diff --git a/apps/advanced/.bowerrc b/apps/advanced/.bowerrc
index 3f8ac64455..1669168f29 100644
--- a/apps/advanced/.bowerrc
+++ b/apps/advanced/.bowerrc
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-    "directory" : "assets"
+    "directory" : "vendor/bower"
 }
diff --git a/apps/advanced/assets/.gitkeep b/apps/advanced/assets/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index 72e8ffc0db..0000000000
--- a/apps/advanced/assets/.gitkeep
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-*
diff --git a/apps/advanced/backend/web/assets/.gitignore b/apps/advanced/backend/web/assets/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6b7ef32c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/advanced/backend/web/assets/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+*
+!.gitignore
diff --git a/apps/advanced/environments/index.php b/apps/advanced/environments/index.php
index 1bec659ad1..5bb0acffe7 100644
--- a/apps/advanced/environments/index.php
+++ b/apps/advanced/environments/index.php
@@ -41,10 +41,6 @@ return [
             'backend/config/main-local.php',
             'frontend/config/main-local.php',
         ],
-        'createSymlink' => [
-            'frontend/web/assets' => 'assets',
-            'backend/web/assets' => 'assets',
-        ],
     ],
     'Production' => [
         'path' => 'prod',
@@ -61,9 +57,5 @@ return [
             'backend/config/main-local.php',
             'frontend/config/main-local.php',
         ],
-        'createSymlink' => [
-            'frontend/web/assets' => 'assets',
-            'backend/web/assets' => 'assets',
-        ],
     ],
 ];
diff --git a/apps/advanced/frontend/web/assets/.gitignore b/apps/advanced/frontend/web/assets/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6b7ef32c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/advanced/frontend/web/assets/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+*
+!.gitignore
diff --git a/apps/basic/.bowerrc b/apps/basic/.bowerrc
index 16098e93d4..1669168f29 100644
--- a/apps/basic/.bowerrc
+++ b/apps/basic/.bowerrc
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 {
-    "directory" : "web/assets"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    "directory" : "vendor/bower"
+}
diff --git a/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitignore b/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6b7ef32c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+*
+!.gitignore
diff --git a/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitkeep b/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitkeep
deleted file mode 100644
index 72e8ffc0db..0000000000
--- a/apps/basic/web/assets/.gitkeep
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-*
diff --git a/docs/guide/concept-aliases.md b/docs/guide/concept-aliases.md
index 4b1b286f82..86bd50cb6f 100644
--- a/docs/guide/concept-aliases.md
+++ b/docs/guide/concept-aliases.md
@@ -106,10 +106,13 @@ Yii predefines a set of aliases to easily reference commonly used file paths and
 
 - `@yii`, the directory where the `BaseYii.php` file is located (also called the framework directory)
 - `@app`, the [[yii\base\Application::basePath|base path]] of the currently running application
-- `@runtime`, the [[yii\base\Application::runtimePath|runtime path]] of the currently running application
-- `@vendor`, the [[yii\base\Application::vendorPath|Composer vendor directory]]
-- `@webroot`, the Web root directory of the currently running Web application
-- `@web`, the base URL of the currently running Web application
+- `@runtime`, the [[yii\base\Application::runtimePath|runtime path]] of the currently running application. Defaults to `@app/runtime`.
+- `@webroot`, the Web root directory of the currently running Web application. It is determined based on the directory
+  containing the entry script.
+- `@web`, the base URL of the currently running Web application. It has the same value as [[yii\web\Request::baseUrl]].
+- `@vendor`, the [[yii\base\Application::vendorPath|Composer vendor directory]]. Defaults to `@app/vendor`.
+- `@bower`, the root directory that contains [bower packages](http://bower.io/). Defaults to `@vendor/bower`.
+- `@npm`, the root directory that contains [npm packages](https://www.npmjs.org/). Defaults to `@vendor/npm`.
 
