diff --git a/completion.c b/completion.c
index 8cd78a2..724f950 100644
--- a/completion.c
+++ b/completion.c
@@ -35,12 +35,12 @@ cc_open(girara_session_t* session, char* input)
   /* If the path does not begin with a slash we update the path with the current
    * working directory */
   if (strlen(path) == 0 || path[0] != '/') {
-    size_t path_max;
+    long path_max;
 #ifdef PATH_MAX
     path_max = PATH_MAX;
 #else
     path_max = pathconf(path,_PC_PATH_MAX);
-    if (path_max == 0)
+    if (path_max <= 0)
       path_max = 4096;
 #endif
 
diff --git a/document.c b/document.c
index d898370..dde3189 100644
--- a/document.c
+++ b/document.c
@@ -173,12 +173,12 @@ zathura_document_open(zathura_t* zathura, const char* path, const char* password
   }
 
   /* determine real path */
-  size_t path_max;
+  long path_max;
 #ifdef PATH_MAX
   path_max = PATH_MAX;
 #else
   path_max = pathconf(path,_PC_PATH_MAX);
-  if (path_max == 0)
+  if (path_max <= 0)
     path_max = 4096;
 #endif