diff --git a/deploy.py b/deploy.py
index 27e750929e64314cfdc8422269374a5f12bf2f22..8b5ec81a1cf10b8401fb1b384f1cf05977b4a1ea 100755
--- a/deploy.py
+++ b/deploy.py
@@ -591,6 +591,7 @@ class OpenSKInstaller:
 
     if self.args.programmer in ("pyocd", "nordicdfu", "none"):
       dest_file = "target/{}_merged.hex".format(self.args.board)
+      os.makedirs("target", exist_ok=True)
       self.create_hex_file(dest_file)
 
       if self.args.programmer == "pyocd":