diff --git a/usr/bin/release.sh b/usr/bin/release.sh
index 90ff8cd..06da26b 100755
--- a/usr/bin/release.sh
+++ b/usr/bin/release.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ e() {
     eval "$1"
 }
 
+if [[ $(git diff --shortstat 2> /dev/null | tail -n1) != "" ]]; then
+  echo -e "\033[1;31mgit working directory not clean, please commit your changes first \033[0m"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
 GEM_NAME="timely-app"
 VERSION=$(grep -Eo "VERSION\s*=\s*'.+'" lib/timely-app.rb | grep -Eo "[0-9.]{5,}")
 GEM_FILE="$GEM_NAME-$VERSION.gem"