diff --git a/rootfs-builder/rootfs.sh b/rootfs-builder/rootfs.sh
index 9cd147f6d8..858b441ad9 100755
--- a/rootfs-builder/rootfs.sh
+++ b/rootfs-builder/rootfs.sh
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ done
 
 shift $(($OPTIND - 1))
 
+[ -z "$GOPATH" ] && die "GOPATH not set"
+
 distro="$1"
 
 [ -n "${distro}" ] || usage 1