diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f0a61e8e9fa..1384f8b49cc 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ build
 *.java.hsp
 *.~ava
 /bundles
-/bisq*
+/bisq-*
+/lib
 /xchange
 desktop.ini
 */target/*
diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index cac738ea197..ded96f64440 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -11,6 +11,14 @@ buildscript {
     }
 }
 
+configure(rootProject) {
+    // remove the 'bisq-*' scripts and 'lib' dir generated by the 'installDist' task
+    task clean {
+        doLast {
+            delete fileTree(dir: rootProject.projectDir, include: 'bisq-*'), 'lib'
+        }
+    }
+}
 
 configure(subprojects) {
     apply plugin: 'java'
@@ -57,11 +65,51 @@ configure([project(':desktop'),
            project(':relay'),
            project(':seednode'),
            project(':statsnode')]) {
+
     apply plugin: 'application'
 
     build.dependsOn installDist
     installDist.destinationDir = file('build/app')
     distZip.enabled = false
+
+    // the 'installDist' and 'startScripts' blocks below configure bisq executables to put
+    // generated shell scripts in the root project directory, such that users can easily
+    // discover and invoke e.g. ./bisq-desktop, ./bisq-seednode, etc.
+    // See https://stackoverflow.com/q/46327736 for details.
+
+    installDist {
+        doLast {
+            // copy generated shell scripts, e.g. `bisq-desktop` directly to the project
+            // root directory for discoverability and ease of use
+            copy {
+                from "$destinationDir/bin"
+                into rootProject.projectDir
+            }
+            // copy libs required for generated shell script classpaths to 'lib' dir under
+            // the project root directory
+            copy {
+                from "$destinationDir/lib"
+                into "${rootProject.projectDir}/lib"
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    startScripts {
+        // rename scripts from, e.g. `desktop` to `bisq-desktop`
+        applicationName = "bisq-$applicationName"
+
+        // edit generated shell scripts such that they expect to be executed in the
+        // project root dir as opposed to a 'bin' subdirectory
+        doLast {
+            def windowsScriptFile = file getWindowsScript()
+            windowsScriptFile.text = windowsScriptFile.text.replace(
+                'set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%..', 'set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%')
+
+            def unixScriptFile = file getUnixScript()
+            unixScriptFile.text = unixScriptFile.text.replace(
+                'cd "`dirname \\"$PRG\\"`/.." >/dev/null', 'cd "`dirname \\"$PRG\\"`" >/dev/null')
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/docs/build.md b/docs/build.md
index 5a97d66321f..ee9db1a440f 100644
--- a/docs/build.md
+++ b/docs/build.md
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ You do _not_ need to install Gradle to complete the following command. The `grad
 
 ## Run
 
-The Bisq executable jar is now available in the `desktop/build/libs/` directory. Run it as follows, replacing `{version}` with the actual version found in the filename:
+Bisq executables are now available in the root project directory. Run Bisq Desktop as follows:
 
-    java -jar desktop/build/libs/desktop-{version}-all.jar
+    ./bisq-desktop
 
 
 ## See also
diff --git a/docs/dev-setup.md b/docs/dev-setup.md
index b2a6ba721d3..638b93bedf9 100644
--- a/docs/dev-setup.md
+++ b/docs/dev-setup.md
@@ -61,14 +61,14 @@ Here is an overview:
 
 ## Run Bisq seednode
 
-For localhost/regtest mode run the `SeedNodeMain.java` class or the `seednode.jar` (inside the `seednode/build/libs` folder) with following program arguments:
+For localhost/regtest mode run the `SeedNodeMain` class or `./bisq-seednode` script in the root project dir with following program arguments:
 
     --baseCurrencyNetwork=BTC_REGTEST --useLocalhostForP2P=true --useDevPrivilegeKeys=true --nodePort=2002 --myAddress=localhost:2002 --appName=bisq-BTC_REGTEST_Seed_2002
 
 
 ### Run Bisq arbitrator instance
 
-For localhost/regtest mode run the `BisqAppMain.java` class or the `desktop.jar` (inside the `desktop/build/libs` folder) with following program arguments:
+For localhost/regtest mode run the `BisqAppMain` class or `./bisq-desktop` script in the root project dir with following program arguments:
 
     --baseCurrencyNetwork=BTC_REGTEST --useLocalhostForP2P=true --useDevPrivilegeKeys=true --nodePort=4444 --appName=bisq-BTC_REGTEST_arbitrator
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ _Note: You need only register once but if you have shut down all nodes (includin
 
 ### Run two Bisq trade instances
 
-For localhost/regtest mode run the `BisqAppMain.java` class or the `desktop.jar` (inside the `desktop/build/libs` folder) with following program arguments:
+For localhost/regtest mode run the `BisqAppMain` class or `./bisq-desktop` script in the root project dir with following program arguments:
 
     --baseCurrencyNetwork=BTC_REGTEST --useLocalhostForP2P=true --useDevPrivilegeKeys=true --nodePort=5555 --appName=bisq-BTC_REGTEST_Alice