diff --git a/git-flow-release b/git-flow-release
index e936de2..38e1790 100644
--- a/git-flow-release
+++ b/git-flow-release
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2010 by Benedikt Böhm
 #
 
+gitflow_require_git_repo
+gitflow_load_settings
 VERSION_PREFIX=$(git config --get gitflow.prefix.versiontag)
 PREFIX=$(git config --get gitflow.prefix.release || echo release/)