diff --git a/templates/event-generator/prepare_experiment.sh b/templates/event-generator/prepare_experiment.sh
index 9d1c09a93671a2a354bc699de422fd7882e23dc9..22ddbb448b45a6a0bb17f89f834f7479216c2980 100644
--- a/templates/event-generator/prepare_experiment.sh
+++ b/templates/event-generator/prepare_experiment.sh
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ mkdir -p "${COMMON_INIDATA_FOLDER}"
 cd "${COMMON_INIDATA_FOLDER}" || exit
 
 # Change permissions
-chmod 660 ./*
+if [ "$(ls -A .)" ]; then
+  chmod 660 ./*
+fi
 
 # Download or copy required input files
 function download_file() {