diff --git a/pbc b/pbc
index 190ee1c..4f0bf99 100755
--- a/pbc
+++ b/pbc
@@ -360,9 +360,10 @@ case "$action" in
     target=${args[2]}
 
     if [ -z "$target" ]; then
+      [ ! -t 0 ] && echo "Error: no target path given and stdin is not a terminal" >&2 && exit 1
       while [ -z "$target" ]; do
         echo -n "Target path: "
-        read -r target
+        ! read -r target && [ -z "$target" ] && echo "Error: no target path given" >&2 && exit 1
         [ -d "$target" ] && break
         echo -e "\nError: $target: no such directory\n" >&2
         target=''