diff --git a/packages/grafana-toolkit/src/plugins/manifest.ts b/packages/grafana-toolkit/src/plugins/manifest.ts
index b06417df778..1b209c6f3d9 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-toolkit/src/plugins/manifest.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-toolkit/src/plugins/manifest.ts
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ export async function signManifest(manifest: ManifestInfo): Promise<string> {
 
     return info.data;
   } catch (err: any) {
-    if ((err.response && err.response.data) || err.response.data.message) {
+    if (err.response?.data?.message) {
       throw new Error('Error signing manifest: ' + err.response.data.message);
     }