diff --git a/hack/install_bats.sh b/hack/install_bats.sh
index d30e3daf83..01de8b7c6d 100755
--- a/hack/install_bats.sh
+++ b/hack/install_bats.sh
@@ -4,13 +4,19 @@ set -e
 
 die() { echo "${1:-No error message given} (from $(basename $0))"; exit 1; }
 
+if [[ "$(type -t bats)" != "" ]]; then
+	# bats is already installed.
+	exit 0
+fi
+
 buildDir=$(mktemp -d)
 git clone https://github.com/bats-core/bats-core $buildDir
 
 pushd $buildDir
 pwd
 git reset --hard ${VERSION}
-./install.sh /usr/local
+echo "Installing bats to /usr/local (requires root)"
+sudo ./install.sh /usr/local
 popd
 
 rm -rf $buildDir