diff --git a/init.sh b/init.sh
index d9f6bfd4..733d0554 100755
--- a/init.sh
+++ b/init.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ LOGLEVEL="info"
 #TRACE="--trace"
 TRACE=""
 
+# validate dependencies are installed
+command -v jq > /dev/null 2>&1 || { echo >&2 "jq not installed. More info: https://stedolan.github.io/jq/download/"; exit 1; }
 
 # remove existing daemon and client
 rm -rf ~/.ethermintd*