diff --git a/curriculum/getChallenges.js b/curriculum/getChallenges.js
index 47d456c452..3340c91968 100644
--- a/curriculum/getChallenges.js
+++ b/curriculum/getChallenges.js
@@ -1,76 +1,90 @@
-/* eslint-disable no-self-compare */
-// no import here as this runs without babel
-const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
-const omit = require('lodash/omit');
+const { findIndex } = require('lodash');
+const invariant = require('invariant');
+const readDirP = require('readdirp-walk');
 
-const hiddenFile = /(^(\.|\/\.))|(.md$)/g;
+const { parseMarkdown } = require('../tools/challenge-md-parser');
 
-function getFilesFor(dir) {
-  let targetDir = path.join(__dirname, dir);
-  return fs
-    .readdirSync(targetDir)
-    .filter(file => !hiddenFile.test(file))
-    .map(function(file) {
-      let superBlock;
-      if (fs.statSync(path.join(targetDir, file)).isFile()) {
-        return { file: file };
-      }
-      superBlock = file;
-      return getFilesFor(path.join(dir, superBlock)).map(function(data) {
-        return {
-          file: path.join(superBlock, data.file),
-          superBlock: superBlock
-        };
-      });
-    })
-    .reduce(function(files, entry) {
-      return files.concat(entry);
-    }, []);
+const supportedLangs = ['english'];
+
+function validateLang(lang) {
+  invariant(lang, 'Please provide a language');
+  invariant(
+    supportedLangs.includes(lang),
+    `${lang} is not supported
+
+  Supported languages: ${JSON.stringify(supportedLangs, null, 2)}
+
+  `
+  );
 }
 
-function superblockInfo(filePath) {
-  let parts = (filePath || '').split('-');
-  let order = parseInt(parts[0], 10);
+exports.getChallengesForLang = function getChallengesForLang(lang) {
+  validateLang(lang);
+  let curriculum = {};
+  return new Promise(resolve =>
+    readDirP({ root: path.resolve(__dirname, `./challenges/${lang}`) })
+      .on('data', file => buildCurriculum(file, curriculum))
+      .on('end', () => resolve(curriculum))
+  );
+};
+
+async function buildCurriculum(file, curriculum) {
+  const { name, depth, path, fullPath, stat } = file;
+  if (depth === 1 && stat.isDirectory()) {
+    // extract the superBlock info
+    const { order, name: superBlock } = superBlockInfo(name);
+    curriculum[superBlock] = { superBlock, order, blocks: {} };
+    return;
+  }
+  if (depth === 2 && stat.isDirectory()) {
+    const blockMeta = require(`${fullPath}/meta.json`);
+    const { name: superBlock } = superBlockInfoFromPath(path);
+    const blockInfo = { meta: blockMeta, challenges: [] };
+    curriculum[superBlock].blocks[name] = blockInfo;
+    return;
+  }
+  if (name === 'meta.json') {
+    return;
+  }
+  const block = getBlockNameFromPath(path);
+  const { name: superBlock } = superBlockInfoFromPath(path);
+  const challenge = await parseMarkdown(fullPath);
+  const challengeBlock = curriculum[superBlock].blocks[block];
+  const { meta } = challengeBlock;
+  const challengeOrder = findIndex(
+    meta.challengeOrder,
+    ([id]) => id === challenge.id
+  );
+  const { name: blockName, order, superOrder } = meta;
+  challenge.block = blockName;
+  challenge.order = order;
+  challenge.superOrder = superOrder;
+  challenge.superBlock = superBlock;
+  challenge.challengeOrder = challengeOrder;
+  challengeBlock.challenges = [...challengeBlock.challenges, challenge];
+}
+
+function superBlockInfoFromPath(filePath) {
+  const [maybeSuper] = filePath.split('/');
+  return superBlockInfo(maybeSuper);
+}
+
+function superBlockInfo(fileName) {
+  const [maybeOrder, ...superBlock] = fileName.split('-');
+  let order = parseInt(maybeOrder, 10);
   if (isNaN(order)) {
-    return { order: 0, name: filePath };
+    return { order: 0, name: fileName };
   } else {
     return {
       order: order,
-      name: parts.splice(1).join('-')
+      name: superBlock.join('-')
     };
   }
 }
 
