diff --git a/cli/build.rs b/cli/build.rs
index 7c1e1dc8f..06d4b0b08 100644
--- a/cli/build.rs
+++ b/cli/build.rs
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ fn main() {
         .output()
         .ok()
         .and_then(|output| output.status.success().then(|| output))
-        .and_then(|output| String::from_utf8(output.stdout[..8].into()).ok())
+        .and_then(|output| String::from_utf8(output.stdout.get(..8)?.into()).ok())
         .unwrap_or_else(|| "(unknown version)".into());
     println!("cargo:rustc-env=TYPST_VERSION={version}");
 }