+#currently we rely on this being set from shell bootstrapping. is that bad?
+endif
+
+# "FEISTY_MEOW_SCRIPTS" is the root location of our scripts. we expect to
+# be able to find a few things there reliably.
+export FEISTY_MEOW_SCRIPTS
+ifeq "$(FEISTY_MEOW_SCRIPTS)" ""
+ export FEISTY_MEOW_SCRIPTS := $(FEISTY_MEOW_DIR)/scripts
+endif
+
+# "PRODUCTION_DIR" is where the built products will be stored, plus any
+# temporary files that are generated during the build.
+export PRODUCTION_DIR
+ifeq "$(PRODUCTION_DIR)" ""
+ PRODUCTION_DIR=$(FEISTY_MEOW_DIR)/production