diff --git a/configuration.js b/configuration.js
index 8cae1f8..608879c 100644
--- a/configuration.js
+++ b/configuration.js
@@ -63,12 +63,16 @@ var Configuration = {
         let codealikeSettingsFile = path.join(this.codealikeBasePath, 'user.json');
 
         if (fs.existsSync(codealikeSettingsFile)) {
-            let existingConfiguration = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(codealikeSettingsFile, 'utf8'));
+            let existingConfiguration;
+            try {
+                existingConfiguration = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(codealikeSettingsFile, 'utf8'));
+            } catch (e) {
+                // ignore JSON parse errors
+            }
         
-            if (existingConfiguration) {
+            if (!!existingConfiguration) {
                 this.globalSettings = Object.assign({}, baseGlobalSettings, existingConfiguration);
-            }
-            else {
+            } else {
                 this.globalSettings = Object.assign({}, baseGlobalSettings);
             }
         }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a682b10..3d64b59 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@codealike/codealike-core",
-  "version": "0.0.38",
+  "version": "0.0.39",
   "description": "Codealike core",
   "main": "codealike.js",
   "scripts": {