diff --git a/bin/cdist-object-codegen b/bin/cdist-object-codegen
index 28886f20..ce0c1073 100755
--- a/bin/cdist-object-codegen
+++ b/bin/cdist-object-codegen
@@ -51,8 +51,13 @@ cat << eof
 
 eof
 
-[ -x "$gencode" ] && __cdist_exec_fail_on_error "$gencode" "$__cdist_object_id"
-
-# Ensure non-error exit status
-exit 0
+if [ -x "$gencode" ]; then
+   __cdist_exec_fail_on_error "$gencode" "$__cdist_object_id"
+else
+   if [ -f "$gencode" ]; then
+      echo "$gencode" exists, but is not executable >&2
+   fi
 
+   # No gencode? also fine! Ensure we exit 0
+   exit 0
+fi