diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 812999f3..1523066f 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ commands =
          -not -name \*~                       \
          -not -name \*.md                     \
          -name \*.sh                          \
-         -print0 | xargs -0 bashate -v"
+         -print0 | xargs --no-run-if-empty -0 bashate -v"
   bash -c "find {toxinidir}        \
             \( -name middleware/io-monitor/recipes-common/io-monitor/io-monitor/io_monitor/test-tools/yaml/* -prune \) \
             -o \( -name .tox -prune \)         \
             -o -type f -name '*.yaml'       \
-            -print0 | xargs -0 yamllint"
+            -print0 | xargs --no-run-if-empty -0 yamllint"
 
 [testenv:pep8]
 usedevelop = False