diff --git a/ldms/python/ldmsd/ldmsd_controller b/ldms/python/ldmsd/ldmsd_controller
index 4cca49886..deda4b8dc 100755
--- a/ldms/python/ldmsd/ldmsd_controller
+++ b/ldms/python/ldmsd/ldmsd_controller
@@ -1967,6 +1967,9 @@ class LdmsdCmdParser(cmd.Cmd):
         if not msg:
             raise RuntimeError("no response")
         obj = fmt_status(msg)
+        if obj is None:
+            print(msg)
+            return
         print(f"{'stream':15} {'ctxt':15} {'cb_fn':70}")
         print(f"{'-'*15} {'-'*15} {'-'*70}")
         for s in obj['streams']: