diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/registry/lib/localfilesystem.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/registry/lib/localfilesystem.js
index 9e08c4c53..62080b4a8 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/registry/lib/localfilesystem.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/registry/lib/localfilesystem.js
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ function getPackageList() {
         try {
             var userPackage = path.join(settings.userDir,"package.json");
             var pkg = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(userPackage,"utf-8"));
-            return pkg.dependencies;
+            return pkg.dependencies || {};
         } catch(err) {
             log.error(err);
         }