diff --git a/t/t1401-symbolic-ref.sh b/t/t1401-symbolic-ref.sh
index 5c60d6f812..90af3f955c 100755
--- a/t/t1401-symbolic-ref.sh
+++ b/t/t1401-symbolic-ref.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ reset_to_sane() {
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/foo &&
 	test_commit file &&
-	"$TAR" cf .git.tar .git/
+	"$TAR" cf .git.tar .git
 '
 
 test_expect_success 'symbolic-ref read/write roundtrip' '