diff --git a/src/constants/bidsAppsActions.m b/src/constants/bidsAppsActions.m
index fb6498ff..14d13b0c 100644
--- a/src/constants/bidsAppsActions.m
+++ b/src/constants/bidsAppsActions.m
@@ -3,12 +3,27 @@
 
   % (C) Copyright 2022 bidspm developers
 
-  input_file = fullfile(fileparts(mfilename('fullpath')), ...
-                        '..', ...
-                        'bidspm', ...
-                        'data', ...
-                        'allowed_actions.json');
+  try
+    input_file = fullfile(fileparts(mfilename('fullpath')), ...
+                          '..', ...
+                          'bidspm', ...
+                          'data', ...
+                          'allowed_actions.json');
 
-  value = bids.util.jsondecode(input_file);
+    value = bids.util.jsondecode(input_file);
+  catch
+    value = {'copy'; ...
+             'create_roi'; ...
+             'preprocess'; ...
+             'smooth'; ...
+             'default_model'; ...
+             'stats'; ...
+             'contrasts'; ...
+             'results'; ...
+             'specify_only'; ...
+             'bms'; ...
+             'bms-posterior'; ...
+             'bms-bms'};
+  end
 
 end