diff --git a/crates/sandcage/src/setup.rs b/crates/sandcage/src/setup.rs
index ad0fa07..14435f8 100644
--- a/crates/sandcage/src/setup.rs
+++ b/crates/sandcage/src/setup.rs
@@ -334,8 +334,12 @@ pub fn has_legacy_ssh_mount(config: &SandcageConfig) -> bool {
 }
 
 pub fn write_ssh_config_to_yaml(path: &Path, entries: &[SshDiscoveryEntry]) -> Result<()> {
-    let content = std::fs::read_to_string(path)
-        .map_err(|e| SetupError::ConfigReadFailed(path.to_path_buf(), e))?;
+    let content = if path.exists() {
+        std::fs::read_to_string(path)
+            .map_err(|e| SetupError::ConfigReadFailed(path.to_path_buf(), e))?
+    } else {
+        String::new()
+    };
 
     let mut config: SandcageConfig = if content.trim().is_empty() {
         SandcageConfig::default()