diff --git a/eatit.lua b/eatit.lua
index 8bc1545..efc1f0a 100644
--- a/eatit.lua
+++ b/eatit.lua
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ end
 
 local function run(cmd)
   local x = io.popen(cmd)
+  if not x then return 1 end
   local y = x:read("*a")
   x:close()
   return y
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@ local function openlog()
     fn = mp.command_native({'expand-path', opts.logging.logfile})
 
     f = io.open(fn, 'a') -- open file buffer
+    if not f then return 1 end
     io.output(f) -- set it as default
   end
 end