diff --git a/licenses/list-licenses b/licenses/list-licenses
index 2f27653..3157817 100755
--- a/licenses/list-licenses
+++ b/licenses/list-licenses
@@ -3,8 +3,12 @@ set -e
 
 # list Node licenses
 if [ -f package.json ]; then
-	npm exec --yes license-checker -- --production --csv --excludePrivatePackages --customPath .bin/license-template-node.json
-	{ echo; } 2>/dev/null
+  if grep -q '"dependencies":\s*\{[^}]*"[^"]+":' package.json; then
+    npm exec --yes license-checker -- --production --csv --excludePrivatePackages --customPath .bin/license-template-node.json
+    { echo; } 2>/dev/null
+  else
+    echo "No dependencies found in package.json" >&2
+  fi
 fi
 
 # list Go licenses