diff --git a/src/dev/typescript/ref_output_cache/ref_output_cache.ts b/src/dev/typescript/ref_output_cache/ref_output_cache.ts
index ca69236a706d2..ed11422a98cde 100644
--- a/src/dev/typescript/ref_output_cache/ref_output_cache.ts
+++ b/src/dev/typescript/ref_output_cache/ref_output_cache.ts
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export class RefOutputCache {
       }
 
       this.log.debug(`[${relative}] clearing outDir and replacing with cache`);
-      await del(outDir);
+      await del(outDir, { force: true });
       await unzip(Path.resolve(tmpDir, cacheName), outDir);
       await Fs.writeFile(Path.resolve(outDir, OUTDIR_MERGE_BASE_FILENAME), this.mergeBase);
     });