diff --git a/git_cl.py b/git_cl.py
index d4486e5b1..b94be71c8 100755
--- a/git_cl.py
+++ b/git_cl.py
@@ -2583,8 +2583,9 @@ def CMDpatch(parser, args):
 
 
 def PatchIssue(issue_arg, reject, nocommit, directory, auth_config):
-  # There's a "reset --hard" when failing to apply the patch. In order
-  # not to destroy users' data, make sure the tree is not dirty here.
+  # PatchIssue should never be called with a dirty tree.  It is up to the
+  # caller to check this, but just in case we assert here since the
+  # consequences of the caller not checking this could be dire.
   assert(not git_common.is_dirty_git_tree('apply'))
 
   if type(issue_arg) is int or issue_arg.isdigit():
@@ -2635,8 +2636,8 @@ def PatchIssue(issue_arg, reject, nocommit, directory, auth_config):
     subprocess2.check_call(cmd, env=GetNoGitPagerEnv(),
                            stdin=patch_data, stdout=subprocess2.VOID)
   except subprocess2.CalledProcessError:
-    RunGit(['reset', '--hard'])
-    DieWithError('Failed to apply the patch')
+    print 'Failed to apply the patch'
+    return 1
 
   # If we had an issue, commit the current state and register the issue.
   if not nocommit:
@@ -2975,6 +2976,7 @@ def CMDdiff(parser, args):
     # Patch in the latest changes from rietveld.
     rtn = PatchIssue(issue, False, False, None, auth_config)
     if rtn != 0:
+      RunGit(['reset', '--hard'])
       return rtn
 
     # Switch back to starting branch and diff against the temporary
diff --git a/tests/git_cl_test.py b/tests/git_cl_test.py
index c1eebebf7..f63358116 100755
--- a/tests/git_cl_test.py
+++ b/tests/git_cl_test.py
@@ -110,7 +110,11 @@ class TestGitCl(TestCase):
     self.assertTrue(
         self.calls,
         '@%d  Expected: <Missing>   Actual: %r' % (self._calls_done, args))
-    expected_args, result = self.calls.pop(0)
+    top = self.calls.pop(0)
+    if len(top) > 2 and top[2]:
+      raise top[2]
+    expected_args, result = top
+
     # Also logs otherwise it could get caught in a try/finally and be hard to
     # diagnose.
     if expected_args != args:
@@ -854,6 +858,47 @@ class TestGitCl(TestCase):
                      git_cl.GetTargetRef('origin', 'refs/remotes/origin/master',
                                          None, 'prefix/'))
 
+  def test_patch_when_dirty(self):
+    # Patch when local tree is dirty
+    self.mock(git_common, 'is_dirty_git_tree', lambda x: True)
+    self.assertNotEqual(git_cl.main(['patch', '123456']), 0)
+
+  def test_diff_when_dirty(self):
+    # Do 'git cl diff' when local tree is dirty
+    self.mock(git_common, 'is_dirty_git_tree', lambda x: True)
+    self.assertNotEqual(git_cl.main(['diff']), 0)
+
+  def _patch_common(self):
+    self.mock(git_cl.Changelist, 'GetMostRecentPatchset', lambda x: '60001')
+    self.mock(git_cl.Changelist, 'GetPatchSetDiff', lambda *args: None)
+    self.mock(git_cl.Changelist, 'SetIssue', lambda *args: None)
+    self.mock(git_cl.Changelist, 'SetPatchset', lambda *args: None)
+    self.mock(git_cl, 'IsGitVersionAtLeast', lambda *args: True)
+
+    self.calls = [
+      ((['git', 'config', 'rietveld.autoupdate'],), ''),
+      ((['git', 'config', 'rietveld.server'],), 'codereview.example.com'),
+      ((['git', 'rev-parse', '--show-cdup'],), ''),
+      ((['sed', '-e', 's|^--- a/|--- |; s|^+++ b/|+++ |'],), ''),
+    ]
+
+  def test_patch_successful(self):
+    self._patch_common()
+    self.calls += [
+      ((['git', 'apply', '--index', '-p0', '--3way'],), ''),
+      ((['git', 'commit', '-m',
+         'patch from issue 123456 at patchset 60001 ' +
+         '(http://crrev.com/123456#ps60001)'],), ''),
+    ]
+    self.assertEqual(git_cl.main(['patch', '123456']), 0)
+
+  def test_patch_conflict(self):
+    self._patch_common()
+    self.calls += [
+      ((['git', 'apply', '--index', '-p0', '--3way'],), '',
+       subprocess2.CalledProcessError(1, '', '', '', '')),
+    ]
+    self.assertNotEqual(git_cl.main(['patch', '123456']), 0)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
   git_cl.logging.basicConfig(