diff --git a/build b/build
index 8c9f8f9c..0d9fcf46 100755
--- a/build
+++ b/build
@@ -43,7 +43,10 @@ main()
 {
 	xx_ id -u 1>/dev/null 2>/dev/null
 	[ $# -lt 1 ] && fail "Too few arguments. Try: ${0} help"
-	[ "${1}" = "dependencies" ] && xx_ install_packages $@ && lbmk_exit 0
+	if [ "${1}" = "dependencies" ]; then
+		xx_ install_packages $@
+		lbmk_exit 0
+	fi
 
 	initialise_command $@ && shift 1
 
@@ -59,6 +62,8 @@ initialise_command()
 {
 	[ "$(id -u)" != "0" ] || fail "this command as root is not permitted"
 
+	check_project
+
 	case "${1}" in
 	help) usage ${0} && lbmk_exit 0 ;;
 	list) items "${buildpath}" && lbmk_exit 0 ;;
diff --git a/include/err.sh b/include/err.sh
index 33246d12..595d6c77 100755
--- a/include/err.sh
+++ b/include/err.sh
@@ -78,5 +78,3 @@ err()
 	printf "ERROR %s: %s\n" "${0}" "${1}" 1>&2
 	exit 1
 }
-
-check_project