diff --git a/src/bin/pg_rewind/pg_rewind.c b/src/bin/pg_rewind/pg_rewind.c
index d3ae767..eee03bd 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_rewind/pg_rewind.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_rewind/pg_rewind.c
@@ -303,6 +303,9 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		fetch_done = 0;
 	}
 
+	if (dry_run)
+		exit(0);
+
 	/*
 	 * This is the point of no return. Once we start copying things, we have
 	 * modified the target directory and there is no turning back!