diff --git a/archivebox/__init__.py b/archivebox/__init__.py
index 25814346..30d7f5e7 100755
--- a/archivebox/__init__.py
+++ b/archivebox/__init__.py
@@ -25,14 +25,6 @@ ASCII_LOGO = """
 ╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝ ╚═════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═══╝  ╚══════╝ ╚═════╝  ╚═════╝ ╚═╝  ╚═╝
 """
 
-# detect ArchiveBox user's UID/GID based on data dir ownership
-from .config.permissions import drop_privileges                 # noqa
-drop_privileges()
-
-from .misc.checks import check_not_root, check_io_encoding      # noqa
-check_not_root()
-check_io_encoding()
-
 # make sure PACKAGE_DIR is in sys.path so we can import all subfolders
 # without necessarily waiting for django to load them thorugh INSTALLED_APPS
 PACKAGE_DIR = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
@@ -40,6 +32,13 @@ if str(PACKAGE_DIR) not in sys.path:
     sys.path.append(str(PACKAGE_DIR))
 os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'core.settings'
 
+# detect ArchiveBox user's UID/GID based on data dir ownership
+from .config.permissions import drop_privileges                 # noqa
+drop_privileges()
+
+from .misc.checks import check_not_root, check_io_encoding      # noqa
+check_not_root()
+check_io_encoding()
 
 # print('INSTALLING MONKEY PATCHES')
 from .monkey_patches import *                    # noqa
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index ab74b8db..59cc98f9 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "archivebox"
-version = "0.8.5rc4"
+version = "0.8.5rc5"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "atomicwrites" },