diff --git a/generate_models.sh b/generate_models.sh
index 95cd086..4e867ae 100755
--- a/generate_models.sh
+++ b/generate_models.sh
@@ -27,6 +27,13 @@ if ! command -v git &> /dev/null; then
     exit 1
 fi
 
+# Check if uv is installed before cloning or modifying generated files
+if ! command -v uv &> /dev/null; then
+    echo "Error: uv not found."
+    echo "Please install uv: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
 # UCP Version to use (if provided, use release/$1 branch; otherwise, use main)
 if [ -z "$1" ]; then
     BRANCH="main"
@@ -60,13 +67,6 @@ uv run python preprocess_schemas.py
 
 echo "Generating Pydantic models from preprocessed schemas..."
 
-# Check if uv is installed
-if ! command -v uv &> /dev/null; then
-    echo "Error: uv not found."
-    echo "Please install uv: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh"
-    exit 1
-fi
-
 # Ensure output directory is clean
 rm -r -f "$OUTPUT_DIR"
 mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"