diff --git a/evennia/commands/default/help.py b/evennia/commands/default/help.py
index cb679bc359..4e9b06bdde 100644
--- a/evennia/commands/default/help.py
+++ b/evennia/commands/default/help.py
@@ -478,7 +478,7 @@ class CmdHelp(COMMAND_DEFAULT_CLASS):
 
         """
         def strip_prefix(query):
-            if query[0] in settings.CMD_IGNORE_PREFIXES:
+            if query and query[0] in settings.CMD_IGNORE_PREFIXES:
                 return query[1:]
             return query