diff --git a/src/cmd/fetch.zig b/src/cmd/fetch.zig
index e68073d441cd6d6bdfa26a0ea818a934239d5d82..2956593bf66be28a9a0ff049bb5b05b6c3c035e5 100644
--- a/src/cmd/fetch.zig
+++ b/src/cmd/fetch.zig
@@ -107,6 +107,10 @@ pub fn execute(args: [][]u8) !void {
 
     //
 
+    try create_lockfile(list, dir);
+}
+
+fn create_lockfile(list: *std.ArrayList(u.Module), dir: []const u8) !void {
     const fl = try std.fs.cwd().createFile("zigmod.lock", .{});
     defer fl.close();