diff --git a/util-cache/src/main/scala/sbt/util/ActionCache.scala b/util-cache/src/main/scala/sbt/util/ActionCache.scala
index 58a62dcd1a..a41f7809fd 100644
--- a/util-cache/src/main/scala/sbt/util/ActionCache.scala
+++ b/util-cache/src/main/scala/sbt/util/ActionCache.scala
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ object ActionCache:
     val cacheEventLog = config.cacheEventLog
     val input =
       Digest.sha256Hash(codeContentHash, extraHash, Digest.dummy(Hasher.hashUnsafe[I](key)))
-    val valuePath = s"value/${input}.json"
+    val valuePath = config.outputDirectory.resolve(s"value/${input}.json").toString
     def organicTask: O =
       cacheEventLog.append(ActionCacheEvent.NotFound)
       // run action(...) and combine the newResult with outputs