diff --git a/builtin/last-modified.c b/builtin/last-modified.c
index 31dea975a0..e02ec8428b 100644
--- a/builtin/last-modified.c
+++ b/builtin/last-modified.c
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ static int last_modified_init(struct last_modified *lm, struct repository *r,
 	lm->rev.bloom_filter_settings = get_bloom_filter_settings(lm->rev.repo);
 
 	if (populate_paths_from_revs(lm) < 0)
-		return error(_("unable to setup last-modified"));
+		return -1;
 
 	CALLOC_ARRAY(lm->all_paths, hashmap_get_size(&lm->paths));
 	lm->all_paths_nr = 0;