diff --git a/src/libfetchers/git.cc b/src/libfetchers/git.cc
index 4cc726076..71bb8c0b7 100644
--- a/src/libfetchers/git.cc
+++ b/src/libfetchers/git.cc
@@ -535,7 +535,7 @@ struct GitInputScheme : InputScheme
     static MakeNotAllowedError makeNotAllowedError(std::filesystem::path repoPath)
     {
         return [repoPath{std::move(repoPath)}](const CanonPath & path) -> RestrictedPathError {
-            if (nix::pathExists(repoPath / path.rel()))
+            if (fs::symlink_exists(repoPath / path.rel()))
                 return RestrictedPathError(
                     "Path '%1%' in the repository %2% is not tracked by Git.\n"
                     "\n"