diff --git a/runtime/CMakeLists.txt b/runtime/CMakeLists.txt
index a30bae388d..a9de7557e4 100644
--- a/runtime/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/runtime/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ foreach(DF ${DOCFILES})
 endforeach()
 
 add_custom_target(helptags
-  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove_directory ${GENERATED_RUNTIME_DIR}/doc
   COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy_directory
     ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/runtime/doc ${GENERATED_RUNTIME_DIR}/doc
   COMMAND "${PROJECT_BINARY_DIR}/bin/nvim"