diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c1a191b..07016e9 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,7 +1,14 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)
 project(amuse)
 
-if(EXISTS boo)
+if(EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/boo AND EXISTS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/athena)
+  message(STATUS "Preparing standalone build")
+  if (NOT MSVC)
+    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -std=c++14 -Wno-narrowing")
+  endif()
   add_subdirectory(boo)
+  add_subdirectory(athena)
+  include_directories(athena/include)
 endif()
 
 set(SOURCES
diff --git a/standalone_bootstrap.sh b/standalone_bootstrap.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..0bb01e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/standalone_bootstrap.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+git clone https://github.com/AxioDL/boo.git
+pushd boo
+git submodule update --recursive --init
+popd
+
+git clone https://github.com/libAthena/athena.git
+pushd athena
+git submodule update --recursive --init
+popd
+