diff --git a/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts b/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
index 9a193502f518..9d9e5bc23703 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/core/sync/index.ts
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ export async function syncInternal({
 			});
 			await contentLayer.sync();
 			settings.timer.end('Sync content layer');
-		} else if (fs.existsSync(getContentPaths(settings.config, fs).contentDir)) {
+		} else if (fs.existsSync(getContentPaths(settings.config, fs).contentDir.href)) {
 			// Content is synced after writeFiles. That means references are not created
 			// To work around it, we create a stub so the reference is created and content
 			// sync will override the empty file