diff --git a/build/start-container.sh b/build/start-container.sh
index 31ccfce..03257ff 100644
--- a/build/start-container.sh
+++ b/build/start-container.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 # exit when any command fails
 set -e
 
+if [ ! -f /var/www/html/artisan ]; then
+    echo "No existing Laravel project found"
+    exit
+fi
+
 # install extra packages and extensions on first boot
 if [[ $(id -u) -eq 0 && ! -f /etc/first_boot ]]; then
     if [[ -n "${EXTRA_APK_PACKAGES// /}" ]]; then
@@ -26,11 +31,6 @@ if [[ "$BOOT_NPM_INSTALL" = true ]]; then
     npm install --cache /tmp/npm
 fi
 
-if [ ! -f /var/www/html/artisan ]; then
-    echo "No existing Laravel project found"
-    exit
-fi
-
 if [[ "$BOOT_NPM_DEV" = true ]]; then
     echo "Staring npm dev"
     npm run dev --prefix /var/www/html &