diff --git a/.github/workflows/s3-bucket.yml b/.github/workflows/s3-bucket.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..06df7c20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/s3-bucket.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+name: S3 Bucket Test
+
+on:
+  push:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  test-on-os-node-matrix:
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-latest, windows-latest]
+        node: [18, 20, 22]
+    env:
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      S3_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.S3_BUCKET }}
+
+    name: Test S3 Bucket - Node ${{ matrix.node }} on ${{ matrix.os }}
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout ${{ github.ref }}
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup node ${{ matrix.node }}
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: ${{ matrix.node }}
+
+      - name: NPM Install
+        run: npm install
+
+      - name: Show Environment Info
+        run: |
+          printenv
+          node --version
+          npm --version
+
+      - name: Run S3 Tests (against ${{ env.S3_BUCKET }} bucket)
+        run: |
+          npm run bucket ${{ env.S3_BUCKET }}
+          npm run test:s3
+        if: ${{ env.S3_BUCKET != '' }}
+
diff --git a/lib/install.js b/lib/install.js
index 617dd866..bdbb3b9d 100644
--- a/lib/install.js
+++ b/lib/install.js
@@ -233,3 +233,10 @@ function install(gyp, argv, callback) {
     });
   }
 }
+
+// setting an environment variable: node_pre_gyp_mock_s3 to any value
+// enables intercepting outgoing http requests to s3 (using nock) and
+// serving them from a mocked S3 file system (using mock-aws-s3)
+if (process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3) {
+  require('./mock/http')();
+}
diff --git a/lib/main.js b/lib/main.js
index bae32acb..9b54638f 100644
--- a/lib/main.js
+++ b/lib/main.js
@@ -72,12 +72,6 @@ function run() {
     return;
   }
 
-  // set binary.host when appropriate. host determines the s3 target bucket.
-  const target = prog.setBinaryHostProperty(command.name);
-  if (target && ['install', 'publish', 'unpublish', 'info'].indexOf(command.name) >= 0) {
-    log.info('using binary.host: ' + prog.package_json.binary.host);
-  }
-
   prog.commands[command.name](command.args, function(err) {
     if (err) {
       log.error(command.name + ' error');
diff --git a/lib/mock/http.js b/lib/mock/http.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..43f9ac8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/mock/http.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = exports = http_mock;
+
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+const nock = require('nock');
+const os = require('os');
+
+const log = require('npmlog');
+log.disableProgress(); // disable the display of a progress bar
+log.heading = 'node-pre-gyp'; // differentiate node-pre-gyp's logs from npm's
+
+function http_mock() {
+  log.warn('mocking http requests to s3');
+
+  const basePath = `${os.tmpdir()}/mock`;
+
+  nock(new RegExp('([a-z0-9]+[.])*s3[.]us-east-1[.]amazonaws[.]com'))
+    .persist()
+    .get(() => true) //a function that always returns true is a catch all for nock
+    .reply(
+      (uri) => {
+        const bucket = 'npg-mock-bucket';
+        const mockDir = uri.indexOf(bucket) === -1 ? `${basePath}/${bucket}` : basePath;
+        const filepath = path.join(mockDir, uri.replace(new RegExp('%2B', 'g'), '+'));
+
+        try {
+          fs.accessSync(filepath, fs.constants.R_OK);
+        } catch (e) {
+          return [404, 'not found\n'];
+        }
+
+        // mock s3 functions write to disk
+        // return what is read from it.
+        return [200, fs.createReadStream(filepath)];
+      }
+    );
+}
diff --git a/lib/mock/s3.js b/lib/mock/s3.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..076b995b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/mock/s3.js
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+'use strict';
+
+module.exports = exports = s3_mock;
+
+const AWSMock = require('mock-aws-s3');
+const os = require('os');
+
+const log = require('npmlog');
+log.disableProgress(); // disable the display of a progress bar
+log.heading = 'node-pre-gyp'; // differentiate node-pre-gyp's logs from npm's
+
+function s3_mock() {
+  log.warn('mocking s3 operations');
+
+  AWSMock.config.basePath = `${os.tmpdir()}/mock`;
+
+  const s3 = AWSMock.S3();
+
+  // wrapped callback maker. fs calls return code of ENOENT but AWS.S3 returns
+  // NotFound.
+  const wcb = (fn) => (err, ...args) => {
+    if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
+      err.code = 'NotFound';
+    }
+    return fn(err, ...args);
+  };
+
+  return {
+    listObjects(params, callback) {
+      return s3.listObjects(params, wcb(callback));
+    },
+    headObject(params, callback) {
+      return s3.headObject(params, wcb(callback));
+    },
+    deleteObject(params, callback) {
+      return s3.deleteObject(params, wcb(callback));
+    },
+    putObject(params, callback) {
+      return s3.putObject(params, wcb(callback));
+    }
+  };
+}
diff --git a/lib/node-pre-gyp.js b/lib/node-pre-gyp.js
index dc18e749..6c8a1534 100644
--- a/lib/node-pre-gyp.js
+++ b/lib/node-pre-gyp.js
@@ -10,18 +10,13 @@ module.exports = exports;
  * Module dependencies.
  */
 
-// load mocking control function for accessing s3 via https. the function is a noop always returning
-// false if not mocking.
-exports.mockS3Http = require('./util/s3_setup').get_mockS3Http();
-exports.mockS3Http('on');
-const mocking = exports.mockS3Http('get');
-
-
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const nopt = require('nopt');
 const log = require('npmlog');
-log.disableProgress();
+log.disableProgress(); // disable the display of a progress bar
+log.heading = 'node-pre-gyp'; // differentiate node-pre-gyp's logs from npm's
+
 const napi = require('./util/napi.js');
 
 const EE = require('events').EventEmitter;
@@ -43,12 +38,6 @@ const cli_commands = [
 ];
 const aliases = {};
 
-// differentiate node-pre-gyp's logs from npm's
-log.heading = 'node-pre-gyp';
-
-if (mocking) {
-  log.warn(`mocking s3 to ${process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3}`);
-}
 
 // this is a getter to avoid circular reference warnings with node v14.
 Object.defineProperty(exports, 'find', {
@@ -88,11 +77,8 @@ function Run({ package_json_path = './package.json', argv }) {
   });
 
   this.parseArgv(argv);
-
-  // this is set to true after the binary.host property was set to
-  // either staging_host or production_host.
-  this.binaryHostSet = false;
 }
+
 inherits(Run, EE);
 exports.Run = Run;
 const proto = Run.prototype;
@@ -216,67 +202,6 @@ proto.parseArgv = function parseOpts(argv) {
   log.resume();
 };
 
