diff --git a/scripts/bower/publish.sh b/scripts/bower/publish.sh
index 24d79e04..5b6fd813 100755
--- a/scripts/bower/publish.sh
+++ b/scripts/bower/publish.sh
@@ -88,6 +88,24 @@ function publish {
     cd $TMP_DIR/bower-$repo
     git push origin master
     git push origin v$NEW_VERSION
+
+    # don't publish every build to npm
+    if [ "${NEW_VERSION/+sha}" = "$NEW_VERSION" ] ; then
+      if [ "${NEW_VERSION/-}" = "$NEW_VERSION" ] ; then
+        if [[ $NEW_VERSION =~ ^1\.2\.[0-9]+$ ]] ; then
+          # publish 1.2.x releases with the appropriate tag
+          # this ensures that `npm install` by default will not grab `1.2.x` releases
+          npm publish --tag=1.2.x
+        else
+          # publish releases as "latest"
+          npm publish
+        fi
+      else
+        # publish prerelease builds with the beta tag
+        npm publish --tag=beta
+      fi
+    fi
+
     cd $SCRIPT_DIR
   done
 }