diff --git a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/plugins/PluginLoader.java b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/plugins/PluginLoader.java
index 073f012cf6..fa2c281953 100644
--- a/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/plugins/PluginLoader.java
+++ b/gerrit-server/src/main/java/com/google/gerrit/server/plugins/PluginLoader.java
@@ -166,6 +166,9 @@ public class PluginLoader implements LifecycleListener {
 
   public static File storeInTemp(String pluginName, InputStream in,
       SitePaths sitePaths) throws IOException {
+    if (!sitePaths.tmp_dir.exists()) {
+      sitePaths.tmp_dir.mkdirs();
+    }
     return asTemp(in, tempNameFor(pluginName), ".jar", sitePaths.tmp_dir);
   }