 The `@yii` alias is defined when you include the `Yii.php` file in your [entry script](structure-entry-scripts.md). The rest of the aliases are defined in the application constructor when applying the application
 [configuration](concept-configurations.md).
diff --git a/extensions/authclient/widgets/AuthChoiceAsset.php b/extensions/authclient/widgets/AuthChoiceAsset.php
index 7e583705ac..29773b0533 100644
--- a/extensions/authclient/widgets/AuthChoiceAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/authclient/widgets/AuthChoiceAsset.php
@@ -17,11 +17,12 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class AuthChoiceAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@vendor/yii2-authclient/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2-authclient/assets/authchoice.js',
+        'authchoice.js',
     ];
     public $css = [
-        'yii2-authclient/assets/authchoice.css',
+        'authchoice.css',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapAsset.php b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapAsset.php
index 78ead6befc..f9f6f0cfa2 100644
--- a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapAsset.php
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class BootstrapAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/bootstrap';
     public $css = [
-        'bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.css',
+        'dist/css/bootstrap.css',
     ];
 }
diff --git a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapPluginAsset.php b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapPluginAsset.php
index 8fd6d47f5e..aa30b53a10 100644
--- a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapPluginAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapPluginAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class BootstrapPluginAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/bootstrap';
     public $js = [
-        'bootstrap/dist/js/bootstrap.js',
+        'dist/js/bootstrap.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\JqueryAsset',
diff --git a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapThemeAsset.php b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapThemeAsset.php
index 007f355500..94ecb40d6e 100644
--- a/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapThemeAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/bootstrap/BootstrapThemeAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class BootstrapThemeAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/bootstrap';
     public $css = [
-        'bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap-theme.css',
+        'dist/css/bootstrap-theme.css',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\bootstrap\BootstrapAsset',
diff --git a/extensions/debug/DebugAsset.php b/extensions/debug/DebugAsset.php
index 09d5f31cbd..4d9d3c9510 100644
--- a/extensions/debug/DebugAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/debug/DebugAsset.php
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class DebugAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/debug/assets';
     public $css = [
-        'yii2-debug/assets/main.css',
-        'yii2-debug/assets/toolbar.css',
+        'main.css',
+        'toolbar.css',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/extensions/gii/GiiAsset.php b/extensions/gii/GiiAsset.php
index 5a76a32552..0e59d08f23 100644
--- a/extensions/gii/GiiAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/gii/GiiAsset.php
@@ -17,18 +17,17 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class GiiAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/gii/assets';
     public $css = [
-        'yii2-gii/assets/main.css',
+        'main.css',
     ];
-
     public $js = [
-        'yii2-gii/assets/gii.js',
-        'typeahead.js/dist/typeahead.bundle.js',
+        'gii.js',
     ];
-
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
         'yii\bootstrap\BootstrapAsset',
         'yii\bootstrap\BootstrapPluginAsset',
+        'yii\gii\TypeAheadAsset',
     ];
 }
diff --git a/extensions/jui/ButtonAsset.php b/extensions/gii/TypeAheadAsset.php
similarity index 56%
rename from extensions/jui/ButtonAsset.php
rename to extensions/gii/TypeAheadAsset.php
index 09751714c6..1f467b75ae 100644
--- a/extensions/jui/ButtonAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/gii/TypeAheadAsset.php
@@ -5,20 +5,23 @@
  * @license http://www.yiiframework.com/license/
  */
 
-namespace yii\jui;
+namespace yii\gii;
 
 use yii\web\AssetBundle;
 
