diff --git a/scripts/repo-clean.sh b/scripts/repo-clean.sh
index 3be0f33b..40234d4b 100644
--- a/scripts/repo-clean.sh
+++ b/scripts/repo-clean.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
+set -e
+
 # this should be run from chipyard repo top
 TOPDIR=$(pwd)