diff --git a/scripts/make-release b/scripts/make-release
--- a/scripts/make-release
+++ b/scripts/make-release
@@ -2,6 +2,22 @@
 set -e
 set -x
 
+cleanup()
+{
+  echo "Removing venv $venv"
+  rm  -rf "$venv"
+}
+
+echo "Checking that you are NOT inside a virtualenv"
+[ -z "$VIRTUAL_ENV" ]
+
+venv=$(mktemp -d --tmpdir kallithea-release-XXXXX)
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+echo "Setting up a fresh virtualenv in $venv"
+virtualenv -p python2 "$venv"
+. "$venv/bin/activate"
+
 echo "Install/verify tools needed for building and uploading stuff"
 pip install --upgrade -e .
 pip install --upgrade Sphinx Sphinx-PyPI-upload