diff --git a/src/snippets/infra/api.clj b/src/snippets/infra/api.clj
index a7d31bb..1e2622a 100644
--- a/src/snippets/infra/api.clj
+++ b/src/snippets/infra/api.clj
@@ -22,13 +22,15 @@
   {:status 200, :body "snippet created"})
 
 (defn handle-edit-snippet [{body :body-params params :query-params}]
-  (let [slug  (get params "slug")]
+  (let [slug (get params "slug")]
     (t/log! {:level :info, :data {:body body :slug slug}} "Received request to edit snippet")
-    (let [{success :success  :as res} (snippets.use-cases.edit/edit-snippet slug body)]
-      (cond
-        success {:status 200, :body "snippet updated"}
-        (= (:reason res) :invalid-patch) {:status 400, :body "invalid patch"}
-        :else {:status 500, :body "internal server error"}))))
+    (if-let [slug (not-empty slug)]
+      (let [{success :success :as res} (snippets.use-cases.edit/edit-snippet slug body)]
+        (cond
+          success {:status 200, :body "snippet updated"}
+          (= (:reason res) :invalid-patch) {:status 400, :body "invalid patch"}
+          :else {:status 500, :body "internal server error"}))
+      {:status 400, :body "missing slug param"})))
 
 (defn handle-view-snippets [{params :query-params}]
   (if-let [limit (get params "limit")]