diff --git a/archival/gzip.c b/archival/gzip.c
index fed93907b..44b5fe386 100644
--- a/archival/gzip.c
+++ b/archival/gzip.c
@@ -1312,8 +1312,8 @@ int gzip_main(int argc, char **argv)
 					outFileNum = STDOUT_FILENO;
 			}
 
-			if (path == NULL && force == 0) {
-				perror_msg("compressed data not written to a terminal. Use -f to force compression.");
+			if (path == NULL && isatty(outFileNum) && force == 0) {
+				error_msg("compressed data not written to a terminal. Use -f to force compression.");
 				free(path);
 				continue;
 			}