diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__download/explorer/state b/cdist/conf/type/__download/explorer/state
index 68b517c5..ff984d16 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__download/explorer/state
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__download/explorer/state
@@ -61,6 +61,9 @@ else
                 sum_is="sha256:$( sha256sum "$dst" | awk '{print $1}' )"
             ;;
         esac
+    else
+        echo "could not detect checksum method, check type's manual" >&2
+        exit 1
     fi
 fi