diff --git a/src/fuse_create.cpp b/src/fuse_create.cpp
index bc6935e4..2d586b40 100644
--- a/src/fuse_create.cpp
+++ b/src/fuse_create.cpp
@@ -230,6 +230,8 @@ _create(const ugid_t          ugid_,
   rv = createFunc_(branches_,fusedirpath,createpaths);
   if(rv < 0)
     return rv;
+  if(createpaths)
+    return -ENOENT;
 
   rv = fs::clonepath(existingpaths[0]->path,
                      createpaths[0]->path,