diff --git a/avatar-realm-resource/src/main/java/org/gcube/keycloak/avatar/storage/file/FileAvatarStorageProviderFactory.java b/avatar-realm-resource/src/main/java/org/gcube/keycloak/avatar/storage/file/FileAvatarStorageProviderFactory.java
index b54ebde..091a81e 100644
--- a/avatar-realm-resource/src/main/java/org/gcube/keycloak/avatar/storage/file/FileAvatarStorageProviderFactory.java
+++ b/avatar-realm-resource/src/main/java/org/gcube/keycloak/avatar/storage/file/FileAvatarStorageProviderFactory.java
@@ -8,7 +8,12 @@ import org.keycloak.models.KeycloakSessionFactory;
 
 public class FileAvatarStorageProviderFactory implements AvatarStorageProviderFactory {
 
-    public static final String DEFAULT_AVATAR_FOLDER = System.getProperty("jboss.server.data.dir") + "/avatar";
+    public static final String DEFAULT_AVATAR_FOLDER = (
+            System.getProperty("jboss.server.data.dir") != null
+                ? System.getProperty("jboss.server.data.dir")
+                : System.getProperty("user.home")
+            ) + "/avatar";
+
     public static final Boolean USE_EMAIL_AS_FILENAME_DEFAULT = Boolean.FALSE;
 
     private String avatarFolder;