diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 164de0f21..d2f6a9155 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,5 +4,6 @@ node_modules
 dist
 tester
 tester-react
+package-lock.json
 # Local Netlify folder
 .netlify
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index de5514a52..5b492f3b4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ Despite all the recent hype, setting up a new TypeScript (x React) library can b
   - [`npm run build` or `yarn build`](#npm-run-build-or-yarn-build)
   - [`npm test` or `yarn test`](#npm-test-or-yarn-test)
   - [`npm run lint` or `yarn lint`](#npm-run-lint-or-yarn-lint)
+  - [`prepare` script](#prepare-script)
 - [Optimizations](#optimizations)
   - [Development-only Expressions + Treeshaking](#development-only-expressions--treeshaking)
     - [Rollup Treeshaking](#rollup-treeshaking)
@@ -89,6 +90,11 @@ By default, runs tests related to files changed since the last commit.
 Runs Eslint with Prettier on .ts and .tsx files.
 If you want to customize eslint you can add an `eslint` block to your package.json, or you can run `yarn lint --write-file` and edit the generated `.eslintrc.js` file.
 
+### `prepare` script
+
+Bundles and packages to the `dist` folder.
+Runs automatically when you run either `npm publish` or `yarn publish`. The `prepare` script will run the equivalent of `npm run build` or `yarn build`. It will also be run if your module is installed as a git dependency (ie: `"mymodule": "github:myuser/mymodule#some-branch"`) so it can be depended on without checking the transpiled code into git.
+
 ## Optimizations
 
 Aside from just bundling your module into different formats, TSDX comes with some optimizations for your convenience. They yield objectively better code and smaller bundle sizes.
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 7bf8b6834..dc7c5e651 100755
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -296,6 +296,7 @@ prog
               ? 'tsdx test --env=jsdom --passWithNoTests'
               : 'tsdx test',
           lint: 'tsdx lint',
+          prepare: 'tsdx build',
         },
         peerDependencies: template === 'react' ? { react: '>=16' } : {},
         husky: {