diff --git a/cmd/flags.go b/cmd/flags.go
index 5ab2667b..ac89d40f 100644
--- a/cmd/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/flags.go
@@ -34,10 +34,9 @@ var GCPFlags = []cli.Flag{
 // NPMFlags are used in commands that need to authenticate with package registries to publish NPM packages
 var NPMFlags = []cli.Flag{
 	&cli.StringFlag{
-		Name:     "registry",
-		Usage:    "The package registry to publish packages",
-		Required: true,
-		Value:    "registry.npmjs.org",
+		Name:  "registry",
+		Usage: "The package registry to publish packages",
+		Value: "registry.npmjs.org",
 	},
 	&cli.StringFlag{
 		Name:     "token",
diff --git a/cmd/npm.go b/cmd/npm.go
index 00e329b3..dcfb7843 100644
--- a/cmd/npm.go
+++ b/cmd/npm.go
@@ -6,9 +6,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 var NPMCommand = &cli.Command{
-	Name:   "npm",
-	Action: PipelineActionWithPackageInput(pipelines.NPM),
-	Usage:  "Using a grafana.tar.gz as input (ideally one built using the 'package' command), take the npm artifacts and upload them to the destination. This can be used to put Grafana's npm artifacts into a bucket for external use.",
+	Name:        "npm",
+	Action:      PipelineActionWithPackageInput(pipelines.NPM),
+	Usage:       "Using a grafana.tar.gz as input (ideally one built using the 'package' command), take the npm artifacts and upload them to the destination. This can be used to put Grafana's npm artifacts into a bucket for external use.",
+	Subcommands: []*cli.Command{PublishNPMCommand},
 	Flags: JoinFlagsWithDefault(
 		PackageInputFlags,
 		PublishFlags,
diff --git a/containers/npm_publish.go b/containers/npm_publish.go
index 47e699fd..fc71de31 100644
--- a/containers/npm_publish.go
+++ b/containers/npm_publish.go
@@ -3,24 +3,39 @@ package containers
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	"dagger.io/dagger"
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana-build/executil"
 )
 
 // PublishNPM publishes a npm package to the given destination.
-func PublishNPM(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, pkg *dagger.File, name string, version string, opts *NPMOpts) (string, error) {
-	isLatestStable, err := IsLatest(ctx, d, executil.Stable, version)
+func PublishNPM(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, pkg *dagger.File, opts *NPMOpts) (string, error) {
+	src := ExtractedArchive(d, pkg, "pkg.tgz")
+	version, err := GetJSONValue(ctx, d, src, "package.json", "version")
+	name, err := GetJSONValue(ctx, d, src, "package.json", "name")
+
+	isLatestStable, err := IsLatestGrafana(ctx, d, executil.Stable, version)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	isLatestPreview, err := IsLatestGrafana(ctx, d, executil.Preview, version)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	isLatestPreview, err := IsLatest(ctx, d, executil.Preview, version)
+	latestStable, err := GetLatestGrafanaVersion(ctx, d, executil.Stable)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 
-	latest, err := GetLatestVersion(ctx, d, executil.Stable)
+	latestPreview, err := GetLatestGrafanaVersion(ctx, d, executil.Preview)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	isLaterThanPreview, err := IsLaterThan(ctx, d, version, latestPreview)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
@@ -36,14 +51,21 @@ func PublishNPM(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, pkg *dagger.File, name st
 
 	c := d.Container().From(NodeImage("lts")).
 		WithFile("/pkg.tgz", pkg).
-		WithExec([]string{"npm", "set", fmt.Sprintf("//%s/:_authToken", opts.Registry), opts.Token}).
-		WithExec([]string{"npm", "publish", "/pkg.tgz", "--registry", opts.Registry, "--tag", tag})
+		// Workaround for now (maybe unnecessary?): set a NAME environment variable so that we don't accidentally cache
+		WithEnvVariable("NAME", name).
+		WithExec([]string{"npm", "set", fmt.Sprintf("//%s/:_authToken", opts.Registry), opts.Token})
+
+	out, err := c.WithExec([]string{"npm", "view", name, "versions"}).Stdout(ctx)
+	if !strings.Contains(out, fmt.Sprintf("'%s'", version)) {
+		// Publish only if this version is not published already
+		c = c.WithExec([]string{"npm", "publish", "/pkg.tgz", fmt.Sprintf("--registry https://%s", opts.Registry), "--tag", tag})
+	}
 
 	if !isLatestStable {
-		c = c.WithExec([]string{"npm", "dist-tag", "add", fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", name, latest), "latest"})
+		c = c.WithExec([]string{"npm", "dist-tag", "add", fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", name, latestStable), "latest"})
 	}
 
