diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 88f1ea2..63d41ae 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -166,3 +166,6 @@ cython_debug/
 #.idea/
 *.pyc
 .vscode/settings.json
+
+# ignore local devcontainer settings
+.devcontainer/*
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/fairscape_cli/utils/build_utils.py b/src/fairscape_cli/utils/build_utils.py
index a37b1a7..71f7be7 100644
--- a/src/fairscape_cli/utils/build_utils.py
+++ b/src/fairscape_cli/utils/build_utils.py
@@ -317,13 +317,17 @@ def process_merkle_tree(crate_path: Path) -> bool:
     metadata_file = crate_path / "ro-crate-metadata.json"
     output_path = crate_path / "ro-crate-merkle-tree.json"
 
-    try:
-        tree = generate_merkle_tree(crate_path)
-        if tree is None:
-            return False
 
-        with open(output_path, 'w') as f:
-            json.dump(tree, f, indent=2)
+    try:
+        if output_path.exists():
+            pass
+        else:
+            tree = generate_merkle_tree(crate_path)
+            if tree is None:
+                return False
+            else:
+                with open(output_path, 'w') as f:
+                    json.dump(tree, f, indent=2)
 
         # Annotate root entity with the Merkle root hash
         with open(metadata_file, 'r') as f: