diff --git a/.circleci/deploy.sh b/.circleci/deploy.sh
index 84bcfa33b4cb8a178a4afc6c12cb1e2d37591b08..6a3b3d0a6898feda45084db4615df48799159113 100755
--- a/.circleci/deploy.sh
+++ b/.circleci/deploy.sh
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ if [[ -n "${CIRCLE_TAG:-}" ]]; then
 elif [[ "${CIRCLE_BRANCH:-}" == "master" ]]; then
   VERSION="canary"
 else
-  exit 1
+  echo "Skipping deploy step; this is neither master or a tag"
+  exit
 fi
 
 echo "Install docker client"