diff --git a/test/test_formats.sh b/test/test_formats.sh
index 130f0dcb..5cf471de 100755
--- a/test/test_formats.sh
+++ b/test/test_formats.sh
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 # as a test of the command-line interface
 
 # set -x
+set -e
 
 . ./variables.sh