diff --git a/tools/release.sh b/tools/release.sh
index 353487e4..0e8e979a 100755
--- a/tools/release.sh
+++ b/tools/release.sh
@@ -13,5 +13,6 @@ tar \
 	--exclude=deps/sqlite/shell.c \
 	--exclude=deps/speedscope/*.map \
 	--exclude=deps/libuv/test \
+	--exclude=deps/openssl \
 	-caf tildefriends-$VERSION.tar.xz tildefriends-$VERSION
 rm -rfv tildefriends-$VERSION