diff --git a/project-builder/sbt/prepare-project.sh b/project-builder/sbt/prepare-project.sh
index 9639b837..48206b5d 100755
--- a/project-builder/sbt/prepare-project.sh
+++ b/project-builder/sbt/prepare-project.sh
@@ -79,5 +79,6 @@ ln -fs $scriptDir/CommunityBuildPlugin.scala $repoDir/project/CommunityBuildPlug
 cd $repoDir
 git lfs pull || true
 ## scala-debug adapter
-echo "StrictHostKeyChecking no" >> ~/.ssh/config
+# Skip if no .ssh key provided
+(echo "StrictHostKeyChecking no" >> ~/.ssh/config) || true
 (git submodule sync && git submodule update --init --recursive) || true