diff --git a/skyplane/compute/aws/aws_auth.py b/skyplane/compute/aws/aws_auth.py
index 1427177f..ba249b04 100644
--- a/skyplane/compute/aws/aws_auth.py
+++ b/skyplane/compute/aws/aws_auth.py
@@ -12,10 +12,7 @@ def __init__(self, config: Optional[SkyplaneConfig] = None, access_key: Optional
         if not config is None:
             self.config = config
         else:
-            if config_path.exists():
-                self.config = SkyplaneConfig.load_config(config_path)
-            else:
-                self.config = SkyplaneConfig.default_config()
+            self.config = SkyplaneConfig.load_config(config_path)
 
         if access_key and secret_key:
             self.config_mode = "manual"