diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/separate-debug-info.sh b/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/separate-debug-info.sh
index 3c8c9c294c3..ca651b4393a 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/separate-debug-info.sh
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/separate-debug-info.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ _separateDebugInfo() {
     local dst="${debug:-$out}"
     if [ "$prefix" = "$dst" ]; then return 0; fi
 
+    # in case there is nothing to strip, don't fail the build
+    mkdir -p "$dst"
+
     dst="$dst/lib/debug/.build-id"
 
     # Find executables and dynamic libraries.