diff --git a/dist/server/build.js b/dist/server/build.js
index 11af1e285162..04c885a07a45 100644
--- a/dist/server/build.js
+++ b/dist/server/build.js
@@ -90,6 +90,10 @@ if (_commander2.default.staticDir) {
 // It should be enabled with the --enable-db for dev server
 if (_commander2.default.enableDb) {
   var dbPath = _commander2.default.dbPath || _path2.default.resolve(configDir, 'addon-db.json');
+  // create addon-db.json file if it's missing to avoid the 404 error
+  if (!_fs2.default.existsSync(dbPath)) {
+    _fs2.default.writeFileSync(dbPath, '{}');
+  }
   _shelljs2.default.cp(dbPath, outputDir);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/server/build.js b/src/server/build.js
index 31d3d61b7997..c37d257d1dfe 100644
--- a/src/server/build.js
+++ b/src/server/build.js
@@ -64,6 +64,10 @@ if (program.staticDir) {
 // It should be enabled with the --enable-db for dev server
 if (program.enableDb) {
   const dbPath = program.dbPath || path.resolve(configDir, 'addon-db.json');
+  // create addon-db.json file if it's missing to avoid the 404 error
+  if (!fs.existsSync(dbPath)) {
+    fs.writeFileSync(dbPath, '{}');
+  }
   shelljs.cp(dbPath, outputDir);
 }