diff --git a/t/test-lib.sh b/t/test-lib.sh
index d7ad13b95..04e098b96 100644
--- a/t/test-lib.sh
+++ b/t/test-lib.sh
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ test_create_repo () {
 	repo="$1"
 	mkdir "$repo"
 	cd "$repo" || error "Cannot setup test environment"
-	"$GIT_EXEC_PATH/git" init --template=$GIT_EXEC_PATH/templates/blt/ >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
+	"$GIT_EXEC_PATH/git" init "--template=$GIT_EXEC_PATH/templates/blt/" >/dev/null 2>&1 ||
 	error "cannot run git init -- have you built things yet?"
 	mv .git/hooks .git/hooks-disabled
 	cd "$owd"