diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/release/debian-build.nix b/pkgs/build-support/release/debian-build.nix
index 52924d2c42c..aeeb050bfaa 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/release/debian-build.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/release/debian-build.nix
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ vmTools.runInLinuxImage (stdenv.mkDerivation (
       ensureDir $out/debs
       find . -name "*.deb" -exec cp {} $out/debs \;
 
+      [ "$(echo $out/debs/*.deb)" != "" ]
+
       for i in $out/debs/*.deb; do
         header "Generated DEB package: $i"
         dpkg-deb --info "$i"