diff --git a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/nodes.js b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/nodes.js
index 76f544396..a7eea6caf 100644
--- a/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/nodes.js
+++ b/packages/node_modules/@node-red/editor-client/src/js/nodes.js
@@ -1097,6 +1097,11 @@ RED.nodes = (function() {
             // Until we know how that can happen, add a filter here to remove them
             node.nodes = node.nodes.filter(function(n) { return !!n }).map(function(n) { return n.id });
         }
+        if (n.type === "tab" || n.type === "group") {
+            if (node.env && node.env.length === 0) {
+                delete node.env;
+            }
+        }
         if (n._def.category != "config") {
             node.x = n.x;
             node.y = n.y;