diff --git a/assets/locales/en.json b/assets/locales/en.json
index c1a6a905a..053436fb1 100644
--- a/assets/locales/en.json
+++ b/assets/locales/en.json
@@ -206,5 +206,9 @@
   "startupFailedDialog": {
     "title": "IPFS Desktop Startup Has Failed",
     "message": "IPFS node has encountered an error and startup could not be completed:"
+  },
+  "invalidRepositoryDialog": {
+    "title": "Invalid IPFS Repository or Configuration File",
+    "message": "The repository at “{ path }” is invalid. The “config” file must be a valid JSON.\n\nBefore starting IPFS Desktop again, please fix the configuration file or rename the old repository to “.ipfs.backup”."
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/daemon/config.js b/src/daemon/config.js
index 72ef3aaec..5042cf9d3 100644
--- a/src/daemon/config.js
+++ b/src/daemon/config.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+const { app, BrowserWindow } = require('electron')
 const { join } = require('path')
 const fs = require('fs-extra')
 const { multiaddr } = require('multiaddr')
@@ -315,6 +316,47 @@ async function checkPorts (ipfsd) {
   logger.info('[daemon] ports updated')
 }
 
+function checkValidConfig (ipfsd) {
+  if (!fs.pathExistsSync(ipfsd.path)) {
+    // If the repository doesn't exist, skip verification.
+    return true
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const stats = fs.statSync(ipfsd.path)
+    if (!stats.isDirectory()) {
+      throw new Error('IPFS_PATH must be a directory')
+    }
+
+    if (!configExists(ipfsd)) {
+      // Config is generated automatically if it doesn't exist.
+      return true
+    }
+
+    // This should catch errors such having no configuration file,
+    // IPFS_DIR not being a directory, or the configuration file
+    // being corrupted.
+    readConfigFile(ipfsd)
+    return true
+  } catch (e) {
+    // Save to error.log
+    logger.error(e)
+
+    // Hide other windows so the user focus in on the dialog
+    BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().forEach(w => w.hide())
+
+    // Show blocking dialog
+    showDialog({
+      title: i18n.t('invalidRepositoryDialog.title'),
+      message: i18n.t('invalidRepositoryDialog.message', { path: ipfsd.path }),
+      buttons: [i18n.t('quit')]
+    })
+
+    // Only option is to quit
+    app.quit()
+  }
+}
+
 module.exports = Object.freeze({
   configPath,
   configExists,
@@ -322,5 +364,6 @@ module.exports = Object.freeze({
   rmApiFile,
   applyDefaults,
   migrateConfig,
-  checkPorts
+  checkPorts,
+  checkValidConfig
 })
diff --git a/src/daemon/daemon.js b/src/daemon/daemon.js
index 7fc92e1e3..8611d328b 100644
--- a/src/daemon/daemon.js
+++ b/src/daemon/daemon.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ const i18n = require('i18next')
 const { showDialog } = require('../dialogs')
 const logger = require('../common/logger')
 const { getCustomBinary } = require('../custom-ipfs-binary')
-const { applyDefaults, migrateConfig, checkPorts, configExists, rmApiFile, apiFileExists } = require('./config')
+const { applyDefaults, migrateConfig, checkPorts, configExists, checkValidConfig, rmApiFile, apiFileExists } = require('./config')
 const showMigrationPrompt = require('./migration-prompt')
 
 function cannotConnectDialog (addr) {
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ async function spawn ({ flags, path }) {
     args: flags
   })
 
+  if (!checkValidConfig(ipfsd)) {
+    throw new Error(`repository at ${ipfsd.path} is invalid`)
+  }
+
   if (configExists(ipfsd)) {
     migrateConfig(ipfsd)
     return { ipfsd, isRemote: false }
@@ -166,7 +170,16 @@ async function startIpfsWithLogs (ipfsd) {
 }
 
 module.exports = async function (opts) {
-  const { ipfsd, isRemote } = await spawn(opts)
+  let ipfsd, isRemote
+
+  try {
+    const res = await spawn(opts)
+    ipfsd = res.ipfsd
+    isRemote = res.isRemote
+  } catch (err) {
+    return { err: err.toString() }
+  }
+
   if (!isRemote) {
     await checkPorts(ipfsd)
   }