diff --git a/.babelrc b/.babelrc
index 13dcd2edfb7ef..85b270458c4ce 100644
--- a/.babelrc
+++ b/.babelrc
@@ -11,9 +11,6 @@
 		"transform-object-rest-spread",
 		[ "transform-react-jsx", {
 			"pragma": "wp.element.createElement"
-		} ],
-		[ "./i18n/babel-plugin", {
-			"output": "languages/gutenberg.pot"
 		} ]
 	],
 	"env": {
@@ -24,6 +21,13 @@
 		},
 		"test": {
 			"presets": [ "latest" ]
+		},
+		"gettext": {
+			"plugins": [
+				[ "./i18n/babel-plugin", {
+					"output": "languages/gutenberg.pot"
+				} ]
+			]
 		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d70384c1c037e..3c9740691985d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 node_modules
 build
+gutenberg.pot
 .vscode
 *.log
 yarn.lock
diff --git a/languages/README.md b/languages/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..97a4dfbee34ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/languages/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+Languages
+=========
+
+The generated POT template file is not included in this repository. To create this file locally, follow instructions from [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) to install the project, then run the following command:
+
+```
+npm run gettext-strings
+```
+
+After the build completes, you'll find a `gutenberg.pot` strings file in this directory.
diff --git a/languages/gutenberg.pot b/languages/gutenberg.pot
deleted file mode 100644
index 9cf1223b944c4..0000000000000
--- a/languages/gutenberg.pot
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,145 +0,0 @@
-msgid ""
-msgstr ""
-"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\n"
-"X-Generator: babel-plugin-wp-i18n\n"
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/format-toolbar.js:12
-msgid "Bold"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/format-toolbar.js:121
-msgid "Link"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/format-toolbar.js:139
-msgid "Paste URL or type"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/format-toolbar.js:17
-msgid "Italic"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/format-toolbar.js:22
-msgid "Strikethrough"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/index.js:29
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:44
-#: blocks/library/list/index.js:25
-msgid "Align left"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/index.js:34
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:50
-#: blocks/library/list/index.js:33
-msgid "Align center"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/components/editable/index.js:39
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:56
-#: blocks/library/list/index.js:41
-msgid "Align right"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/embed/index.js:10
-msgid "Embed"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/embed/index.js:33
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:107
-msgid "Write caption…"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/freeform/index.js:9
-msgid "Freeform"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/heading/index.js:10
-msgid "Heading"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/heading/index.js:24
-msgid "Heading %s"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:62
-msgid "No alignment"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:68
-msgid "Wide width"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:89
-msgid "Image"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:92
-msgid "Drag image here or insert from media library"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/image/index.js:95
-msgid "Insert from Media Library"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/list/index.js:11
-msgid "List"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/list/index.js:49
-msgid "Justify"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/quote/index.js:11
-msgid "Quote"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/quote/index.js:35
-msgid "Quote style %d"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: blocks/library/text/index.js:10
-msgid "Text"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/components/inserter/index.js:50
-msgid "Insert block"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/components/inserter/menu.js:77
-msgid "Search…"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/mode-switcher/index.js:20
-msgid "Visual"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/saved-state/index.js:11
-msgid "Saved"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/tools/index.js:21
-msgid "Undo"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/tools/index.js:27
-msgid "Redo"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/tools/index.js:38
-msgid "Post Settings"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/tools/index.js:42
-msgid "Publish"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/mode-switcher/index.js:24
-msgctxt "Name for the Text editor tab (formerly HTML)"
-msgid "Text"
-msgstr ""
-
-#: editor/header/tools/index.js:34
-msgctxt "imperative verb"
-msgid "Preview"
-msgstr ""
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 502e333174066..054c6f78192cb 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
   "scripts": {
     "test-unit": "cross-env NODE_ENV=test webpack && mocha build --require bootstrap-test.js",
     "build": "cross-env BABEL_ENV=default NODE_ENV=production webpack",
+    "gettext-strings": "cross-env BABEL_ENV=gettext webpack",
     "lint": "eslint .",
     "dev": "cross-env BABEL_ENV=default webpack --watch",
     "test": "npm run lint && npm run test-unit",