 /**
+ *
  * @author Qiang Xue <qiang.xue@gmail.com>
  * @since 2.0
  */
-class ButtonAsset extends AssetBundle
+class TypeAheadAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/typeahead.js';
     public $js = [
-        'jquery.ui/ui/button.js',
+        'dist/typeahead.bundle.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
-        'yii\jui\CoreAsset',
+        'yii\bootstrap\BootstrapAsset',
+        'yii\bootstrap\BootstrapPluginAsset',
     ];
 }
diff --git a/extensions/gii/views/layouts/main.php b/extensions/gii/views/layouts/main.php
index a3d0339689..0fed6600ae 100644
--- a/extensions/gii/views/layouts/main.php
+++ b/extensions/gii/views/layouts/main.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ $asset = yii\gii\GiiAsset::register($this);
 <?php $this->beginBody() ?>
 <?php
 NavBar::begin([
-    'brandLabel' => Html::img('@web/assets/yii2-gii/assets/logo.png'),
+    'brandLabel' => Html::img($asset->baseUrl . '/logo.png'),
     'brandUrl' => ['default/index'],
     'options' => ['class' => 'navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top'],
 ]);
diff --git a/extensions/jui/CoreAsset.php b/extensions/jui/CoreAsset.php
deleted file mode 100644
index fe15e7a28b..0000000000
--- a/extensions/jui/CoreAsset.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * @link http://www.yiiframework.com/
- * @copyright Copyright (c) 2008 Yii Software LLC
- * @license http://www.yiiframework.com/license/
- */
-
-namespace yii\jui;
-
-use yii\web\AssetBundle;
-
-/**
- * @author Qiang Xue <qiang.xue@gmail.com>
- * @since 2.0
- */
-class CoreAsset extends AssetBundle
-{
-    public $js = [
-        'jquery.ui/ui/core.js',
-        'jquery.ui/ui/widget.js',
-        'jquery.ui/ui/position.js',
-        'jquery.ui/ui/mouse.js',
-    ];
-    public $depends = [
-        'yii\web\JqueryAsset',
-    ];
-}
diff --git a/extensions/jui/DatePicker.php b/extensions/jui/DatePicker.php
index bf2e186825..d79944bd68 100644
--- a/extensions/jui/DatePicker.php
+++ b/extensions/jui/DatePicker.php
@@ -86,8 +86,7 @@ class DatePicker extends InputWidget
             $view = $this->getView();
             $bundle = DatePickerLanguageAsset::register($view);
             if ($bundle->autoGenerate) {
-                $am = $view->getAssetManager();
-                $view->registerJsFile($am->getAssetUrl("jquery-ui/ui/i18n/datepicker-$language.js"), [
+                $view->registerJsFile($bundle->baseUrl . "/ui/i18n/datepicker-$language.js", [
                     'depends' => [JuiAsset::className()],
                 ]);
             }
diff --git a/extensions/jui/DatePickerLanguageAsset.php b/extensions/jui/DatePickerLanguageAsset.php
index 9f9cdf4d2c..1c0a7ff719 100644
--- a/extensions/jui/DatePickerLanguageAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/jui/DatePickerLanguageAsset.php
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class DatePickerLanguageAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/jquery-ui';
     /**
      * @var boolean whether to automatically generate the needed language js files.
      * If this is true, the language js files will be determined based on the actual usage of [[DatePicker]]
diff --git a/extensions/jui/JuiAsset.php b/extensions/jui/JuiAsset.php
index 0a6066b49b..0ff2634125 100644
--- a/extensions/jui/JuiAsset.php
+++ b/extensions/jui/JuiAsset.php
@@ -15,11 +15,12 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class JuiAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/jquery-ui';
     public $js = [
-        'jquery-ui/jquery-ui.js',
+        'jquery-ui.js',
     ];
     public $css = [
-        'jquery-ui/themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css',
+        'themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\JqueryAsset',
diff --git a/framework/base/Application.php b/framework/base/Application.php
index 39156faeed..ae7df32330 100644
--- a/framework/base/Application.php
+++ b/framework/base/Application.php
@@ -449,6 +449,8 @@ abstract class Application extends Module
     {
         $this->_vendorPath = Yii::getAlias($path);
         Yii::setAlias('@vendor', $this->_vendorPath);
+        Yii::setAlias('@bower', $this->_vendorPath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'bower');
+        Yii::setAlias('@npm', $this->_vendorPath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'npm');
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/framework/captcha/CaptchaAsset.php b/framework/captcha/CaptchaAsset.php
index bf10100dc9..8af07e17a9 100644
--- a/framework/captcha/CaptchaAsset.php
+++ b/framework/captcha/CaptchaAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class CaptchaAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2/assets/yii.captcha.js',
+        'yii.captcha.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/framework/grid/GridViewAsset.php b/framework/grid/GridViewAsset.php
index 3ecf136e94..0403e9f5b7 100644
--- a/framework/grid/GridViewAsset.php
+++ b/framework/grid/GridViewAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class GridViewAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2/assets/yii.gridView.js',
+        'yii.gridView.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/framework/validators/PunycodeAsset.php b/framework/validators/PunycodeAsset.php
index b8d0d125ec..1f65b8d640 100644
--- a/framework/validators/PunycodeAsset.php
+++ b/framework/validators/PunycodeAsset.php
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class PunycodeAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/punycode';
     public $js = [
-        'punycode/punycode.js',
+        'punycode.js',
     ];
 }
diff --git a/framework/validators/ValidationAsset.php b/framework/validators/ValidationAsset.php
index 3fbd40c664..a25acffd62 100644
--- a/framework/validators/ValidationAsset.php
+++ b/framework/validators/ValidationAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class ValidationAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2/assets/yii.validation.js',
+        'yii.validation.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/framework/web/AssetBundle.php b/framework/web/AssetBundle.php
index 0f905a34cb..a5c58dd5bc 100644
--- a/framework/web/AssetBundle.php
+++ b/framework/web/AssetBundle.php
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
 
 namespace yii\web;
 
-use Yii;
 use yii\base\Object;
 use yii\helpers\Url;
+use Yii;
 
 /**
  * AssetBundle represents a collection of asset files, such as CSS, JS, images.
@@ -27,11 +27,23 @@ use yii\helpers\Url;
 class AssetBundle extends Object
 {
     /**
-     * @var string the directory that contains the asset files in this bundle.
+     * @var string the directory that contains the source asset files for this asset bundle.
+     * A source asset file is a file that is part of your source code repository of your Web application.
      *
-     * The value of this property can be prefixed to every relative asset file path listed in [[js]] and [[css]]
-     * to form an absolute file path. If this property is null (meaning not set), it will be filled with the value of
-     * [[AssetManager::basePath]] when the bundle is being loaded by [[AssetManager::getBundle()]].
+     * You must set this property if the directory containing the source asset files is not Web accessible.
+     * By setting this property, [[AssetManager]] will publish the source asset files
+     * to a Web-accessible directory automatically when the asset bundle is registered on a page.
+     *
+     * If you do not set this property, it means the source asset files are located under [[basePath]].
+     *
+     * You can use either a directory or an alias of the directory.
+     */
+    public $sourcePath;
+    /**
+     * @var string the Web-accessible directory that contains the asset files in this bundle.
+     *
+     * If [[sourcePath]] is set, this property will be *overwritten* by [[AssetManager]]
+     * when it publishes the asset files from [[sourcePath]].
      *
      * You can use either a directory or an alias of the directory.
      */
@@ -39,10 +51,8 @@ class AssetBundle extends Object
     /**
      * @var string the base URL for the relative asset files listed in [[js]] and [[css]].
      *
-     * The value of this property will be prefixed to every relative asset file path listed in [[js]] and [[css]]
-     * when they are being registered in a view so that they can be Web accessible.
-     *  If this property is null (meaning not set), it will be filled with the value of
-     * [[AssetManager::baseUrl]] when the bundle is being loaded by [[AssetManager::getBundle()]].
+     * If [[sourcePath]] is set, this property will be *overwritten* by [[AssetManager]]
+     * when it publishes the asset files from [[sourcePath]].
      *
      * You can use either a URL or an alias of the URL.
      */
@@ -65,11 +75,11 @@ class AssetBundle extends Object
      * specified in one of the following formats:
      *
      * - an absolute URL representing an external asset. For example,
-     *   `//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js` or
-     *   `http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js`.
-     * - a path relative to [[basePath]] and [[baseUrl]]: for example, `js/main.js`. There should be no leading slash.
-     * - a path relative to [[AssetManager::basePath]] and [[AssetManager::baseUrl]]: for example,
-     *   `@/jquery/dist/jquery.js`. The path must begin with `@/`.
+     *   `http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js` or
+     *   `//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js`.
+     * - a relative path representing a local asset (e.g. `js/main.js`). The actual file path of a local
+     *   asset can be determined by prefixing [[basePath]] to the relative path, and the actual URL
+     *   of the asset can be determined by prefixing [[baseUrl]] to the relative path.
      *
      * Note that only forward slash "/" should be used as directory separators.
      */
@@ -91,6 +101,11 @@ class AssetBundle extends Object
      * when registering the CSS files in this bundle.
      */
     public $cssOptions = [];
+    /**
+     * @var array the options to be passed to [[AssetManager::publish()]] when the asset bundle
+     * is being published. This property is used only when [[sourcePath]] is set.
+     */
+    public $publishOptions = [];
 
