diff --git a/git-local b/git-local
index a5fe868..f8425e2 100755
--- a/git-local
+++ b/git-local
@@ -53,15 +53,18 @@ for ($ARGV[0]) {
 	when ('status') {
 		shift @ARGV;
 		GetOptions($cmd_opts, "verbose|v");
+		require_local_repo();
 		local_status($cmd_opts, @ARGV);
 	}
 	when ('add') {
 		shift @ARGV;
 		$cmd_opts = { gitignore => 1 };
 		GetOptions($cmd_opts, "gitignore!");
+		require_local_repo();
 		local_add($cmd_opts, @ARGV);
 	}
 	default {
+		require_local_repo();
 		local_git(@ARGV);
 	}
 }
@@ -102,6 +105,13 @@ BEGIN {
 			or die("Could not append to file!");
 	}
 
+	sub require_local_repo {
+		die(
+			"A git-local repository could not be found or read in\n    $localdir\n"
+			. "Consider using\n    git local init\n"
+		) unless -d -r -x $localdir;
+	}
+
 	sub local_status {
 		my $o = shift;
 		my @files = grep { /^[^-]/ } @_; # TODO: better parsing (notably for "--")