diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index 3d90e9b7..ae6e6608 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-# the pre-commit hook performs various formatting checks
-if test ! \( -x .git/hooks/pre-commit -a -L .git/hooks/pre-commit \); then \
-    rm -f .git/hooks/pre-commit; \
-    ln -s ../../src/hooks/pre-commit.hook .git/hooks/pre-commit; \
+if [ -d ".git/hooks" ]; then
+    # the pre-commit hook performs various formatting checks
+    if test ! \( -x .git/hooks/pre-commit -a -L .git/hooks/pre-commit \); then \
+        rm -f .git/hooks/pre-commit; \
+        ln -s ../../src/hooks/pre-commit.hook .git/hooks/pre-commit; \
+    fi
 fi
 
 if [ -x "`which autoreconf 2>/dev/null`" ] ; then