diff --git a/src/applications/herald/typeahead/HeraldRuleDatasource.php b/src/applications/herald/typeahead/HeraldRuleDatasource.php
index 88343bd433..6b73bc0ab6 100644
--- a/src/applications/herald/typeahead/HeraldRuleDatasource.php
+++ b/src/applications/herald/typeahead/HeraldRuleDatasource.php
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ final class HeraldRuleDatasource
     $query = id(new HeraldRuleQuery())
       ->setViewer($viewer);
 
-    if (preg_match('/^[hH]\d+\z/', $raw_query)) {
+    if (($raw_query !== null) && preg_match('/^[hH]\d+\z/', $raw_query)) {
       $id = trim($raw_query, 'hH');
       $id = (int)$id;
       $query->withIDs(array($id));