-/**
- * allow the binary.host property to be set at execution time.
- *
- * for this to take effect requires all the following to be true.
- * - binary is a property in package.json
- * - binary.host is falsey
- * - binary.staging_host is not empty
- * - binary.production_host is not empty
- *
- * if any of the previous checks fail then the function returns an empty string
- * and makes no changes to package.json's binary property.
- *
- *
- * if command is "publish" then the default is set to "binary.staging_host"
- * if command is not "publish" the the default is set to "binary.production_host"
- *
- * if the command-line option '--s3_host' is set to "staging" or "production" then
- * "binary.host" is set to the specified "staging_host" or "production_host". if
- * '--s3_host' is any other value an exception is thrown.
- *
- * if '--s3_host' is not present then "binary.host" is set to the default as above.
- *
- * this strategy was chosen so that any command other than "publish" or "unpublish" uses "production"
- * as the default without requiring any command-line options but that "publish" and "unpublish" require
- * '--s3_host production_host' to be specified in order to *really* publish (or unpublish). publishing
- * to staging can be done freely without worrying about disturbing any production releases.
- */
-proto.setBinaryHostProperty = function(command) {
-  if (this.binaryHostSet) {
-    return this.package_json.binary.host;
-  }
-  const p = this.package_json;
-  // don't set anything if host is present. it must be left blank to trigger this.
-  if (!p || !p.binary || p.binary.host) {
-    return '';
-  }
-  // and both staging and production must be present. errors will be reported later.
-  if (!p.binary.staging_host || !p.binary.production_host) {
-    return '';
-  }
-  let target = 'production_host';
-  if (command === 'publish' || command === 'unpublish') {
-    target = 'staging_host';
-  }
-  // the environment variable has priority over the default or the command line. if
-  // either the env var or the command line option are invalid throw an error.
-  const npg_s3_host = process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host;
-  if (npg_s3_host === 'staging' || npg_s3_host === 'production') {
-    target = `${npg_s3_host}_host`;
-  } else if (this.opts['s3_host'] === 'staging' || this.opts['s3_host'] === 'production') {
-    target = `${this.opts['s3_host']}_host`;
-  } else if (this.opts['s3_host'] || npg_s3_host) {
-    throw new Error(`invalid s3_host ${this.opts['s3_host'] || npg_s3_host}`);
-  }
-
-  p.binary.host = p.binary[target];
-  this.binaryHostSet = true;
-
-  return p.binary.host;
-};
-
 /**
  * Returns the usage instructions for node-pre-gyp.
  */
diff --git a/lib/pre-binding.js b/lib/pre-binding.js
index e110fe38..9fd4407f 100644
--- a/lib/pre-binding.js
+++ b/lib/pre-binding.js
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ exports.find = function(package_json_path, opts) {
     throw new Error(package_json_path + 'does not exist');
   }
   const prog = new npg.Run({ package_json_path, argv: process.argv });
-  prog.setBinaryHostProperty();
   const package_json = prog.package_json;
 
   versioning.validate_config(package_json, opts);
diff --git a/lib/util/s3_setup.js b/lib/util/s3_setup.js
index 52839e3b..0095cd34 100644
--- a/lib/util/s3_setup.js
+++ b/lib/util/s3_setup.js
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@
 module.exports = exports;
 
 const url = require('url');
-const fs = require('fs');
-const path = require('path');
 
 module.exports.detect = function(opts) {
   const config = {};
@@ -60,40 +58,11 @@ module.exports.detect = function(opts) {
 };
 
 module.exports.get_s3 = function(config) {
-
+  // setting an environment variable: node_pre_gyp_mock_s3 to any value
+  // enables intercepting outgoing http requests to s3 (using nock) and
+  // serving them from a mocked S3 file system (using mock-aws-s3)
   if (process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3) {
-    // here we're mocking. node_pre_gyp_mock_s3 is the scratch directory
-    // for the mock code.
-    const AWSMock = require('mock-aws-s3');
-    const os = require('os');
-
-    AWSMock.config.basePath = `${os.tmpdir()}/mock`;
-
-    const s3 = AWSMock.S3();
-
-    // wrapped callback maker. fs calls return code of ENOENT but AWS.S3 returns
-    // NotFound.
-    const wcb = (fn) => (err, ...args) => {
-      if (err && err.code === 'ENOENT') {
-        err.code = 'NotFound';
-      }
-      return fn(err, ...args);
-    };
-
-    return {
-      listObjects(params, callback) {
-        return s3.listObjects(params, wcb(callback));
-      },
-      headObject(params, callback) {
-        return s3.headObject(params, wcb(callback));
-      },
-      deleteObject(params, callback) {
-        return s3.deleteObject(params, wcb(callback));
-      },
-      putObject(params, callback) {
-        return s3.putObject(params, wcb(callback));
-      }
-    };
+    return require('../mock/s3')();
   }
 
   // if not mocking then setup real s3.
@@ -117,71 +86,4 @@ module.exports.get_s3 = function(config) {
       return s3.putObject(params, callback);
     }
   };
-
-
-
 };
-
-//
-// function to get the mocking control function. if not mocking it returns a no-op.
-//
-// if mocking it sets up the mock http interceptors that use the mocked s3 file system
-// to fulfill responses.
-module.exports.get_mockS3Http = function() {
-  let mock_s3 = false;
-  if (!process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3) {
-    return () => mock_s3;
-  }
-
-  const nock = require('nock');
-  // the bucket used for testing, as addressed by https.
-  const host = 'https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com';
-  const mockDir = process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3 + '/mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket';
-
-  // function to setup interceptors. they are "turned off" by setting mock_s3 to false.
-  const mock_http = () => {
-    // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
-    function get(uri, requestBody) {
-      const filepath = path.join(mockDir, uri.replace('%2B', '+'));
-
-      try {
-        fs.accessSync(filepath, fs.constants.R_OK);
-      } catch (e) {
-        return [404, 'not found\n'];
-      }
-
-      // the mock s3 functions just write to disk, so just read from it.
-      return [200, fs.createReadStream(filepath)];
-    }
-
-    // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
-    return nock(host)
-      .persist()
-      .get(() => mock_s3) // mock any uri for s3 when true
-      .reply(get);
-  };
-
-  // setup interceptors. they check the mock_s3 flag to determine whether to intercept.
-  mock_http(nock, host, mockDir);
-  // function to turn matching all requests to s3 on/off.
-  const mockS3Http = (action) => {
-    const previous = mock_s3;
-    if (action === 'off') {
-      mock_s3 = false;
-    } else if (action === 'on') {
-      mock_s3 = true;
-    } else if (action !== 'get') {
-      throw new Error(`illegal action for setMockHttp ${action}`);
-    }
-    return previous;
-  };
-
-  // call mockS3Http with the argument
-  // - 'on' - turn it on
-  // - 'off' - turn it off (used by fetch.test.js so it doesn't interfere with redirects)
-  // - 'get' - return true or false for 'on' or 'off'
-  return mockS3Http;
-};
-
-
-
diff --git a/lib/util/versioning.js b/lib/util/versioning.js
index 70c3f85a..ad3048ce 100644
--- a/lib/util/versioning.js
+++ b/lib/util/versioning.js
@@ -186,12 +186,6 @@ function get_runtime_abi(runtime, target_version) {
 }
 module.exports.get_runtime_abi = get_runtime_abi;
 