 
     /**
@@ -109,6 +124,9 @@ class AssetBundle extends Object
      */
     public function init()
     {
+        if ($this->sourcePath !== null) {
+            $this->sourcePath = rtrim(Yii::getAlias($this->sourcePath), '/\\');
+        }
         if ($this->basePath !== null) {
             $this->basePath = rtrim(Yii::getAlias($this->basePath), '/\\');
         }
@@ -118,59 +136,43 @@ class AssetBundle extends Object
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param View $view
+     * Registers the CSS and JS files with the given view.
+     * @param \yii\web\View $view the view that the asset files are to be registered with.
      */
     public function registerAssetFiles($view)
     {
         $manager = $view->getAssetManager();
         foreach ($this->js as $js) {
-            $view->registerJsFile($this->getAssetUrl($js, $manager), $this->jsOptions);
+            $view->registerJsFile($manager->getAssetUrl($this, $js), $this->jsOptions);
         }
         foreach ($this->css as $css) {
-            $view->registerCssFile($this->getAssetUrl($css, $manager), $this->cssOptions);
+            $view->registerCssFile($manager->getAssetUrl($this, $css), $this->cssOptions);
         }
     }
 
     /**
-     * Returns the actual URL for the specified asset.
-     * The actual URL is obtained by prepending either [[baseUrl]] or [[AssetManager::baseUrl]] to the given asset path.
-     * @param string $asset the asset path. This should be one of the assets listed in [[js]] or [[css]].
-     * @param AssetManager $manager the asset manager
-     * @return string the actual URL for the specified asset.
+     * Publishes the asset bundle if its source code is not under Web-accessible directory.
+     * It will also try to convert non-CSS or JS files (e.g. LESS, Sass) into the corresponding
+     * CSS or JS files using [[AssetManager::converter|asset converter]].
+     * @param AssetManager $am the asset manager to perform the asset publishing
      */
-    protected function getAssetUrl($asset, $manager)
+    public function publish($am)
     {
-        if (($actualAsset = $manager->resolveAsset($asset)) !== false) {
-            return Url::isRelative($actualAsset) ? $manager->baseUrl . '/' . $actualAsset : $actualAsset;
+        if ($this->sourcePath !== null && !isset($this->basePath, $this->baseUrl)) {
+            list ($this->basePath, $this->baseUrl) = $am->publish($this->sourcePath, $this->publishOptions);
         }
 
-        if (strncmp($asset, '@/', 2) === 0) {
-            return $manager->baseUrl . substr($asset, 1);
-        } elseif (Url::isRelative($asset)) {
-            return $this->baseUrl . '/' . $asset;
-        } else {
-            return $asset;
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Returns the actual file path for the specified asset.
-     * @param string $asset the asset path. This should be one of the assets listed in [[js]] or [[css]].
-     * @param AssetManager $manager the asset manager
-     * @return string|boolean the actual file path, or false if the asset is specified as an absolute URL
-     */
-    public function getAssetPath($asset, $manager)
-    {
-        if (($actualAsset = $manager->resolveAsset($asset)) !== false) {
-            return Url::isRelative($actualAsset) ? $manager->basePath . '/' . $actualAsset : false;
-        }
-
-        if (strncmp($asset, '@/', 2) === 0) {
-            return $manager->basePath . substr($asset, 1);
-        } elseif (Url::isRelative($asset)) {
-            return $this->basePath . '/' . $asset;
-        } else {
-            return false;
+        if (isset($this->basePath, $this->baseUrl) && ($converter = $am->getConverter()) !== null) {
+            foreach ($this->js as $i => $js) {
+                if (Url::isRelative($js)) {
+                    $this->js[$i] = $converter->convert($js, $this->basePath);
+                }
+            }
+            foreach ($this->css as $i => $css) {
+                if (Url::isRelative($css)) {
+                    $this->css[$i] = $converter->convert($css, $this->basePath);
+                }
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/framework/web/AssetManager.php b/framework/web/AssetManager.php
index 925f3a2ea8..824a08b15e 100644
--- a/framework/web/AssetManager.php
+++ b/framework/web/AssetManager.php
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ namespace yii\web;
 use Yii;
 use yii\base\Component;
 use yii\base\InvalidConfigException;
+use yii\base\InvalidParamException;
+use yii\helpers\FileHelper;
+use yii\helpers\Url;
 
