diff --git a/releaser.conf b/releaser.conf
index bcad72df..4d8177fc 100644
--- a/releaser.conf
+++ b/releaser.conf
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 # See https://github.com/jelmer/releaser
 news_file: "NEWS"
 timeout_days: 5
 tag_name: "dulwich-$VERSION"
-verify_command: "make check"
+verify_command: "flake8 && make check"
 update_version {
   path: "setup.py"
   match: "^dulwich_version_string = '(.*)'$"
   new_line: "dulwich_version_string = '$VERSION'"
 }
 update_version {
   path: "dulwich/__init__.py"
   match: "^__version__ = \((.*)\)$"
   new_line: "__version__ = $TUPLED_VERSION"
 }