diff --git a/cmd/fscrypt/errors.go b/cmd/fscrypt/errors.go
index 10d744a4..65e76442 100644
--- a/cmd/fscrypt/errors.go
+++ b/cmd/fscrypt/errors.go
@@ -287,6 +287,10 @@ func getErrorSuggestions(err error) string {
 // returned error prepends an error tag and the name of the relevant command,
 // and it will make fscrypt return a non-zero exit value.
 func newExitError(c *cli.Context, err error) error {
+	if err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// Prepend the error tag and full name, and append suggestions (if any)
 	prefix := "[ERROR] " + getFullName(c) + ": "
 	message := prefix + wrapText(err.Error(), utf8.RuneCountInString(prefix))