1 files changed, 2 insertions, 2 deletions

diff --git a/archival/gzip.c b/archival/gzip.c
index fed93907b..44b5fe386 100644
--- a/archival/gzip.c
+++ b/archival/gzip.c
@@ -1312,8 +1312,8 @@ int gzip_main(int argc, char **argv)
                                         outFileNum = STDOUT_FILENO;
                         }
 
-                        if (path == NULL && force == 0) {
-                                perror_msg("compressed data not written to a terminal. Use -f to force compression.");
+                        if (path == NULL && isatty(outFileNum) && force == 0) {
+                                error_msg("compressed data not written to a terminal. Use -f to force compression.");
                                 free(path);
                                 continue;
                         }