diff --git a/lib/cli.js b/lib/cli.js
index cb36a0e6e..0af0126cf 100644
--- a/lib/cli.js
+++ b/lib/cli.js
@@ -98,7 +98,13 @@ function afterConfigLoad() {
 	logger.setup(config.logs)
 
 	var hostport = get_hostport()
-	server(config).listen(hostport[1], hostport[0])
+	server(config)
+		.listen(hostport[1], hostport[0])
+		.on('error', function(err) {
+			logger.logger.fatal({err: err}, 'cannot create server: @{err.message}')
+			process.exit(2)
+		})
+
 	logger.logger.warn({addr: 'http://'+hostport[0]+':'+hostport[1]+'/', version: 'Sinopia/'+pkg.version}, 'Server is listening on @{addr}')
 
 	// undocumented stuff for tests