diff --git a/concourse/tasks/build-vsix.sh b/concourse/tasks/build-vsix.sh
index 6c6274906..8a077bad1 100755
--- a/concourse/tasks/build-vsix.sh
+++ b/concourse/tasks/build-vsix.sh
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ if [ "$dist_type" = release ]; then
     echo -e "\n\n*Version: ${base_version}-RELEASE*" >> README.md
 else
     if [ "$dist_type" = pre ]; then
+        # for pre-release build, work the timestamp into package.json patch version (
+        qualified_version = `echo $base_version | sed "s/\([0-9]\{1,\}.[0-9]\{1,\}.\)[0-9]\{1,\}/\1$timestamp/"`
+        npm version ${qualified_version}
         echo -e "\n\n*Version: ${base_version}-PRE-RELEASE*" >> README.md
     else
         # for snapshot build, work the timestamp into package.json version qualifier