-const required_parameters = [
-  'module_name',
-  'module_path',
-  'host'
-];
-
 function validate_config(package_json, opts) {
   const msg = package_json.name + ' package.json is not node-pre-gyp ready:\n';
   const missing = [];
@@ -207,25 +201,33 @@ function validate_config(package_json, opts) {
   if (!package_json.binary) {
     missing.push('binary');
   }
-  const o = package_json.binary;
-  if (o) {
-    required_parameters.forEach((p) => {
-      if (!o[p] || typeof o[p] !== 'string') {
-        missing.push('binary.' + p);
-      }
-    });
+
+  if (package_json.binary) {
+    if (!package_json.binary.module_name) {
+      missing.push('binary.module_name');
+    }
+    if (!package_json.binary.module_path) {
+      missing.push('binary.module_path');
+    }
+    if (!package_json.binary.host && !package_json.binary.production_host) {
+      missing.push('binary.host');
+    }
   }
 
   if (missing.length >= 1) {
     throw new Error(msg + 'package.json must declare these properties: \n' + missing.join('\n'));
   }
-  if (o) {
-    // enforce https over http
-    const protocol = url.parse(o.host).protocol;
-    if (protocol === 'http:') {
-      throw new Error("'host' protocol (" + protocol + ") is invalid - only 'https:' is accepted");
-    }
+
+  if (package_json.binary) {
+    // for all possible host definitions - verify https usage
+    ['host', 'production_host', 'staging_host', 'development_host'].filter((item) => package_json.binary[item]).forEach((item) => {
+      const protocol = url.parse(package_json.binary[item]).protocol;
+      if (protocol === 'http:') {
+        throw new Error(msg + "'" + item + "' protocol (" + protocol + ") is invalid - only 'https:' is accepted");
+      }
+    });
   }
+
   napi.validate_package_json(package_json, opts);
 }
 
@@ -309,11 +311,46 @@ module.exports.evaluate = function(package_json, options, napi_build_version) {
     region: package_json.binary.region,
     s3ForcePathStyle: package_json.binary.s3ForcePathStyle || false
   };
-    // support host mirror with npm config `--{module_name}_binary_host_mirror`
-    // e.g.: https://github.com/node-inspector/v8-profiler/blob/master/package.json#L25
-    // > npm install v8-profiler --profiler_binary_host_mirror=https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/node-inspector/
+
+  // user can define a target host key to use (development_host, staging_host, production_host)
+  // by  setting the name of the host (development, staging, production)
+  // into an environment variable or via a command line option.
+  // the environment variable has priority over the the command line.
+  let targetHost = process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host || options.s3_host;
+
+  // if value is not one of the allowed or the matching key is not found in package.json
+  // silently ignore the option
+  if (['production', 'staging', 'development'].indexOf(targetHost) === -1 || !package_json.binary[`${targetHost}_host`]) {
+    targetHost = '';
+  }
+
+  // the production host is as specified in 'host' key (default)
+  // unless there is none and alias production_host is specified (backwards compatibility)
+  // note: package.json is verified in validate_config to include at least one of the two.
+  let host = package_json.binary.host ||  package_json.binary.production_host;
+
+  // when a valid target is specified by user, the host is from that target (or 'host')
+  if (targetHost === 'staging') {
+    host = package_json.binary.staging_host;
+  } else if (targetHost === 'development') {
+    host = package_json.binary.development_host;
+  } else if (!targetHost && (package_json.binary.development_host || package_json.binary.staging_host)) {
+    // when host not specifically set via command line or environment variable
+    // but staging and/or development host are present in package.json
+    // for any command (or command chain) that includes publish or unpublish
+    // default to lower host (development, and if not preset, staging).
+    if (options.argv && options.argv.remain.some((item) => (item === 'publish' || item === 'unpublish'))) {
+      host = package_json.binary.development_host || package_json.binary.staging_host;
+    }
+  }
+
+  // support host mirror with npm config `--{module_name}_binary_host_mirror`
+  // e.g.: https://github.com/node-inspector/v8-profiler/blob/master/package.json#L25
+  // > npm install v8-profiler --profiler_binary_host_mirror=https://npm.taobao.org/mirrors/node-inspector/
   const validModuleName = opts.module_name.replace('-', '_');
-  const host = process.env['npm_config_' + validModuleName + '_binary_host_mirror'] || package_json.binary.host;
+  // explicitly set mirror overrides everything set above
+  host = process.env['npm_config_' + validModuleName + '_binary_host_mirror'] || host;
+
   opts.host = fix_slashes(eval_template(host, opts));
   opts.module_path = eval_template(package_json.binary.module_path, opts);
   // now we resolve the module_path to ensure it is absolute so that binding.gyp variables work predictably
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index af25cf10..86c958cc 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@
     "lint": "eslint bin/node-pre-gyp lib/*js lib/util/*js test/*js scripts/*js",
     "fix": "npm run lint -- --fix",
