diff --git a/tg3_data_collection/data_get_sync.py b/tg3_data_collection/data_get_sync.py
index b889a33..ab7450b 100755
--- a/tg3_data_collection/data_get_sync.py
+++ b/tg3_data_collection/data_get_sync.py
@@ -183,7 +183,9 @@ class DataGetSync:
     def list_remote_episodes(self) -> list[str]:
         root = shlex.quote(self.remote_ready)
         output = self._remote_command(
-            f"find {root} -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -printf '%f\\n'"
+            f"if test -d {root}; then "
+            f"find {root} -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -printf '%f\\n'; "
+            "fi"
         )
         names = sorted({line.strip() for line in output.splitlines() if line.strip()})
         unsafe = [name for name in names if not safe_episode_name(name)]