diff --git a/bin/compose b/bin/compose
index 5e95179..b99b1d2 100755
--- a/bin/compose
+++ b/bin/compose
@@ -26,7 +26,10 @@
 ##   init or relations to be set up.
 
 #:-
-. /etc/shlib
+[ -e /etc/shlib ] && . /etc/shlib || {
+          echo "Unsatisfied dependency. Please install 'kal-shlib-core'."
+          exit 1
+      }
 #:-
 
 include pretty