diff --git a/cmd/nitro/nitro.go b/cmd/nitro/nitro.go
index b92f9305ec..69807ee28b 100644
--- a/cmd/nitro/nitro.go
+++ b/cmd/nitro/nitro.go
@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ func main() {
 	if err != nil {
 		printSampleUsage(os.Args[0])
 		fmt.Printf("%s\n", err.Error())
+		return
 	}
 
 	arbDb, err := stack.OpenDatabase("arbitrumdata", 0, 0, "", false)