diff --git a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk b/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk
index 067aa3422918e..7765cc578987a 100755
--- a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk
+++ b/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
-
 // source maps must be enabled before importing files
 process.setSourceMapsEnabled(true);
+const { cli } = require("../lib/cli");
 
-require('./cdk.js');
+cli();
diff --git a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts b/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 4f2652b107236..0000000000000
--- a/packages/aws-cdk/bin/cdk.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-import { cli } from '../lib';
-
-cli();