1 files changed, 6 insertions, 2 deletions
diff --git a/lib/PublicInbox/OverIdx.pm b/lib/PublicInbox/OverIdx.pm
index c8630ddb..bc2e3ef4 100644
--- a/lib/PublicInbox/OverIdx.pm
+++ b/lib/PublicInbox/OverIdx.pm
@@ -473,10 +473,14 @@ sub dbh_close {
  
  sub create {
          my ($self) = @_;
-        unless (-r $self->{filename}) {
+        my $fn = $self->{filename} // do {
+                Carp::confess('BUG: no {filename}') unless $self->{dbh};
+                return;
+        };
+        unless (-r $fn) {
                  require File::Path;
                  require File::Basename;
-                File::Path::mkpath(File::Basename::dirname($self->{filename}));
+                File::Path::mkpath(File::Basename::dirname($fn));
          }
          # create the DB:
          PublicInbox::Over::dbh($self);