diff --git a/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go b/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
index 4f42cad20473..0e425790c72a 100644
--- a/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
+++ b/orbit/pkg/packaging/linux_shared.go
@@ -364,7 +364,9 @@ pkill fleet-desktop || true
 func writePostRemove(opt Options, path string) error {
 	if err := ioutil.WriteFile(path, []byte(`#!/bin/sh
 
-if [ "$1" = 0 ]; then
+# For RPM during uninstall, $1 is 0
+# For Debian during remove, $1 is "remove"
+if [ "$1" = 0 ] || [ "$1" = "remove" ]; then
 	rm -rf /var/lib/orbit /var/log/orbit /usr/local/bin/orbit /etc/default/orbit /usr/lib/systemd/system/orbit.service /opt/orbit
 fi
 `), constant.DefaultFileMode); err != nil {