diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5988d370e..23bd48c86 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 /external
 /Kconfig
 /romfs.img
+/staging
 /symtab_apps.c
 cscope.out
 Make.dep
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1e432a99b..c4519c588 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -158,7 +158,10 @@ dirlinks:
 context_all: $(foreach SDIR, $(CONFIGURED_APPS), $(SDIR)_context)
 register_all: $(foreach SDIR, $(CONFIGURED_APPS), $(SDIR)_register)
 
-context:
+staging:
+	$(Q) mkdir -p $@
+
+context: | staging
 	$(Q) $(MAKE) context_all
 	$(Q) $(MAKE) register_all