diff --git a/util/util.go b/util/util.go
index cdf0a6d..a77e2eb 100644
--- a/util/util.go
+++ b/util/util.go
@@ -59,5 +59,8 @@ func RandomString(n int) (string, error) {
 
 // Strip hypha name from all ancestor names, replace _ with spaces, title case
 func BeautifulName(uglyName string) string {
+	if uglyName == "" {
+		return uglyName
+	}
 	return strings.Title(strings.ReplaceAll(path.Base(uglyName), "_", " "))
 }