diff --git a/ralph-loop.sh b/ralph-loop.sh
index deb6289..7a82be8 100755
--- a/ralph-loop.sh
+++ b/ralph-loop.sh
@@ -491,8 +491,7 @@ for i in $(seq 1 "$MAX_ITERATIONS"); do
   run_agent "$i" build
   logfile="$LOG_DIR/iteration-${i}.log"
 
-  check_output "$logfile"
-  status=$?
+  status=0; check_output "$logfile" || status=$?
 
   case $status in
     0)