diff --git a/src/cal_tools/tools.py b/src/cal_tools/tools.py
index 4613e111fcc3e2036a636ad26eaeb4fa8c23e608..f2eeded2b80a5bc07c2afd34eec7f693c87b8ae9 100644
--- a/src/cal_tools/tools.py
+++ b/src/cal_tools/tools.py
@@ -789,6 +789,8 @@ class CalibrationMetadata(dict):
             else:
                 print(f"Warning: existing {self._yaml_fn} is malformed, "
                       "will be overwritten")
+        else:
+            self.save()
 
     def save(self):
         with self._yaml_fn.open("w") as fd: