diff --git a/scripts/setup.sh b/scripts/setup.sh
index aad8cccaa..f65e6640f 100644
--- a/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@ cd stack_wallet
 export STACK_WALLET=$(pwd)
 git submodule update --init --recursive
 
-# create template lib/external_api_keys.dart file if it doesn't already exist
-cd $STACK_WALLET
-cd scripts
-./prebuild.sh
+# Create template lib/external_api_keys.dart file if it doesn't already exist
+KEYS="$HOME/projects/stack_wallet/lib/external_api_keys.dart"
+if ! test -f "$KEYS"; then
+    echo 'prebuild.sh: creating template lib/external_api_keys.dart file'
+    echo 'const kChangeNowApiKey = "";' > $KEYS
+fi
 
 #install stack wallet dependencies
 sudo apt-get install -y unzip automake build-essential file pkg-config git python libtool libtinfo5 cmake openjdk-8-jre-headless libgit2-dev clang libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev zlib1g-dev llvm