diff --git a/public/src/app.js b/public/src/app.js
index 09079f674c..bafd957b3d 100644
--- a/public/src/app.js
+++ b/public/src/app.js
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ app.cacheBuster = null;
 	};
 
 	app.alertError = function (message, timeout) {
-		message = message.message || message;
+		message = (message && message.message) || message;
 
 		if (message === '[[error:invalid-session]]') {
 			app.handleInvalidSession();
diff --git a/public/src/modules/api.js b/public/src/modules/api.js
index 076be3a655..d55f9899ba 100644
--- a/public/src/modules/api.js
+++ b/public/src/modules/api.js
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@ define('api', () => {
 	api.post = (route, payload, onSuccess) => call({
 		url: route,
 		method: 'post',
-		data: payload,
+		data: JSON.stringify(payload),
+		contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
 		headers: {
 			'x-csrf-token': config.csrf_token,
 		},
@@ -64,7 +65,8 @@ define('api', () => {
 	api.put = (route, payload, onSuccess) => call({
 		url: route,
 		method: 'put',
-		data: payload,
+		data: JSON.stringify(payload),
+		contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
 		headers: {
 			'x-csrf-token': config.csrf_token,
 		},
@@ -73,7 +75,8 @@ define('api', () => {
 	api.del = (route, payload, onSuccess) => call({
 		url: route,
 		method: 'delete',
-		data: payload,
+		data: JSON.stringify(payload),
+		contentType: 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
 		headers: {
 			'x-csrf-token': config.csrf_token,
 		},
diff --git a/src/cli/index.js b/src/cli/index.js
index 8e1fa90339..84f0ad981d 100644
--- a/src/cli/index.js
+++ b/src/cli/index.js
@@ -95,10 +95,6 @@ nconf.argv(opts).env({
 	separator: '__',
 });
 
-const env = program.dev ? 'development' : (process.env.NODE_ENV || 'production');
-process.env.NODE_ENV = env;
-global.env = env;
-
 prestart.setupWinston();
 
 // Alternate configuration file support
@@ -197,6 +193,10 @@ program
 	.description(`Compile static assets ${'(JS, CSS, templates, languages)'.red}`)
 	.option('-s, --series', 'Run builds in series without extra processes')
 	.action((targets, options) => {
+		if (program.dev) {
+			process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development';
+			global.env = 'development';
+		}
 		require('./manage').build(targets.length ? targets : true, options);
 	})
 	.on('--help', () => {