diff --git a/scripts/verify_repo.py b/scripts/verify_repo.py
index d7d837e..ca71a89 100755
--- a/scripts/verify_repo.py
+++ b/scripts/verify_repo.py
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def check_markdown_links() -> None:
 
 
 def check_placeholders() -> None:
-    allowed_roots = {"crates", "docs", "scripts", ".github"}
+    allowed_roots = {"crates", "docs", "scripts", "target", ".github"}
     for child in ROOT.iterdir():
         if child.is_dir() and not child.name.startswith(".") and child.name not in allowed_roots:
             fail(f"unexpected top-level directory: {child.name}")