diff --git a/debian/rules b/debian/rules
index c646c29..d158443 100755
--- a/debian/rules
+++ b/debian/rules
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ execute_after_dh_auto_clean:
 	rm -f src/dnstap.pb/dnstap.proto
 
 execute_after_dh_auto_configure:
+	mkdir -p src/dnstap.pb
 	ln -s ../../debian/local/dnstap.proto src/dnstap.pb/dnstap.proto
 
 execute_after_dh_auto_install: