diff --git a/scripts/lib/upgrade-zulip b/scripts/lib/upgrade-zulip
index 03f5e12cb0..4b6ae26122 100755
--- a/scripts/lib/upgrade-zulip
+++ b/scripts/lib/upgrade-zulip
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ if not got_lock:
     sys.exit(1)
 
 logging.info("Unpacking the tarball")
-deploy_path = subprocess.check_output([os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__),
-                                                    'unpack-zulip'),
+deploy_path = subprocess.check_output([os.path.realpath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__),
+                                                                     'unpack-zulip')),
                                        tarball_path], preexec_fn=su_to_zulip)
 deploy_path = deploy_path.strip()
 os.chdir(deploy_path)