     "update-crosswalk": "node scripts/abi_crosswalk.js",
-    "test": "tape test/*test.js"
+    "test": "tape test/*test.js",
+    "test:s3": "tape test/s3.test.js",
+    "bucket": "node scripts/set-bucket.js"
   }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/set-bucket.js b/scripts/set-bucket.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..894d77b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/set-bucket.js
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+'use strict';
+
+// script changes the bucket name set in package.json of the test apps.
+
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+
+// http mock (lib/mock/http.js) sets 'npg-mock-bucket' as default bucket name.
+// when providing no bucket name as argument, script will set
+// all apps back to default mock settings.
+const bucket = process.argv[2] || 'npg-mock-bucket';
+
+const root = '../test';
+const rootPath = path.resolve(__dirname, root);
+const dirs = fs.readdirSync(rootPath).filter((fileorDir) => fs.lstatSync(path.resolve(rootPath, fileorDir)).isDirectory());
+
+dirs.forEach((dir) => {
+  const pkg = require(`${root}/${dir}/package.json`); // relative path
+
+  // bucket specified as part of s3 virtual host format (auto detected by node-pre-gyp)
+  const keys = ['host', 'staging_host', 'production_host'];
+  keys.forEach((item) => {
+    if (pkg.binary[item]) {
+
+      // match the bucket part of the url
+      const match = pkg.binary[item].match(/^https:\/\/(.+)(?:\.s3[-.].*)$/i);
+      if (match) {
+        pkg.binary[item] = pkg.binary[item].replace(match[1], bucket);
+        console.log(`Success: set ${dir} ${item} to ${pkg.binary[item]}`);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+  // bucket is specified explicitly
+  if (pkg.binary.bucket) {
+    pkg.binary.bucket = bucket;
+    console.log(`Set ${dir} bucket to ${pkg.binary.bucket}`);
+  }
+
+  // make sure bucket name is set in the package (somewhere) else this is an obvious error.
+  // most likely due to manual editing of the json resulting in unusable format
+  const str = JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 4);
+  if (str.indexOf(bucket) !== -1) {
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(path.resolve(rootPath, dir), 'package.json'), str + '\n');
+  } else {
+    throw new Error(`Error: could not set ${dir}. Manually check package.json`);
+  }
+});
diff --git a/scripts/switch-s3-hosts.js b/scripts/switch-s3-hosts.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 3dd25bbf..00000000
--- a/scripts/switch-s3-hosts.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-'use strict';
-
-//
-// utility to switch s3 targets for local testing. if the s3 buckets are left
-// pointing to the mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket and you don't have
-// write permissions to those buckets then the tests will fail. switching the
-// target allows the tests to be run locally (even though the CI tests will fail
-// if you are not a collaborator to the mapbox/node-pre-gyp repository).
-//
-// this replaces the mapbox-specific s3 URLs with an URL pointing to an S3
-// bucket which can be written to. each person using this will need to supply
-// their own `toLocal.target` and `toMapbox.source` values that refer to their
-// s3 buckets (and set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
-// appropriately).
-//
-// reset to the mapbox settings before committing.
-//
-
-const fs = require('fs');
-const walk = require('action-walk'); // eslint-disable-line node/no-missing-require
-
-const [maj, min] = process.versions.node.split('.');
-if (`${maj}.${min}` < 10.1) {
-  console.error('requires node >= 10.1 for fs.promises');
-  process.exit(1);
-}
-if (process.argv[2] !== 'toLocal' && process.argv[2] !== 'toMapbox') {
-  console.error('argument must be toLocal or toMapbox, not', process.argv[2]);
-  process.exit(1);
-}
-
-const direction = {
-  toLocal: {
-    source: /mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket/g,
-    target: 'bmac-pre-gyp-test'
-  },
-  toMapbox: {
-    source: /bmac-pre-gyp-test/g,
-    target: 'mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket'
-  }
-};
-
-const repl = direction[process.argv[2]];
-
-console.log('replacing:');
-console.log('   ', repl.source);
-console.log('with:');
-console.log('   ', repl.target);
-
-
-function dirAction(path) {
-  if (path.startsWith('./node_modules/')) {
-    return 'skip';
-  }
-}
-
-function fileAction(path) {
-  if (path.endsWith('/package.json') || path.endsWith('/fetch.test.js') || path.endsWith('/lib/util/s3_setup.js')) {
-    const file = fs.readFileSync(path, 'utf8');
-    const changed = file.replace(repl.source, repl.target);
-    if (file !== changed) {
-      console.log('replacing in:', path);
-      // eslint-disable-next-line node/no-unsupported-features/node-builtins
-      return fs.promises.writeFile(path, changed);
-    } else {
-      console.log('target not found in:', path);
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-const options = {
-  dirAction,
-  fileAction
-};
-
-walk('.', options);
diff --git a/scripts/test-node-webkit.sh b/scripts/test-node-webkit.sh
index ac81ff79..8bf555bd 100755
--- a/scripts/test-node-webkit.sh
+++ b/scripts/test-node-webkit.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
+nw_version=${1:-"0.50.2"}
+
 set -eu
 set -o pipefail
 
