diff --git a/src/debug/HyprCtl.cpp b/src/debug/HyprCtl.cpp
index 11f8b39a..d956f0bd 100644
--- a/src/debug/HyprCtl.cpp
+++ b/src/debug/HyprCtl.cpp
@@ -331,6 +331,9 @@ static std::string clientsRequest(eHyprCtlOutputFormat format, std::string reque
 
             result += CHyprCtl::getWindowData(w, format);
         }
+
+        if (result.empty())
+            return "no open windows";
     }
     return result;
 }