diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 737a2243c88bcf3eb7ec565777be90fc5a72b8ec..45da9e3a42dbef036909fc182f70fef35e4f1bff 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ For more information on gitignore: [gitignore(5)][g5]
 git has a global configuration that applies rules to all of
 your projects. For example:
 
-    git config --global core.excludesfile=~/.global_ignore
+    git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.global_ignore
 
 ... will apply the rules in ~/.global_ignore for all of your repos.