diff --git a/pufferlib/pufferl.py b/pufferlib/pufferl.py
index 1c80de553b..799f0a85d0 100644
--- a/pufferlib/pufferl.py
+++ b/pufferlib/pufferl.py
@@ -1482,21 +1482,30 @@ def ensure_drive_binary():
     """Delete existing visualize binary and rebuild it. This ensures the
     binary is always up-to-date with the latest code changes.
     """
-    if os.path.exists("./visualize"):
-        os.remove("./visualize")
+    is_distributed = torch.distributed.is_initialized()
+    is_main_rank = not is_distributed or torch.distributed.get_rank() == 0
 
-    try:
-        result = subprocess.run(
-            ["bash", "scripts/build_ocean.sh", "visualize", "local"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=300
-        )
+    if is_main_rank:
+        if os.path.exists("./visualize"):
+            os.remove("./visualize")
+
+        try:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["bash", "scripts/build_ocean.sh", "visualize", "local"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=300
+            )
 
-        if result.returncode != 0:
-            print(f"Build failed: {result.stderr}")
-            raise RuntimeError("Failed to build visualize binary for rendering")
-    except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
-        raise RuntimeError("Build timed out")
-    except Exception as e:
-        raise RuntimeError(f"Build error: {e}")
+            if result.returncode != 0:
+                print(f"Build failed: {result.stderr}")
+                raise RuntimeError("Failed to build visualize binary for rendering")
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            raise RuntimeError("Build timed out")
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Build error: {e}")
+
+    if is_distributed:
+        torch.distributed.barrier()
+        if not is_main_rank:
+            return
 
 
 def autotune(args=None, env_name=None, vecenv=None, policy=None):