diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 59d0a86634dd2..0e0d47e205f44 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -167,6 +167,16 @@ jobs:
       - e2e-test:
           test_path: e2e-tests/production-runtime
 
+  starters_validate:
+    executor: node
+    steps:
+      - checkout
+      - run: ./scripts/assert-changed-files.sh "starters/*|.circleci/*"
+      - <<: *restore_cache
+      - <<: *install_node_modules
+      - <<: *persist_cache
+      - run: sh ./scripts/clone-and-validate.sh starters false
+
   starters_publish:
     executor: node
     steps:
@@ -210,6 +220,8 @@ workflows:
           <<: *e2e-test-workflow
       - e2e_tests_production_runtime:
           <<: *e2e-test-workflow
+      - starters_validate:
+          <<: *ignore_master
       - starters_publish:
           filters:
             branches:
diff --git a/scripts/clone-folder.sh b/scripts/clone-and-validate.sh
similarity index 58%
rename from scripts/clone-folder.sh
rename to scripts/clone-and-validate.sh
index 21e8fa52a7a30..7280ddc731ccd 100755
--- a/scripts/clone-folder.sh
+++ b/scripts/clone-and-validate.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 FOLDER=$1
+CLONE=$2
+IS_CI="${CI:-false}"
 BASE=$(pwd)
 COMMIT_MESSAGE=$(git log -1 --pretty=%B)
 
+if [ "$IS_CI" = true ]; then
+  sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install jq
+fi
+
 for folder in $FOLDER/*; do
   [ -d "$folder" ] || continue # only directories
   cd $BASE
@@ -15,10 +21,22 @@ for folder in $FOLDER/*; do
   git clone --depth 1 https://$GITHUB_API_TOKEN@github.com/gatsbyjs/$NAME.git $CLONE_DIR
   cd $CLONE_DIR
   find . | grep -v ".git" | grep -v "^\.*$" | xargs rm -rf # delete all files (to handle deletions in monorepo)
-  cp -r $BASE/$folder/. . # copy all content
-  git add .
-  git commit --message "$COMMIT_MESSAGE"
-  git push origin master
+  cp -r $BASE/$folder/. .
+  
+  # validate
+  npm audit
+  npm install
+  npm run build
+
+  # sync to read-only clones
+  if [ "$CLONE" != false ]; then
+    rm -rf yarn.lock
+    yarn import # generate a new yarn.lock file based on package-lock.json
+
+    git add .
+    git commit --message "$COMMIT_MESSAGE"
+    git push origin master
+  fi
 
   cd $BASE
 done