diff --git a/spec/spec-helper.coffee b/spec/spec-helper.coffee
index c20bfc827..7621f9cae 100644
--- a/spec/spec-helper.coffee
+++ b/spec/spec-helper.coffee
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ if specPackagePath = FindParentDir.sync(testPaths[0], 'package.json')
 if specDirectory = FindParentDir.sync(testPaths[0], 'fixtures')
   specProjectPath = path.join(specDirectory, 'fixtures')
 else
-  specProjectPath = path.join(__dirname, 'fixtures')
+  specProjectPath = require('os').tmpdir()
 
 beforeEach ->
   atom.project.setPaths([specProjectPath])