diff --git a/src/server/server.cpp b/src/server/server.cpp
index 526bc5f96bf..b06278721cc 100644
--- a/src/server/server.cpp
+++ b/src/server/server.cpp
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ config construct_error(const std::string& msg)
 	return cfg;
 }
 
-int main()
+void run_server()
 {
 	const network::manager net_manager;
 	const network::server_manager server;
@@ -334,3 +334,12 @@ int main()
 		SDL_Delay(20);
 	}
 }
+
+int main()
+{
+	try {
+		run_server();
+	} catch(network::error& e) {
+		std::cerr << "error starting server: " << e.message << "\n";
+	}
+}