diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5af7afa..0586e0d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -85,5 +85,8 @@ doc/svndiffview.1
 *~
 *.swp
 
+# gnulib-update.sh checkout
+/gnulib-tmp/
+
 # Tarballs
 patchutils-*.tar.?z*
diff --git a/gnulib-update.sh b/gnulib-update.sh
index f32196b..d55265b 100755
--- a/gnulib-update.sh
+++ b/gnulib-update.sh
@@ -2,8 +2,12 @@
 # Script to update gnulib modules
 # Run this when you want to update to newer gnulib versions
 
+set -e
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+GNULIB_DIR=gnulib-tmp
+trap 'rm -rf "$GNULIB_DIR"' EXIT
+
 echo "Updating gnulib modules..."
-git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/coreutils/gnulib.git /tmp/gnulib-update
-/tmp/gnulib-update/gnulib-tool --update
-rm -rf /tmp/gnulib-update
+git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/coreutils/gnulib.git "$GNULIB_DIR"
+"$GNULIB_DIR/gnulib-tool" --update
 echo "Gnulib updated. Please test and commit."