diff --git a/builtin/repack.c b/builtin/repack.c
index c4360382c1..ab4471f740 100644
--- a/builtin/repack.c
+++ b/builtin/repack.c
@@ -378,8 +378,8 @@ int cmd_repack(int argc,
 			for (i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
 				const struct cache_entry *ce = istate->cache[i];
 
-				if (oidset_contains(&drop_oids, &ce->oid))
-					die(_("cannot drop '%s' (%s): it is referenced by the current index"),
+				if (oidset_remove(&drop_oids, &ce->oid))
+					warning(_("cannot drop '%s' (%s): it is referenced by the current index"),
 						ce->name, oid_to_hex(&ce->oid));
 			}
 		}