diff --git a/src/ts/server/settings.ts b/src/ts/server/settings.ts
index 2cdf645..e234561 100644
--- a/src/ts/server/settings.ts
+++ b/src/ts/server/settings.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,18 @@ const settingsPath = paths.pathTo('settings', `settings.json`);
 
 /* istanbul ignore next */
 export async function loadSettings() {
-	const json = await readFileAsync(settingsPath, 'utf8');
-	return JSON.parse(json) as Settings;
+	try {
+		const json = await readFileAsync(settingsPath, 'utf8');
+		return JSON.parse(json) as Settings;
+	} catch (e) {
+		if (e === 'ENOENT') {
+			writeFileAsync(settingsPath, '{}', 'utf8');
+			return {} as Settings;
+		} else {
+			console.log("Error reading settings file: " + e);
+			return {} as Settings;
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 /* istanbul ignore next */