diff --git a/subcmds/forall.py b/subcmds/forall.py
index 6a6d30c..ebc8bec 100644
--- a/subcmds/forall.py
+++ b/subcmds/forall.py
@@ -278,7 +278,9 @@
   def setenv(name, val):
     if val is None:
       val = ''
-    env[name] = val.encode()
+    if hasattr(val, 'encode'):
+      val = val.encode()
+    env[name] = val
 
   setenv('REPO_PROJECT', project['name'])
   setenv('REPO_PATH', project['relpath'])