diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 26506b45997069..4b3886aced4521 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -467,7 +467,8 @@ PACKAGEMAKER ?= /Developer/Applications/Utilities/PackageMaker.app/Contents/MacO
 PKGDIR=out/dist-osx
 
 release-only:
-	@if `grep -q REPLACEME doc/api/*.md`; then \
+	@if [ "$(DISTTYPE)" != "nightly" ] && [ "$(DISTTYPE)" != "next-nightly" ] && \
+		`grep -q REPLACEME doc/api/*.md`; then \
 		echo 'Please update Added: tags in the documentation first.' ; \
 		exit 1 ; \
 	fi