@@ -9,7 +11,7 @@ export PATH=`pwd`/bin:$PATH
 
 BASE=$(pwd)
 
-export NODE_WEBKIT_VERSION="0.50.2"
+export NODE_WEBKIT_VERSION="${nw_version}"
 export NW_INSTALL_URL="https://dl.nwjs.io"
 
 if [[ `uname -s` == 'Darwin' ]]; then
diff --git a/test/app1.1/.gitignore b/test/app1.1/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f6a05031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+.DS_Store
+build/
+lib/binding/
+node_modules
+npm-debug.log
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/app1.1/README.md b/test/app1.1/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1210b152
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Test app
+
+Demonstrates a simple configuration that uses node-pre-gyp.
+Identical to app1 but using production and staging binary host option.
diff --git a/test/app1.1/app1.1.cc b/test/app1.1/app1.1.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4c8a8d87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/app1.1.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#include <napi.h>
+
+Napi::Value get_hello(Napi::CallbackInfo const& info) {
+  Napi::Env env = info.Env();
+  Napi::EscapableHandleScope scope(env);
+  return scope.Escape(Napi::String::New(env, "hello"));
+}
+
+Napi::Object start(Napi::Env env, Napi::Object exports) {
+    exports.Set("hello", Napi::Function::New(env, get_hello));
+    return exports;
+}
+
+NODE_API_MODULE(app1, start)
diff --git a/test/app1.1/binding.gyp b/test/app1.1/binding.gyp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..05ef4f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/binding.gyp
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+  "targets": [
+    {
+      "target_name": "<(module_name)",
+      "sources": [ "<(module_name).cc" ],
+      'product_dir': '<(module_path)',
+      'include_dirs': ["../../node_modules/node-addon-api/"],
+      'cflags!': [ '-fno-exceptions' ],
+      'cflags_cc!': [ '-fno-exceptions' ],
+      "xcode_settings": {
+        'GCC_ENABLE_CPP_EXCEPTIONS': 'YES',
+        "CLANG_CXX_LIBRARY": "libc++"
+      },
+      'msvs_settings': {
+        'VCCLCompilerTool': { 'ExceptionHandling': 1 },
+      }
+     }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/test/app1.1/index.js b/test/app1.1/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..084fc583
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+var binary = require('node-pre-gyp');
+var path = require('path')
+var binding_path = binary.find(path.resolve(path.join(__dirname,'./package.json')));
+var binding = require(binding_path);
+
+require('assert').equal(binding.hello(),"hello");
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/app1.1/package.json b/test/app1.1/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ddc9233b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.1/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{
+    "name": "node-pre-gyp-test-app1.1",
+    "author": "Dane Springmeyer <springmeyer>",
+    "description": "node-pre-gyp test",
+    "repository": {
+        "type": "git",
+        "url": "git://github.com/mapbox/node-pre-gyp.git"
+    },
+    "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
+    "version": "0.1.0",
+    "main": "./index.js",
+    "binary": {
+        "module_name": "app1.1",
+        "module_path": "./lib/binding/",
+        "staging_host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
+        "production_host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
+        "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{name}/v{version}/{configuration}/{toolset}/",
+        "package_name": "{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz"
+    },
+    "scripts": {
+        "install": "node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build",
+        "test": "node index.js"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test/app1.2/.gitignore b/test/app1.2/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f6a05031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+.DS_Store
+build/
+lib/binding/
+node_modules
+npm-debug.log
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/app1.2/README.md b/test/app1.2/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5cbf7616
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Test app
+
+Demonstrates a simple configuration that uses node-pre-gyp.
+Identical to app1 but using explicit host, region, bucket options.
diff --git a/test/app1.2/app1.2.cc b/test/app1.2/app1.2.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4c8a8d87
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/app1.2.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#include <napi.h>
+
+Napi::Value get_hello(Napi::CallbackInfo const& info) {
+  Napi::Env env = info.Env();
+  Napi::EscapableHandleScope scope(env);
+  return scope.Escape(Napi::String::New(env, "hello"));
+}
+
+Napi::Object start(Napi::Env env, Napi::Object exports) {
+    exports.Set("hello", Napi::Function::New(env, get_hello));
+    return exports;
+}
+
+NODE_API_MODULE(app1, start)
diff --git a/test/app1.2/binding.gyp b/test/app1.2/binding.gyp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..05ef4f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/binding.gyp
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+  "targets": [
+    {
+      "target_name": "<(module_name)",
+      "sources": [ "<(module_name).cc" ],
+      'product_dir': '<(module_path)',
+      'include_dirs': ["../../node_modules/node-addon-api/"],
+      'cflags!': [ '-fno-exceptions' ],
+      'cflags_cc!': [ '-fno-exceptions' ],
+      "xcode_settings": {
+        'GCC_ENABLE_CPP_EXCEPTIONS': 'YES',
+        "CLANG_CXX_LIBRARY": "libc++"
+      },
+      'msvs_settings': {
+        'VCCLCompilerTool': { 'ExceptionHandling': 1 },
+      }
+     }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/test/app1.2/index.js b/test/app1.2/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..084fc583
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+var binary = require('node-pre-gyp');
+var path = require('path')
+var binding_path = binary.find(path.resolve(path.join(__dirname,'./package.json')));
+var binding = require(binding_path);
+
+require('assert').equal(binding.hello(),"hello");
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/app1.2/package.json b/test/app1.2/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eac6c266
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/app1.2/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+{
+    "name": "node-pre-gyp-test-app1.2",
+    "author": "Dane Springmeyer <springmeyer>",
+    "description": "node-pre-gyp test",
+    "repository": {
+        "type": "git",
+        "url": "git://github.com/mapbox/node-pre-gyp.git"
+    },
+    "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
+    "version": "0.1.0",
+    "main": "./index.js",
+    "binary": {
+        "module_name": "app1.2",
+        "module_path": "./lib/binding/",
+        "host": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
+        "bucket": "npg-mock-bucket",
+        "region": "us-east-1",
+        "s3ForcePathStyle": true,
+        "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{name}/v{version}/{configuration}/{toolset}/",
+        "package_name": "{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz"
+    },
+    "scripts": {
+        "install": "node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build",
+        "test": "node index.js"
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test/app1/package.json b/test/app1/package.json
index 3cc13212..c1b5bf79 100644
--- a/test/app1/package.json
+++ b/test/app1/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     "binary": {
         "module_name": "app1",
         "module_path": "./lib/binding/",
-        "host": "https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
+        "host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
         "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{name}/v{version}/{configuration}/{toolset}/",
         "package_name": "{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz"
     },
diff --git a/test/app2/package.json b/test/app2/package.json
index d86e49a6..edfc6dbc 100644
--- a/test/app2/package.json
+++ b/test/app2/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
         "module_path": "./lib/binding/{configuration}/{name}",
         "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{name}/v{version}/{configuration}/{version}/{toolset}/",
         "package_name": "{module_name}-v{major}.{minor}.{patch}-{prerelease}+{build}-{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz",
-        "host": "https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
+        "host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
     },
     "scripts": {
         "install": "node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build",
diff --git a/test/app3/package.json b/test/app3/package.json
index faf15dae..c0d1c4a0 100644
--- a/test/app3/package.json
+++ b/test/app3/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
         "module_path": "./lib/binding/{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}",
         "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{module_name}/v{version}",
         "package_name": "{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz",
-        "host": "https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
+        "host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
     },
     "scripts": {
         "install": "node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build",
diff --git a/test/app4/package.json b/test/app4/package.json
index 388fa4e8..998eb423 100644
--- a/test/app4/package.json
+++ b/test/app4/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
         "module_path": "./lib/binding/{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}",
         "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{module_name}/v{version}",
         "package_name": "{node_abi}-{platform}-{arch}.tar.gz",
-        "host": "https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
+        "host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
     },
     "scripts": {
         "install": "node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build",
diff --git a/test/app7/package.json b/test/app7/package.json
index 27e30b31..ba8e7b00 100644
--- a/test/app7/package.json
+++ b/test/app7/package.json
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
         "module_path": "./lib/binding/napi-v{napi_build_version}",
         "remote_path": "./node-pre-gyp/{module_name}/v{version}/{configuration}/",
         "package_name": "{module_name}-v{version}-{platform}-{arch}-napi-v{napi_build_version}-node-{node_abi}.tar.gz",
-        "host": "https://mapbox-node-pre-gyp-public-testing-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
+        "host": "https://npg-mock-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
         "napi_versions": [
             1,
             2
diff --git a/test/run.test.js b/test/run.test.js
index c45e900f..e121df47 100644
--- a/test/run.test.js
+++ b/test/run.test.js
@@ -28,10 +28,6 @@ const package_json_template = {
   }
 };
 
-
-const all_commands = ['build', 'clean', 'configure', 'info', 'install', 'package', 'publish', 'rebuild',
-  'reinstall', 'reveal', 'testbinary', 'testpackage', 'unpublish'];
-
 /**
  * before testing create a scratch directory to run tests in.
  */
@@ -67,82 +63,6 @@ test.onFinish(() => {
   rimraf(scratch).then(() => undefined, () => undefined);
 });
 
