diff --git a/nomad/cli/dev.py b/nomad/cli/dev.py
index e3048f02b14ebf9f6d2c8237837633395494c601..13837892b2517738cde98716f2d95242da7d2da0 100644
--- a/nomad/cli/dev.py
+++ b/nomad/cli/dev.py
@@ -263,13 +263,19 @@ def gui_config():
 def _generate_example_upload_metadata():
     import yaml
 
-    with open(
-        os.path.join(
+    example_uploads_path = 'examples/data/uploads/example_uploads.yml'
+
+    if not os.path.exists(example_uploads_path):
+        example_uploads_path = os.path.join(
             os.path.dirname(__file__),
             '../../',
             'examples/data/uploads/example_uploads.yml',
         )
-    ) as infile:
+
+    if not os.path.exists(example_uploads_path):
+        raise FileNotFoundError('Cannot find example_uploads.yml file')
+
+    with open(example_uploads_path, 'r') as infile:
         return yaml.load(infile, Loader=yaml.SafeLoader)