diff --git a/pkgs/anoia/init.fnl b/pkgs/anoia/init.fnl
index e9d2ca9e..935ab028 100644
--- a/pkgs/anoia/init.fnl
+++ b/pkgs/anoia/init.fnl
@@ -14,7 +14,10 @@
     f (do (f:close) true)
     _ false))
 
-(fn system [s] (assert (os.execute s)))
+(fn system [s]
+  (match (os.execute s)
+    res res
+    (nil err) (error (.. "Error executing \"" s "\" (" err ")"))))
 
 (fn hash [str]
   (accumulate [h 5381