diff --git a/src/rs.cpp b/src/rs.cpp
index f24753145f..57b3c180ec 100644
--- a/src/rs.cpp
+++ b/src/rs.cpp
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ rs2_context* rs2_create_context(int api_version, rs2_error** error) BEGIN_API_CA
 {
     verify_version_compatibility(api_version);
 
-    json settings;
+    json settings = json::object();
     return new rs2_context{ context::make( settings ) };
 }
 HANDLE_EXCEPTIONS_AND_RETURN(nullptr, api_version)