diff --git a/core/SettingsPiwik.php b/core/SettingsPiwik.php
index 7914240a0dd..2e0613f9f62 100644
--- a/core/SettingsPiwik.php
+++ b/core/SettingsPiwik.php
@@ -301,7 +301,11 @@ static public function checkPiwikServerWorking($piwikServerUrl)
 
     public static function getCurrentGitBranch()
     {
-        $firstLineOfGitHead = file(PIWIK_INCLUDE_PATH . '/.git/HEAD');
+        $file = PIWIK_INCLUDE_PATH . '/.git/HEAD';
+        if(!file_exists($file)) {
+            return '';
+        }
+        $firstLineOfGitHead = file($file);
         if (empty($firstLineOfGitHead)) {
             return '';
         }