diff --git a/src/nix/flake.cc b/src/nix/flake.cc
index 3a54763a1..ce2faacb0 100644
--- a/src/nix/flake.cc
+++ b/src/nix/flake.cc
@@ -891,37 +891,32 @@ struct CmdFlakeInitCommon : virtual Args, EvalCommand
 
         auto cursor = installable.getCursor(*evalState);
 
-        auto templateDirAttr = cursor->getAttr("path");
-        auto templateDir = templateDirAttr->getString();
-
-        if (!store->isInStore(templateDir))
-            evalState->error<TypeError>(
-                "'%s' was not found in the Nix store\n"
-                "If you've set '%s' to a string, try using a path instead.",
-                templateDir, templateDirAttr->getAttrPathStr()).debugThrow();
+        auto templateDirAttr = cursor->getAttr("path")->forceValue();
+        NixStringContext context;
+        auto templateDir = evalState->coerceToPath(noPos, templateDirAttr, context, "");
 
         std::vector<fs::path> changedFiles;
         std::vector<fs::path> conflictedFiles;
 
-        std::function<void(const fs::path & from, const fs::path & to)> copyDir;
-        copyDir = [&](const fs::path & from, const fs::path & to)
+        std::function<void(const SourcePath & from, const fs::path & to)> copyDir;
+        copyDir = [&](const SourcePath & from, const fs::path & to)
         {
             fs::create_directories(to);
 
-            for (auto & entry : fs::directory_iterator{from}) {
+            for (auto & [name, entry] : from.readDirectory()) {
                 checkInterrupt();
-                auto from2 = entry.path();
-                auto to2 = to / entry.path().filename();
-                auto st = entry.symlink_status();
+                auto from2 = from / name;
+                auto to2 = to / name;
+                auto st = from2.lstat();
                 auto to_st = fs::symlink_status(to2);
-                if (fs::is_directory(st))
+                if (st.type == SourceAccessor::tDirectory)
                     copyDir(from2, to2);
-                else if (fs::is_regular_file(st)) {
-                    auto contents = readFile(from2.string());
+                else if (st.type == SourceAccessor::tRegular) {
+                    auto contents = from2.readFile();
                     if (fs::exists(to_st)) {
                         auto contents2 = readFile(to2.string());
                         if (contents != contents2) {
-                            printError("refusing to overwrite existing file '%s'\n please merge it manually with '%s'", to2.string(), from2.string());
+                            printError("refusing to overwrite existing file '%s'\n please merge it manually with '%s'", to2.string(), from2);
                             conflictedFiles.push_back(to2);
                         } else {
                             notice("skipping identical file: %s", from2);
@@ -930,18 +925,18 @@ struct CmdFlakeInitCommon : virtual Args, EvalCommand
                     } else
                         writeFile(to2, contents);
                 }
-                else if (fs::is_symlink(st)) {
-                    auto target = fs::read_symlink(from2);
+                else if (st.type == SourceAccessor::tSymlink) {
+                    auto target = from2.readLink();
                     if (fs::exists(to_st)) {
                         if (fs::read_symlink(to2) != target) {
-                            printError("refusing to overwrite existing file '%s'\n please merge it manually with '%s'", to2.string(), from2.string());
+                            printError("refusing to overwrite existing file '%s'\n please merge it manually with '%s'", to2.string(), from2);
                             conflictedFiles.push_back(to2);
                         } else {
                             notice("skipping identical file: %s", from2);
                         }
                         continue;
                     } else
-                          fs::create_symlink(target, to2);
+                        fs::create_symlink(target, to2);
                 }
                 else
                     throw Error("file '%s' has unsupported type", from2);
@@ -957,14 +952,14 @@ struct CmdFlakeInitCommon : virtual Args, EvalCommand
             for (auto & s : changedFiles) args.emplace_back(s.string());
             runProgram("git", true, args);
         }
-        auto welcomeText = cursor->maybeGetAttr("welcomeText");
-        if (welcomeText) {
+
+        if (auto welcomeText = cursor->maybeGetAttr("welcomeText")) {
             notice("\n");
             notice(renderMarkdownToTerminal(welcomeText->getString()));
         }
 
         if (!conflictedFiles.empty())
-            throw Error("Encountered %d conflicts - see above", conflictedFiles.size());
+            throw Error("encountered %d conflicts - see above", conflictedFiles.size());
     }
 };