-test('should set staging and production hosts', (t) => {
-  // make sure it's good when specifying host.
-  const mock_package_json = makePackageJson();
-
-  let { prog } = setupTest(dir, mock_package_json);
-  t.deepEqual(prog.package_json, mock_package_json);
-  t.equal(prog.binaryHostSet, false, 'binary host should not be flagged as set');
-
-  // test with no s3_host option
-  all_commands.forEach((cmd) => {
-    const mpj = clone(mock_package_json);
-    mpj.binary.host = '';
-    const opts = { argv: [cmd] };
-    ({ prog } = setupTest(dir, mpj, opts));
-    mpj.binary.host = (cmd === 'publish' || cmd === 'unpublish') ? mpj.binary.staging_host : mpj.binary.production_host;
-    t.deepEqual(prog.package_json, mpj, 'host should be correct for command: ' + cmd);
-    t.equal(prog.binaryHostSet, true, 'binary host should be flagged as set');
-  });
-
-  // test with s3_host set to staging
-  all_commands.forEach((cmd) => {
-    const mpj = clone(mock_package_json);
-    mpj.binary.host = '';
-    const opts = { argv: [cmd, '--s3_host=staging'] };
-    ({ prog } = setupTest(dir, mpj, opts));
-    mpj.binary.host = mpj.binary.staging_host;
-    t.deepEqual(prog.package_json, mpj, 'host should be correct for command: ' + cmd);
-    t.equal(prog.binaryHostSet, true, 'binary host should be flagged as set');
-  });
-
-  // test with s3_host set to production
-  all_commands.forEach((cmd) => {
-    const mpj = clone(mock_package_json);
-    mpj.binary.host = '';
-    const opts = { argv: [cmd, '--s3_host=production'] };
-    ({ prog } = setupTest(dir, mpj, opts));
-    mpj.binary.host = mpj.binary.production_host;
-    t.deepEqual(prog.package_json, mpj, 'host should be correct for command: ' + cmd);
-    t.equal(prog.binaryHostSet, true, 'binary host should be flagged as set');
-  });
-
-  t.end();
-});
-
-test('should execute setBinaryHostProperty() properly', (t) => {
-  // it only --s3_host only takes effect if host is falsey.
-  const mock_package_json = makePackageJson({ binary: { host: '' } });
-
-  const opts = { argv: ['publish', '--s3_host=staging'] };
-
-  let { prog, binaryHost } = setupTest(dir, mock_package_json, opts);
-  t.equal(binaryHost, mock_package_json.binary.staging_host);
-
-  // set it again to verify that it returns the already set value
-  binaryHost = prog.setBinaryHostProperty('publish');
-  t.equal(binaryHost, mock_package_json.binary.staging_host);
-
-  // now do this again but expect an empty binary host value because
-  // staging_host is missing.
-  const mpj = clone(mock_package_json);
-  delete mpj.binary.staging_host;
-  ({ prog, binaryHost } = setupTest(dir, mpj, opts));
-  t.equal(binaryHost, '');
-
-  // one more time but with an invalid value for s3_host
-  opts.argv = ['publish', '--s3_host=bad-news'];
-  try {
-    ({ prog, binaryHost } = setupTest(dir, mock_package_json, opts));
-    t.fail('should throw with --s3_host=bad-news');
-  } catch (e) {
-    t.equal(e.message, 'invalid s3_host bad-news');
-  }
-
-  t.end();
-});
-
 test('verify that the --directory option works', (t) => {
   const initial = process.cwd();
 
@@ -223,6 +143,10 @@ test('verify that a non-existent package.json fails', (t) => {
 // test helpers.
 //
 
+// helper to clone mock package.json.
+// // https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4459928/how-to-deep-clone-in-javascript
+const clone = (obj) => JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(obj));
+
 function makePackageJson(options = {}) {
   const package_json = clone(package_json_template);
   // override binary values if supplied
@@ -233,60 +157,3 @@ function makePackageJson(options = {}) {
   }
   return package_json;
 }
-
-// helper to write package.json to disk so Run() can be instantiated with it.
-function setupTest(directory, package_json, opts) {
-  opts = opts || {};
-  let argv = ['node', 'program'];
-  if (opts.argv) {
-    argv = argv.concat(opts.argv);
-  }
-  const prev_dir = process.cwd();
-  if (!opts.noChdir) {
-    try {
-      fs.mkdirSync(directory);
-    } catch (e) {
-      if (e.code !== 'EEXIST') {
-        throw e;
-      }
-    }
-    process.chdir(directory);
-  }
-
-  try {
-    fs.writeFileSync('package.json', JSON.stringify(package_json));
-    const prog = new npg.Run({ package_json_path: './package.json', argv });
-    const binaryHost = prog.setBinaryHostProperty(prog.todo[0] && prog.todo[0].name);
-    return { prog, binaryHost };
-  } finally {
-    process.chdir(prev_dir);
-  }
-}
-
-// helper to clone mock package.json. it's overkill for existing tests
-// but is future-proof.
-// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4459928/how-to-deep-clone-in-javascript
-function clone(obj, hash = new WeakMap()) {
-  if (Object(obj) !== obj) return obj;      // primitives
-  if (hash.has(obj)) return hash.get(obj);  // cyclic reference
-  let result;
-
-  if (obj instanceof Set) {
-    result = new Set(obj);                  // treat set as a value
-  } else if (obj instanceof Map) {
-    result = new Map(Array.from(obj, ([key, val]) => [key, clone(val, hash)]));
-  } else if (obj instanceof Date) {
-    result = new Date(obj);
-  } else if (obj instanceof RegExp) {
-    result = new RegExp(obj.source, obj.flags);
-  } else if (obj.constructor) {
-    result = new obj.constructor();
-  } else {
-    result = Object.create(null);
-  }
-  hash.set(obj, result);
-  return Object.assign(result, ...Object.keys(obj).map((key) => {
-    return { [key]: clone(obj[key], hash) };
-  }));
-}
-
diff --git a/test/s3.test.js b/test/s3.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..52123c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/s3.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+'use strict';
+
+const test = require('tape');
+const run = require('./run.util.js');
+const existsSync = require('fs').existsSync || require('path').existsSync;
+const fs = require('fs');
+const rm = require('rimraf');
+const path = require('path');
+const napi = require('../lib/util/napi.js');
+const versioning = require('../lib/util/versioning.js');
+
+const localVer = [versioning.get_runtime_abi('node'), process.platform, process.arch].join('-');
+const SOEXT = { 'darwin': 'dylib', 'linux': 'so', 'win32': 'dll' }[process.platform];
+
+// The list of different sample apps that we use to test
+// apps with . in name are variation of app with different binary hosting setting
+const apps = [
+  {
+    'name': 'app1',
+    'args': '',
+    'files': {
+      'base': ['binding/app1.node']
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app1.1',
+    'args': '',
+    'files': {
+      'base': ['binding/app1.1.node']
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app1.2',
+    'args': '',
+    'files': {
+      'base': ['binding/app1.2.node']
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app2',
+    'args': '--custom_include_path=../include --debug',
+    'files': {
+      'base': ['node-pre-gyp-test-app2/app2.node']
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app2',
+    'args': '--custom_include_path=../include --toolset=cpp11',
+    'files': {
+      'base': ['node-pre-gyp-test-app2/app2.node']
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app3',
+    'args': '',
+    'files': {
+      'base': [[localVer, 'app3.node'].join('/')]
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app4',
+    'args': '',
+    'files': {
+      'base': [[localVer, 'app4.node'].join('/'), [localVer, 'mylib.' + SOEXT].join('/')]
+    }
+  },
+  {
+    'name': 'app7',
+    'args': ''
+  }
+];
+
+
+// https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38599457/how-to-write-a-custom-assertion-for-testing-node-or-javascript-with-tape-or-che
+test.Test.prototype.stringContains = function(actual, contents, message) {
+  this._assert(actual.indexOf(contents) > -1, {
+    message: message || 'should contain ' + contents,
+    operator: 'stringContains',
+    actual: actual,
+    expected: contents
+  });
+};
+
+// Tests run for all apps
+
+apps.forEach((app) => {
+
+  if (app.name === 'app7' && !napi.get_napi_version()) return;
+
+  // clear out entire binding directory
+  // to ensure no stale builds. This is needed
+  // because "node-pre-gyp clean" only removes
+  // the current target and not alternative builds
+  test('cleanup of app', (t) => {
+    const binding_directory = path.join(__dirname, app.name, 'lib/binding');
+    if (fs.existsSync(binding_directory)) {
+      rm.sync(binding_directory);
+    }
+    t.end();
+  });
+
+  test(app.name + ' build ' + app.args, (t) => {
+    run('node-pre-gyp', 'rebuild', '--fallback-to-build', app, {}, (err, stdout, stderr) => {
+      t.ifError(err);
+      if (err) {
+        console.log(stdout);
+        console.log(stderr);
+      }
+      t.end();
+    });
+  });
+
+  test(app.name + ' package ' + app.args, (t) => {
+    run('node-pre-gyp', 'package', '', app, {}, (err) => {
+      t.ifError(err);
+      // Make sure a tarball was created
+      run('node-pre-gyp', 'reveal', 'staged_tarball --silent', app, {}, (err2, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err2);
+        let staged_tarball = stdout.trim();
+        if (staged_tarball.indexOf('\n') !== -1) { // take just the first line
+          staged_tarball = staged_tarball.substr(0, staged_tarball.indexOf('\n'));
+        }
+        const tarball_path = path.join(__dirname, app.name, staged_tarball);
+        t.ok(existsSync(tarball_path), 'staged tarball is a valid file');
+        if (!app.files) {
+          return t.end();
+        }
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  test(app.name + ' package is valid ' + app.args, (t) => {
+    run('node-pre-gyp', 'testpackage', '', app, {}, (err) => {
+      t.ifError(err);
+      t.end();
+    });
+  });
+
+  if (process.env.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID || process.env.node_pre_gyp_accessKeyId || process.env.node_pre_gyp_mock_s3) {
+
+    test(app.name + ' publishes ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      run('node-pre-gyp', 'unpublish publish', '', app, {}, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' info shows it ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      run('node-pre-gyp', 'reveal', 'package_name', app, {}, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        let package_name = stdout.trim();
+        if (package_name.indexOf('\n') !== -1) { // take just the first line
+          package_name = package_name.substr(0, package_name.indexOf('\n'));
+        }
+        run('node-pre-gyp', 'info', '', app, {}, (err2, stdout2) => {
+          t.ifError(err2);
+          t.stringContains(stdout2, package_name);
+          t.end();
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' can be uninstalled ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      run('node-pre-gyp', 'clean', '', app, {}, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' can be installed via remote ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      const opts = {
+        cwd: path.join(__dirname, app.name),
+        npg_debug: false
+      };
+      run('npm', 'install', '--fallback-to-build=false', app, opts, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' can be reinstalled via remote ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      const opts = {
+        cwd: path.join(__dirname, app.name),
+        npg_debug: false
+      };
+      run('npm', 'install', '--update-binary --fallback-to-build=false', app, opts, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' via remote passes tests ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      const opts = {
+        cwd: path.join(__dirname, app.name),
+        npg_debug: false
+      };
+      run('npm', 'install', '', app, opts, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+    test(app.name + ' unpublishes ' + app.args, (t) => {
+      run('node-pre-gyp', 'unpublish', '', app, {}, (err, stdout) => {
+        t.ifError(err);
+        t.notEqual(stdout, '');
+        t.end();
+      });
+    });
+
+  } else {
+    test.skip(app.name + ' publishes ' + app.args, () => {});
+  }
+
+  // note: the above test will result in a non-runnable binary, so the below test must succeed otherwise all following tests will fail
+
+  test(app.name + ' builds with custom --target ' + app.args, (t) => {
+    run('node-pre-gyp', 'rebuild', '--loglevel=error --fallback-to-build --target=' + process.versions.node, app, {}, (err) => {
+      t.ifError(err);
+      t.end();
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/test/versioning.test.js b/test/versioning.test.js
index c59344ee..48f491df 100644
--- a/test/versioning.test.js
+++ b/test/versioning.test.js
@@ -222,6 +222,107 @@ test('should verify that the binary property has required properties', (t) => {
   t.end();
 });
 
