diff --git a/scripts/barelease b/scripts/barelease
index c6d2ca3b229..81ea172e492 100755
--- a/scripts/barelease
+++ b/scripts/barelease
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ remove=false
 we_started_gpg=false
 we_started_ssh=false
 
+# default
+MKTEMPDIR="/tmp"
+
 error_handler() {
 	err 'something bad happened.'
 	exit 1
@@ -134,7 +137,7 @@ parse_args() {
 				use_existing_sigs=true
 				;;
       -t)
-        mktempdir=$2
+        MKTEMPDIR=$2
         shift
         ;;
 			-h)
@@ -244,7 +247,7 @@ update_feed_info() {
 }
 
 do_release() {
-	tmp=$(mktemp -d $mktempdir/barelease.XXXXXXXX)
+	tmp=$(mktemp -d $MKTEMPDIR/barelease.XXXXXXXX)
 	mkdir -p "$tmp"/{i686,x86_64,armv6h,armv7h}
 
 	if ! $remove ; then