diff --git a/gulpfile.js b/gulpfile.js
index 7c0e0a6c15..855aa479b0 100644
--- a/gulpfile.js
+++ b/gulpfile.js
@@ -814,7 +814,6 @@ gulp.task('git-pull-latest', function() {
  * Copies npm package and tooling files to dist.
  */
 gulp.task('package', function(done){
-  var _ = require('lodash');
   var fs = require('fs');
   var distDir = 'dist';
 
@@ -825,12 +824,24 @@ gulp.task('package', function(done){
     ])
     .pipe(gulp.dest(distDir));
 
-  var templateVars = {};
-  var packageJSON = require('./package.json');
-  templateVars.ionicVersion = packageJSON.version;
-  templateVars.angularVersion = packageJSON.dependencies['@angular/core'];
-  var packageTemplate = _.template(fs.readFileSync('scripts/npm/package.json'));
-  fs.writeFileSync(distDir + '/package.json', packageTemplate(templateVars));
+  var templatePackageJSON = require('./scripts/npm/package.json');
+  var sourcePackageJSON = require('./package.json');
+  var sourceDependencies = sourcePackageJSON.dependencies;
+
+  // copy source package.json data to template
+  templatePackageJSON.version = sourcePackageJSON.version
+  templatePackageJSON.description = sourcePackageJSON.description
+  templatePackageJSON.keywords = sourcePackageJSON.keywords
+
+  // copy source dependencies versions to the template's peerDependencies
+  // only copy dependencies that show up as peerDependencies in the template
+  for (var dependency in sourceDependencies) {
+    if (dependency in templatePackageJSON.peerDependencies) {
+      templatePackageJSON.peerDependencies[dependency] = sourceDependencies[dependency];
+    }
+  }
+
+  fs.writeFileSync(distDir + '/package.json', JSON.stringify(templatePackageJSON, null, 2));
   done();
 });
 
@@ -903,7 +914,6 @@ gulp.task('nightly', ['package'], function(done) {
   var fs = require('fs');
   var spawn = require('child_process').spawn;
   var packageJSON = require('./dist/package.json');
-  var hashLength = 8;
 
   // Generate a unique id formatted from current timestamp
   function createTimestamp() {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index f33285dbf5..93c9753203 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
   "private": "true",
   "name": "ionic2",
   "version": "2.0.0-beta.10",
+  "description": "An advanced HTML5 mobile app framework built on Angular2",
+  "keywords": ["ionic", "framework", "mobile", "app", "hybrid", "webapp", "cordova", "progressive web app", "pwa"],
   "license": "MIT",
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
@@ -16,9 +18,10 @@
     "@angular/common": "2.0.0-rc.3",
     "@angular/compiler": "2.0.0-rc.3",
     "@angular/core": "2.0.0-rc.3",
+    "@angular/forms": "0.1.1",
+    "@angular/http": "2.0.0-rc.3",
     "@angular/platform-browser": "2.0.0-rc.3",
     "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "2.0.0-rc.3",
-    "@angular/http": "2.0.0-rc.3",
     "colors": "^1.1.2",
     "es6-shim": "^0.35.0",
     "inquirer": "0.11.0",
diff --git a/scripts/npm/package.json b/scripts/npm/package.json
index b1f0e7fd3a..e01d1dc114 100644
--- a/scripts/npm/package.json
+++ b/scripts/npm/package.json
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 {
   "name": "ionic-angular",
-  "version": "<%= ionicVersion %>",
-  "description": "An advanced HTML5 mobile app framework built on Angular2",
-  "license": "MIT",
-  "keywords": ["ionic", "framework", "mobile", "app", "hybrid", "webapp", "cordova"],
-  "main": "index.js",
-  "jsnext:main": "esm/index.js",
+  "version": "`gulp package` generates dist/package.json from this template using the root ./package.json",
+  "description": "",
+  "keywords": [],
   "repository": {
     "type": "git",
     "url": "https://github.com/driftyco/ionic.git"
   },
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "main": "index.js",
+  "jsnext:main": "esm/index.js",
   "dependencies": {
     "colors": "^1.1.2",
     "inquirer": "0.11.0",
@@ -18,11 +18,12 @@
     "q": "1.4.1"
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "@angular/common": "^<%= angularVersion %>",
-    "@angular/compiler": "^<%= angularVersion %>",
-    "@angular/core": "^<%= angularVersion %>",
-    "@angular/platform-browser": "^<%= angularVersion %>",
-    "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": "^<%= angularVersion %>",
-    "@angular/http": "^<%= angularVersion %>"
+    "@angular/common": "// versions dynamically pulled from root ./package.json",
+    "@angular/compiler": "",
+    "@angular/core": "",
+    "@angular/forms": "",
+    "@angular/http": "",
+    "@angular/platform-browser": "",
+    "@angular/platform-browser-dynamic": ""
   }
 }