diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-release.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-release.yml
index 10378175bb7d3..4abb5d80bf7ad 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-release.yml
@@ -282,6 +282,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Reset Deps
         run: node . run resetdeps
       - name: Pack
+        env:
+          SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM: 1
         run: |
           NPM_VERSION="$(node . --version)-$GITHUB_SHA.0"
           node . version $NPM_VERSION --ignore-scripts
@@ -291,7 +293,7 @@ jobs:
           node scripts/remove-files.js
           # call installed npm instead of local source since we are testing
           # the packed tarball that we just installed globally
-          SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM=1 npm test -w smoke-tests --ignore-scripts
+          npm test -w smoke-tests --ignore-scripts
       - name: Conclude Check
         uses: LouisBrunner/checks-action@v1.3.1
         if: steps.check.outputs.check_id && always()
diff --git a/DEPENDENCIES.md b/DEPENDENCIES.md
index 5d1e94d496bef..c5d4291e4c14b 100644
--- a/DEPENDENCIES.md
+++ b/DEPENDENCIES.md
@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ graph LR;
   npmcli-docs-->ignore-walk;
   npmcli-docs-->npmcli-eslint-config["@npmcli/eslint-config"];
   npmcli-docs-->npmcli-template-oss["@npmcli/template-oss"];
+  npmcli-docs-->semver;
   npmcli-fs-->semver;
   npmcli-git-->npm-pick-manifest;
   npmcli-git-->npmcli-promise-spawn["@npmcli/promise-spawn"];
@@ -644,6 +645,7 @@ graph LR;
   npmcli-docs-->remark-man;
   npmcli-docs-->remark-parse;
   npmcli-docs-->remark-rehype;
+  npmcli-docs-->semver;
   npmcli-docs-->tap;
   npmcli-docs-->unified;
   npmcli-docs-->yaml;
diff --git a/docs/bin/build.js b/docs/bin/build.js
index 6832274fde2e6..b94a85cf6f9bc 100644
--- a/docs/bin/build.js
+++ b/docs/bin/build.js
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
+if (
+  process.env.SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM &&
+  !require('semver').satisfies(process.version, require('../package.json').engines.node)
+) {
+  // The docs tooling is kept in sync between releases and dependencies that are not compatible
+  // with the lower bound of npm@8 engines are used. When we run the SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM we are
+  // testing that npm is able to pack and install itself locally and then run its own smoke tests.
+  // Packing will run this script automatically so in the cases where the node version is
+  // not compatible, it is ok to bail on this script since the generated docs are not used in
+  // the smoke tests.
+  console.log(`Skipping docs build due to SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM and ${process.version}`)
+  return
+}
+
 const run = require('../lib/build.js')
 const { paths } = require('../lib/index')
 
diff --git a/docs/package.json b/docs/package.json
index dda998e9e4b19..a1ea4711b6e84 100644
--- a/docs/package.json
+++ b/docs/package.json
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     "remark-man": "^8.0.1",
     "remark-parse": "^10.0.1",
     "remark-rehype": "^10.1.0",
+    "semver": "^7.3.8",
     "tap": "^16.3.4",
     "unified": "^10.1.2",
     "yaml": "^2.2.1"
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index e0651c48e665e..4cc9c0d86c4c2 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@
         "remark-man": "^8.0.1",
         "remark-parse": "^10.0.1",
         "remark-rehype": "^10.1.0",
+        "semver": "^7.3.8",
         "tap": "^16.3.4",
         "unified": "^10.1.2",
         "yaml": "^2.2.1"
diff --git a/scripts/template-oss/ci-release.yml b/scripts/template-oss/ci-release.yml
index 9482c31dec7b7..44b184db8ae81 100644
--- a/scripts/template-oss/ci-release.yml
+++ b/scripts/template-oss/ci-release.yml
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
       windowsCI=false
     }}
       - name: Pack
+        env:
+          SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM: 1
         run: |
           NPM_VERSION="$({{ rootNpmPath }} --version)-$GITHUB_SHA.0"
           {{ rootNpmPath }} version $NPM_VERSION --ignore-scripts
@@ -17,5 +19,5 @@
           node scripts/remove-files.js
           # call installed npm instead of local source since we are testing
           # the packed tarball that we just installed globally
-          SMOKE_PUBLISH_NPM=1 npm test -w smoke-tests --ignore-scripts
+          npm test -w smoke-tests --ignore-scripts
       {{> stepChecks jobCheck=true }}