diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jabref/preferences/JabRefPreferences.java b/src/main/java/org/jabref/preferences/JabRefPreferences.java
index ef7f129a320..496e4face75 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jabref/preferences/JabRefPreferences.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jabref/preferences/JabRefPreferences.java
@@ -2171,11 +2171,11 @@ public FieldWriterPreferences getFieldWriterPreferences() {
      * @param originalDirectory the directory as configured
      */
     private String determineMainFileDirectory(String originalDirectory) {
-        if (!originalDirectory.isEmpty()) {
+        if ((originalDirectory != null) && !originalDirectory.isEmpty()) {
             // A non-empty directory is kept
             return originalDirectory;
         }
-        return Path.of(JabRefDesktop.getDefaultFileChooserDirectory(), "JabRef").toString();
+        return JabRefDesktop.getDefaultFileChooserDirectory().toString();
     }
 
     @Override