diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 0fd70ff..666cee5 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ pub fn read_env_vars(file_path: &str) -> Result<HashMap<String, String>, std::io
         let contents = fs::read_to_string(path)?;
         Ok(parse_env_content(&contents))
     } else {
+        // Create an empty .env file if it doesn't exist
+        fs::write(path, "")?;
         Ok(HashMap::new())
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 1d0e804..e47e0e9 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -161,17 +161,10 @@ fn main() {
 
     if !new_vars.is_empty() {
         should_print = false; // Don't print all vars when setting new ones
-        let mut env_vars = match read_env_vars(&cli.file) {
-            Ok(result) => result,
-            Err(e) => {
-                if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound {
-                    HashMap::new()
-                } else {
-                    eprintln!("Error reading .env file: {}", e);
-                    process::exit(1);
-                }
-            }
-        };
+        let mut env_vars = read_env_vars(&cli.file).unwrap_or_else(|e| {
+            eprintln!("Error reading .env file: {}", e);
+            process::exit(1);
+        });
 
         env_vars.extend(new_vars);