diff --git a/src/fileutils.hpp b/src/fileutils.hpp
index 5a01e9af0..77a48bbde 100644
--- a/src/fileutils.hpp
+++ b/src/fileutils.hpp
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ inline std::string get_home_dir(void) {
 	return std::string(homedir);
 }
 inline void make_dir(std::string path, int perms=775) {
-	if( std::system(("mkdir -p "+path+" -m "+std::to_string(perms)).c_str()) ) {
+	if( std::system(("mkdir -p -m "+std::to_string(perms)+" "+path).c_str()) ) {
 		throw std::runtime_error("Failed to create path: "+path);
 	}
 }