diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index a45ea8309..2b8e8c0e5 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ void verify_non_filename(const char *prefix, const char *arg)
 	if (!lstat(name, &st))
 		die("ambiguous argument '%s': both revision and filename\n"
 		    "Use '--' to separate filenames from revisions", arg);
-	if (errno != ENOENT)
+	if (errno != ENOENT && errno != ENOTDIR)
 		die("'%s': %s", arg, strerror(errno));
 }