diff --git a/client/.gitignore b/client/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..582279c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/.initDone
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/client/deps/nodejs6/package.json b/client/deps/nodejs6/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4780bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/deps/nodejs6/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+{
+  "name": "openwhisk-nodejs6-prerequisites",
+  "version": "0.0.1",
+  "dependencies": {
+    "apn": "^1.7.5",
+    "async": "^1.5.2",
+    "body-parser": "^1.15.1",
+    "btoa": "^1.1.2",
+    "cheerio": "^0.20.0",
+    "cloudant": "^1.4.1",
+    "commander": "^2.9.0",
+    "consul": "^0.25.0",
+    "cookie-parser": "^1.4.2",
+    "cradle": "^0.7.1",
+    "errorhandler": "^1.4.3",
+    "express": "^4.13.4",
+    "express-session": "^1.12.1",
+    "gm": "^1.22.0",
+    "iconv-lite": "^0.4.13",
+    "log4js": "^0.6.36",
+    "merge": "^1.2.0",
+    "moment": "^2.13.0",
+    "mustache": "^2.2.1",
+    "nano": "^6.2.0",
+    "node-uuid": "^1.4.7",
+    "nodemailer": "^2.5.0",
+    "oauth2-server": "^2.4.1",
+    "pkgcloud": "^1.3.0",
+    "process": "^0.11.3",
+    "pug": "^2.0.0-beta6",
+    "request": "^2.72.0",
+    "rimraf": "^2.5.2",
+    "semver": "^5.1.0",
+    "sendgrid": "^3.0.11",
+    "serve-favicon": "^2.3.0",
+    "socket.io": "^1.4.6",
+    "socket.io-client": "^1.4.6",
+    "superagent": "^1.8.3",
+    "swagger-tools": "^0.10.1",
+    "tmp": "0.0.28",
+    "twilio": "^2.9.1",
+    "watson-developer-cloud": "^1.12.4",
+    "when": "^3.7.7",
+    "ws": "^1.1.0",
+    "xml2js": "^0.4.16",
+    "xmlhttprequest": "^1.8.0",
+    "yauzl": "^2.4.2"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/client/lib/debug-nodejs.js b/client/lib/debug-nodejs.js
index cc9ecd0..a9174a3 100644
--- a/client/lib/debug-nodejs.js
+++ b/client/lib/debug-nodejs.js
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@
             // we need to update the NODE_PATH env var, to add our local modules
 	    var env = Object.assign({}, process.env);
 	    env.NODE_PATH = path.join(process.cwd(), 'node_modules')
-		+ ':' + path.join(process.cwd(), 'lib');
+		+ ':' + path.join(process.cwd(), 'lib')
+		+ ':' + path.join(process.cwd(), 'deps', 'nodejs6', 'node_modules');
 
 	    function trySpawnWithBrowser(webPort, debugPort) {
 		var spawnOpts = {
diff --git a/client/lib/init.js b/client/lib/init.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07a8ed6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/lib/init.js
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2015-2016 IBM Corporation
+ *
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+var fs = require('fs'),
+    exec = require('child_process').execSync,
+    path = require('path'),
+    MARKER = '.initDone';
+
+function touch() {
+    fs.closeSync(fs.openSync(MARKER, 'w'));
+}
+function initDone() {
+    try {
+	return fs.statSync(MARKER).isFile();
+    } catch (e) {
+	return false;
+    }
+}
+
+function doInit() {
+    console.log('Doing one-time init');
+    exec('npm install', { cwd: path.join('deps', 'nodejs6'), stdio: 'inherit' });
+    
+    touch();
+}
+
+exports.init = function init() {
+    if (!initDone()) {
+	doInit();
+    }
+};
diff --git a/client/wskdb.js b/client/wskdb.js
index 13832f2..9cce4d8 100644
--- a/client/wskdb.js
+++ b/client/wskdb.js
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
  */
 
 var argv = require('argv'),
+    init = require('./lib/init').init,
     repl = require('./lib/repl').repl,
     colors = require('colors'),
     events = require('events'),
@@ -34,6 +35,8 @@
 	path: '/ws/client/register'
     };
 
+init();
+
 var commandLineOptionsConfig = [
     {name: 'use-cli-debugger', short: 'c', type: 'string', description: 'Favor the CLI for debug sessions over a GUI'},
     {name: 'no-color', type: 'string', description: 'Avoid using console colors'} // this comes from the colors module