diff --git a/ci/nixpkgs-vet.nix b/ci/nixpkgs-vet.nix
index 7c11dffc4f9b..6bdf92eedb3f 100644
--- a/ci/nixpkgs-vet.nix
+++ b/ci/nixpkgs-vet.nix
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ runCommand "nixpkgs-vet"
   }
   ''
     export NIX_STATE_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+    $NIXPKGS_VET_NIX_PACKAGE/bin/nix-store --init
 
     nixpkgs-vet --base ${filteredBase} ${filteredHead}