diff --git a/kirdy.cpp b/kirdy.cpp
index 5d35dca..52a9f6b 100644
--- a/kirdy.cpp
+++ b/kirdy.cpp
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 Kirdy::Kirdy(asio::string_view host, asio::string_view service)
 {
     socket.connect(host, service);
+    if(!socket)
+        std::cerr << "failed to connect to Kirdy at " << host << ": " << socket.error().message() << "\n";
 }
 
 Json::Value Kirdy::command(Json::Value &request)