diff --git a/workflow/qhtcp-workflow b/workflow/qhtcp-workflow
index 0f672293..08c13c4c 100755
--- a/workflow/qhtcp-workflow
+++ b/workflow/qhtcp-workflow
@@ -237,8 +237,8 @@ ask_pn() {
 		Make it descriptive and avoid spaces and special characters.
 		Example: ${example_pn}
 	EOF
-  trys=3
-  for ((i=1; i<=$trys; i++)); do # give the user up to 3 tries
+  trys=3 # give the user up to 3 tries to enter a valid project name
+  for ((i=1; i<=trys; i++)); do 
     read -r -p "Enter a new or existing project name ($example_pn): " PROJECT
     if [[ -z $PROJECT ]]; then
       PROJECT="$example_pn"
@@ -248,6 +248,7 @@ ask_pn() {
       echo "Retrying ($i of $trys)"
     fi
   done
+  [[ -z $PROJECT ]] && exit 1 # TODO eventually switch to return, but treat as fatal for now
   echo "Using project name: $PROJECT"
 }
 debug() { (( DEBUG )) && echo "Debug: $*"; }
@@ -1493,23 +1494,15 @@ main() {
   parse_input "$@" # parse arguments with getopt
 
   # Prompt user for the PROJECT if we still don't have one
-  if [[ ${#PROJECTS[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then # still allows for environment overrides
+  if [[ ${#PROJECTS[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
     ask_pn && PROJECTS+=("$PROJECT")
-    while :; do
-       || break
-      
-    done
-
-
   fi
   
   for i in "${!PROJECTS[@]}"; do
     if ! sanitize_pn "${PROJECTS[i]}"; then
       echo "Project name ${PROJECTS[i]} is invalid"
       echo "Enter a replacement"
-      ask_pn
-      sanitize_pn "$PROJECT" || (echo "RTFM"; return 1)
-      PROJECTS[i]="$PROJECT"
+      ask_pn && PROJECTS[i]="$PROJECT"
     fi
   done