diff --git a/build/release/dist.js b/build/release/dist.js
index eb8adc7e7b..e85ffd3591 100644
--- a/build/release/dist.js
+++ b/build/release/dist.js
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@ module.exports = function( Release, files, complete ) {
 	const extras = [
 		"src",
 		"LICENSE.txt",
-		"AUTHORS.txt",
-		"package.json"
+		"AUTHORS.txt"
 	];
 
 	/**
@@ -101,6 +100,19 @@ module.exports = function( Release, files, complete ) {
 		shell.rm( "-f", `${ Release.dir.dist }/src/wrapper.js` );
 		shell.rm( "-f", `${ Release.dir.dist }/src/.eslintrc.json` );
 
+		// Write package.json
+		// Remove scripts and other superfluous properties,
+		// especially the prepare script, which fails on the dist repo
+		const packageJson = Object.assign( {}, pkg );
+		delete packageJson.scripts;
+		delete packageJson.devDependencies;
+		delete packageJson.dependencies;
+		delete packageJson.commitplease;
+		await fs.writeFile(
+			`${ Release.dir.dist }/package.json`,
+			JSON.stringify( packageJson, null, 2 )
+		);
+
 		// Write generated bower file
 		await fs.writeFile( `${ Release.dir.dist }/bower.json`, generateBower() );