diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 0f7642d..51d2661 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ version: 2.0
 default: &default-steps
   steps:
     - checkout
+    - run:
+        # Note: this makes it hard to reproduce builds but easier to spot incompatibilities with
+        # newer PlantUML releases. Current trade off seems acceptable.
+        name: Download the latest PlantUML release
+        command: sh ./bin/download-plantuml.sh
     - run:
         name: Update APT packages
         command: apt-get update
diff --git a/.github/stale.yml b/.github/stale.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ccc932
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/stale.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# Number of days of inactivity before an issue becomes stale
+daysUntilStale: 90
+# Number of days of inactivity before a stale issue is closed
+daysUntilClose: 10
+# Issues with these labels will never be considered stale
+exemptLabels:
+  - help-wanted
+  - enhancement
+# Label to use when marking an issue as stale
+staleLabel: wontfix
+# Comment to post when marking an issue as stale. Set to `false` to disable
+markComment: >
+  This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had
+  recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you
+  for your contributions.
+# Comment to post when closing a stale issue. Set to `false` to disable
+closeComment: false
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 40f92a5..bf2ae91 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ Also, to enable preview you need to tell `plantuml-mode` where to locate the Pla
     M-x customize-variable<RET>
     plantuml-jar-path<RET>
 
+You can also download the latest version of PlantUML straight into `plantuml-jar-path`:
+
+    M-x plantuml-download-jar<RET>
+
 # Features
 
 - Syntax highlight
diff --git a/bin/download-plantuml.sh b/bin/download-plantuml.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3be3725
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/download-plantuml.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+# Where the script is executed
+CURRENT_PATH="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")"
+
+# Where to download the file
+OUTPUT_PATH="${CURRENT_PATH}/plantuml.jar"
+
+# Retrieve the list of versions, in XML format, only one result (the latest)
+VERSIONS_URL='https://search.maven.org/solrsearch/select?q=g:net.sourceforge.plantuml+AND+a:plantuml&core=gav&start=0&rows=1&wt=xml'
+
+# Only match the contents of the version (name="v") XML tag
+LATEST_VERSION="$(curl -s "${VERSIONS_URL}" | grep -oP '(?<=<str name="v">).*(?=</str>)')"
+
+# Compose the download link
+DOWNLOAD_URL="https://search.maven.org/remotecontent?filepath=net/sourceforge/plantuml/plantuml/${LATEST_VERSION}/plantuml-${LATEST_VERSION}.jar"
+
+# finally, download the JAR file
+echo "Downloading PlantUML v${LATEST_VERSION} into ${OUTPUT_PATH}"
+curl -so "${OUTPUT_PATH}" "${DOWNLOAD_URL}" 2>/dev/null
diff --git a/bin/plantuml.jar b/bin/plantuml.jar
deleted file mode 100644
index bb909e1..0000000
Binary files a/bin/plantuml.jar and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/plantuml-mode.el b/plantuml-mode.el
index 4acf133..7de4062 100644
--- a/plantuml-mode.el
+++ b/plantuml-mode.el
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 
 ;;; Change log:
 ;;
+;; version 1.2.11, 2019-04-09 Added `plantuml-download-jar'
 ;; version 1.2.10, 2019-04-03 Avoid messing with window layouts and buffers -- courtesy of https://github.com/wailo
 ;; version 1.2.9, Revamped indentation support, now working with a greater number of keywords
 ;; version 1.2.8, 2019-01-07 Support indentation for activate / deactivate blocks; allow customization of `plantuml-java-args'
@@ -69,6 +70,7 @@
 ;;; Code:
 (require 'thingatpt)
 (require 'dash)
+(require 'xml)
 
 (defgroup plantuml-mode nil
   "Major mode for editing plantuml file."
@@ -163,6 +165,31 @@
             (insert msg)
             (insert "\n"))))))
 
+(defun plantuml-download-jar ()
+  "Download the latest PlantUML JAR file and install it into `plantuml-jar-path'."
+  (interactive)
+  (if (y-or-n-p (format "Download the latest PlantUML JAR file into %s? " plantuml-jar-path))
+      (if (or (not (file-exists-p plantuml-jar-path))
+              (y-or-n-p (format "The PlantUML jar file already exists at %s, overwrite? " plantuml-jar-path)))
+          (with-current-buffer (url-retrieve-synchronously "https://search.maven.org/solrsearch/select?q=g:net.sourceforge.plantuml+AND+a:plantuml&core=gav&start=0&rows=1&wt=xml")
+            (mkdir (file-name-directory plantuml-jar-path) t)
+            (let* ((parse-tree (xml-parse-region))
+                   (doc        (->> parse-tree
+                                    (assq 'response)
+                                    (assq 'result)
+                                    (assq 'doc)))
+                   (strs       (xml-get-children doc 'str))
+                   (version    (->> strs
+                                    (--filter (string-equal "v" (xml-get-attribute it 'name)))
+                                    (first)
+                                    (xml-node-children)
+                                    (first))))
+              (message (concat "Downloading PlantUML v" version " into " plantuml-jar-path))
+              (url-copy-file (format "https://search.maven.org/remotecontent?filepath=net/sourceforge/plantuml/plantuml/%s/plantuml-%s.jar" version version) plantuml-jar-path)
+              (kill-buffer))
+            (message "Aborted.")))
+    (message "Aborted.")))
+
 (defun plantuml-init ()
   "Initialize the keywords or builtins from the cmdline language output."
   (unless (or (eq system-type 'cygwin) (file-exists-p plantuml-jar-path))