diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/netbox.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/netbox.nix
index 605948810e30..6f5e1536d616 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/netbox.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-apps/netbox.nix
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ in {
           # This mostly correspond to upstream NetBox's 'upgrade.sh' script.
           versionFile="${cfg.dataDir}/version"
 
-          if [[ -e "$versionFile" && "$(cat "$versionFile")" == "${cfg.package.version}" ]]; then
+          if [[ -h "$versionFile" && "$(readlink -- "$versionFile")" == "${cfg.package}" ]]; then
             exit 0
           fi
 
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ in {
             (lib.versionOlder cfg.package.version "3.7.0")
             "${pkg}/bin/netbox clearcache"}
 
-          echo "${cfg.package.version}" > "$versionFile"
+          ln -sfn "${cfg.package}" "$versionFile"
         '';
 
         serviceConfig = defaultServiceConfig // {