diff --git a/lbrynet/lbrynet_daemon/LBRYDaemonCLI.py b/lbrynet/lbrynet_daemon/LBRYDaemonCLI.py
index c5b56a553..91e7f2068 100644
--- a/lbrynet/lbrynet_daemon/LBRYDaemonCLI.py
+++ b/lbrynet/lbrynet_daemon/LBRYDaemonCLI.py
@@ -4,14 +4,16 @@ import json
 from lbrynet.conf import API_CONNECTION_STRING, LOG_FILE_NAME
 from jsonrpc.proxy import JSONRPCProxy
 
-api = JSONRPCProxy.from_url(API_CONNECTION_STRING)
-
-try:
-    s = api.is_running()
-except:
-    print "lbrynet-daemon isn't running"
 
 def main():
+    api = JSONRPCProxy.from_url(API_CONNECTION_STRING)
+
+    try:
+        s = api.is_running()
+    except:
+        print "lbrynet-daemon isn't running"
+        sys.exit(1)
+
     args = sys.argv[1:]
     meth = args[0]
     if len(args) > 1: