diff --git a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/jar/JarFileSystemImpl.java b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/jar/JarFileSystemImpl.java
index 13951ec6d812..86b979f949fd 100644
--- a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/jar/JarFileSystemImpl.java
+++ b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/jar/JarFileSystemImpl.java
@@ -142,6 +142,10 @@ public class JarFileSystemImpl extends JarFileSystem implements ApplicationCompo
 
   @Override
   public void setNoCopyJarForPath(String pathInJar) {
+    if (myNoCopyJarPaths == null) {
+      return;
+    }
+
     int index = pathInJar.indexOf(JAR_SEPARATOR);
     if (index < 0) return;
     String path = pathInJar.substring(0, index);