diff --git a/t/t5004-archive-corner-cases.sh b/t/t5004-archive-corner-cases.sh
index cdb7d7a7f9..bfdb56a069 100755
--- a/t/t5004-archive-corner-cases.sh
+++ b/t/t5004-archive-corner-cases.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ check_dir() {
 }
 
 test_expect_success 'tar archive of empty tree is empty' '
-	git archive --format=tar HEAD >empty.tar &&
+	git archive --format=tar HEAD: >empty.tar &&
 	make_dir extract &&
 	"$TAR" xf empty.tar -C extract &&
 	check_dir extract