diff --git a/tests/common.sh.in b/tests/common.sh.in
index 28d0e8bf..6a523ca9 100644
--- a/tests/common.sh.in
+++ b/tests/common.sh.in
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ clearStore() {
     mkdir "$NIX_STORE_DIR"
     rm -rf "$NIX_STATE_DIR"
     mkdir "$NIX_STATE_DIR"
+    nix-store --init
     clearProfiles
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/init.sh b/tests/init.sh
index 6fa4f815..19a12c1e 100644
--- a/tests/init.sh
+++ b/tests/init.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ fsync-metadata = false
 !include nix.conf.extra.not-there
 EOF
 
+# Initialise the database.
+nix-store --init
+
 # Did anything happen?
 test -e "$NIX_STATE_DIR"/db/db.sqlite