diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index e4d13b558e7..e66973d8067 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -178,3 +178,4 @@ packages/*/*.egg-info
 config/plugins/visualizations/**/static/script.js
 # TODO: Really need to follow up on this and make it standard.
 config/plugins/visualizations/**/static/main.css
+config/plugins/visualizations/**/static/plugin_build_hash.txt
diff --git a/client/gulpfile.js b/client/gulpfile.js
index af0d5c6369c..0c67ec7a220 100644
--- a/client/gulpfile.js
+++ b/client/gulpfile.js
@@ -2,14 +2,14 @@ const path = require("path");
 const fs = require("fs");
 const del = require("del");
 const { src, dest, series, parallel } = require("gulp");
-const spawn = require("child_process").spawnSync;
+const child_process = require("child_process");
 const glob = require("glob");
 
 const paths = {
     node_modules: "./node_modules",
     plugin_dirs: [
         "../config/plugins/{visualizations,interactive_environments}/*/static/**/*",
-        "../config/plugins/{visualizations,interactive_environments}/*/*/static/**/*"
+        "../config/plugins/{visualizations,interactive_environments}/*/*/static/**/*",
     ],
     /*
      * We'll want a flexible glob down the road, but for now there are no
@@ -20,9 +20,7 @@ const paths = {
     //    "../config/plugins/{visualizations,interactive_environments}/*/package.json",
     //    "../config/plugins/{visualizations,interactive_environments}/*/*/package.json"
     //],
-    plugin_build_dirs: [
-        "../config/plugins/visualizations/{annotate_image,hyphyvision,openlayers,editor}/package.json",
-    ],
+    plugin_build_dirs: ["../config/plugins/visualizations/{annotate_image,hyphyvision,openlayers,editor}/package.json"],
     lib_locs: {
         // This is a stepping stone towards having all this staged
         // automatically.  Eventually, this dictionary and staging step will
@@ -37,13 +35,13 @@ const paths = {
         "jquery-mousewheel": ["jquery.mousewheel.js", "jquery/jquery.mousewheel.js"],
         "raven-js": ["dist/raven.js", "raven.js"],
         requirejs: ["require.js", "require.js"],
-        underscore: ["underscore.js", "underscore.js"]
+        underscore: ["underscore.js", "underscore.js"],
     },
-    libs: ["galaxy/scripts/libs/**/*.js"]
+    libs: ["galaxy/scripts/libs/**/*.js"],
 };
 
 function stageLibs(callback) {
-    Object.keys(paths.lib_locs).forEach(lib => {
+    Object.keys(paths.lib_locs).forEach((lib) => {
         var p1 = path.resolve(path.join(paths.node_modules, lib, paths.lib_locs[lib][0]));
         var p2 = path.resolve(path.join("galaxy", "scripts", "libs", paths.lib_locs[lib][1]));
         if (fs.existsSync(p1)) {
@@ -69,18 +67,45 @@ function stagePlugins() {
     return src(paths.plugin_dirs).pipe(dest("../static/plugins/"));
 }
 
-function buildPlugins(callback){
+function buildPlugins(callback) {
     /*
-     * Walk plugin build glob and attempt to build anything with a package.json 
+     * Walk plugin_build_dirs glob and attempt to build modules.
      * */
-    paths.plugin_build_dirs.map( build_dir => {
+    paths.plugin_build_dirs.map((build_dir) => {
         glob(build_dir, {}, (er, files) => {
-            files.map( file => {
+            files.map((file) => {
+                let skip_build = false;
                 const f = path.join(process.cwd(), file).slice(0, -12);
-                console.log("Installing Dependencies for", f);
-                spawn('yarn', ['install', '--production=false', '--network-timeout=300000', '--check-files'], { cwd: f, stdio: 'inherit', shell: true });
-                console.log("Building ", f);
-                spawn('yarn', ['build'], { cwd: f, stdio: 'inherit', shell: true });
+                const plugin_name = path.dirname(file).split(path.sep).pop();
+                const hash_file_path = path.join(f, "static", "plugin_build_hash.txt");
+
+                if (fs.existsSync(hash_file_path)) {
+                    skip_build =
+                        child_process.spawnSync("git", ["diff", "--quiet", `$(cat ${hash_file_path})`, "--", f], {
+                            stdio: "inherit",
+                            shell: true,
+                        }).status === 0;
+                } else {
+                    console.log(`No build hashfile detected for ${plugin_name}, generating now.`);
+                }
+
+                if (skip_build) {
+                    console.log(`No changes detected for ${plugin_name}`);
+                } else {
+                    console.log(`Installing Dependencies for ${plugin_name}`);
+                    child_process.spawnSync(
+                        "yarn",
+                        ["install", "--production=false", "--network-timeout=300000", "--check-files"],
+                        {
+                            cwd: f,
+                            stdio: "inherit",
+                            shell: true,
+                        }
+                    );
+                    console.log(`Building ${plugin_name}`);
+                    child_process.spawnSync("yarn", ["build"], { cwd: f, stdio: "inherit", shell: true });
+                    child_process.exec(`"(git rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo \`\`) > ${hash_file_path} "`);
+                }
             });
         });
     });
@@ -92,7 +117,7 @@ function cleanPlugins() {
 }
 
 client = parallel(fonts, stageLibs);
-plugins = series(cleanPlugins, buildPlugins, stagePlugins);
+plugins = series(buildPlugins, cleanPlugins, stagePlugins);
 
 module.exports.client = client;
 module.exports.plugins = plugins;