diff --git a/btd/src/check.rs b/btd/src/check.rs
index 087cfa6..73e5d12 100644
--- a/btd/src/check.rs
+++ b/btd/src/check.rs
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ pub enum ValidationError {
 }
 
 fn in_universe(universe: &[TargetPattern], dep: &TargetLabel) -> bool {
-    universe.iter().any(|p| p.matches(dep))
+    universe.is_empty() || universe.iter().any(|p| p.matches(dep))
 }
 
 /// We want to track existing issues in the graph so we can keep it as
diff --git a/btd/src/lib.rs b/btd/src/lib.rs
index cc456ba..a3d56f4 100644
--- a/btd/src/lib.rs
+++ b/btd/src/lib.rs
@@ -279,7 +279,6 @@ pub fn main(args: Args) -> Result<(), WorkflowError> {
     // can log existing issues.
     if let Some(error_file) = args.write_errors_to_file {
         step("writing all errors to file");
-        assert!(!universe.is_empty());
         let errors = check::dump_all_errors(&diff, &universe);
 
         write_errors_to_file(&errors, error_file, output_format)?;