diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 652ef0c..0160c3a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ versioncheck:
 
 .PHONY: cutarelease
 cutarelease: versioncheck
+	[[ ! -d tmp ]]   # No 'tmp/' allowed: https://github.com/isaacs/npm/issues/2144
 	./tools/cutarelease.py -p bunyan -f package.json -f lib/bunyan.js -f bin/bunyan
 
 .PHONY: test