+test('should allow production_host to act as alias to host (when host not preset)', (t) => {
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    'name': 'test',
+    'main': 'test.js',
+    'version': '0.1.0',
+    'binary': {
+      'module_name': 'binary-module-name',
+      'module_path': 'binary-module-path',
+      'production_host': 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const package_json = Object.assign({}, mock_package_json);
+  const opts = versioning.evaluate(package_json, { module_root: '/root' });
+  t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host over production_host (when both are preset)', (t) => {
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    'name': 'test',
+    'main': 'test.js',
+    'version': '0.1.0',
+    'binary': {
+      'module_name': 'binary-module-name',
+      'module_path': 'binary-module-path',
+      'production_host': 's3-production-path',
+      'host': 'binary-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const package_json = Object.assign({}, mock_package_json);
+  const opts = versioning.evaluate(package_json, { module_root: '/root' });
+  t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should verify that the host url protocol is https', (t) => {
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    'name': 'test',
+    'main': 'test.js',
+    'version': '0.1.0',
+    'binary': {
+      'module_name': 'binary-module-name',
+      'module_path': 'binary-module-path',
+      'host': 'http://your_module.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const package_json = Object.assign({}, mock_package_json);
+
+  try {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(package_json, {});
+  } catch (e) {
+    // name won't be there if it's missing but both messages say 'undefined'
+    const msg = package_json.name + ' package.json is not node-pre-gyp ready:\n';
+    const expectedMessage = msg + '\'host\' protocol (http:) is invalid - only \'https:\' is accepted';
+    t.equal(e.message, expectedMessage);
+  }
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should verify that alternate hosts url protocol is https', (t) => {
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'https://your_module.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const hosts = ['production', 'staging', 'development'];
+  hosts.forEach((host) => {
+    const package_json = Object.assign({}, mock_package_json);
+    package_json[`${host}_host`] = `https://${host}_bucket.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com`;
+
+    try {
+      // eslint-disable-next-line no-unused-vars
+      const opts = versioning.evaluate(package_json, {});
+    } catch (e) {
+      // name won't be there if it's missing but both messages say 'undefined'
+      const msg = package_json.name + ' package.json is not node-pre-gyp ready:\n';
+      const expectedMessage = msg + `'${host}_host' protocol (http:) is invalid - only 'https:' is accepted`;
+      t.equal(e.message, expectedMessage);
+    }
+  });
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
 test('should not add bucket name to hosted_path when s3ForcePathStyle is false', (t) => {
   const mock_package_json = {
     'name': 'test',
@@ -266,7 +367,53 @@ test('should add bucket name to hosted_path when s3ForcePathStyle is true', (t)
   t.end();
 });
 
-test('should verify host overrides staging and production values', (t) => {
+test('should use host key by default for install, info, publish and unpublish commands (when no other hosts specified)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    try {
+      const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+      t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+    } catch (e) {
+      t.ifError(e, 'staging_host and production_host should be silently ignored');
+    }
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use production_host as alias for host for install and info commands (when host not preset)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
   const mock_package_json = {
     name: 'test',
     main: 'test.js',
@@ -274,25 +421,512 @@ test('should verify host overrides staging and production values', (t) => {
     binary: {
       module_name: 'binary-module-name',
       module_path: 'binary-module-path',
-      host: 'binary-path',
-      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
       production_host: 's3-production-path'
     }
   };
 
-  try {
-    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, { module_root: '/root' });
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host over production_host for install and info commands (when both are preset)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path',
+      host: 'binary-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
     t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
     t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
     t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/' + opts.package_name);
-  } catch (e) {
-    t.ifError(e, 'staging_host and production_host should be silently ignored');
-  }
 
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host by default for install and info commands (overriding alternate hosts, production_host not present)', (t) => {
+  const options = {
+    argv: {
+      remain: ['install', 'info'],
+      cooked: ['install', 'info'],
+      original: ['install', 'info']
+    }
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+
+  const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, options);
+  t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host by default for install and info commands (overriding alternate hosts, host is present)', (t) => {
+  const options = {
+    argv: {
+      remain: ['install', 'info'],
+      cooked: ['install', 'info'],
+      original: ['install', 'info']
+    }
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+
+  const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, options);
+  t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/');
+  t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use development_host key by default for publish and unpublish commands (when it is specified)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['publish', 'unpublish'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use staging_host key by default for publish and unpublish commands (when it is specified and no development_host)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['publish', 'unpublish'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.staging_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.staging_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.staging_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use development_host key by default for publish and unpublish commands in a chain (when it is specified)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: ['info', cmd],
+        cooked: ['info', cmd],
+        original: ['info', cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['publish', 'unpublish'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.development_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host specified by the --s3_host option', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd, host) => {
+    return {
+      s3_host: host,
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd, '--s3_host', host],
+        original: [cmd, `--s3_host=${host}`]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      // host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const hosts = ['production', 'staging', 'development'];
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    hosts.forEach((host) => {
+      const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd, host));
+      t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+    });
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use defaults when --s3_host option is invalid', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      s3_host: 'not-valid',
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd, '--s3_host', 'not-valid'],
+        original: [cmd, '--s3_host=not-valid']
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    const host = cmd.indexOf('publish') === -1 ? 'host' : 'development_host';
+
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host specified by the s3_host environment variable', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      // host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const hosts = ['production', 'staging', 'development'];
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    hosts.forEach((host) => {
+      process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host = host;
+      const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+      t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/');
+      t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[`${host}_host`] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+    });
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use defaults when s3_host environment variable is invalid', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host = 'not-valid';
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    const host = cmd.indexOf('publish') === -1 ? 'host' : 'development_host';
+
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use defaults when s3_host environment is valid but package.json does not match (production_host is default)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      // no development_host
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      // production_host not host
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host = 'development';  // specify development_host
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    const host = cmd.indexOf('publish') === -1 ? 'production_host' : 'staging_host'; // defaults
+
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use defaults when s3_host environment is valid but package.json does not match (host is default)', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd],
+        original: [cmd]
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      // host not production_host
+      host: 'binary-path',
+      // no development_host
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host = 'development';  // specify development_host
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    const host = cmd.indexOf('publish') === -1 ? 'host' : 'staging_host'; // defaults
+
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary[host] + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
+  t.end();
+});
+
+test('should use host specified by environment variable overriding --s3_host option', (t) => {
+  const makeOoptions = (cmd) => {
+    return {
+      s3_host: 'staging', // from command line
+      argv: {
+        remain: [cmd],
+        cooked: [cmd, '--s3_host', 'staging'],
+        original: [cmd, '--s3_host=staging']
+      }
+    };
+  };
+
+  const mock_package_json = {
+    name: 'test',
+    main: 'test.js',
+    version: '0.1.0',
+    binary: {
+      module_name: 'binary-module-name',
+      module_path: 'binary-module-path',
+      // host: 'binary-path',
+      development_host: 's3-development-path',
+      staging_host: 's3-staging-path',
+      production_host: 's3-production-path'
+    }
+  };
+
+
+  const cmds = ['install', 'info', 'publish', 'unpublish'];
+  cmds.forEach((cmd) => {
+    process.env.node_pre_gyp_s3_host = 'production';
+    const opts = versioning.evaluate(mock_package_json, makeOoptions(cmd));
+    t.equal(opts.host, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_path, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/');
+    t.equal(opts.hosted_tarball, mock_package_json.binary.production_host + '/' + opts.package_name);
+
+  });
   t.end();
 });
 
-test('should replace "-" with "_" in custom binary host', (t) => {
+test('should replace "-" with "_" in mirror binary host', (t) => {
   const mock_package_json = {
     name: 'test',
     main: 'test.js',