-// unpackFlag is an argument passed by the unpack script in unpack.js
-// which allows us to conditionall omit translations when running
-// the test suite and prevent schema related errors in the main fCC branch
-module.exports = function getChallenges(challengesDir, unpackFlag) {
-  if (!challengesDir) {
-    challengesDir = 'challenges';
-  }
-  return getFilesFor(challengesDir).map(function(data) {
-    const challengeSpec = require('./' + challengesDir + '/' + data.file);
-    let superInfo = superblockInfo(data.superBlock);
-    challengeSpec.fileName = data.file;
-    challengeSpec.superBlock = superInfo.name;
-    challengeSpec.superOrder = superInfo.order;
-    challengeSpec.challenges = challengeSpec.challenges.map(challenge =>
-      omit(challenge, [
-        'betaSolutions',
-        'betaTests',
-        'hints',
-        'MDNlinks',
-        'null',
-        'rawSolutions',
-        'react',
-        'reactRedux',
-        'redux',
-        'releasedOn',
-        unpackFlag ? undefined : 'translations',
-        'type'
-      ])
-    );
-    return challengeSpec;
-  });
-};
+function getBlockNameFromPath(filePath) {
+  const [, block] = filePath.split('/');
+  return block;
+}
+
diff --git a/curriculum/gulpfile.js b/curriculum/gulpfile.js
index b6a7593bc8..0685eca58a 100644
--- a/curriculum/gulpfile.js
+++ b/curriculum/gulpfile.js
@@ -1,16 +1,7 @@
 const gulp = require('gulp');
-const util = require('gulp-util');
-const jsonMinify = require('gulp-json-minify');
 const babel = require('gulp-babel');
 const rename = require('gulp-rename');
 
-gulp.task('json:minify', function() {
-  return gulp.src('./challenges/**/*.json')
-      .pipe(jsonMinify())
-      .pipe(gulp.dest('dist/challenges/'))
-      .on('error', util.log);
-});
-
 gulp.task('babel-getChallenges', () =>
   gulp.src('./getChallenges.js')
     .pipe(babel({
diff --git a/curriculum/md-conversion.js b/curriculum/md-conversion.js
index 5e1f17679a..16bac759fa 100644
--- a/curriculum/md-conversion.js
+++ b/curriculum/md-conversion.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const { omit, findLastIndex } = require('lodash');
 const YAML = require('js-yaml');
 
 const { dasherize } = require('./utils');
-const getChallenges = require('./getChallenges');
+const { getChallenges } = require('./getChallenges');
 
 const blackListedFieldNames = [
   'betaSolutions',
@@ -22,21 +22,34 @@ const blackListedFieldNames = [
 ];
 
 getChallenges().forEach(block => {
-  const { name, order, challenges, time = '', superBlock, superOrder } = block;
+  const {
+    name,
+    order,
+    challenges,
+    time = '',
+    superBlock,
+    superOrder,
+    template = '',
+    required = [],
+    ...restBlock
+  } = block;
   const blockDashedName = dasherize(name);
   const blockMeta = {
     name,
     dashedName: blockDashedName,
     order,
     time,
+    template,
+    required,
     superBlock,
     superOrder,
-    challengeOrder: challenges.map(({id, title}) => [id, title])
+    challengeOrder: challenges.map(({ id, title }) => [id, title]),
+    ...restBlock
   };
   const superOrderPrefix = `0${superOrder}`;
   const outputDir = path.resolve(
     __dirname,
-    `./challenges/en/${superOrderPrefix}-${superBlock}/${blockDashedName}`
+    `./challenges/english/${superOrderPrefix}-${superBlock}/${blockDashedName}`
   );
   fs.ensureDirSync(outputDir);
 
