diff --git a/packages/linter/src/generators/lint-project/lint-project.ts b/packages/linter/src/generators/lint-project/lint-project.ts
index a7fc9abdf4cea4..c927b8d246bd77 100644
--- a/packages/linter/src/generators/lint-project/lint-project.ts
+++ b/packages/linter/src/generators/lint-project/lint-project.ts
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ export async function lintProjectGenerator(
   const projectConfig = readProjectConfiguration(tree, options.project);
 
   const lintFilePatterns = options.eslintFilePatterns;
-  if (isBuildableLibraryProject(projectConfig)) {
+  if (lintFilePatterns && isBuildableLibraryProject(projectConfig)) {
     lintFilePatterns.push(`${projectConfig.root}/package.json`);
   }