diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f3741273..b569b8ce 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ PACKAGES_FOR_UNIT_TESTS = $(shell go list -f '{{.ImportPath}}/' ./... | grep -v
 # Run all the e2e tests by default
 E2E_TEST_SELECTOR ?= .*
 
-JENKINS_API_HOSTNAME := $(shell $(JENKINS_API_HOSTNAME_COMMAND))
+JENKINS_API_HOSTNAME := $(shell $(JENKINS_API_HOSTNAME_COMMAND) 2> /dev/null || echo "" )
 OPERATOR_ARGS ?= --jenkins-api-hostname=$(JENKINS_API_HOSTNAME) --jenkins-api-port=$(JENKINS_API_PORT) --jenkins-api-use-nodeport=$(JENKINS_API_USE_NODEPORT) $(OPERATOR_EXTRA_ARGS)
 
 .DEFAULT_GOAL := help
@@ -513,4 +513,4 @@ helm-deploy: helm-package
 generate-docs: ## Re-generate docs directory from the website directory
 	@echo "+ $@"
 	rm -rf docs || echo "Cannot remove docs dir, ignoring"
-	hugo -s website -d ../docs
\ No newline at end of file
+	hugo -s website -d ../docs