diff --git a/lib/platform/azure/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/azure/index.spec.ts
index 38e0c7e3db9590db0bc22952ed413fdb69d92e7a..d58329075a9491182a42d113dfee274cc48404ef 100644
--- a/lib/platform/azure/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/azure/index.spec.ts
@@ -1196,7 +1196,7 @@ describe('platform/azure', () => {
       const res = await azure.getJsonFile('file.json');
       expect(res).toEqual(data);
     });
-    it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+    it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
       azureApi.gitApi.mockImplementationOnce(
         () =>
           ({
@@ -1205,18 +1205,18 @@ describe('platform/azure', () => {
             ),
           } as any)
       );
-      const res = await azure.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(azure.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
     });
-    it('returns null on errors', async () => {
+    it('throws on errors', async () => {
       azureApi.gitApi.mockImplementationOnce(
         () =>
           ({
-            getItemContent: jest.fn(() => Promise.reject('some error')),
+            getItemContent: jest.fn(() => {
+              throw new Error('some error');
+            }),
           } as any)
       );
-      const res = await azure.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(azure.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/lib/platform/azure/index.ts b/lib/platform/azure/index.ts
index d22d788aa36ce6097b80440c160f7cb026417cc8..f229ae5bed18efdb45c82275eb0c9c15087db742 100644
--- a/lib/platform/azure/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/azure/index.ts
@@ -108,26 +108,18 @@ export async function getRawFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repoId
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    const azureApiGit = await azureApi.gitApi();
-    const buf = await azureApiGit.getItemContent(repo, fileName);
-    const str = await streamToString(buf);
-    return str;
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const azureApiGit = await azureApi.gitApi();
+  const buf = await azureApiGit.getItemContent(repo, fileName);
+  const str = await streamToString(buf);
+  return str;
 }
 
 export async function getJsonFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repoId
 ): Promise<any | null> {
-  try {
-    const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-    return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+  return JSON.parse(raw);
 }
 
 export async function initRepo({
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index 25a868a27f971f32487a84f71d1948d5b1656736..11d930e5352015db334b6efa37e40204985d8d51 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -1931,7 +1931,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() returns null for long content 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() throws on errors 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -1972,7 +1972,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() returns null for malformed JSON 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() throws on long content 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -2013,7 +2013,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() returns null on errors 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with no path getJsonFile() throws on malformed JSON 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -6062,7 +6062,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() returns null for long content 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() throws on errors 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -6103,7 +6103,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() returns null for malformed JSON 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() throws on long content 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -6144,7 +6144,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() returns null on errors 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket-server/index endpoint with path getJsonFile() throws on malformed JSON 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.spec.ts
index 6e06889f121917906ffae8a0ba01e805837ce96b..6a06f89c81b01873eda86e1b43199ed849b17356 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.spec.ts
@@ -2107,7 +2107,7 @@ Followed by some information.
           expect(res).toEqual(data);
           expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
         });
-        it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+        it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
           const scope = await initRepo();
           scope
             .get(
@@ -2117,11 +2117,10 @@ Followed by some information.
               isLastPage: true,
               lines: [{ text: '!@#' }],
             });
-          const res = await bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json');
-          expect(res).toBeNull();
+          await expect(bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
           expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
         });
-        it('returns null for long content', async () => {
+        it('throws on long content', async () => {
           const scope = await initRepo();
           scope
             .get(
@@ -2131,19 +2130,17 @@ Followed by some information.
               isLastPage: false,
               lines: [{ text: '{' }],
             });
-          const res = await bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json');
-          expect(res).toBeNull();
+          await expect(bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
           expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
         });
-        it('returns null on errors', async () => {
+        it('throws on errors', async () => {
           const scope = await initRepo();
           scope
             .get(
               `${urlPath}/rest/api/1.0/projects/SOME/repos/repo/browse/file.json?limit=20000`
             )
             .replyWithError('some error');
-          const res = await bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json');
-          expect(res).toBeNull();
+          await expect(bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
           expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
         });
       });
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
index aba7cd62846093a9e71c868a76f65a38fd6795f1..95423d626bcc883a5a3ee4171f073257807f0f68 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket-server/index.ts
@@ -122,31 +122,24 @@ export async function getRawFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    const [project, slug] = repo.split('/');
-    const fileUrl = `./rest/api/1.0/projects/${project}/repos/${slug}/browse/${fileName}?limit=20000`;
-    const res = await bitbucketServerHttp.getJson<FileData>(fileUrl);
-    const { isLastPage, lines, size } = res.body;
-    if (isLastPage) {
-      return lines.map(({ text }) => text).join('');
-    }
-    logger.warn({ size }, `The file is too big`);
-  } catch (err) {
-    // no-op
+  const [project, slug] = repo.split('/');
+  const fileUrl = `./rest/api/1.0/projects/${project}/repos/${slug}/browse/${fileName}?limit=20000`;
+  const res = await bitbucketServerHttp.getJson<FileData>(fileUrl);
+  const { isLastPage, lines, size } = res.body;
+  if (isLastPage) {
+    return lines.map(({ text }) => text).join('');
   }
-  return null;
+  const msg = `The file is too big (${size}B)`;
+  logger.warn({ size }, msg);
+  throw new Error(msg);
 }
 
