diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-and-upload-binaries-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/build-and-upload-binaries-ci.yml
index ff91a9978b..12902ade16 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-and-upload-binaries-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-and-upload-binaries-ci.yml
@@ -46,6 +46,15 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.platform }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      
+      - name: Prepare build output directory
+        shell: bash
+        env:
+          OUTPUT_DIR: ci-builds/${{ github.ref_name }}
+        run: |
+          rm -rf ci-builds || true
+          mkdir -p $OUTPUT_DIR
+          echo $OUTPUT_DIR
 
       - name: Install Dependencies (Linux)
         run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev build-essential curl wget libssl-dev libgtk-3-dev libudev-dev squashfs-tools
@@ -76,12 +85,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Prepare build output
         shell: bash
         env:
-          OUTPUT_DIR: ci-builds/${{ env.GITHUB_REF_NAME }}
+          OUTPUT_DIR: ci-builds/${{ github.ref_name }}
         run: |
-          rm -rf ci-builds || true
-          mkdir -p $OUTPUT_DIR
-          echo $OUTPUT_DIR
-
           cp target/release/nym-client $OUTPUT_DIR
           cp target/release/nym-gateway $OUTPUT_DIR
           cp target/release/nym-mixnode $OUTPUT_DIR