diff --git a/configure.py b/configure.py
index 25ca951ac..454140420 100755
--- a/configure.py
+++ b/configure.py
@@ -36,13 +36,16 @@ tempfile.tempdir = "./build/tmp"

 configure_args = str.join(' ', [shlex.quote(x) for x in sys.argv[1:]])

-for line in open('/etc/os-release'):
-    key, _, value = line.partition('=')
-    value = value.strip().strip('"')
-    if key == 'ID':
-        os_ids = [value]
-    if key == 'ID_LIKE':
-        os_ids += value.split(' ')
+try:
+    for line in open('/etc/os-release'):
+        key, _, value = line.partition('=')
+        value = value.strip().strip('"')
+        if key == 'ID':
+            os_ids = [value]
+        if key == 'ID_LIKE':
+            os_ids += value.split(' ')
+except FileNotFoundError:
+    os_ids = ["linux"]


 # distribution "internationalization", converting package names.