diff --git a/scripts/develop.sh b/scripts/develop.sh
index b784cf2ae7634..d8a5808223072 100755
--- a/scripts/develop.sh
+++ b/scripts/develop.sh
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ CODER_DEV_ADMIN_PASSWORD="${CODER_DEV_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-password}"
 set -u
 
 # Preflight checks: ensure we have our required dependencies, and make sure nothing is listening on port 3000 or 8080
-dependencies curl git go make nc yarn
-nc -z 127.0.0.1 3000 >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo '== ERROR: something is listening on port 3000. Kill it and re-run this script.' && exit 1
-nc -z 127.0.0.1 8080 >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo '== ERROR: something is listening on port 8080. Kill it and re-run this script.' && exit 1
+dependencies curl git go make yarn
+curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:3000 >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo '== ERROR: something is listening on port 3000. Kill it and re-run this script.' && exit 1
+curl --fail http://127.0.0.1:8080 >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo '== ERROR: something is listening on port 8080. Kill it and re-run this script.' && exit 1
 
 echo '== Run "make build" before running this command to build binaries.'
 echo '== Without these binaries, workspaces will fail to start!'