 export async function getJsonFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<any | null> {
-  try {
-    const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-    return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+  return JSON.parse(raw);
 }
 
 // Initialize BitBucket Server by getting base branch
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/platform/bitbucket/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index e368a8d464fc61d44c83f6bb6c4248b6d17bd635..c7ee7e74d2f99022709887c45ac9b64393623273 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -921,7 +921,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket getJsonFile() returns null for malformed JSON 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket getJsonFile() throws on errors 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -947,7 +947,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/bitbucket getJsonFile() returns null on errors 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/bitbucket getJsonFile() throws on malformed JSON 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.spec.ts
index ab296ce6c03a87f9d9db039937f3a3e8a82ded00..1df73fffd706baaecac0f6d3c615c1406eacf234 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.spec.ts
@@ -851,22 +851,20 @@ describe('platform/bitbucket', () => {
       expect(res).toEqual(data);
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+    it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
       const scope = await initRepoMock();
       scope
         .get('/2.0/repositories/some/repo/src/HEAD/file.json')
         .reply(200, '!@#');
-      const res = await bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null on errors', async () => {
+    it('throws on errors', async () => {
       const scope = await initRepoMock();
       scope
         .get('/2.0/repositories/some/repo/src/HEAD/file.json')
         .replyWithError('some error');
-      const res = await bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(bitbucket.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
   });
diff --git a/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.ts b/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.ts
index 709852540c7233ef97956ec8806b24a8eefc06ba..4862efafd4a76e95861dc016938d243b70e34e7d 100644
--- a/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/bitbucket/index.ts
@@ -103,27 +103,19 @@ export async function getRawFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    // See: https://developer.atlassian.com/bitbucket/api/2/reference/resource/repositories/%7Bworkspace%7D/%7Brepo_slug%7D/src/%7Bcommit%7D/%7Bpath%7D
-    const path = fileName;
-    const url = `/2.0/repositories/${repo}/src/HEAD/${path}`;
-    const res = await bitbucketHttp.get(url);
-    return res.body;
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  // See: https://developer.atlassian.com/bitbucket/api/2/reference/resource/repositories/%7Bworkspace%7D/%7Brepo_slug%7D/src/%7Bcommit%7D/%7Bpath%7D
+  const path = fileName;
+  const url = `/2.0/repositories/${repo}/src/HEAD/${path}`;
+  const res = await bitbucketHttp.get(url);
+  return res.body;
 }
 
 export async function getJsonFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<any | null> {
-  try {
-    const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-    return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+  return JSON.parse(raw);
 }
 
 // Initialize bitbucket by getting base branch and SHA
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitea/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/gitea/index.spec.ts
index e64331ca4716bfd00a05f14b8009089802e0fb7f..c242124f09ce01e53e87e0f5f60b9d27a27fd4f5 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitea/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitea/index.spec.ts
@@ -1363,19 +1363,17 @@ describe(getName(__filename), () => {
       const res = await gitea.getJsonFile('file.json');
       expect(res).toEqual(data);
     });
-    it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+    it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
       helper.getRepoContents.mockResolvedValueOnce({
         contentString: '!@#',
       } as never);
       await initFakeRepo({ full_name: 'some/repo' });
-      const res = await gitea.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(gitea.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
     });
-    it('returns null on errors', async () => {
-      helper.getRepoContents.mockRejectedValueOnce('some error');
+    it('throws on errors', async () => {
+      helper.getRepoContents.mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('some error'));
       await initFakeRepo({ full_name: 'some/repo' });
-      const res = await gitea.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(gitea.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitea/index.ts b/lib/platform/gitea/index.ts
index 558ff4c48b394e525c0d3e53e7f1069d5fb028ea..e7f97546a445c251c92b4d8913437f1d7b3bf575 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitea/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitea/index.ts
@@ -212,24 +212,16 @@ const platform: Platform = {
     fileName: string,
     repo: string = config.repository
   ): Promise<string | null> {
-    try {
-      const contents = await helper.getRepoContents(repo, fileName);
-      return contents.contentString;
-    } catch (err) /* istanbul ignore next */ {
-      return null;
-    }
+    const contents = await helper.getRepoContents(repo, fileName);
+    return contents.contentString;
   },
 
