diff --git a/src/git.ts b/src/git.ts
index c7c2b4c79..248db032a 100644
--- a/src/git.ts
+++ b/src/git.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ import {generateWorktree} from './worktree'
 import {
   extractErrorMessage,
   isNullOrUndefined,
-  suppressSensitiveInformation
+  suppressSensitiveInformation,
+  getRsyncVersion
 } from './util'
 
 /**
@@ -110,6 +111,8 @@ export async function deploy(action: ActionInterface): Promise<Status> {
   const temporaryDeploymentBranch = `github-pages-deploy-action/${Math.random()
     .toString(36)
     .substr(2, 9)}`
+  const rsyncVersion = getRsyncVersion()
+  const isMkpathSupported = rsyncVersion >= '3.2.3'
 
   info('Starting to commit changes…')
 
@@ -166,7 +169,7 @@ export async function deploy(action: ActionInterface): Promise<Status> {
       Allows the user to specify the root if '.' is provided.
       rsync is used to prevent file duplication. */
     await execute(
-      `rsync -q -av --checksum --progress ${action.targetFolder ? '--mkpath' : ''} ${action.folderPath}/. ${
+      `rsync -q -av --checksum --progress ${isMkpathSupported && action.targetFolder ? '--mkpath' : ''} ${action.folderPath}/. ${
         action.targetFolder
           ? `${temporaryDeploymentDirectory}/${action.targetFolder}`
           : temporaryDeploymentDirectory
diff --git a/src/util.ts b/src/util.ts
index 7ed60760a..f1a45150b 100644
--- a/src/util.ts
+++ b/src/util.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {isDebug, warning} from '@actions/core'
+import {execSync} from 'child_process'
 import {existsSync} from 'fs'
 import path from 'path'
 import {
@@ -140,3 +141,20 @@ export const extractErrorMessage = (error: unknown): string =>
  */
 export const stripProtocolFromUrl = (url: string): string =>
   url.replace(/^(?:https?:\/\/)?(?:www\.)?/i, '').split('/')[0]
+
+/**
+ * Gets the rsync version.
+ */
+export function getRsyncVersion(): string {
+  try {
+    const versionOutput = execSync('rsync --version').toString()
+    const versionMatch = versionOutput.match(
+      /rsync\s+version\s+(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)/
+    )
+    return versionMatch ? versionMatch[1] : ''
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error(error)
+
+    return ''
+  }
+}