diff --git a/tools/libinput-replay b/tools/libinput-replay
index fd6567e6..4835903a 100755
--- a/tools/libinput-replay
+++ b/tools/libinput-replay
@@ -196,8 +196,11 @@ def loop(args, recording):
 
 
 def create_device_quirk(device):
-    quirks = fetch(device, 'quirks')
-    if not quirks:
+    try:
+        quirks = fetch(device, 'quirks')
+        if not quirks:
+            return None
+    except YamlException:
         return None
     # Where the device has a quirk, we match on name, vendor and product.
     # That's the best match we can assemble here from the info we have.
@@ -215,7 +218,7 @@ def create_device_quirk(device):
 def setup_quirks(recording):
     devices = fetch(recording, 'devices')
     overrides = None
-    quirks = [create_device_quirk(d) for d in devices if fetch(d, 'quirks')]
+    quirks = [create_device_quirk(d) for d in devices if 'quirks' in d]
     if not quirks:
         return None