diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 4ce1f8a..bd4296f 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -6,10 +6,14 @@ version=$(cat $built_dir/version)
 repo_dir=${REPO_DIR:-/repo}
 
 # skip if already up-to-date
-if $(ls polycat-* | grep -q "$version"); then
+# this is the easiest way to make sure it doesn't just fail because no polycat-* exists
+touch polycat-tmp
+if $(ls $repo_dir/polycat-* | grep -q "$version"); then
+    rm polycat-tmp
     echo "package is already up to date, exiting"
     exit
 fi
+rm polycat-tmp
 
 # prep
 dnf install fedora-packager rpmdevtools createrepo_c -y