diff --git a/git-gui.sh b/git-gui.sh
index 57d48cc838..40a83487d6 100755
--- a/git-gui.sh
+++ b/git-gui.sh
@@ -2992,7 +2992,11 @@ proc normalize_relpath {path} {
 		}
 		lappend elements $item
 	}
-	return [eval file join $elements]
+	if {$elements ne {}} {
+		return [eval file join $elements]
+	} else {
+		return {.}
+	}
 }
 
 # -- Not a normal commit type invocation?  Do that instead!