   async getJsonFile(
     fileName: string,
     repo: string = config.repository
   ): Promise<any | null> {
-    try {
-      const raw = await platform.getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-      return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-    } catch (err) /* istanbul ignore next */ {
-      return null;
-    }
+    const raw = await platform.getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+    return JSON.parse(raw);
   },
 
   async initRepo({
diff --git a/lib/platform/github/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/platform/github/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index 3ef809243a2736b512083d4e2ced38bbc6c4b9c0..0e736cb3b322aae11a6c6b2ec623283615780a97 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/platform/github/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -3454,7 +3454,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/github getJsonFile() returns null for malformed JSON 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/github getJsonFile() throws on errors 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "graphql": Object {
@@ -3505,7 +3505,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/github getJsonFile() returns null on errors 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/github getJsonFile() throws on malformed JSON 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "graphql": Object {
diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
index 6285f2636d0f5868a83bd8164a1cd84251b78153..1b4d87c64b901acee64330dce394693715cbcac4 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.spec.ts
@@ -2152,18 +2152,17 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
       expect(res).toEqual(data);
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+    it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
       const scope = httpMock.scope(githubApiHost);
       initRepoMock(scope, 'some/repo');
       await github.initRepo({ repository: 'some/repo', token: 'token' } as any);
       scope.get('/repos/some/repo/contents/file.json').reply(200, {
         content: Buffer.from('!@#').toString('base64'),
       });
-      const res = await github.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(github.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null on errors', async () => {
+    it('throws on errors', async () => {
       const scope = httpMock.scope(githubApiHost);
       initRepoMock(scope, 'some/repo');
       await github.initRepo({ repository: 'some/repo', token: 'token' } as any);
@@ -2171,8 +2170,7 @@ describe('platform/github', () => {
         .get('/repos/some/repo/contents/file.json')
         .replyWithError('some error');
 
-      const res = await github.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(github.getJsonFile('file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
   });
diff --git a/lib/platform/github/index.ts b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
index d3a10b78b204e15962d1f3c0dd99765d19cc858a..bd20bedc1dd00a0da62a74e9119e9adb7b6a689d 100644
--- a/lib/platform/github/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/github/index.ts
@@ -145,27 +145,19 @@ export async function getRawFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    const url = `repos/${repo}/contents/${fileName}`;
-    const res = await githubApi.getJson<{ content: string }>(url);
-    const buf = res.body.content;
-    const str = Buffer.from(buf, 'base64').toString();
-    return str;
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const url = `repos/${repo}/contents/${fileName}`;
+  const res = await githubApi.getJson<{ content: string }>(url);
+  const buf = res.body.content;
+  const str = Buffer.from(buf, 'base64').toString();
+  return str;
 }
 
 export async function getJsonFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<any | null> {
-  try {
-    const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-    return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+  return JSON.parse(raw);
 }
 
 let existingRepos;
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap b/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
index 1fa2134260a5e77f060dbd93fe340fdc33864635..4ddc39db5ccda508e08a7d6766575430d948c3da 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/__snapshots__/index.spec.ts.snap
@@ -1551,7 +1551,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/gitlab getJsonFile() returns null for malformed JSON 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/gitlab getJsonFile() throws on errors 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -1578,7 +1578,7 @@ Array [
 ]
 `;
 
