diff --git a/src/barebox-state.c b/src/barebox-state.c
index 1d35b39..4179e64 100644
--- a/src/barebox-state.c
+++ b/src/barebox-state.c
@@ -429,6 +429,7 @@
 	int lock_fd;
 	int nr_states = 0;
 	bool readonly = true;
+	const char *default_state = "state";
 
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&sg_list);
 	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&state_list.list);
@@ -477,6 +478,16 @@
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (nr_states == 0) {
+		struct state_list *new_state;
+
+		new_state = xzalloc(sizeof(*new_state));
+		new_state->name = default_state;
+
+		list_add_tail(&new_state->list, &state_list.list);
+		++nr_states;
+	}
+
 	lock_fd = open("/var/lock/barebox-state", O_CREAT | O_RDWR, 0600);
 	if (lock_fd < 0) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "Failed to open lock-file /var/lock/barebox-state\n");