diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/dia/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/dia/default.nix
index 126ade61c19d..da6838880630 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/dia/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/dia/default.nix
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     mv dia .dia-wrapped
     echo '#! ${stdenv.shell}' >> dia
     echo 'test -f "$HOME/.dia/persistence" || cp ${correctPersistence} "$HOME/.dia/persistence" ' >> dia
+    echo 'chmod u+rw "$HOME/.dia/persistence" ' >> dia
     echo "\"$out/bin/"'.dia-wrapped" "$@"' >> dia
     chmod a+x dia
   '';