 /**
  * AssetManager manages asset bundle configuration and loading.
@@ -67,13 +70,18 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
     public $baseUrl = '@web/assets';
     /**
      * @var array mapping from source asset files (keys) to target asset files (values).
-     * When an asset bundle is being loaded by [[getBundle()]], each of its asset files (listed in either
-     * [[AssetBundle::css]] or [[AssetBundle::js]] will be examined to see if it matches any key
-     * in this map. If so, the corresponding value will be used to replace the asset file.
+     *
+     * This property is provided to support fixing incorrect asset file paths in some asset bundles.
+     * When an asset bundle is registered with a view, each relative asset file in its [[AssetBundle::css|css]]
+     * and [[AssetBundle::js|js]] arrays will be examined against this map. If any of the keys is found
+     * to be the last part of an asset file (which is prefixed with [[AssetBundle::sourcePath]] if available),
+     * the corresponding value will replace the asset and be registered with the view.
+     * For example, an asset file `my/path/to/jquery.js` matches a key `jquery.js`.
      *
      * Note that the target asset files should be either absolute URLs or paths relative to [[baseUrl]] and [[basePath]].
      *
-     * In the following example, any occurrence of `jquery.min.js` will be replaced with `jquery/dist/jquery.js`.
+     * In the following example, any assets ending with `jquery.min.js` will be replaced with `jquery/dist/jquery.js`
+     * which is relative to [[baseUrl]] and [[basePath]].
      *
      * ```php
      * [
@@ -82,6 +90,63 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
      * ```
      */
     public $assetMap = [];
+    /**
+     * @var boolean whether to use symbolic link to publish asset files. Defaults to false, meaning
+     * asset files are copied to [[basePath]]. Using symbolic links has the benefit that the published
+     * assets will always be consistent with the source assets and there is no copy operation required.
+     * This is especially useful during development.
+     *
+     * However, there are special requirements for hosting environments in order to use symbolic links.
+     * In particular, symbolic links are supported only on Linux/Unix, and Windows Vista/2008 or greater.
+     *
+     * Moreover, some Web servers need to be properly configured so that the linked assets are accessible
+     * to Web users. For example, for Apache Web server, the following configuration directive should be added
+     * for the Web folder:
+     *
+     * ~~~
+     * Options FollowSymLinks
+     * ~~~
+     */
+    public $linkAssets = false;
+    /**
+     * @var integer the permission to be set for newly published asset files.
+     * This value will be used by PHP chmod() function. No umask will be applied.
+     * If not set, the permission will be determined by the current environment.
+     */
+    public $fileMode;
+    /**
+     * @var integer the permission to be set for newly generated asset directories.
+     * This value will be used by PHP chmod() function. No umask will be applied.
+     * Defaults to 0775, meaning the directory is read-writable by owner and group,
+     * but read-only for other users.
+     */
+    public $dirMode = 0775;
+    /**
+     * @var callback a PHP callback that is called before copying each sub-directory or file.
+     * This option is used only when publishing a directory. If the callback returns false, the copy
+     * operation for the sub-directory or file will be cancelled.
+     *
+     * The signature of the callback should be: `function ($from, $to)`, where `$from` is the sub-directory or
+     * file to be copied from, while `$to` is the copy target.
+     *
+     * This is passed as a parameter `beforeCopy` to [[\yii\helpers\FileHelper::copyDirectory()]].
+     */
+    public $beforeCopy;
+    /**
+     * @var callback a PHP callback that is called after a sub-directory or file is successfully copied.
+     * This option is used only when publishing a directory. The signature of the callback is the same as
+     * for [[beforeCopy]].
+     * This is passed as a parameter `afterCopy` to [[\yii\helpers\FileHelper::copyDirectory()]].
+     */
+    public $afterCopy;
+    /**
+     * @var boolean whether the directory being published should be copied even if
+     * it is found in the target directory. This option is used only when publishing a directory.
+     * You may want to set this to be `true` during the development stage to make sure the published
+     * directory is always up-to-date. Do not set this to true on production servers as it will
+     * significantly degrade the performance.
+     */
+    public $forceCopy = false;
 
     private $_dummyBundles = [];
 
