diff --git a/bin/semantic-release b/bin/semantic-release
index 8d768535..24b1d564 100755
--- a/bin/semantic-release
+++ b/bin/semantic-release
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ if (~argv._.indexOf('pre')) {
   var publish = false
   if (isAbbrev(npmArgv, 'publish')) publish = true
 
+  // require a correct setup during publish
+  if (publish && !argv.debug && !require('../src/verify')(argv)) process.exit(1)
+
   require('../src/pre')(argv, efh(function (result) {
     if (!result) {
       console.log('Nothing changed. Not publishing.')
diff --git a/src/verify.js b/src/verify.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33bd2dc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/verify.js
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+'use strict'
+
+var fs = require('fs')
+
+var exports = module.exports = function (input) {
+  var options = exports.verifyOptions(input)
+  var pkg = exports.verifyPackage()
+  var travis = exports.verifyTravis()
+  return options && pkg && travis
+}
+
+exports.verifyTravis = function () {
+  try {
+    var travis = fs.readFileSync('.travis.yml') + ''
+  } catch (e) {
+    return true
+  }
+
+  var passed = true
+
+  if (!/\sdeploy:/m.test(travis)) {
+    console.error('You should configure deployments inside the ".travis.yml".')
+    passed = false
+  }
+
+  if (!/skip_cleanup:/m.test(travis)) {
+    console.error('You must set "skip_cleanup" to "true" inside the ".travis.yml".')
+    passed = false
+  }
+
+  return passed
+}
+
+exports.verifyPackage = function () {
+  var passed = true
+
+  try {
+    var pkg = fs.readFileSync('./package.json') + ''
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error('You must have a "package.json" present.')
+    passed = false
+    pkg = '{}'
+  }
+
+  try {
+    pkg = JSON.parse(pkg)
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error('You must have a "package.json" that is valid JSON.')
+    return false
+  }
+
+  if (!pkg.repository || !pkg.repository.url) {
+    console.error('You must define your GitHub "repository" inside the "package.json".')
+    passed = false
+  }
+
+  if (!pkg.scripts || !pkg.scripts.prepublish || !pkg.scripts.postpublish) {
+    console.error('You must define your "scripts" inside the "package.json".')
+    passed = false
+  }
+
+  return passed
+}
+
+exports.verifyOptions = function (options) {
+  if (!options) return true
+  if (options.token) return true
+
+  console.error('You must define a GitHub token.')
+  return false
+}