diff --git a/stages/org.osbuild.dnf-automatic.config b/stages/org.osbuild.dnf-automatic.config
index f5a4e960..7f75ee33 100755
--- a/stages/org.osbuild.dnf-automatic.config
+++ b/stages/org.osbuild.dnf-automatic.config
@@ -25,10 +25,13 @@ def main(tree, options):
         with open(dnf_automatic_config_path, "r", encoding="utf8") as f:
             dnf_automatic_conf.readfp(f)
     except FileNotFoundError:
-        print(f"Error: DNF automatic configuration file '{dnf_automatic_config_path}' does not exist.")
-        return 1
+        print(f"Warning: DNF automatic configuration file '{dnf_automatic_config_path}'" +
+              " does not exist, will create a new one.")
 
     for config_section, config_options in config.items():
+        if not dnf_automatic_conf.has_section(config_section):
+            dnf_automatic_conf.add_section(config_section)
+
         for option, value in config_options.items():
             if isinstance(value, bool):
                 value = bool_to_yes_no(value)