diff --git a/libavutil/error.c b/libavutil/error.c
index 5cf54aadea..93f8925d44 100644
--- a/libavutil/error.c
+++ b/libavutil/error.c
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ int av_strerror(int errnum, char *errbuf, size_t errbuf_size)
     case AVERROR_FILTER_NOT_FOUND:  errstr = "Filter not found"; break;
     case AVERROR_BSF_NOT_FOUND:     errstr = "Bitstream filter not found"; break;
     case AVERROR_STREAM_NOT_FOUND:  errstr = "Stream not found"; break;
+    case AVERROR_EXIT:              errstr = "Immediate exit requested"; break;
     }
 
     if (errstr) {
diff --git a/libavutil/error.h b/libavutil/error.h
index 290487f3d9..0d475664c7 100644
--- a/libavutil/error.h
+++ b/libavutil/error.h
@@ -66,6 +66,8 @@
 #define AVERROR_BSF_NOT_FOUND      (-MKTAG(0xF8,'B','S','F')) ///< Bitstream filter not found
 #define AVERROR_STREAM_NOT_FOUND   (-MKTAG(0xF8,'S','T','R')) ///< Stream not found
 
+#define AVERROR_EXIT (-MKTAG('E','X','I','T')) ///< Immediate exit was requested; the called function should not be restarted
+
 /**
  * Put a description of the AVERROR code errnum in errbuf.
  * In case of failure the global variable errno is set to indicate the