@@ -94,10 +159,12 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
     {
         parent::init();
         $this->basePath = Yii::getAlias($this->basePath);
-        if (is_dir($this->basePath)) {
-            $this->basePath = realpath($this->basePath);
-        } else {
+        if (!is_dir($this->basePath)) {
             throw new InvalidConfigException("The directory does not exist: {$this->basePath}");
+        } elseif (!is_writable($this->basePath)) {
+            throw new InvalidConfigException("The directory is not writable by the Web process: {$this->basePath}");
+        } else {
+            $this->basePath = realpath($this->basePath);
         }
         $this->baseUrl = rtrim(Yii::getAlias($this->baseUrl), '/');
     }
@@ -109,19 +176,21 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
      * it will treat `$name` as the class of the asset bundle and create a new instance of it.
      *
      * @param string $name the class name of the asset bundle
+     * @param boolean $publish whether to publish the asset files in the asset bundle before it is returned.
+     * If you set this false, you must manually call `AssetBundle::publish()` to publish the asset files.
      * @return AssetBundle the asset bundle instance
      * @throws InvalidConfigException if $name does not refer to a valid asset bundle
      */
-    public function getBundle($name)
+    public function getBundle($name, $publish = true)
     {
         if ($this->bundles === false) {
             return $this->loadDummyBundle($name);
         } elseif (!isset($this->bundles[$name])) {
-            return $this->bundles[$name] = $this->loadBundle($name);
+            return $this->bundles[$name] = $this->loadBundle($name, [], $publish);
         } elseif ($this->bundles[$name] instanceof AssetBundle) {
             return $this->bundles[$name];
         } elseif (is_array($this->bundles[$name])) {
-            return $this->bundles[$name] = $this->loadBundle($name, $this->bundles[$name]);
+            return $this->bundles[$name] = $this->loadBundle($name, $this->bundles[$name], $publish);
         } elseif ($this->bundles[$name] === false) {
             return $this->loadDummyBundle($name);
         } else {
@@ -129,17 +198,15 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
         }
     }
 
-    protected function loadBundle($name, $config = [])
+    protected function loadBundle($name, $config = [], $publish = true)
     {
         if (!isset($config['class'])) {
             $config['class'] = $name;
         }
+        /* @var $bundle AssetBundle */
         $bundle = Yii::createObject($config);
-        if ($bundle->basePath === null) {
-            $bundle->basePath = $this->basePath;
-        }
-        if ($bundle->baseUrl === null) {
-            $bundle->baseUrl = $this->baseUrl;
+        if ($publish) {
+            $bundle->publish($this);
         }
         return $bundle;
     }
@@ -156,11 +223,50 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
         return $this->_dummyBundles[$name];
     }
 
-    public function resolveAsset($asset)
+    /**
+     * Returns the actual URL for the specified asset.
+     * The actual URL is obtained by prepending either [[baseUrl]] or [[AssetManager::baseUrl]] to the given asset path.
+     * @param AssetBundle $bundle the asset bundle which the asset file belongs to
+     * @param string $asset the asset path. This should be one of the assets listed in [[js]] or [[css]].
+     * @return string the actual URL for the specified asset.
+     */
+    public function getAssetUrl($bundle, $asset)
+    {
+        if (($actualAsset = $this->resolveAsset($bundle, $asset)) !== false) {
+            return Url::isRelative($actualAsset) ? $this->baseUrl . '/' . $actualAsset : $actualAsset;
+        } else {
+            return Url::isRelative($asset) ? $bundle->baseUrl . '/' . $asset : $asset;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the actual file path for the specified asset.
+     * @param AssetBundle $bundle the asset bundle which the asset file belongs to
+     * @param string $asset the asset path. This should be one of the assets listed in [[js]] or [[css]].
+     * @return string|boolean the actual file path, or false if the asset is specified as an absolute URL
+     */
+    public function getAssetPath($bundle, $asset)
+    {
+        if (($actualAsset = $this->resolveAsset($bundle, $asset)) !== false) {
+            return Url::isRelative($actualAsset) ? $this->basePath . '/' . $actualAsset : false;
+        } else {
+            return Url::isRelative($asset) ? $bundle->basePath . '/' . $asset : false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @param AssetBundle $bundle
+     * @param string $asset
+     * @return string|boolean
+     */
+    protected function resolveAsset($bundle, $asset)
     {
         if (isset($this->assetMap[$asset])) {
             return $this->assetMap[$asset];
         }
+        if ($bundle->sourcePath !== null && Url::isRelative($asset)) {
+            $asset = $bundle->sourcePath . '/' . $asset;
+        }
 
         $n = strlen($asset);
         foreach ($this->assetMap as $from => $to) {
@@ -173,13 +279,240 @@ class AssetManager extends Component
         return false;
     }
 
-    public function getAssetUrl($asset)
+    private $_converter;
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the asset converter.
+     * @return AssetConverterInterface the asset converter.
+     */
+    public function getConverter()
     {
-        return $this->baseUrl . '/' . ltrim($asset, '/');
+        if ($this->_converter === null) {
+            $this->_converter = Yii::createObject(AssetConverter::className());
+        } elseif (is_array($this->_converter) || is_string($this->_converter)) {
+            if (is_array($this->_converter) && !isset($this->_converter['class'])) {
+                $this->_converter['class'] = AssetConverter::className();
+            }
+            $this->_converter = Yii::createObject($this->_converter);
+        }
+
+        return $this->_converter;
     }
 
