diff --git a/archrelease.in b/archrelease.in
index 6b4f1be..2ebabc9 100644
--- a/archrelease.in
+++ b/archrelease.in
@@ -57,6 +57,8 @@ done
 
 # gracefully handle files containing an "@" character
 known_files=("${known_files[@]/%/@}")
+# update repo directory first to avoid a commit failure
+svn up repos
 
 for tag in "$@"; do
 	stat_busy "Copying %s to %s" "${trunk}" "${tag}"