diff --git a/.drone/sync-stable-branch.sh b/.drone/sync-stable-branch.sh
index d230cf3f22..cc8ae9123b 100755
--- a/.drone/sync-stable-branch.sh
+++ b/.drone/sync-stable-branch.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 . .drone/macros/configure-gpg.sh
 
 # Merge and push to the `stable` branch
-git checkout stable
+git checkout stable || git checkout -b stable
 git rebase master
 git push -u origin stable
 git checkout master