diff --git a/reading_machine/src/ReadingMachine.cpp b/reading_machine/src/ReadingMachine.cpp
index 5890f26e7f68072f5c301ac7b89857606ffa85e9..a74491bf6d9ae106e5de7f977300068a20638e79 100644
--- a/reading_machine/src/ReadingMachine.cpp
+++ b/reading_machine/src/ReadingMachine.cpp
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ ReadingMachine::ReadingMachine(std::filesystem::path path, std::vector<std::file
 void ReadingMachine::readFromFile(std::filesystem::path path)
 {
   std::FILE * file = std::fopen(path.c_str(), "r");
+  if (not file)
+    util::myThrow(fmt::format("can't open file '{}'", path.string()));
 
   char buffer[1024];
   std::string fileContent;