diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index c7c6ce0..9c8c6c7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 CLAUDE.local.md
 .claude/
+test-reports/
diff --git a/kvm-install-vm b/kvm-install-vm
index 69d8e32..3397d1d 100755
--- a/kvm-install-vm
+++ b/kvm-install-vm
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ function release_dhcp_lease() {
         local status_file="/var/lib/libvirt/dnsmasq/${bridge}.status"
         if [[ -f "$status_file" ]]; then
             # Search for any lease with matching hostname
-            mac=$(grep -B2 -A2 "\"hostname\": \"${vmname}\"" "$status_file" 2>/dev/null | awk -F'"' '/mac-address/ {print $4; exit}')
+            mac=$(grep -B2 -A2 "\"hostname\": \"${vmname}\"" "$status_file" 2>/dev/null | awk -F'"' '/mac-address/ {print $4; exit}' || true)
         fi
     fi
 
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ function release_dhcp_lease() {
         local ip=""
 
         if [[ -f "$status_file" ]]; then
-            ip=$(grep -B1 -A1 "\"mac-address\": \"$mac\"" "$status_file" 2>/dev/null | awk -F'"' '/ip-address/ {print $4; exit}')
+            ip=$(grep -B1 -A1 "\"mac-address\": \"$mac\"" "$status_file" 2>/dev/null | awk -F'"' '/ip-address/ {print $4; exit}' || true)
         fi
 
         if [[ -n "$ip" ]]; then
diff --git a/tests/check_dhcp_release.bats b/tests/check_dhcp_release.bats
index dba56df..d66b7ed 100644
--- a/tests/check_dhcp_release.bats
+++ b/tests/check_dhcp_release.bats
@@ -105,4 +105,27 @@ teardown() {
     # Should handle gracefully without errors
     [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
     [[ "${output}" =~ "does not exist" ]]
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
+
+@test "Handle expired DHCP lease gracefully (empty status file)" {
+    # This tests the fix for the issue where grep returns exit code 1
+    # when the DHCP status file is empty or lease has expired
+
+    # Test that grep with no matches doesn't cause script to exit
+    # when using 'set -euo pipefail'
+
+    # Create a temporary empty DHCP status file scenario by testing
+    # removal of a non-existent VM (which will have no lease)
+    run timeout $TIMEOUT ./kvm-install-vm remove "expired-lease-test-${RANDOM}"
+
+    # Should complete successfully even with no DHCP lease found
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+
+    # Should show that domain doesn't exist (expected for non-existent VM)
+    [[ "${output}" =~ "does not exist" ]]
+
+    # Should NOT fail with grep errors or exit prematurely
+    # The fix ensures grep failures are handled gracefully with '|| true'
+    [[ ! "${output}" =~ "grep" ]]
+    [[ ! "${output}" =~ "error" ]]
+}