diff --git a/src/sentinel.c b/src/sentinel.c
index 17d56a1d..06f54b52 100644
--- a/src/sentinel.c
+++ b/src/sentinel.c
@@ -420,6 +420,7 @@ void sentinelIsRunning(void) {
     if (server.configfile == NULL) {
         redisLog(REDIS_WARNING,
             "Sentinel started without a config file. Exiting...");
+        exit(1);
     } else if (access(server.configfile,W_OK) == -1) {
         redisLog(REDIS_WARNING,
             "Sentinel config file %s is not writable: %s. Exiting...",