diff --git a/lib/package_unpack.c b/lib/package_unpack.c
index da86874f..fcb9f142 100644
--- a/lib/package_unpack.c
+++ b/lib/package_unpack.c
@@ -203,24 +203,6 @@ unpack_archive(struct xbps_handle *xhp,
 	if (xhp->flags & XBPS_FLAG_FORCE_UNPACK)
 		force = true;
 
-	if (access(xhp->rootdir, R_OK) == -1) {
-		if (errno != ENOENT) {
-			rv = errno;
-			goto out;
-		}
-		if (xbps_mkpath(xhp->rootdir, 0750) == -1) {
-			rv = errno;
-			goto out;
-		}
-	}
-	if (chdir(xhp->rootdir) == -1) {
-		xbps_set_cb_state(xhp, XBPS_STATE_UNPACK_FAIL,
-		    errno, pkgver,
-		    "%s: [unpack] failed to chdir to rootdir `%s': %s",
-		    pkgver, xhp->rootdir, strerror(errno));
-		rv = errno;
-		goto out;
-	}
 	if (strcmp(transact, "update") == 0)
 		update = true;
 	/*
@@ -696,6 +678,24 @@ xbps_unpack_binary_pkg(struct xbps_handle *xhp, xbps_dictionary_t pkg_repod)
 	/*
 	 * Extract archive files.
 	 */
+	if (access(xhp->rootdir, R_OK) == -1) {
+		if (errno != ENOENT) {
+			rv = errno;
+			goto out;
+		}
+		if (xbps_mkpath(xhp->rootdir, 0750) == -1) {
+			rv = errno;
+			goto out;
+		}
+	}
+	if (chdir(xhp->rootdir) == -1) {
+		xbps_set_cb_state(xhp, XBPS_STATE_UNPACK_FAIL,
+		    errno, pkgver,
+		    "%s: [unpack] failed to chdir to rootdir `%s': %s",
+		    pkgver, xhp->rootdir, strerror(errno));
+		rv = errno;
+		goto out;
+	}
 	if ((rv = unpack_archive(xhp, pkg_repod, pkgver, bpkg, ar)) != 0) {
 		xbps_set_cb_state(xhp, XBPS_STATE_UNPACK_FAIL,
 		    rv, pkgver,