diff --git a/bin/compile b/bin/compile
index 76240ac..c26560d 100755
--- a/bin/compile
+++ b/bin/compile
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ function sed() {
 
 cd $BUILD_DIR
 
+# reject a non-packaged Django app
+if [ "$NAME" = "Python" ]; then
+  [ -f manage.py ] && [ -f settings.py ] && { echo " !     Django app be in a package subdirectory"; exit 1; }
+fi
+
 # copy artifacts out of cache if exists
 mkdir -p $CACHE_DIR
 for dir in $VIRTUALENV_DIRS; do