diff --git a/src/context.c b/src/context.c
index ea3ae0b..4ad2bbf 100644
--- a/src/context.c
+++ b/src/context.c
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ int apk_ctx_prepare(struct apk_ctx *ac)
 	if (!ac->root) ac->root = "/";
 	if (!ac->cache_max_age) ac->cache_max_age = 4*60*60; /* 4 hours default */
 	if (!strcmp(ac->root, "/")) ac->flags |= APK_NO_CHROOT; /* skip chroot if root is default */
-	ac->uvol = getenv("APK_UVOL");
+	ac->uvol = getenv("APK_UVOL") ?: "/usr/bin/uvol";
 
 	ac->root_fd = openat(AT_FDCWD, ac->root, O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC);
 	if (ac->root_fd < 0 && (ac->open_flags & APK_OPENF_CREATE)) {