diff --git a/lib/build.js b/lib/build.js
index a904aa7ba0..149f9f93a0 100644
--- a/lib/build.js
+++ b/lib/build.js
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ module.exports = async function build (sourceDir, cliOptions = {}) {
   }
 
   const { outDir } = options
+  if (path.resolve() === outDir) {
+    return console.error(chalk.red('Unexpected option: outDir cannot be set to the current working directory.\n'))
+  }
   await fs.remove(outDir)
 
   let clientConfig = createClientConfig(options, cliOptions).toConfig()