-    public function getAssetPath($asset)
+    /**
+     * Sets the asset converter.
+     * @param array|AssetConverterInterface $value the asset converter. This can be either
+     * an object implementing the [[AssetConverterInterface]], or a configuration
+     * array that can be used to create the asset converter object.
+     */
+    public function setConverter($value)
     {
-        return $this->basePath . '/' . ltrim($asset, '/');
+        $this->_converter = $value;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @var array published assets
+     */
+    private $_published = [];
+
+    /**
+     * Publishes a file or a directory.
+     *
+     * This method will copy the specified file or directory to [[basePath]] so that
+     * it can be accessed via the Web server.
+     *
+     * If the asset is a file, its file modification time will be checked to avoid
+     * unnecessary file copying.
+     *
+     * If the asset is a directory, all files and subdirectories under it will be published recursively.
+     * Note, in case $forceCopy is false the method only checks the existence of the target
+     * directory to avoid repetitive copying (which is very expensive).
+     *
+     * By default, when publishing a directory, subdirectories and files whose name starts with a dot "."
+     * will NOT be published. If you want to change this behavior, you may specify the "beforeCopy" option
+     * as explained in the `$options` parameter.
+     *
+     * Note: On rare scenario, a race condition can develop that will lead to a
+     * one-time-manifestation of a non-critical problem in the creation of the directory
+     * that holds the published assets. This problem can be avoided altogether by 'requesting'
+     * in advance all the resources that are supposed to trigger a 'publish()' call, and doing
+     * that in the application deployment phase, before system goes live. See more in the following
+     * discussion: http://code.google.com/p/yii/issues/detail?id=2579
+     *
+     * @param string $path the asset (file or directory) to be published
+     * @param array $options the options to be applied when publishing a directory.
+     * The following options are supported:
+     *
+     * - beforeCopy: callback, a PHP callback that is called before copying each sub-directory or file.
+     *   This overrides [[beforeCopy]] if set.
+     * - afterCopy: callback, a PHP callback that is called after a sub-directory or file is successfully copied.
+     *   This overrides [[afterCopy]] if set.
+     * - forceCopy: boolean, whether the directory being published should be copied even if
+     *   it is found in the target directory. This option is used only when publishing a directory.
+     *   This overrides [[forceCopy]] if set.
+     *
+     * @return array the path (directory or file path) and the URL that the asset is published as.
+     * @throws InvalidParamException if the asset to be published does not exist.
+     */
+    public function publish($path, $options = [])
+    {
+        $path = Yii::getAlias($path);
+
+        if (isset($this->_published[$path])) {
+            return $this->_published[$path];
+        }
+
+        if (!is_string($path) || ($src = realpath($path)) === false) {
+            throw new InvalidParamException("The file or directory to be published does not exist: $path");
+        }
+
+        if (is_file($src)) {
+            return $this->_published[$path] = $this->publishFile($src);
+        } else {
+            return $this->_published[$path] = $this->publishDirectory($src, $options);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Publishes a file.
+     * @param string $src the asset file to be published
+     * @return array the path and the URL that the asset is published as.
+     * @throws InvalidParamException if the asset to be published does not exist.
+     */
+    protected function publishFile($src)
+    {
+        $dir = $this->hash(dirname($src) . filemtime($src));
+        $fileName = basename($src);
+        $dstDir = $this->basePath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $dir;
+        $dstFile = $dstDir . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $fileName;
+
+        if (!is_dir($dstDir)) {
+            FileHelper::createDirectory($dstDir, $this->dirMode, true);
+        }
+
+        if ($this->linkAssets) {
+            if (!is_file($dstFile)) {
+                symlink($src, $dstFile);
+            }
+        } elseif (@filemtime($dstFile) < @filemtime($src)) {
+            copy($src, $dstFile);
+            if ($this->fileMode !== null) {
+                @chmod($dstFile, $this->fileMode);
+            }
+        }
+
+        return [$dstFile, $this->baseUrl . "/$dir/$fileName"];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Publishes a directory.
+     * @param string $src the asset directory to be published
+     * @param array $options the options to be applied when publishing a directory.
+     * The following options are supported:
+     *
+     * - beforeCopy: callback, a PHP callback that is called before copying each sub-directory or file.
+     *   This overrides [[beforeCopy]] if set.
+     * - afterCopy: callback, a PHP callback that is called after a sub-directory or file is successfully copied.
+     *   This overrides [[afterCopy]] if set.
+     * - forceCopy: boolean, whether the directory being published should be copied even if
+     *   it is found in the target directory. This option is used only when publishing a directory.
+     *   This overrides [[forceCopy]] if set.
+     *
+     * @return array the path directory and the URL that the asset is published as.
+     * @throws InvalidParamException if the asset to be published does not exist.
+     */
+    protected function publishDirectory($src, $options)
+    {
+        $dir = $this->hash($src . filemtime($src));
+        $dstDir = $this->basePath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $dir;
