diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 42c15c426..d8e33f221 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - checkout
       - run: sudo apt-get update
-      - run: sudo apt-get install nasm xorriso build-essential grub2-common
+      - run: sudo apt-get install nasm xorriso build-essential grub2-common grub-pc-bin
       - run: make
       - run: test -f build/isofiles/boot/kernel.bin
+      - run: test -f build/isofiles/boot/init
+      - run: test -f build/libc-willOS.a
+      - run: test -f build/libk-willOS.a
       - run: test -f build/willOS.iso
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 42f010703..6cea40477 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 FROM ubuntu:latest
 
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y nasm xorriso build-essential grub2-common
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y nasm xorriso build-essential grub2-common grub-pc-bin
 
 RUN groupadd -r simpleuser && useradd --no-log-init -r -g simpleuser simpleuser
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index be775d00d..2f80be182 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -22,14 +22,12 @@ LIBC       = $(BUILD_DIR)/libc-$(OS_NAME).a
 LIBK       = $(BUILD_DIR)/libk-$(OS_NAME).a
 
 OBJECTS := $(patsubst %.asm,%.o,$(shell find asm -name '*.asm'))
-SOURCES := $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(shell find libs src -name '*.c'))
+LIBK_SOURCES := $(patsubst %.c,%_k.o,$(shell find libs src -name '*.c'))
 LIBC_SOURCES := $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(shell find src/libc -name '*.c'))
 
 CFLAGS = -W -Wall -pedantic -std=c11 -O2 -ffreestanding -nostdlib \
-		 -fno-builtin -fno-stack-protector \
-		 -mno-red-zone \
-		 -I src/include/ -I src/ -I libs/ \
-		 -D__is_libk
+				 -fno-builtin -fno-stack-protector -mno-red-zone \
+				 -I src/include/ -I src/ -I libs/
 
 DEBUG_CFLAGS = -DENABLE_KERNEL_DEBUG -DDEBUG_WITH_COLORS -DDISABLE_MMU_DEBUG
 
@@ -47,10 +45,14 @@ $(OBJECTS): %.o: %.asm
 	mkdir -p $(BUILD_DIR)
 	$(NASM) -f elf64 $<
 
-$(SOURCES): %.o: %.c
+$(LIBK_SOURCES): CFLAGS += -D__is_libk
+$(LIBK_SOURCES): %_k.o: %.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
-$(LIBK): $(SOURCES)
+$(LIBC_SOURCES): %.o: %.c
+	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
+
+$(LIBK): $(LIBK_SOURCES)
 	mkdir -p $(BUILD_DIR)
 	$(AR) rcs $@ $^
 
@@ -59,7 +61,6 @@ $(LIBC): $(LIBC_SOURCES)
 	$(AR) rcs $@ $^
 
 libc: ## build the libc (for userland)
-libc: CFLAGS := $(filter-out -D__is_libk, $(CFLAGS))
 libc: $(LIBC)
 .PHONY: libc
 
@@ -86,8 +87,9 @@ debug: $(ISO)
 
 clean: ## remove build artifacts
 	find . -name '*.orig' -exec rm "{}" ";"
-	rm -f $(OBJECTS) $(SOURCES) $(KERNEL) $(ISO) $(LIBK) $(LIBC)
+	rm -f $(OBJECTS) $(LIBK_SOURCES) $(LIBC_SOURCES) $(KERNEL) $(ISO) $(LIBK) $(LIBC)
 	rm -rf $(BUILD_DIR)
+	$(MAKE) -C init/ clean
 .PHONY: clean
 
 fmt: ## automatically format the code with astyle
@@ -101,10 +103,10 @@ gdb: $(ISO)
 	qemu-system-x86_64 -s -S -cdrom $< -serial file:/tmp/serial.log
 .PHONY: gdb
 
-# TODO: there must be a better way to compile different modules from a
-# top-level makefile.
-init: $(LIBC)
-	cd init && make clean && make
+init: ## compile the 'init' program (statically linked to libc)
+init: libc
+	rm -f init/init
+	$(MAKE) -C init/
 .PHONY: init
 
 help:
diff --git a/init/Makefile b/init/Makefile
index 6082b8a6e..abc801393 100644
--- a/init/Makefile
+++ b/init/Makefile
@@ -1,26 +1,18 @@
-CC   ?= gcc
-LD   ?= ld
-AR   ?= ar
-NASM ?= nasm
+CC ?= gcc
 
 ifeq ($(shell uname -s),Darwin)
 	CC = x86_64-pc-elf-gcc
-	LD = x86_64-pc-elf-ld
-	AR = x86_64-pc-elf-ar
 endif
 
-TARGET    = init
-ROOT_DIR  = ..
-BUILD_DIR = .
-CFLAGS    = -Wl,-emain -Wall -pedantic -std=c11 -O2 -ffreestanding -nostdlib -I $(ROOT_DIR)/src/include
-LIBS      = $(ROOT_DIR)/build/libc-willOS.a
+CFLAGS = -Wl,-emain -W -Wall -pedantic -std=c11 -O2 -ffreestanding -nostdlib \
+				 -fno-builtin -fno-stack-protector -I ../src/include/
+LIBS   = ../build/libc-willOS.a
 
-%.o: %.c
-	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
+default: init
 
-$(TARGET): $(TARGET).o
+init: init.c
 	$(CC) -o $@ $^ $(CFLAGS) $(LIBS)
 
 clean:
-	rm -rf $(TARGET) *.o
+	rm -f init *.o
 .PHONY: clean