@@ -49,7 +62,7 @@ getChallenges().forEach(block => {
       ...restChallenge
     } = challenge;
     const challengeMeta = omit(restChallenge, blackListedFieldNames);
-    const challengeFileName = `${dasherize(challenge.title)}.en.md`;
+    const challengeFileName = `${dasherize(challenge.title)}.english.md`;
     let description = '';
     let instructions = '';
 
@@ -81,7 +94,7 @@ ${instructions}
 <section id='tests'>
 
 \`\`\`yml
-${YAML.dump(tests, { lineWidth: 10000 })}
+${YAML.dump({ tests }, { lineWidth: 10000 })}
 \`\`\`
 
 </section>
diff --git a/curriculum/package-lock.json b/curriculum/package-lock.json
index f469087ea3..502a8d93e0 100644
--- a/curriculum/package-lock.json
+++ b/curriculum/package-lock.json
@@ -4600,6 +4600,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha1-7gHdHKwO08vH/b6jfcCo8c4ALOI=",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "each-limit": {
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/each-limit/-/each-limit-1.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-OAFACDNnqK9kKZvKwV/dWxqXcZY=",
+      "dev": true
+    },
     "editor": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/editor/-/editor-1.0.0.tgz",
@@ -5090,6 +5096,12 @@
       "integrity": "sha1-Cr9PHKpbyx96nYrMbepPqqBLrJs=",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "eventemitter3": {
+      "version": "1.2.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/eventemitter3/-/eventemitter3-1.2.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-HIaZHYFq0eUEdQ5zh0Ik7PO+xQg=",
+      "dev": true
+    },
     "events": {
       "version": "2.1.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/events/-/events-2.1.0.tgz",
@@ -7225,16 +7237,6 @@
         "vinyl-sourcemaps-apply": "0.2.1"
       }
     },
-    "gulp-json-minify": {
-      "version": "1.2.2",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gulp-json-minify/-/gulp-json-minify-1.2.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-8acCNnGiDELUh9qqZVm57eu4KVclibiVM7hXxeMn3nsdcQtEWfHUSpcxvrqTVCL5MchErGMDDDSxmcF6RTFcJQ==",
-      "dev": true,
-      "requires": {
-        "node-json-minify": "1.0.0",
-        "through2": "2.0.3"
-      }
-    },
     "gulp-rename": {
       "version": "1.3.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/gulp-rename/-/gulp-rename-1.3.0.tgz",
@@ -7701,7 +7703,6 @@
       "version": "2.2.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/invariant/-/invariant-2.2.4.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-phJfQVBuaJM5raOpJjSfkiD6BpbCE4Ns//LaXl6wGYtUBY83nWS6Rf9tXm2e8VaK60JEjYldbPif/A2B1C2gNA==",
-      "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "loose-envify": "1.3.1"
       }
@@ -8253,8 +8254,7 @@
     "js-tokens": {
       "version": "3.0.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/js-tokens/-/js-tokens-3.0.2.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha1-mGbfOVECEw449/mWvOtlRDIJwls=",
-      "dev": true
+      "integrity": "sha1-mGbfOVECEw449/mWvOtlRDIJwls="
     },
     "js-yaml": {
       "version": "3.12.0",
@@ -9138,6 +9138,18 @@
       "integrity": "sha1-eeTriMNqgSKvhvhEqpvNhRtfu1U=",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "lodash.isobject": {
+      "version": "3.0.2",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash.isobject/-/lodash.isobject-3.0.2.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-PI+41bW/S/kK4G4U8qUwpO2TXh0=",
+      "dev": true
+    },
+    "lodash.isundefined": {
+      "version": "3.0.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash.isundefined/-/lodash.isundefined-3.0.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-I+89lTVWUgOmbO/VuDD4SJEa+0g=",
+      "dev": true
