diff --git a/usr/lib/archboot/run/uki.sh b/usr/lib/archboot/run/uki.sh
index f147df20d..a6c44b767 100755
--- a/usr/lib/archboot/run/uki.sh
+++ b/usr/lib/archboot/run/uki.sh
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ _prepare_ucode || exit 1
 _prepare_background || exit 1
 _prepare_osrelease || exit 1
 _reproducibility || exit 1
+_systemd_ukify || exit 1
 _create_cksum || exit 1
 _cleanup_uki || exit 1
 echo "Finished UKI creation."
diff --git a/usr/lib/archboot/uki.sh b/usr/lib/archboot/uki.sh
index d51d44e70..b1f07e0a5 100644
--- a/usr/lib/archboot/uki.sh
+++ b/usr/lib/archboot/uki.sh
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ _config() {
 }
 
 _prepare_kernel_initramfs() {
-    mkdir -p "${_UKIDIR}"
     # needed to hash the kernel for secureboot enabled systems
     echo "Preparing kernel..."
     install -m644 "${_KERNEL}" "${_UKIDIR}/kernel"