diff --git a/tests/scripts/docs_check_outputs.sh b/tests/scripts/docs_check_outputs.sh
index 28426f4..0ae2574 100644
--- a/tests/scripts/docs_check_outputs.sh
+++ b/tests/scripts/docs_check_outputs.sh
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ missing=0
 
 rm -f "$missing_file"
 
-for f in $files; do
+printf '%s\n' "$files" | while IFS= read -r f; do
+    [ -z "$f" ] && continue
     if [ ! -f "$f" ]; then
         echo "$f" >> "$missing_file"
-        missing=$((missing + 1))
     fi
 done