diff --git a/src/lib/error.h b/src/lib/error.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..09cd31c8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/error.h
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/*
+  error.h  -  Cinelerra Error handling
+
+  Copyright (C)         CinelerraCV
+    2007,               Christian Thaeter <ct@pipapo.org>
+
+  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+  modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+  published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+  License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+  GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+  Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
+*/
+#ifndef CINELERRA_ERROR_H
+#define CINELERRA_ERROR_H
+
+#include <nobug.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+#define CINELERRA_DIE(message) do { NOBUG_ERROR(NOBUG_ON, message); abort(); } while(0)
+
+#define CINELERRA_ERROR_DECLARE(err) extern const cinelerra_error err
+#define CINELERRA_ERROR_DEFINE(err, msg) const cinelerra_error err = #err ":" msg
+
+typedef const char* cinelerra_error;
+
+#endif /* CINELERRA_ERROR_H */