diff --git a/kodev b/kodev
index cf131c332..fc472e2dc 100755
--- a/kodev
+++ b/kodev
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ function assert_ret_zero {
 
 function setup_env {
     files=`ls -d ./koreader-emulator-*/koreader`
+    assert_ret_zero $? "Emulator not found, please build it first."
     export EMU_DIR=${files[0]}
 }
 
diff --git a/spec/unit/readerlink_spec.lua b/spec/unit/readerlink_spec.lua
index e950ab04e..beb7fafdf 100644
--- a/spec/unit/readerlink_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/unit/readerlink_spec.lua
@@ -88,6 +88,8 @@ describe("ReaderLink module", function()
                 zoom = 0.9501187648456056456,
             },
         }
+        -- disable footer
+        G_reader_settings:saveSetting("reader_footer_mode", 0)
         local readerui = ReaderUI:new{
             document = DocumentRegistry:openDocument(sample_pdf),
         }