diff --git a/automation/apply.sh b/automation/apply.sh
index ba144d5..67d3ae8 100755
--- a/automation/apply.sh
+++ b/automation/apply.sh
@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ mkdir -p "$dst_dir"
 tmp_web_footer_dir="/tmp/web-footer-$(date +%N)"
 echo Cloning web-footer to "$tmp_web_footer_dir"... >&2
 git clone --depth 1 --branch main git@git.seanhealy.ie:sean/web-footer.git "$tmp_web_footer_dir"
+if [ $? != 0 ] || [ ! -d "$tmp_web_footer_dir" ]; then
+  echo "Failed to clone web-footer repository." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
 echo Re-personalising HTML files... >&2
 (cd "$tmp_web_footer_dir" && ./automation/personalise.sh)
 echo Cleaning up... >&2
diff --git a/automation/rules b/automation/rules
index c9f5187..42d5860 100644
--- a/automation/rules
+++ b/automation/rules
@@ -1 +1 @@
-apply when modified:(/git-portfolio or automation/apply.sh)
+apply when modified:(/git-portfolio or /automation/apply.sh)