-	if isLatestPreview {
+	if isLatestPreview || (isLatestStable && isLaterThanPreview) {
 		c = c.WithExec([]string{"npm", "dist-tag", "add", fmt.Sprintf("%s@%s", name, version), "next"})
 	}
 
diff --git a/containers/opts_grafana.go b/containers/opts_grafana.go
index 18ba05ec..a75a651d 100644
--- a/containers/opts_grafana.go
+++ b/containers/opts_grafana.go
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ func (g *GrafanaOpts) DetectVersion(ctx context.Context, client *dagger.Client,
 	}
 
 	log.Println("Version not provided; getting version from package.json...")
-	v, err := GetPackageJSONVersion(ctx, client, grafanaDir)
+	v, err := GetJSONValue(ctx, client, grafanaDir, "package.json", "version")
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
diff --git a/containers/version.go b/containers/version.go
index 4c8d4c24..164f302e 100644
--- a/containers/version.go
+++ b/containers/version.go
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana-build/executil"
 )
 
-// GetPackageJSONVersion gets the "version" field from package.json in the 'src' directory.
-func GetPackageJSONVersion(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, src *dagger.Directory) (string, error) {
+// GetJSONValue gets the value of a JSON field from a JSON file in the 'src' directory.
+func GetJSONValue(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, src *dagger.Directory, file string, field string) (string, error) {
 	c := d.Container().From("alpine").
 		WithExec([]string{"apk", "--update", "add", "jq"}).
 		WithMountedDirectory("/src", src).
 		WithWorkdir("/src").
-		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", "cat package.json | jq -r .version"})
+		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", fmt.Sprintf("cat %s | jq -r .%s", file, field)})
 
 	if stdout, err := c.Stdout(ctx); err == nil {
 		return strings.TrimSpace(stdout), nil
@@ -24,36 +24,55 @@ func GetPackageJSONVersion(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, src *dagger.Di
 	return c.Stderr(ctx)
 }
 
-// GetLatestVersion gets the "version" field from https://grafana.com/api/grafana/versions/<channel>.
-func GetLatestVersion(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, channel executil.VersionChannel) (string, error) {
+// GetLatestGrafanaVersion gets the "version" field from https://grafana.com/api/grafana/versions/<channel>.
+func GetLatestGrafanaVersion(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, channel executil.VersionChannel) (string, error) {
 	c := d.Container().From("alpine").
-		WithExec([]string{"apk", "--update", "add", "jq"}).
-		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", fmt.Sprintf("curl https://grafana.com/api/grafana/versions/%s | jq -r .version", channel)})
+		WithExec([]string{"apk", "--update", "add", "jq", "curl"}).
+		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", fmt.Sprintf("curl -s https://grafana.com/api/grafana/versions/%s | jq -r .version", channel)})
 
 	if stdout, err := c.Stdout(ctx); err == nil {
-		return strings.TrimSpace(stdout), nil
+		out := strings.TrimSpace(stdout)
+		if out == "" {
+			return out, fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve grafana version from grafana.com")
+		}
+		return out, nil
 	}
 
 	return c.Stderr(ctx)
 }
 
-// IsLatest compares versions and returns true if the version provided is grater or equal the latest version on the channel.
-func IsLatest(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, channel executil.VersionChannel, version string) (bool, error) {
+// IsLatestGrafana compares versions and returns true if the version provided is grater or equal the latest version of Grafana on the channel.
+func IsLatestGrafana(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, channel executil.VersionChannel, version string) (bool, error) {
 	if versionChannel := executil.GetVersionChannel(version); versionChannel != channel {
 		return false, nil
 	}
 
