diff --git a/start.py b/start.py
index 2e45dc4df3..00f9a50cbb 100644
--- a/start.py
+++ b/start.py
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ if "--headless" in sys.argv:
     sys.argv.remove("--headless")
 else:
     if os.getenv("OPENPYPE_HEADLESS_MODE") != "1":
-        os.environ.pop("OPENPYPE_HEADLESS_MODE")
+        os.environ.pop("OPENPYPE_HEADLESS_MODE", None)
 
 import igniter  # noqa: E402
 from igniter import BootstrapRepos  # noqa: E402