diff --git a/test/unit/tools/test_tool_deps.py b/test/unit/tools/test_tool_deps.py
index daac8549485..7ffa5b6cda4 100644
--- a/test/unit/tools/test_tool_deps.py
+++ b/test/unit/tools/test_tool_deps.py
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ def __assert_foo_exported(commands):
     command = ["bash", "-c", "%s; echo \"$FOO\"" % "".join(commands)]
     process = Popen(command, stdout=PIPE)
     output = process.communicate()[0].strip()
-    assert output == 'bar', "Command %s exports FOO as %s, not bar" % (command, output)
+    assert output == b'bar', "Command %s exports FOO as %s, not bar" % (command, output)
 
 
 def __setup_galaxy_package_dep(base_path, name, version, contents=""):