diff --git a/deb/local.go b/deb/local.go
index 7d134efe..18cddbf3 100644
--- a/deb/local.go
+++ b/deb/local.go
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ func (repo *LocalRepo) String() string {
 
 // NumPackages return number of packages in local repo
 func (repo *LocalRepo) NumPackages() int {
+	if repo.packageRefs == nil {
+		return 0
+	}
 	return repo.packageRefs.Len()
 }
 
diff --git a/deb/remote.go b/deb/remote.go
index 7dc5eee3..febf62f8 100644
--- a/deb/remote.go
+++ b/deb/remote.go
@@ -163,6 +163,9 @@ func (repo *RemoteRepo) IsFlat() bool {
 
 // NumPackages return number of packages retrieved from remote repo
 func (repo *RemoteRepo) NumPackages() int {
+	if repo.packageRefs == nil {
+		return 0
+	}
 	return repo.packageRefs.Len()
 }