diff --git a/debian/scripts/koha-shell b/debian/scripts/koha-shell
index 199453ab29..bb74c8073d 100755
--- a/debian/scripts/koha-shell
+++ b/debian/scripts/koha-shell
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ my @su_args;
 push @su_args, '/usr/bin/sudo';
 push @su_args, '--preserve-env' if $opts{'preserve-environment'};
 push @su_args, '--login' if $opts{login};
-push @su_args, "-u", "$instance-koha";
+push @su_args, "-u", "$instance-koha", "-i";
 push @su_args,
     "env "
   . "KOHA_CONF=/etc/koha/sites/$instance/koha-conf.xml "