diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/index.js b/packages/core/src/config/index.js
index 05679f5ea6..6cc6c285c8 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/index.js
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/index.js
@@ -475,6 +475,10 @@ function _getConfig () {
     return {}
   }
 
+  if (!fs.existsSync(configFilePath)) {
+    return {}
+  }
+
   return jsonApi.parse(fs.readFileSync(configFilePath))
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/mitmproxy/src/json.js b/packages/mitmproxy/src/json.js
index 5935c81215..f5f0bb8a01 100644
--- a/packages/mitmproxy/src/json.js
+++ b/packages/mitmproxy/src/json.js
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ if (JSON5.default) {
 
 module.exports = {
   parse (str) {
+    if (str == null || str.length < 2) {
+      return {}
+    }
     return JSON5.parse(str)
   },
   stringify (obj) {