diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
index 374a84332357..de2c43b8a40a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/google-compute-image.nix
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ in
               echo "Setup of ssh host keys from http://metadata.google.internal/computeMetadata/v1/instance/attributes/ failed."
               false
           fi
-          rm -f $SSH_HOST_KEYS_DIR
+          rm -rf $SSH_HOST_KEYS_DIR
         '';
       serviceConfig.Type = "oneshot";
       serviceConfig.RemainAfterExit = true;