diff --git a/src/csync_propagate.c b/src/csync_propagate.c
index 73aa8a1cea..b7f90d7db1 100644
--- a/src/csync_propagate.c
+++ b/src/csync_propagate.c
@@ -914,10 +914,12 @@ static int _csync_new_dir(CSYNC *ctx, csync_file_stat_t *st) {
 
   csync_vio_utimes(ctx, uri, times);
 
-  tmd5 = _get_md5(ctx, st->path);
-  if(tmd5) {
+  if (ctx->replica == REMOTE_REPLICA) {
+    tmd5 = _get_md5(ctx, st->path);
+    if(tmd5) {
       SAFE_FREE(st->md5);
       st->md5 = tmd5;
+    }
   }
 
   /* set instruction for the statedb merger */