diff --git a/garak/interactive.py b/garak/interactive.py
index 22d5f71a2..6e6b5385b 100644
--- a/garak/interactive.py
+++ b/garak/interactive.py
@@ -107,7 +107,9 @@ def do_probe(self, args):
             logger.warning(f"Probe already set. Resetting probe to {args.probe}")
             print(f"Executing {args.probe}")
             self._cmd.probe = args.probe
-        elif not args.probe and not self._cmd.probe:
+        elif args.probe:
+            self._cmd.probe = args.probe
+        elif not self._cmd.probe:
             logger.warning("No probe set and no probe specified.")
             return None
         try:
@@ -130,9 +132,11 @@ def do_probe(self, args):
         except ImportError as e:
             logger.error(e)
             print("Could not load generator from Garak generators.")
+            return
         except AttributeError as e:
             logger.error(e)
             print("Please check your generator model name.")
+            return
 
         evaluator = ThresholdEvaluator(self._cmd.eval_threshold)
         harness = garak.harnesses.probewise.ProbewiseHarness()
diff --git a/tests/test_interactive.py b/tests/test_interactive.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e8604b2c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_interactive.py
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2023 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+from garak.interactive import GarakCommands
+
+# do_probe is wrapped by @cmd2.with_argparser; call the original function
+# directly (functools.wraps preserves __wrapped__) so tests don't need a
+# full cmd2.Cmd/CommandSet registration or a real garak config.
+_do_probe = GarakCommands.do_probe.__wrapped__
+
+
+def _make_cmds(probe=None, generator=None):
+    cmds = GarakCommands()
+    cmds._cmd = SimpleNamespace(
+        target_type="test",
+        target_model="test",
+        probe=probe,
+        generator=generator,
+        eval_threshold=0.5,
+    )
+    return cmds
+
+
+def test_do_probe_sets_probe_when_none_was_previously_set():
+    """A probe name passed on the first `probe <name>` call (no probe set yet)
+    must actually be stored, not silently dropped."""
+    cmds = _make_cmds(probe=None)
+    args = SimpleNamespace(probe="mynewprobe")
+
+    with (
+        patch("garak.interactive.ThresholdEvaluator", MagicMock()),
+        patch("garak.harnesses.probewise.ProbewiseHarness", MagicMock()),
+    ):
+        _do_probe(cmds, args)
+
+    assert cmds._cmd.probe == "mynewprobe"
+
+
+def test_do_probe_does_not_crash_when_generator_fails_to_load():
+    """If loading the generator raises ImportError/AttributeError, do_probe
+    must stop instead of falling through to use the never-assigned
+    `generator` local variable."""
+    cmds = _make_cmds(probe=None)
+    args = SimpleNamespace(probe="mynewprobe")
+
+    threshold_evaluator = MagicMock()
+    harness_cls = MagicMock()
+    with (
+        patch("garak._plugins.load_plugin", side_effect=ImportError("boom")),
+        patch("garak.interactive.ThresholdEvaluator", threshold_evaluator),
+        patch("garak.harnesses.probewise.ProbewiseHarness", harness_cls),
+    ):
+        _do_probe(cmds, args)
+
+    threshold_evaluator.assert_not_called()
+    harness_cls.assert_not_called()
+
+
+def test_do_probe_does_not_crash_when_generator_name_is_invalid():
+    """Same as above, for the AttributeError branch."""
+    cmds = _make_cmds(probe=None)
+    args = SimpleNamespace(probe="mynewprobe")
+
+    threshold_evaluator = MagicMock()
+    harness_cls = MagicMock()
+    with (
+        patch("garak._plugins.load_plugin", side_effect=AttributeError("boom")),
+        patch("garak.interactive.ThresholdEvaluator", threshold_evaluator),
+        patch("garak.harnesses.probewise.ProbewiseHarness", harness_cls),
+    ):
+        _do_probe(cmds, args)
+
+    threshold_evaluator.assert_not_called()
+    harness_cls.assert_not_called()