diff --git a/build b/build
index dc47255..a73b2fe 100755
--- a/build
+++ b/build
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ set -eu
 . common
 set -- ${cli_build:-} "$@"
 br2_cli_file="${out_dir}/br2_cli"
+mkdir -p "${out_dir}"
 rm -f "$br2_cli_file"
 touch "$br2_cli_file"
 configure=true