diff --git a/playbooks/roles/edxapp/tasks/deploy.yml b/playbooks/roles/edxapp/tasks/deploy.yml
index f9cdd2ca7..b5f5a1bdd 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/edxapp/tasks/deploy.yml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/edxapp/tasks/deploy.yml
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@
   args:
     chdir: "{{ edxapp_code_dir }}"
   become_user: "{{ edxapp_user }}"
-  when: "{{ EDXAPP_PRIVATE_NPM_REQUIREMENTS }} | length > 0"
+  when: EDXAPP_PRIVATE_NPM_REQUIREMENTS|length > 0
   tags:
     - install
     - install:app-requirements