diff --git a/build/docker/README.md b/build/docker/README.md
index 32fad92..4cada36 100644
--- a/build/docker/README.md
+++ b/build/docker/README.md
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@
 | java      | 1.7.0_151     | 1.8.0_131     | 1.8.0_144     |       |
 | js        |               |               |               | Unsure how to look for version info? |
 | lua       | 5.1.5         | 5.2.4         | 5.3.3         |       |
-| nodejs    |               | 4.2.6         | 6.11.2        | trusty has node.js 0.10.0 which is too old |
+| nodejs    |               | 4.2.6         | 8.8.1         | trusty has node.js 0.10.0 which is too old |
 | ocaml     |               | 4.02.3        | 4.04.0        |       |
 | perl      | 5.18.2        | 5.22.1        | 5.26.0        |       |
 | php       | 5.5.9         | 7.0.22        | 7.1.8         |       |
diff --git a/build/docker/ubuntu-artful/Dockerfile b/build/docker/ubuntu-artful/Dockerfile
index 1c8f963..523fc36 100644
--- a/build/docker/ubuntu-artful/Dockerfile
+++ b/build/docker/ubuntu-artful/Dockerfile
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@
 #     echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/microsoft-ubuntu-xenial-prod xenial main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/dotnetdev.list
 
 # node.js (this step runs apt-get update internally) - if we ever want a later version
-# note: node 8.5 introduced some issues with directory handling / jsdoc / something... using 7.x for now
-# RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_7.x | bash
+RUN curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_8.x | bash -
 
 ### install general dependencies
 RUN apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
@@ -170,8 +169,7 @@
 
 RUN apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 `# Node.js dependencies` \
-      nodejs \
-      npm
+      nodejs
 
 RUN apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
 `# OCaml dependencies` \