diff --git a/pre-commit.sh b/pre-commit.sh
index ad4ee52..8e40b6e 100644
--- a/pre-commit.sh
+++ b/pre-commit.sh
@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
 
 articles_dir=`git config --get fugitive.articles-dir`
 
-article_exists=`mktemp fugitiveXXXXXX`
+article_exists="0"
 for f in "$articles_dir"/*; do
+  if [ "$f" = "$articles_dir"'/*' ]; then break; fi
   ts=`git log --format="%at" -- "$f" | tail -1`
   if [ "$ts" != "" ]; then
-    echo "1"
+    article_exists="1"
     break
   fi
-done > "$article_exists"
-article_exists=`cat $article_exists`
+done
 non_tracked=`git status --porcelain | grep -E '^(A|R)' | grep "$articles_dir"`
 
-if [ "$article_exists" = "" -a "$non_tracked" = "" ]; then
+if [ "$article_exists" = "0" -a "$non_tracked" = "" ]; then
   echo -n "[fugitive] ERROR: need at least one article (you can use " >&2
   echo '`git commit --no-verify` to bypass), aborting.' >&2
   exit 1