diff --git a/t/t6200-fmt-merge-msg.sh b/t/t6200-fmt-merge-msg.sh
index 8f5a06f7dd..763c46038a 100755
--- a/t/t6200-fmt-merge-msg.sh
+++ b/t/t6200-fmt-merge-msg.sh
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ test_expect_success 'merge-msg test #1' '
 	test_cmp expected actual
 '
 
+TEST_DIRECTORY=$(cd "$TEST_DIRECTORY" && pwd)
 cat >expected <<EOF
 Merge branch 'left' of $TEST_DIRECTORY/$test
 EOF