diff --git a/scripts/generate_cc2_board.py b/scripts/generate_cc2_board.py
index 4612d262..e7aee6d6 100755
--- a/scripts/generate_cc2_board.py
+++ b/scripts/generate_cc2_board.py
@@ -503,12 +503,12 @@ def main() -> int:
     args = parser.parse_args()
     repo_root = args.repo_root.resolve()
     out_dir = args.out_dir or (repo_root / ".omx" / "cc2")
-    out_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     try:
         board = build_board(repo_root)
     except FileNotFoundError as exc:
         print(f"error: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
         return 1
+    out_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     board_json = out_dir / "board.json"
     board_md = out_dir / "board.md"
     board_json.write_text(json.dumps(board, indent=2, sort_keys=True) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")