+        if ($this->linkAssets) {
+            if (!is_dir($dstDir)) {
+                symlink($src, $dstDir);
+            }
+        } elseif (!is_dir($dstDir) || !empty($options['forceCopy']) || (!isset($options['forceCopy']) && $this->forceCopy)) {
+            $opts = [
+                'dirMode' => $this->dirMode,
+                'fileMode' => $this->fileMode,
+            ];
+            if (isset($options['beforeCopy'])) {
+                $opts['beforeCopy'] = $options['beforeCopy'];
+            } elseif ($this->beforeCopy !== null) {
+                $opts['beforeCopy'] = $this->beforeCopy;
+            } else {
+                $opts['beforeCopy'] = function ($from, $to) {
+                    return strncmp(basename($from), '.', 1) !== 0;
+                };
+            }
+            if (isset($options['afterCopy'])) {
+                $opts['afterCopy'] = $options['afterCopy'];
+            } elseif ($this->afterCopy !== null) {
+                $opts['afterCopy'] = $this->afterCopy;
+            }
+            FileHelper::copyDirectory($src, $dstDir, $opts);
+        }
+
+        return [$dstDir, $this->baseUrl . '/' . $dir];
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the published path of a file path.
+     * This method does not perform any publishing. It merely tells you
+     * if the file or directory is published, where it will go.
+     * @param string $path directory or file path being published
+     * @return string the published file path. False if the file or directory does not exist
+     */
+    public function getPublishedPath($path)
+    {
+        $path = Yii::getAlias($path);
+
+        if (isset($this->_published[$path])) {
+            return $this->_published[$path][0];
+        }
+        if (is_string($path) && ($path = realpath($path)) !== false) {
+            $base = $this->basePath . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR;
+            if (is_file($path)) {
+                return $base . $this->hash(dirname($path) . filemtime($path)) . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . basename($path);
+            } else {
+                return $base . $this->hash($path . filemtime($path));
+            }
+        } else {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the URL of a published file path.
+     * This method does not perform any publishing. It merely tells you
+     * if the file path is published, what the URL will be to access it.
+     * @param string $path directory or file path being published
+     * @return string the published URL for the file or directory. False if the file or directory does not exist.
+     */
+    public function getPublishedUrl($path)
+    {
+        $path = Yii::getAlias($path);
+
+        if (isset($this->_published[$path])) {
+            return $this->_published[$path][1];
+        }
+        if (is_string($path) && ($path = realpath($path)) !== false) {
+            if (is_file($path)) {
+                return $this->baseUrl . '/' . $this->hash(dirname($path) . filemtime($path)) . '/' . basename($path);
+            } else {
+                return $this->baseUrl . '/' . $this->hash($path . filemtime($path));
+            }
+        } else {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Generate a CRC32 hash for the directory path. Collisions are higher
+     * than MD5 but generates a much smaller hash string.
+     * @param string $path string to be hashed.
+     * @return string hashed string.
+     */
+    protected function hash($path)
+    {
+        return sprintf('%x', crc32($path . Yii::getVersion()));
     }
 }
diff --git a/framework/web/JqueryAsset.php b/framework/web/JqueryAsset.php
index bc5b896304..a7d73ad585 100644
--- a/framework/web/JqueryAsset.php
+++ b/framework/web/JqueryAsset.php
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ namespace yii\web;
  */
 class JqueryAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/jquery';
     public $js = [
-        'jquery/dist/jquery.js',
+        'dist/jquery.js',
     ];
 }
diff --git a/framework/web/YiiAsset.php b/framework/web/YiiAsset.php
index 79fd235151..db7e85ec20 100644
--- a/framework/web/YiiAsset.php
+++ b/framework/web/YiiAsset.php
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ namespace yii\web;
  */
 class YiiAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2/assets/yii.js',
+        'yii.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\JqueryAsset',
diff --git a/framework/widgets/ActiveFormAsset.php b/framework/widgets/ActiveFormAsset.php
index c95ff07a65..971606318a 100644
--- a/framework/widgets/ActiveFormAsset.php
+++ b/framework/widgets/ActiveFormAsset.php
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class ActiveFormAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@yii/assets';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2/assets/yii.activeForm.js',
+        'yii.activeForm.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',
diff --git a/framework/widgets/MaskedInputAsset.php b/framework/widgets/MaskedInputAsset.php
index 086855a0cb..b758670f09 100644
--- a/framework/widgets/MaskedInputAsset.php
+++ b/framework/widgets/MaskedInputAsset.php
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class MaskedInputAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/jquery.inputmask';
     public $js = [
-        'jquery.inputmask/dist/jquery.inputmask.bundle.js'
+        'dist/jquery.inputmask.bundle.js'
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset'
diff --git a/framework/widgets/PjaxAsset.php b/framework/widgets/PjaxAsset.php
index dfbfcc29ca..ee0100c8a4 100644
--- a/framework/widgets/PjaxAsset.php
+++ b/framework/widgets/PjaxAsset.php
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ use yii\web\AssetBundle;
  */
 class PjaxAsset extends AssetBundle
 {
+    public $sourcePath = '@bower/yii2-pjax';
     public $js = [
-        'yii2-pjax/jquery.pjax.js',
+        'jquery.pjax.js',
     ];
     public $depends = [
         'yii\web\YiiAsset',