diff --git a/command/agent/command.go b/command/agent/command.go
index dcb9ceb044..f81291453d 100644
--- a/command/agent/command.go
+++ b/command/agent/command.go
@@ -213,8 +213,10 @@ func (c *Command) readConfig() *Config {
 		}
 
 		if finfo, err := os.Stat(config.DataDir); err != nil {
-			c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error getting data-dir: %s", err))
-			return nil
+			if !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+				c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error getting data-dir: %s", err))
+				return nil
+			}
 		} else if !finfo.IsDir() {
 			c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("The data-dir specified at %q is not a directory", config.DataDir))
 			return nil