diff --git a/waybar-collectd/src/runner.rs b/waybar-collectd/src/runner.rs
index 2fbbd4f..471e183 100644
--- a/waybar-collectd/src/runner.rs
+++ b/waybar-collectd/src/runner.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 use core::fmt;
-use std::time::SystemTime;
+use std::{fs, time::SystemTime};
 
 use draw::{StackedConfig, StackedSeries, StackedSeriesConfig, stacked};
 use imageproc::image::codecs::pnm::SampleEncoding;
@@ -95,6 +95,15 @@ impl Runner {
         self.last_sample = now;
 
         for g in &mut self.graphs {
+            let path = std::path::Path::new(&g.series.config.path)
+                .parent()
+                .expect("wrong target directory");
+            if !fs::exists(path).unwrap_or(false) {
+                fs::create_dir(path).map_err(|_| {
+                    RunnerError::CouldNotSaveImage("cannot create parent directory".to_string())
+                })?;
+            }
+
             // fill in empty samples for missing data
             if dt >= 2. {
                 let dt_round = dt.round() as u32;