diff --git a/playbooks/zuul-tarball/run.yaml b/playbooks/zuul-tarball/run.yaml
index e3d47ce625..d55c5c37dd 100644
--- a/playbooks/zuul-tarball/run.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/zuul-tarball/run.yaml
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
     - name: Build tarball and wheel
       command:
         cmd: python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
-        chdir: '{{ zuul_work_dir }}'
+        chdir: "{{ zuul.project.src_dir }}"