-exports[`platform/gitlab getJsonFile() returns null on errors 1`] = `
+exports[`platform/gitlab getJsonFile() throws on malformed JSON 1`] = `
 Array [
   Object {
     "headers": Object {
@@ -1600,7 +1600,7 @@ Array [
       "user-agent": "https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate",
     },
     "method": "GET",
-    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/some%2Frepo/repository/files/file.json?ref=HEAD",
+    "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/some%2Frepo/repository/files/dir%2Ffile.json?ref=HEAD",
   },
 ]
 `;
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
index 3979c7a5fef324a5a3984faf226629d1126258b6..7bf98bc4aa5a90870b99c090ba7ce067bd01ce34 100644
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.spec.ts
@@ -1447,7 +1447,7 @@ These updates have all been created already. Click a checkbox below to force a r
       expect(res).toEqual(data);
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null for malformed JSON', async () => {
+    it('throws on malformed JSON', async () => {
       const scope = await initRepo();
       scope
         .get(
@@ -1456,17 +1456,17 @@ These updates have all been created already. Click a checkbox below to force a r
         .reply(200, {
           content: Buffer.from('!@#').toString('base64'),
         });
-      const res = await gitlab.getJsonFile('dir/file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(gitlab.getJsonFile('dir/file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
-    it('returns null on errors', async () => {
+    it('throws on errors', async () => {
       const scope = await initRepo();
       scope
-        .get('/api/v4/projects/some%2Frepo/repository/files/file.json?ref=HEAD')
+        .get(
+          '/api/v4/projects/some%2Frepo/repository/files/dir%2Ffile.json?ref=HEAD'
+        )
         .replyWithError('some error');
-      const res = await gitlab.getJsonFile('file.json');
-      expect(res).toBeNull();
+      await expect(gitlab.getJsonFile('dir/file.json')).rejects.toThrow();
       expect(httpMock.getTrace()).toMatchSnapshot();
     });
   });
diff --git a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
index 06277d9f65de25cc493b35e22fa1de41dd90fddb..09f806d9993d0efed6b652ebb500f9cb788774ea 100755
--- a/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
+++ b/lib/platform/gitlab/index.ts
@@ -143,28 +143,20 @@ export async function getRawFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-  try {
-    const escapedFileName = urlEscape(fileName);
-    const url = `projects/${repo}/repository/files/${escapedFileName}?ref=HEAD`;
-    const res = await gitlabApi.getJson<{ content: string }>(url);
-    const buf = res.body.content;
-    const str = Buffer.from(buf, 'base64').toString();
-    return str;
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const escapedFileName = urlEscape(fileName);
+  const url = `projects/${repo}/repository/files/${escapedFileName}?ref=HEAD`;
+  const res = await gitlabApi.getJson<{ content: string }>(url);
+  const buf = res.body.content;
+  const str = Buffer.from(buf, 'base64').toString();
+  return str;
 }
 
 export async function getJsonFile(
   fileName: string,
   repo: string = config.repository
 ): Promise<any | null> {
-  try {
-    const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
-    return raw && JSON.parse(raw);
-  } catch (err) {
-    return null;
-  }
+  const raw = await getRawFile(fileName, repo);
+  return JSON.parse(raw);
 }
 
 // Initialize GitLab by getting base branch
diff --git a/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.spec.ts b/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.spec.ts
index 46401b2af820fe819a6be074648154c5586b6240..b35f28d6f2e8b3cd0137ca87c5df66d4ebe56637 100644
--- a/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.spec.ts
+++ b/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.spec.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,21 @@ describe('workers/repository/init/apis', () => {
         })
       ).rejects.toThrow(REPOSITORY_FORKED);
     });
+    it('ignores platform.getJsonFile() failures', async () => {
+      platform.initRepo.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+        defaultBranch: 'master',
+        isFork: false,
+      });
+      platform.getJsonFile.mockRejectedValue(new Error());
+      await expect(
+        initApis({
+          ...config,
+          optimizeForDisabled: true,
+          includeForks: false,
+          isFork: true,
+        })
+      ).resolves.not.toThrow();
+    });
     it('uses the onboardingConfigFileName if set', async () => {
       platform.initRepo.mockResolvedValueOnce({
         defaultBranch: 'master',
diff --git a/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.ts b/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.ts
index 539a76f465639560387dcae1a41f6d43d849648e..d83b30b1e26a08d9725cd686b15903ff08df6579 100644
--- a/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.ts
+++ b/lib/workers/repository/init/apis.ts
@@ -17,13 +17,19 @@ const defaultConfigFile = (config: RenovateConfig): string =>
     ? config.onboardingConfigFileName
     : configFileNames[0];
 
+async function getJsonFile(file: string): Promise<RenovateConfig | null> {
+  try {
+    return await platform.getJsonFile(file);
+  } catch (err) {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
 async function validateOptimizeForDisabled(
   config: RenovateConfig
 ): Promise<void> {
   if (config.optimizeForDisabled) {
-    const renovateConfig = await platform.getJsonFile(
-      defaultConfigFile(config)
-    );
+    const renovateConfig = await getJsonFile(defaultConfigFile(config));
     if (renovateConfig?.enabled === false) {
       throw new Error(REPOSITORY_DISABLED_BY_CONFIG);
     }
@@ -32,9 +38,7 @@ async function validateOptimizeForDisabled(
 
 async function validateIncludeForks(config: RenovateConfig): Promise<void> {
   if (!config.includeForks && config.isFork) {
-    const renovateConfig = await platform.getJsonFile(
-      defaultConfigFile(config)
-    );
+    const renovateConfig = await getJsonFile(defaultConfigFile(config));
     if (!renovateConfig?.includeForks) {
       throw new Error(REPOSITORY_FORKED);
     }