diff --git a/src/appdb.js b/src/appdb.js
index e6a785080..812ec6b95 100644
--- a/src/appdb.js
+++ b/src/appdb.js
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ function postProcess(result) {
     delete result.restoreConfigJson;
 
     assert(result.tagsJson === null || typeof result.tagsJson === 'string');
-    result.tags = safe.JSON.parse(result.tagsJson) || null;
+    result.tags = safe.JSON.parse(result.tagsJson) || [];
     delete result.tagsJson;
 
     assert(result.hostPorts === null || typeof result.hostPorts === 'string');