diff --git a/t/perf/p7519-fsmonitor.sh b/t/perf/p7519-fsmonitor.sh
index 9b43342806..1e20a184c7 100755
--- a/t/perf/p7519-fsmonitor.sh
+++ b/t/perf/p7519-fsmonitor.sh
@@ -129,7 +129,12 @@ setup_for_fsmonitor() {
 
 	git config core.fsmonitor "$INTEGRATION_SCRIPT" &&
 	git update-index --fsmonitor 2>error &&
-	test_must_be_empty error  # ensure no silent error
+	if test_have_prereq WATCHMAN
+	then
+		test_must_be_empty error  # ensure no silent error
+	else
+		grep "Empty last update token" error
+	fi
 }
 
 test_perf_w_drop_caches () {