diff --git a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/local/FileWatcher.java b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/local/FileWatcher.java
index 85a570c1547f..eb6c7fd564ef 100644
--- a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/local/FileWatcher.java
+++ b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/vfs/impl/local/FileWatcher.java
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ public class FileWatcher {
 
     @Override
     public void notifyManualWatchRoots(@NotNull Collection<String> roots) {
-      myManualWatchRoots.add(ContainerUtil.newHashSet(roots));
+      myManualWatchRoots.add(roots.isEmpty() ? Collections.emptySet() : ContainerUtil.newHashSet(roots));
       notifyOnAnyEvent();
     }