diff --git a/src/ostree/ot-builtin-refs.c b/src/ostree/ot-builtin-refs.c
index 19420842..f2274802 100644
--- a/src/ostree/ot-builtin-refs.c
+++ b/src/ostree/ot-builtin-refs.c
@@ -264,7 +264,8 @@ ostree_builtin_refs (int argc, char **argv, GCancellable *cancellable, GError **
           goto out;
         }
 
-      ret = do_ref (repo, NULL, cancellable, error);
+      if (!do_ref (repo, NULL, cancellable, error))
+        goto out;
     }
 
   ret = TRUE;