diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 49b89d1c85ceb..505c8ef99d457 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -2,10 +2,11 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 bail="--bail"
+run_tests="true"
 while [[ "${1:-}" != "" ]]; do
     case $1 in
         -h|--help)
-            echo "Usage: build.sh [--no-bail] [--force|-f]"
+            echo "Usage: build.sh [--no-bail] [--force|-f] [--skip-test]"
             exit 1
             ;;
         --no-bail)
@@ -14,6 +15,9 @@ while [[ "${1:-}" != "" ]]; do
         -f|--force)
             export CDK_BUILD="--force"
             ;;
+        --skip-test|--skip-tests)
+            run_tests="false"
+            ;;
         *)
             echo "Unrecognized parameter: $1"
             exit 1
@@ -47,8 +51,10 @@ echo "==========================================================================
 echo "building..."
 time lerna run $bail --stream build || fail
 
-echo "============================================================================================="
-echo "testing..."
-lerna run $bail --stream test || fail
+if $run_tests; then
+  echo "============================================================================================="
+  echo "testing..."
+  lerna run $bail --stream test || fail
+fi
 
 touch $BUILD_INDICATOR
diff --git a/scripts/fix-peer-deps.sh b/scripts/fix-peer-deps.sh
index e62ce6ebab684..b5d16bd738c9a 100644
--- a/scripts/fix-peer-deps.sh
+++ b/scripts/fix-peer-deps.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -euo pipefail
-lerna exec "$PWD/tools/cdk-build-tools/node_modules/.bin/jsii-fix-peers 2>/dev/null || true"
\ No newline at end of file
+
+if [ ! -f lerna.json ]; then
+  echo "This script should be run from the root of the repo."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# first, we need to make sure that all existing peer dependencies are aligned to the "dependency" version
+find . -name package.json | grep -v node_modules | xargs node scripts/sync-peer-deps.js
+
+# must build first so .jsii is aligned
+/bin/bash ./build.sh --skip-tests
+
+# now, run jsii-fix-peers to add all missing peers based on the jsii spec
+lerna exec "$PWD/tools/cdk-build-tools/node_modules/.bin/jsii-fix-peers 2>/dev/null || true"
diff --git a/scripts/sync-peer-deps.js b/scripts/sync-peer-deps.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..431221d73dc7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/sync-peer-deps.js
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+//
+// align versions of "peerDependencies" and "dependencies" for a given set of package.json files
+// usage: node sync-peer-deps.js package.json pacakge.json ...
+//
+const fs = require('fs');
+
+for (const file of process.argv.splice(2)) {
+  const pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(file).toString());
+  const deps = pkg.dependencies || { };
+  let updated = false;
+  if (pkg.peerDependencies) {
+    for (const dep of Object.keys(pkg.peerDependencies)) {
+      const version = deps[dep];
+      const peerVersion = pkg.peerDependencies[dep];
+      if (version && version !== peerVersion) {
+        pkg.peerDependencies[dep] = version;
+        updated = true;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  if (updated) {
+    console.log('updated:', file);
+    fs.writeFileSync(file, JSON.stringify(pkg, undefined, 2));
+  }
+}
\ No newline at end of file