1 files changed, 5 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/src/nvim/eval.c b/src/nvim/eval.c
index 59363a3608..fc61fed529 100644
--- a/src/nvim/eval.c
+++ b/src/nvim/eval.c
@@ -14492,6 +14492,11 @@ static void get_system_output_as_rettv(typval_T *argvars, typval_T *rettv,
   set_vim_var_nr(VV_SHELL_ERROR, (long) status);
 
   if (res == NULL) {
+    if (retlist) {
+      // return an empty list when there's no output
+      rettv->v_type = VAR_LIST;
+      rettv->vval.v_list = list_alloc();
+    }
     return;
   }