diff --git a/docs/rtfd-build.sh b/docs/rtfd-build.sh
index ba8a8a15331..e9e8f1d1e02 100644
--- a/docs/rtfd-build.sh
+++ b/docs/rtfd-build.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # building for PRs and skip stable and latest states
 
 export SPHINX_ENABLE_GALLERY=0
+set -e  # halt script on error
 
 if ! [ $READTHEDOCS_VERSION == "latest" -o $READTHEDOCS_VERSION == "stable" ];
 then