diff --git a/cli/app/rollback.go b/cli/app/rollback.go
index 2b8f2290..11bfd2f1 100644
--- a/cli/app/rollback.go
+++ b/cli/app/rollback.go
@@ -84,6 +84,10 @@ recipes.
 			logrus.Fatal(err)
 		}
 
+		if len(versions) == 0 && !internal.Chaos {
+			logrus.Fatalf("no published releases for %s in the recipe catalogue?", app.Type)
+		}
+
 		var availableDowngrades []string
 		if deployedVersion == "unknown" {
 			availableDowngrades = versions