 
   if (args?.length) {
     await waitForExit(startChild(args));
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/helpers/run.ts b/packages/cli/src/helpers/run.ts
index b3ce7ad2c1..3eec19a148 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/helpers/run.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/helpers/run.ts
@@ -14,14 +14,18 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-import { SpawnSyncOptions, spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
+import { SpawnOptions, spawn, ChildProcess } from 'child_process';
 import { ExitCodeError } from './errors';
 
+type SpawnOptionsPartialEnv = Omit<SpawnOptions, 'env'> & {
+  env?: Partial<NodeJS.ProcessEnv>;
+};
+
 // Runs a child command, returning a promise that is only resolved if the child exits with code 0.
 export async function run(
   name: string,
   args: string[] = [],
-  options: SpawnSyncOptions = {},
+  options: SpawnOptionsPartialEnv = {},
 ) {
   const env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = {
     ...process.env,
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/index.ts b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
index c9a7a14393..4797cceaf2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/index.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ import createPluginCommand from './commands/createPlugin';
 import watch from './commands/watch-deps';
 import lintCommand from './commands/lint';
 import testCommand from './commands/testCommand';
+import appBuild from './commands/app/build';
+import appServe from './commands/app/serve';
 import pluginBuild from './commands/plugin/build';
 import pluginServe from './commands/plugin/serve';
 import { exitWithError } from './helpers/errors';
@@ -30,6 +32,16 @@ const main = (argv: string[]) => {
 
   program.name('backstage-cli').version(packageJson.version ?? '0.0.0');
 
+  program
+    .command('app:build')
+    .description('Build an app for a production release')
+    .action(actionHandler(appBuild));
+
+  program
+    .command('app:serve')
+    .description('Serve an app for local development')
+    .action(actionHandler(appServe));
+
   program
     .command('create-plugin')
     .description('Creates a new plugin in the current repository')