diff --git a/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/common.sh b/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/common.sh
index 49b790a5..689f66f4 100644
--- a/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/common.sh
+++ b/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/common.sh
@@ -28,3 +28,11 @@ indent() {
 cat_npm_debug_log() {
   test -f $build_dir/npm-debug.log && cat $build_dir/npm-debug.log
 }
+
+cp_keep_links() {
+  if [ "$(uname)" == "Darwin" ]; then
+    cp -p "$@"
+  else
+    cp --preserve=links "$@"
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/compile b/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/compile
index 9b40dcc3..a364caba 100755
--- a/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/compile
+++ b/buildpack/buildpacks/node/bin/compile
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ if test -d $build_dir/node_modules; then
   npm rebuild 2>&1 | indent
 elif test -d $cache_dir/node/node_modules; then
   status "Restoring node_modules directory from cache"
-  cp -r $cache_dir/node/node_modules $build_dir/
+  cp_keep_links -R $cache_dir/node/node_modules $build_dir/
 
   status "Pruning cached dependencies not specified in package.json"
   npm prune 2>&1 | indent
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ mkdir -p $cache_dir/node
 # If app has a node_modules directory, cache it.
 if test -d $build_dir/node_modules; then
   status "Caching node_modules directory for future builds"
-  cp -r $build_dir/node_modules $cache_dir/node
+  cp_keep_links -R $build_dir/node_modules $cache_dir/node
 fi
 
 # Copy goodies to the cache