diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 2986c1f5f8..99c8edbd57 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -250,6 +250,9 @@ swagger-docs: ## preview the API documentation
 .PHONY: generate-files
 generate-files:
 	$(eval $@_TMP_OUT := $(shell mktemp -d -t moby-output.XXXXXXXXXX))
+	ifeq ($($@_TMP_OUT),)
+		$(error Could not create temp directory.)
+	endif
 	$(BUILD_CMD) --target "update" \
 		--output "type=local,dest=$($@_TMP_OUT)" \
 		--file "./hack/dockerfiles/generate-files.Dockerfile" .