diff --git a/src/cmd/linuxkit/push_gcp.go b/src/cmd/linuxkit/push_gcp.go
index 826c86da1..884e08c85 100644
--- a/src/cmd/linuxkit/push_gcp.go
+++ b/src/cmd/linuxkit/push_gcp.go
@@ -52,15 +52,15 @@ func pushGcp(args []string) {
 		name = filepath.Base(name)
 	}
 
-	if bucket == "" {
-		log.Fatalf("Please specify the bucket to use")
-	}
-
 	client, err := NewGCPClient(keys, project)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Unable to connect to GCP: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	if bucket == "" {
+		log.Fatalf("Please specify the bucket to use")
+	}
+
 	err = client.UploadFile(path, name+suffix, bucket, public)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Error copying to Google Storage: %v", err)