diff --git a/src/services/data_dir.js b/src/services/data_dir.js
index fcdedad24..a923e5e61 100644
--- a/src/services/data_dir.js
+++ b/src/services/data_dir.js
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ const DIR_NAME = 'trilium-data';
 
 function getTriliumDataDir() {
     if (process.env.TRILIUM_DATA_DIR) {
+        if (!fs.existsSync(process.env.TRILIUM_DATA_DIR)) {
+            fs.mkdirSync(process.env.TRILIUM_DATA_DIR, 0o700);
+        }
+
         return process.env.TRILIUM_DATA_DIR;
     }