diff --git a/scripts/run-local b/scripts/run-local
index d5de23aa..7f8d7034 100755
--- a/scripts/run-local
+++ b/scripts/run-local
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ copy_lite_build () {
   else
     cp "$builddir/src/lite-xl" "$bindir"
   fi
+  mkdir -p "$datadir/core"
+  cp "$builddir/start.lua" "$datadir/core"
   for module_name in core plugins colors fonts; do
     cp -r "data/$module_name" "$datadir"
   done