diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b74f643..42efc41 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ versioncheck:
 
 .PHONY: cutarelease
 cutarelease: versioncheck
+	[[ `git status | tail -n1` == "nothing to commit (working directory clean)" ]]
 	./tools/cutarelease.py -p bunyan -f package.json -f lib/bunyan.js -f bin/bunyan