diff --git a/gauntlet/package.json b/gauntlet/package.json
index c71817d41..84485cf22 100644
--- a/gauntlet/package.json
+++ b/gauntlet/package.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   "bin": "packages/gauntlet-solana-contracts/dist/cli.js",
   "scripts": {
     "gauntlet": "yarn build && node ./packages/gauntlet-solana-contracts/dist/cli.js",
+    "gauntlet-nobuild": "node ./packages/gauntlet-solana-contracts/dist/cli.js",
     "gauntlet-serum-multisig": "yarn build && node ./packages/gauntlet-serum-multisig/dist/index.js",
     "lint": "tsc -b ./tsconfig.json",
     "eslint": "eslint -f json -o eslint-report.json ./packages || true",
diff --git a/integration-tests/gauntlet/gauntlet_solana.go b/integration-tests/gauntlet/gauntlet_solana.go
index c4f8bcb59..53a9024b0 100644
--- a/integration-tests/gauntlet/gauntlet_solana.go
+++ b/integration-tests/gauntlet/gauntlet_solana.go
@@ -121,7 +121,11 @@ func (sg *SolanaGauntlet) InstallDependencies() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	sg.G.Command = "gauntlet"
+	_, err = sg.G.ExecCommand([]string{"build"}, *sg.options) // initial build
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	sg.G.Command = "gauntlet-nobuild" // optimization to not rebuild packages each time
 	return nil
 }