diff --git a/build.sbt b/build.sbt
index 569d63969..f96f13c8c 100644
--- a/build.sbt
+++ b/build.sbt
@@ -1107,8 +1107,8 @@ lazy val sbtClientProj = (project in file("client"))
       }
       thread.start()
       proc.waitFor(5, java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit.MINUTES)
+      assert(proc.exitValue == 0, s"Exit value ${proc.exitValue} was nonzero")
       nativeExecutablePath.value
-      file("").toPath
     },
     graalNativeImageOptions := Seq(
       "--no-fallback",