diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 8e5c3d04fad5..106a5fa13509 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 """
 from __future__ import division, print_function
 
-DOCLINES = __doc__.split("\n")
+DOCLINES = (__doc__ or '').split("\n")
 
 import os
 import sys