diff --git a/integration-tests/list_directory.test.js b/integration-tests/list_directory.test.js
index 987a2351..6bbcde63 100644
--- a/integration-tests/list_directory.test.js
+++ b/integration-tests/list_directory.test.js
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ test('should be able to list a directory', async (t) => {
   rig.setup(t.name);
   rig.createFile('file1.txt', 'file 1 content');
   rig.mkdir('subdir');
+  rig.sync();
 
   const prompt = `Can you list the files in the current directory`;
   const result = await rig.run(prompt);
diff --git a/integration-tests/test-helper.js b/integration-tests/test-helper.js
index acc0035a..eb598bd9 100644
--- a/integration-tests/test-helper.js
+++ b/integration-tests/test-helper.js
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@ export class TestRig {
     mkdirSync(join(this.testDir, dir));
   }
 
+  sync() {
+    // ensure file system is done before spawning
+    execSync('sync', { cwd: this.testDir });
+  }
+
   run(prompt, ...args) {
     const output = execSync(
       `node ${this.bundlePath} --yolo --prompt "${prompt}" ${args.join(' ')}`,