diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 3c788a65d652..2810425541f4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -499,7 +499,8 @@ outputmakefile:
 ifneq ($(KBUILD_SRC),)
 	$(Q)ln -fsn $(srctree) source
 	$(Q)$(CONFIG_SHELL) $(srctree)/scripts/mkmakefile $(srctree)
-	$(Q){ echo "# this is build directory, ignore it"; echo "*"; } > .gitignore
+	$(Q)test -e .gitignore || \
+	{ echo "# this is build directory, ignore it"; echo "*"; } > .gitignore
 endif
 
 ifneq ($(shell $(CC) --version 2>&1 | head -n 1 | grep clang),)