diff --git a/python_files/printEnvVariablesToFile.py b/python_files/printEnvVariablesToFile.py
index c7ec70dd9684..eae01b3d073c 100644
--- a/python_files/printEnvVariablesToFile.py
+++ b/python_files/printEnvVariablesToFile.py
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@
 import os
 import sys
 
-# Last argument is the target file into which we'll write the env variables line by line.
-output_file = sys.argv[-1]
+# Prevent overwriting itself, since sys.argv[0] is the path to this file
+if len(sys.argv) > 1:
+    # Last argument is the target file into which we'll write the env variables line by line.
+    output_file = sys.argv[-1]
+else:
+    raise ValueError("Missing output file argument")
 
 with open(output_file, "w") as outfile:  # noqa: PTH123
     for key, val in os.environ.items():