diff --git a/include/util/common.hpp b/include/util/common.hpp
index 2cb67495..6526abef 100644
--- a/include/util/common.hpp
+++ b/include/util/common.hpp
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ std::vector<std::string> systemListEntries(std::string path);
 bool systemIsFile(std::string path);
 bool systemIsDirectory(std::string path);
 void systemCopy(std::string srcPath, std::string destPath);
+void systemCreateDirectory(std::string path);
 
 /** Opens a URL, also happens to work with PDFs and folders.
 Shell injection is possible, so make sure the URL is trusted or hard coded.
diff --git a/src/app/RackWidget.cpp b/src/app/RackWidget.cpp
index 033e1c02..fbdcb519 100644
--- a/src/app/RackWidget.cpp
+++ b/src/app/RackWidget.cpp
@@ -69,7 +69,14 @@ void RackWidget::reset() {
 }
 
 void RackWidget::openDialog() {
-	std::string dir = lastPath.empty() ? assetLocal("") : stringDirectory(lastPath);
+	std::string dir;
+	if (lastPath.empty()) {
+		dir = assetLocal("patches");
+		systemCreateDirectory(dir);
+	}
+	else {
+		dir = stringDirectory(lastPath);
+	}
 	char *path = osdialog_file(OSDIALOG_OPEN, dir.c_str(), NULL, NULL);
 	if (path) {
 		loadPatch(path);
@@ -88,7 +95,14 @@ void RackWidget::saveDialog() {
 }
 
 void RackWidget::saveAsDialog() {
-	std::string dir = lastPath.empty() ? assetLocal("") : stringDirectory(lastPath);
+	std::string dir;
+	if (lastPath.empty()) {
+		dir = assetLocal("patches");
+		systemCreateDirectory(dir);
+	}
+	else {
+		dir = stringDirectory(lastPath);
+	}
 	char *path = osdialog_file(OSDIALOG_SAVE, dir.c_str(), "Untitled.vcv", NULL);
 
 	if (path) {
diff --git a/src/asset.cpp b/src/asset.cpp
index 04f46a58..c6d71ce6 100644
--- a/src/asset.cpp
+++ b/src/asset.cpp
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ std::string assetLocal(std::string filename) {
 	assert(pw);
 	dir = pw->pw_dir;
 	dir += "/Documents/Rack";
-	mkdir(dir.c_str(), 0755);
 #endif
 #if ARCH_WIN
 	// Get "My Documents" folder
@@ -73,7 +72,6 @@ std::string assetLocal(std::string filename) {
 	assert(result == S_OK);
 	dir = buf;
 	dir += "/Rack";
-	CreateDirectory(dir.c_str(), NULL);
 #endif
 #if ARCH_LIN
 	const char *home = getenv("HOME");
@@ -84,8 +82,8 @@ std::string assetLocal(std::string filename) {
 	}
 	dir = home;
 	dir += "/.Rack";
-	mkdir(dir.c_str(), 0755);
 #endif
+	systemCreateDirectory(dir);
 #else // RELEASE
 	dir = ".";
 #endif // RELEASE
diff --git a/src/util/system.cpp b/src/util/system.cpp
index e4ef26ae..24aa9764 100644
--- a/src/util/system.cpp
+++ b/src/util/system.cpp
@@ -72,6 +72,14 @@ void systemCopy(std::string srcPath, std::string destPath) {
 	}
 }
 
+void systemCreateDirectory(std::string path) {
+#if ARCH_WIN
+	CreateDirectory(path.c_str(), NULL);
+#else
+	mkdir(path.c_str(), 0755);
+#endif
+}
+
 void systemOpenBrowser(std::string url) {
 #if ARCH_LIN
 	std::string command = "xdg-open " + url;