diff --git a/tools/libxl/libxl.c b/tools/libxl/libxl.c
index 46dcebf..c2dcbcc 100644
--- a/tools/libxl/libxl.c
+++ b/tools/libxl/libxl.c
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ int libxl_domain_make(struct libxl_ctx *ctx, libxl_domain_create_info *info,
 
     flags = info->hvm ? XEN_DOMCTL_CDF_hvm_guest : 0;
     flags |= info->hap ? XEN_DOMCTL_CDF_hap : 0;
-    *domid = 0;
+    *domid = -1;
 
     /* Ultimately, handle is an array of 16 uint8_t, same as uuid */
     memcpy(handle, info->uuid, sizeof(xen_domain_handle_t));