diff --git a/cava.c b/cava.c
index 8ba41b0..6173ca7 100644
--- a/cava.c
+++ b/cava.c
@@ -113,7 +113,12 @@ void load_config()
 	// config: create empty file
 	strcat(configPath, configFile);
 	FILE *fp = fopen(configPath, "ab+");
-	fclose(fp);
+    if (fp) {
+        fclose(fp);
+    } else {
+        printf("Unable to access config '%s', exiting...\n", configPath);
+		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
 
 	// config: parse ini
 	dictionary* ini = iniparser_load(configPath);