diff --git a/pillar/application/__init__.py b/pillar/application/__init__.py
index aad3a726..58467059 100644
--- a/pillar/application/__init__.py
+++ b/pillar/application/__init__.py
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ if app.config['DEBUG']:
 
 # Get the Git hash
 try:
-    git_cmd = ['git', 'describe', '--always']
+    git_cmd = ['git', '-C', app_root, 'describe', '--always']
     description = subprocess.check_output(git_cmd)
     app.config['GIT_REVISION'] = description.strip()
 except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, OSError) as ex: