diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
index 909a99424daa5..89cbdfcb5e209 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/mod.rs
@@ -180,7 +180,11 @@ pub fn file_picker(root: PathBuf, config: &helix_view::editor::Config) -> FilePi
             path.strip_prefix(&root).unwrap_or(path).to_string_lossy()
         },
         move |cx, path: &PathBuf, action| {
-            cx.editor.open(path, action).expect("editor.open failed");
+            if let Err(err) = cx.editor.open(path, action) {
+                let err = format!("{}", err);
+                log::error!("{}", err);
+                cx.editor.set_error(err);
+            }
         },
         |_editor, path| Some((path.clone(), None)),
     )