diff --git a/api/client/commands.go b/api/client/commands.go
index e057a35b4e..056bd27bc3 100644
--- a/api/client/commands.go
+++ b/api/client/commands.go
@@ -188,6 +188,9 @@ func (cli *DockerCli) CmdBuild(args ...string) error {
 			}
 		}
 		context, err = archive.TarWithOptions(root, options)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 	var body io.Reader
 	// Setup an upload progress bar