diff --git a/t/check-non-portable-shell.pl b/t/check-non-portable-shell.pl
index 11028578ff..f6dbe28b19 100755
--- a/t/check-non-portable-shell.pl
+++ b/t/check-non-portable-shell.pl
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 
 sub err {
 	my $msg = shift;
+	s/^\s+//;
+	s/\s+$//;
 	print "$ARGV:$.: error: $msg: $_\n";
 	$exit_code = 1;
 }