diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES-next b/RELEASE-NOTES-next
index 8797bc932..8f5abd9d1 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES-next
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES-next
@@ -26,3 +26,4 @@ strongly encouraged to upgrade.
   • clear pixmap before drawing to prevent visual grabage in clients using 'Shape'
   • i3bar: properly close file descriptors
   • i3bar: properly restart status command after config change
+  • i3bar: exit with 1 when a wrong command line argument is used
diff --git a/i3bar/src/main.c b/i3bar/src/main.c
index b9dac902b..4e93bb027 100644
--- a/i3bar/src/main.c
+++ b/i3bar/src/main.c
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
                 break;
             default:
                 print_usage(argv[0]);
-                exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
+                exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
                 break;
         }
     }