diff --git a/cmd/gogitlabber/gitlab.go b/cmd/gogitlabber/gitlab.go
index eca33ca..8a94643 100644
--- a/cmd/gogitlabber/gitlab.go
+++ b/cmd/gogitlabber/gitlab.go
@@ -3,11 +3,10 @@ package main
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	"log"
 	"net/http"
 )
 
-func fetchRepositoriesGitlab() []Repository {
+func fetchRepositoriesGitlab() ([]Repository, error) {
 
 	// default options
 	membership := "membership=true"
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ func fetchRepositoriesGitlab() []Repository {
 
 	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", url, nil)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf("fatal: creating request: %v\n", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("creating request: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	req.Header.Set("PRIVATE-TOKEN", gitlabToken)
@@ -38,22 +37,22 @@ func fetchRepositoriesGitlab() []Repository {
 	client := &http.Client{}
 	resp, err := client.Do(req)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf("fatal: making request: %v\n", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("making request: %v", err)
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
-		log.Fatalf("fatal: api request failed with status: %d\n", resp.StatusCode)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("API request failed with status: %d", resp.StatusCode)
 	}
 
 	var repositories []Repository
 	if err := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body).Decode(&repositories); err != nil {
-		log.Fatalf("fatal: decoding response: %v\n", err)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("decoding response: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	if len(repositories) < 1 {
-		log.Println("warning: no repositories found")
+		return repositories, fmt.Errorf("no repositories found")
 	}
 
-	return repositories
+	return repositories, nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/gogitlabber/input.go b/cmd/gogitlabber/input.go
index 706fb93..e1af1ca 100644
--- a/cmd/gogitlabber/input.go
+++ b/cmd/gogitlabber/input.go
@@ -28,9 +28,8 @@ func manageArguments() {
 	case envToken != "":
 		gitlabToken = envToken
 	default:
+		flag.Usage()
 		log.Printf("no gitlab api token found")
-		flag.PrintDefaults()
-		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
 	// manage gitlab url option
@@ -38,9 +37,8 @@ func manageArguments() {
 	case envHost != "":
 		gitlabHost = envHost
 	default:
+		flag.Usage()
 		log.Fatalf("no gitlab host found")
-		flag.PrintDefaults()
-		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
 	// manage destination option
@@ -48,9 +46,8 @@ func manageArguments() {
 	case envRepoDest != "":
 		repoDestinationPre = envRepoDest
 	default:
+		flag.Usage()
 		log.Fatalf("no destination found")
-		flag.PrintDefaults()
-		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
 	// add slash 🎩🎸 if not provided
@@ -74,8 +71,7 @@ func manageArguments() {
 		includeArchived = envArchived
 
 	default:
+		flag.Usage()
 		log.Fatalf("wrong archive option found")
-		flag.PrintDefaults()
-		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
diff --git a/cmd/gogitlabber/main.go b/cmd/gogitlabber/main.go
index 9b0cb2e..e896f00 100644
--- a/cmd/gogitlabber/main.go
+++ b/cmd/gogitlabber/main.go
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
+import "log"
+
 // userdata
 var repoDestinationPre string
 var includeArchived string
@@ -27,7 +29,10 @@ func main() {
 	verifyGitAvailable()
 
 	// fetch repository information from gitlab
-	repositories := fetchRepositoriesGitlab()
+	repositories, err := fetchRepositoriesGitlab()
+  if err != nil {
+     log.Fatalf("fatal: %v", err)
+  }
 
 	// manage found repositories
 	progressBar(repositories)