diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 662cfae0db1d0..01355b0f529fe 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -414,7 +414,8 @@ $ cd packages/@aws-cdk/aws-ec2
 $ ../../../scripts/buildup
 ```
 
-Note that `buildup` uses `foreach.sh`, which means it's resumable. If your build fails and you wish to resume, just run `buildup` again. If you wish to restart, run `buildup --restart`.
+Note that `buildup` uses `foreach.sh`, which means it's resumable. If your build fails and you wish to resume, just run
+`buildup --resume`. If you wish to restart, run `buildup` again.
 
 ### Quick Iteration
 
diff --git a/scripts/buildup b/scripts/buildup
index f9cc870106261..3fea629af9976 100755
--- a/scripts/buildup
+++ b/scripts/buildup
@@ -4,17 +4,21 @@ scriptdir=$(cd $(dirname $0) && pwd)
 
 echo "************************************************************"
 echo " buildup usage:"
-echo " - execute 'buildup' again to resume after failure"
-echo " - execute 'buildup --restart' to restart"
+echo " - execute 'buildup --resume' to resume after failure"
+echo " - execute 'buildup' to restart the build from the start"
 echo ""
 echo " for advanced usage, see ${scriptdir}/foreach.sh"
 echo "************************************************************"
 
-if [ "${1:-}" == "--restart" ] || [ "${1:-}" == "--reset" ]; then
+if [ "$#" -eq 0 ]; then
   ${scriptdir}/foreach.sh --reset
+else
+  if [ "$1" != "--resume" ]; then
+    echo "Unknown option: $1"
+    exit 1
+  fi
 fi
 
-
 ${scriptdir}/foreach.sh --up yarn build
 ${scriptdir}/foreach.sh --reset