diff --git a/abump.in b/abump.in
index cf6b5eb629da4f559fca5526723d2a065e3fc7b1..a344780a19ad3a392d7e2debb8938fe4575eb346 100755
--- a/abump.in
+++ b/abump.in
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ cvelist=
 fixes=
 
 [ -n "$APORTSDIR" ] || error "can't locate \$APORTSDIR"
+git rev-parse 2>/dev/null || die "not in a git tree"
 
 args=`getopt -o s:Rkqh --long security:,recursive,keep,quiet,help -n "$prog" -- "$@"`
 if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then