diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 301471a..ac20bd2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 oauth2client.egg-info/
 build/
 dist/
+docs/
 
 # Test files
 .tox/
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 17ca6b2..83e1de7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ coverage:
 
 .PHONY: docs
 docs:
-	cd docs; ./build
+	./doc-build
 
 .PHONY: prerelease
 oauth2_prerelease: test
diff --git a/doc-build b/doc-build
index 21f2db6..f678c30 100755
--- a/doc-build
+++ b/doc-build
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 # Notes: You may have to update the location of the
 #        App Engine library for your local system.
 
+[[ -d docs ]] || mkdir -p docs
+cd docs
 export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=fakesettings
 export PYTHONPATH=$(pwd)/..
 epydoc --output epy --graph all --parse-only --docformat plaintext oauth2client