diff --git a/helix-term/src/main.rs b/helix-term/src/main.rs
index ea9ed804..9d4e1c5b 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/main.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/main.rs
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ fn setup_logging(logpath: PathBuf, verbosity: u64) -> Result<()> {
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     let cache_dir = helix_core::cache_dir();
     if !cache_dir.exists() {
-        std::fs::create_dir(&cache_dir).ok();
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&cache_dir).ok();
     }
 
     let logpath = cache_dir.join("helix.log");
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ FLAGS:
 
     let conf_dir = helix_core::config_dir();
     if !conf_dir.exists() {
-        std::fs::create_dir(&conf_dir).ok();
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&conf_dir).ok();
     }
 
     setup_logging(logpath, args.verbosity).context("failed to initialize logging")?;