diff --git a/dracut-functions.sh b/dracut-functions.sh
index 2c32e8df..7ec20cb3 100755
--- a/dracut-functions.sh
+++ b/dracut-functions.sh
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@
 # along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
+[[ $initdir ]] || { echo "ERROR: initdir $initdir not set" 2>&1; exit 10; }
+[[ -d $initdir ]] || mkdir -p $initdir
+export initdir
+
 # Generic substring function.  If $2 is in $1, return 0.
 strstr() { [[ $1 = *$2* ]]; }