diff --git a/src/client/play.c b/src/client/play.c
index a8b294f6..4979bae5 100644
--- a/src/client/play.c
+++ b/src/client/play.c
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ recv_input(int fd, struct ring *inbuf)
     for (i = -n; i < 0; i++) {
 	ch = ring_peek(inbuf, i);
 	assert(ch != EOF);
-	if (ch != '\r' && lbuf_putc(&cmdbuf, ch)) {
+	if (ch != '\r' && lbuf_putc(&cmdbuf, ch) > 0) {
 	    line = lbuf_line(&cmdbuf);
 	    if (auxfp)
 		fputs(line, auxfp);