diff --git a/tools/perf/perf.c b/tools/perf/perf.c
index aaee0a782747..7b2df2b46525 100644
--- a/tools/perf/perf.c
+++ b/tools/perf/perf.c
@@ -549,6 +549,7 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	srandom(time(NULL));
 
 	perf_config(perf_default_config, NULL);
+	set_buildid_dir(NULL);
 
 	/* get debugfs/tracefs mount point from /proc/mounts */
 	tracing_path_mount();
@@ -572,7 +573,6 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	}
 	if (!prefixcmp(cmd, "trace")) {
 #ifdef HAVE_LIBAUDIT_SUPPORT
-		set_buildid_dir(NULL);
 		setup_path();
 		argv[0] = "trace";
 		return cmd_trace(argc, argv, NULL);
@@ -587,7 +587,6 @@ int main(int argc, const char **argv)
 	argc--;
 	handle_options(&argv, &argc, NULL);
 	commit_pager_choice();
-	set_buildid_dir(NULL);
 
 	if (argc > 0) {
 		if (!prefixcmp(argv[0], "--"))