diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c0a0bee55..744510014 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ verify-kustomize: \
 	install-tools \
 	lint-kustomize \
 	test-unit-kustomize-all \
-	test-unit-cmd-all \
+	test-unit-non-plugin \
 	test-go-mod \
 	test-examples-kustomize-against-HEAD \
 	test-examples-kustomize-against-v4-release
@@ -130,6 +130,10 @@ lint-kustomize: $(MYGOBIN)/golangci-lint-kustomize $(builtinplugins)
 test-unit-all: $(builtinplugins)
 	./hack/for-each-module.sh "make test"
 
+.PHONY: test-unit-non-plugin
+test-unit-non-plugin:
+	./hack/for-each-module.sh "make test" "./plugin/*" 15
+
 .PHONY: test-unit-kustomize-api
 test-unit-kustomize-api: build-kustomize-api
 	cd api; go test ./...  -ldflags "-X sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api/provenance.version=v444.333.222"
@@ -149,7 +153,7 @@ test-unit-kustomize-all: \
 	test-unit-kustomize-cli \
 	test-unit-kustomize-plugins
 
-test-unit-cmd-all:
+test-unit-kyaml-all:
 	./hack/kyaml-pre-commit.sh
 
 test-go-mod:
diff --git a/Makefile-modules.mk b/Makefile-modules.mk
index f8715c616..8eda2efc4 100644
--- a/Makefile-modules.mk
+++ b/Makefile-modules.mk
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+# Copyright 2022 The Kubernetes Authors.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
 MYGOBIN = $(shell go env GOBIN)
 ifeq ($(MYGOBIN),)
 MYGOBIN = $(shell go env GOPATH)/bin
diff --git a/api/Makefile b/api/Makefile
deleted file mode 120000
index d2f92ca51..000000000
--- a/api/Makefile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-../Makefile-modules.mk
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/api/Makefile b/api/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..05a1c2d83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/api/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# Copyright 2022 The Kubernetes Authors.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+include ../Makefile-modules.mk
+
+test:
+	go test -v -timeout 45m -cover ./... -ldflags "-X sigs.k8s.io/kustomize/api/provenance.version=v444.333.222"
diff --git a/hack/for-each-module.sh b/hack/for-each-module.sh
index e1b975615..08989ee31 100755
--- a/hack/for-each-module.sh
+++ b/hack/for-each-module.sh
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ if [[ -z "${1-}" ]] ; then
 fi
 
 cmd=$1
+skip_pattern="${2-}"
+expected_module_count=${3:-44}
 
 seen=()
 # Hack scripts must be run from the root of the repository.
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ KUSTOMIZE_ROOT=$(pwd)
 export KUSTOMIZE_ROOT
 
 # verify all modules pass validation
-for i in $(find . -name go.mod -not -path "./site/*"); do
+for i in $(find . -name go.mod -not -path "./site/*" -not -path "$skip_pattern"); do
   pushd .
   cd $(dirname $i);
 
@@ -43,9 +45,8 @@ echo -e "\n\n----------------------------------------------------------"
 echo -e "SUCCESS: Ran '$cmd' on the following modules:"
 printf "  - %s\n" "${seen[@]}"
 
-EXPECTED_MODULE_COUNT=44
-if [[ "${#seen[@]}" -ne $EXPECTED_MODULE_COUNT ]]; then
+if [[ "${#seen[@]}" -ne $expected_module_count ]]; then
   echo
-  echo "SANITY CHECK FAILURE: Expected to see $EXPECTED_MODULE_COUNT modules, but saw ${#seen[@]}"
+  echo "SANITY CHECK FAILURE: Expected to see $expected_module_count modules, but saw ${#seen[@]}"
   exit 1
 fi