diff --git a/abra b/abra
index 84aec92..e2a60e7 100755
--- a/abra
+++ b/abra
@@ -1067,6 +1067,7 @@ sub_app_new (){
 
   require_abra_dir
   get_servers
+  require_apps_json
 
   # decentral1se: we are overloading the use of the word "app" in the
   # command-line interface to mean two things -- in the code, we differentiate