diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index baef3fa20..fccd9d226 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -8,12 +8,15 @@ task :test => :spec
 task :default => :spec
 
 namespace :doc do
-  require 'yard'
-  YARD::Rake::YardocTask.new do |task|
-    task.files   = ['README.md', 'LICENSE.md', 'lib/**/*.rb']
-    task.options = [
-      '--output-dir', 'doc/yard',
-      '--markup', 'markdown',
-    ]
+  begin
+    require 'yard'
+    YARD::Rake::YardocTask.new do |task|
+      task.files   = ['README.md', 'LICENSE.md', 'lib/**/*.rb']
+      task.options = [
+        '--output-dir', 'doc/yard',
+        '--markup', 'markdown',
+      ]
+    end
+  rescue LoadError
   end
 end