diff --git a/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp b/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
index 5905c31..1cfd271 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/meta.cpp
@@ -265,6 +265,7 @@ class ContractTransform : public UntrainableMetaTransform
     virtual void project(const TemplateList &src, TemplateList &dst) const
     {
         //dst = Expanded(src);
+        if (src.empty()) return;
         Template out;
 
         foreach (const Template & t, src) {