diff --git a/t/t0610-reftable-basics.sh b/t/t0610-reftable-basics.sh
index 6575528f21..e19e036898 100755
--- a/t/t0610-reftable-basics.sh
+++ b/t/t0610-reftable-basics.sh
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ test_expect_success 'ref transaction: corrupted tables cause failure' '
 		test_commit file1 &&
 		for f in .git/reftable/*.ref
 		do
-			: >"$f" || return 1
+			test-tool truncate "$f" 0 || return 1
 		done &&
 		test_must_fail git update-ref refs/heads/main HEAD
 	)