diff --git a/pkg/cmd/attestation/download/download.go b/pkg/cmd/attestation/download/download.go
index 86cf08d72..2cb648414 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/attestation/download/download.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/attestation/download/download.go
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ func runDownload(opts *Options) error {
 
 	opts.Logger.VerbosePrintf("Downloading trusted metadata for artifact %s\n\n", opts.ArtifactPath)
 
+	if opts.APIClient == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no APIClient provided")
+	}
 	params := api.FetchParams{
 		Digest: artifact.DigestWithAlg(),
 		Limit:  opts.Limit,