diff --git a/.eslintignore b/.eslintignore
index d2936dcbf..87d05e608 100644
--- a/.eslintignore
+++ b/.eslintignore
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /node_modules/**
-/public/packs/**
+/static/**
 /tmp/**
 /coverage/**
 !.eslintrc.js
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 69af18695..e146e98fa 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
 /node_modules/
-/public/packs/
+/static/
 /tmp/
 /build/
 /coverage/
 /.eslintcache
 /.env
-/public/instance
 /deploy.sh
diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index c063abca2..d64f17a4a 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ build-development:
     NODE_ENV: development
   artifacts:
     paths:
-    - public
+    - static
 
 build-production:
   stage: build
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ build-production:
     NODE_ENV: production
   artifacts:
     paths:
-    - public
+    - static
 
 i18n:
   stage: build
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ccb2f0c5c..59ee61cea 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ For https, be sure to also set `PROXY_HTTPS_INSECURE=true`.
 
 URL to the [Soapbox Patron](https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/soapbox-patron) server, if you have one.
 
-This setting is not useful unless `"extensions": { "patron": true }` is also set in `public/instance/soapbox.json`.
+This setting is not useful unless `"extensions": { "patron": true }` is also set in `static/instance/soapbox.json`.
 
 **Default:** `http://localhost:5000`
 
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ NODE_ENV=development
 - `yarn dev` - Exact same as above, aliased to `yarn start` for convenience.
 
 #### Building
-- `yarn build` - Compile without a dev server, into `/public` directory.
+- `yarn build` - Compile without a dev server, into `/static` directory.
 
 #### Translations
 - `yarn manage:translations` - Normalizes translation files. Should always be run after editing i18n strings.
diff --git a/jest.config.js b/jest.config.js
index 978c67ae5..ea59252e0 100644
--- a/jest.config.js
+++ b/jest.config.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ module.exports = {
     '<rootDir>/vendor/',
     '<rootDir>/config/',
     '<rootDir>/log/',
-    '<rootDir>/public/',
+    '<rootDir>/static/',
     '<rootDir>/tmp/',
     '<rootDir>/webpack/',
 
diff --git a/public/index.html b/static/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from public/index.html
rename to static/index.html
diff --git a/public/instance/soapbox.example.json b/static/instance/soapbox.example.json
similarity index 100%
rename from public/instance/soapbox.example.json
rename to static/instance/soapbox.example.json
diff --git a/public/sounds/boop.mp3 b/static/sounds/boop.mp3
similarity index 100%
rename from public/sounds/boop.mp3
rename to static/sounds/boop.mp3
diff --git a/public/sounds/boop.ogg b/static/sounds/boop.ogg
similarity index 100%
rename from public/sounds/boop.ogg
rename to static/sounds/boop.ogg
diff --git a/webpack/config/webpacker.yml b/webpack/config/webpacker.yml
index b6acd6cc2..e9834ba2a 100644
--- a/webpack/config/webpacker.yml
+++ b/webpack/config/webpacker.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 default: &default
   source_path: app
   source_entry_path: packs
-  public_root_path: public
+  public_root_path: static
   public_output_path: packs
   cache_path: tmp/cache/webpacker
   check_yarn_integrity: false
diff --git a/webpack/configuration.js b/webpack/configuration.js
index 5fd767e07..0af340386 100644
--- a/webpack/configuration.js
+++ b/webpack/configuration.js
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ function formatPublicPath(host = '', path = '') {
 }
 
 const output = {
-  path: join(__dirname, '..', 'public', settings.public_output_path),
+  path: join(__dirname, '..', 'static', settings.public_output_path),
   publicPath: formatPublicPath(env.CDN_HOST, settings.public_output_path),
 };