diff --git a/headless-services/commons/commons-boot-app-cli/src/main/java/org/springframework/ide/vscode/commons/boot/app/cli/AbstractSpringBootApp.java b/headless-services/commons/commons-boot-app-cli/src/main/java/org/springframework/ide/vscode/commons/boot/app/cli/AbstractSpringBootApp.java
index b16cd8f82..a0f078881 100644
--- a/headless-services/commons/commons-boot-app-cli/src/main/java/org/springframework/ide/vscode/commons/boot/app/cli/AbstractSpringBootApp.java
+++ b/headless-services/commons/commons-boot-app-cli/src/main/java/org/springframework/ide/vscode/commons/boot/app/cli/AbstractSpringBootApp.java
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractSpringBootApp implements SpringBootApp {
 					return cachedBeansModel;
 
 				} else {
-					throw new Exception("not getting any beans from app");
+					return LiveBeansModel.builder().build();
 				}
 
 			});