diff --git a/app/util.py b/app/util.py
index 2d44998..ab1c166 100644
--- a/app/util.py
+++ b/app/util.py
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
 
 
 def get_settings(path: Path) -> dict[str, str | list[str]]:
+    if not path.exists():
+        return {}
     with open(path) as f:
         return toml.load(f)["settings"]