check if public key exists
diff --git a/lib/facter/backuppc_pubkey_rsa.rb b/lib/facter/backuppc_pubkey_rsa.rb
index dad2b10..e64f13d 100644
--- a/lib/facter/backuppc_pubkey_rsa.rb
+++ b/lib/facter/backuppc_pubkey_rsa.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 Facter.add('backuppc_pubkey_rsa') do
   setcode do
-    File.open('/var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_rsa.pub').read.split(' ')[1]
+    if File.exists?('/var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_rsa.pub')
+      File.open('/var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_rsa.pub').read.split(' ')[1]
+    end
   end
 end
\ No newline at end of file