diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES.md b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
index 94d7cec..8c786cf 100644
--- a/RELEASE_NOTES.md
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES.md
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
 # RELEASE NOTES
 
+***********************
+# testflo version 1.4.22
+February 6, 2026
+
+- Previous release broke for projects that don't have a .coveragerc [#130](https://github.com/OpenMDAO/testflo/pull/130)
+
+
 ***********************
 # testflo version 1.4.21
 February 6, 2026
diff --git a/testflo/__init__.py b/testflo/__init__.py
index bfe6266..55337ce 100644
--- a/testflo/__init__.py
+++ b/testflo/__init__.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = '1.4.21'
+__version__ = '1.4.22'
diff --git a/testflo/cover.py b/testflo/cover.py
index 4e0470e..8eaa068 100644
--- a/testflo/cover.py
+++ b/testflo/cover.py
@@ -28,12 +28,16 @@ def setup_coverage(options):
     data_file = os.path.join(cover_dir, '.coverage')
     cfg_file = os.path.join(cover_dir, '.coveragerc')
 
-    cov = coverage.Coverage(
-        config_file=cfg_file,
-        data_file=data_file,
-        data_suffix=True,
-        branch=options.cover_branch,
-    )
+    kwargs = {
+        'data_file': data_file,
+        'data_suffix': True,
+        'branch': options.cover_branch,
+    }
+
+    if os.path.isfile(cfg_file):
+        kwargs['config_file'] = cfg_file
+
+    cov = coverage.Coverage(**kwargs)
 
     cov.config.ignore_errors = True