diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index fae001a..c0434bb 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ function initDict(peer, config) {
     const tangle = peer.db.getTangle(tangleID)
 
     // prettier-ignore
-    if (!tangle || tangle.size === 0) throw new Error(`Tangle "${tangleID}" is locally unknown`)
+    if (!tangle || tangle.size === 0) return 0
     // prettier-ignore
     if (!MsgV4.isMoot(tangle.root)) throw new Error(`Tangle "${tangleID}" is not a moot`)
     const domain = tangle.root.metadata.domain