diff --git a/tests/nixos/nix-copy-closure.nix b/tests/nixos/nix-copy-closure.nix
index 34e3a2c7d..d24930de0 100644
--- a/tests/nixos/nix-copy-closure.nix
+++ b/tests/nixos/nix-copy-closure.nix
@@ -61,12 +61,10 @@ in
         "${pkgs.openssh}/bin/ssh-keygen", "-t", "ed25519", "-f", "key", "-N", ""
       ], capture_output=True, check=True)
 
-      client.succeed("mkdir -m 700 /root/.ssh")
       client.copy_from_host("key", "/root/.ssh/id_ed25519")
       client.succeed("chmod 600 /root/.ssh/id_ed25519")
 
       # Install the SSH key on the server.
-      server.succeed("mkdir -m 700 /root/.ssh")
       server.copy_from_host("key.pub", "/root/.ssh/authorized_keys")
       server.wait_for_unit("sshd")
       server.wait_for_unit("multi-user.target")