+    },
     "lodash.kebabcase": {
       "version": "4.1.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/lodash.kebabcase/-/lodash.kebabcase-4.1.1.tgz",
@@ -9347,7 +9359,6 @@
       "version": "1.3.1",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/loose-envify/-/loose-envify-1.3.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha1-0aitM/qc4OcT1l/dCsi3SNR4yEg=",
-      "dev": true,
       "requires": {
         "js-tokens": "3.0.2"
       }
@@ -9826,12 +9837,6 @@
         "is-stream": "1.1.0"
       }
     },
-    "node-json-minify": {
-      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-json-minify/-/node-json-minify-1.0.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha1-e7NDL5ZYtr6x2ZP9XVOzyinQ15w=",
-      "dev": true
-    },
     "normalize-package-data": {
       "version": "2.4.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/normalize-package-data/-/normalize-package-data-2.4.0.tgz",
@@ -11039,6 +11044,17 @@
         "set-immediate-shim": "1.0.1"
       }
     },
+    "readdirp-walk": {
+      "version": "1.6.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/readdirp-walk/-/readdirp-walk-1.6.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-B1ZfV6uTqWfW3mRPRmPAE1b1oLo=",
+      "dev": true,
+      "requires": {
+        "eventemitter3": "1.2.0",
+        "micromatch": "2.3.11",
+        "walk-filtered": "0.8.0"
+      }
+    },
     "rechoir": {
       "version": "0.6.2",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/rechoir/-/rechoir-0.6.2.tgz",
@@ -12926,6 +12942,19 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-EqzLchIMYLBjRPoqVsEkZOa/4Vr2RfOWbd58F+I/Gj79AYTrsseMunxbbSkbYfrqZaXSuPBBXNSOhtJgg0PpmA==",
       "dev": true
     },
+    "walk-filtered": {
+      "version": "0.8.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/walk-filtered/-/walk-filtered-0.8.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha1-RsMaJG7HTO9QwOtLSxVjvHYaAKU=",
+      "dev": true,
+      "requires": {
+        "each-limit": "1.0.0",
+        "graceful-fs": "4.1.11",
+        "lodash.isobject": "3.0.2",
+        "lodash.isundefined": "3.0.1",
+        "object-assign": "4.1.1"
+      }
+    },
     "whatwg-fetch": {
       "version": "2.0.4",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/whatwg-fetch/-/whatwg-fetch-2.0.4.tgz",
diff --git a/curriculum/package.json b/curriculum/package.json
index 2576f30ce9..bc2676d06a 100644
--- a/curriculum/package.json
+++ b/curriculum/package.json
@@ -12,11 +12,9 @@
     "url": "https://github.com/freeCodeCamp/curriculum/issues"
   },
   "version": "3.2.1",
-  "main": "dist/index.js",
+  "main": "getChallenges.js",
   "scripts": {
-    "build": "npm run build:js && npm run build:json",
-    "build:js": "gulp babel",
-    "build:json": "gulp json:minify",
+    "build": "gulp babel",
     "precommit": "lint-staged",
     "commit": "git-cz",
     "commitmsg": "commitlint -e",
@@ -36,7 +34,9 @@
       "config": "commitizen.config.js"
     }
   },
-  "dependencies": {},
+  "dependencies": {
+    "invariant": "^2.2.4"
+  },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@commitlint/cli": "^7.0.0",
     "@commitlint/config-conventional": "^7.0.1",
@@ -64,9 +64,7 @@
     "fs-extra": "^6.0.1",
     "gulp": "^3.9.1",
     "gulp-babel": "^7.0.1",
-    "gulp-json-minify": "^1.2.2",
     "gulp-rename": "^1.3.0",
-    "gulp-util": "^3.0.8",
     "husky": "^0.14.3",
     "joi": "^13.3.0",
     "joi-objectid": "^2.0.0",
@@ -76,6 +74,7 @@
     "lodash": "^4.17.10",
     "prettier": "^1.13.5",
     "prettier-package-json": "^1.6.0",
+    "readdirp-walk": "^1.6.0",
     "rx": "^4.1.0",
     "semantic-release": "^15.6.0",
     "tap-spec": "^5.0.0",