diff --git a/src/tools/pathTools.cpp b/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
index c470c4a18..e3adca8fa 100644
--- a/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
@@ -435,6 +435,7 @@ std::string getDataDirectory()
 #endif
   if (!dataDir.empty()) {
     dataDir = appendToDirectory(dataDir, "kiwix");
+    makeDirectory(dataDir);
     return dataDir;
   }