diff --git a/release/build_devel.sh b/release/build_devel.sh
index 2fe9c3e07..ea0cc4da9 100755
--- a/release/build_devel.sh
+++ b/release/build_devel.sh
@@ -66,6 +66,9 @@ add_subtree "openpilot-pyextra" "pyextra" master
 echo "[-] erasing old openpilot T=$SECONDS"
 rm -rf $TARGET_DIR/* $TARGET_DIR/.gitmodules
 
+# delete dotfiles in root
+find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -delete
+
 # dont delete our subtrees
 git checkout -- cereal panda opendbc pyextra