diff --git a/crates/ascend/src/server.rs b/crates/ascend/src/server.rs
index 3ea039f..ba6c49e 100644
--- a/crates/ascend/src/server.rs
+++ b/crates/ascend/src/server.rs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ use state::PersistentState;
 use state::State;
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use std::path::Path;
+use std::path::PathBuf;
 use tower_http::services::ServeDir;
 use tracing::level_filters::LevelFilter;
 use type_toppings::ResultExt;
@@ -36,7 +37,6 @@ pub mod cli {
         ImportMiniMoonboardProblems {
             file_path: PathBuf,
         },
-        // TODO: idempotent state initialization to be used in systemd preStart hook
     }
 }
 
@@ -156,10 +156,16 @@ fn file_service(path: impl AsRef<Path>) -> ServeDir {
 #[tracing::instrument]
 async fn load_state() -> Result<State, Error> {
     tracing::info!("Loading state");
-    let state = State {
-        persistent: Persistent::<PersistentState>::load(&Path::new(STATE_FILE)).await?,
+
+    let p = PathBuf::from(STATE_FILE);
+    let persistent = if p.try_exists()? {
+        tracing::info!("No state found at {STATE_FILE}, creating default state");
+        Persistent::<PersistentState>::load(&p).await?
+    } else {
+        Persistent::<PersistentState>::new(PersistentState::default(), p)
     };
-    Ok(state)
+
+    Ok(State { persistent })
 }
 
 #[tracing::instrument]
diff --git a/crates/ascend/src/server/persistence.rs b/crates/ascend/src/server/persistence.rs
index deab2f4..eda5713 100644
--- a/crates/ascend/src/server/persistence.rs
+++ b/crates/ascend/src/server/persistence.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-use camino::Utf8PathBuf;
 use serde::Serialize;
 use serde::de::DeserializeOwned;
 use std::path::Path;