-	latest, err := GetLatestVersion(ctx, d, channel)
+	latestGrafana, err := GetLatestGrafanaVersion(ctx, d, channel)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, err
 	}
 
+	return IsLaterThan(ctx, d, version, latestGrafana)
+}
+
+// GetLatestVersion compares versions and returns the latest version provided in the slice.
+func GetLatestVersion(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, versions []string) (string, error) {
 	c := d.Container().From("alpine").
-		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", fmt.Sprintf("echo -e '%s\n%s' | sort -V | tail -1", latest, version)})
+		WithExec([]string{"/bin/sh", "-c", fmt.Sprintf("echo -e '%s' | sort -V | tail -1", strings.Join(versions, "\\n"))})
 
-	if stdout, err := c.Stdout(ctx); err == nil {
-		return strings.TrimSpace(stdout) == version, nil
+	stdout, err := c.Stdout(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
 	}
 
-	return false, nil
+	return strings.TrimSpace(stdout), nil
+}
+
+// IsLaterThan compares versions and returns true if v1 is later than v2
+func IsLaterThan(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, v1 string, v2 string) (bool, error) {
+	latest, err := GetLatestVersion(ctx, d, []string{v1, v2})
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return latest == v1, nil
 }
diff --git a/pipelines/docker_publish.go b/pipelines/docker_publish.go
index 7746bb30..1e81144c 100644
--- a/pipelines/docker_publish.go
+++ b/pipelines/docker_publish.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 
 	"dagger.io/dagger"
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana-build/containers"
+	"github.com/grafana/grafana-build/executil"
 	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 	"golang.org/x/sync/semaphore"
 )
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ func PublishDocker(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, args PipelineArgs) err
 			base = BaseImageUbuntu
 		}
 
-		isLatest, err := containers.IsLatest(ctx, d, "stable", tarOpts.Version)
+		isLatest, err := containers.IsLatestGrafana(ctx, d, executil.Stable, tarOpts.Version)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
diff --git a/pipelines/npm_publish.go b/pipelines/npm_publish.go
index 465036b1..f88dd983 100644
--- a/pipelines/npm_publish.go
+++ b/pipelines/npm_publish.go
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
 
 	"dagger.io/dagger"
 	"github.com/grafana/grafana-build/containers"
@@ -13,15 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/sync/semaphore"
 )
 
-func NPMPackageName(path string) (string, string) {
-	filename := filepath.Base(path)
-	name := WithoutExt(filename)
-	parts := strings.Split(name, "-")
-	packageName := strings.Join([]string{parts[0], parts[1]}, "/")
-	packageVersion := strings.Join(parts[2:], "-")
-	return packageName, packageVersion
-}
-
 func PublishNPM(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, args PipelineArgs) error {
 	var (
 		opts = args.NPMOpts
@@ -57,21 +46,20 @@ func PublishNPM(ctx context.Context, d *dagger.Client, args PipelineArgs) error
 
 func PublishNPMFunc(ctx context.Context, sm *semaphore.Weighted, d *dagger.Client, pkg *dagger.File, path string, opts *containers.NPMOpts) func() error {
 	return func() error {
-		name, version := NPMPackageName(path)
-		log.Printf("[%s@%s] Attempting to publish package", name, version)
-		log.Printf("[%s@%s] Acquiring semaphore", name, version)
+		log.Printf("[%s] Attempting to publish package", path)
+		log.Printf("[%s] Acquiring semaphore", path)
 		if err := sm.Acquire(ctx, 1); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to acquire semaphore: %w", err)
 		}
 		defer sm.Release(1)
-		log.Printf("[%s@%s] Acquired semaphore", name, version)
+		log.Printf("[%s] Acquired semaphore", path)
 
-		log.Printf("[%s@%s] Publishing package", name, version)
-		out, err := containers.PublishNPM(ctx, d, pkg, name, version, opts)
+		log.Printf("[%s] Publishing package", path)
+		out, err := containers.PublishNPM(ctx, d, pkg, opts)
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("[%s] error: %w", name, err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("[%s] error: %w", path, err)
 		}
-		log.Printf("[%s@%s] Done publishing package", name, version)
+		log.Printf("[%s] Done publishing package", path)
 
 		fmt.Fprintln(Stdout, out)
 		return nil