diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 64f6802..f8a1f17 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -441,7 +441,7 @@ async fn main_wrapped(rc: &mut ExitCode) -> crate::Result<()> {
     debug!("option parsing complete.  continuing to job selection.");
     
     if let Err(_) = std::env::var("GIT_DIR") {
-        
+        bail!("git-remote-k8s was meant to be run from git.  run with --help for more info.");
     }
 
     let client = ctx.ktx(Some(kube_context.to_owned())).await?;