diff --git a/f4pga/utils/xc7/create_place_constraints.py b/f4pga/utils/xc7/create_place_constraints.py
index f6b9e4f..5ee85d9 100644
--- a/f4pga/utils/xc7/create_place_constraints.py
+++ b/f4pga/utils/xc7/create_place_constraints.py
@@ -1127,7 +1127,9 @@ def main(
         net=Path(net).open("r"),
         vpr_grid_map=vpr_grid_map,
         arch=arch,
-        db_root=environ.get("DATABASE_DIR", subprocess_run("prjxray-config", capture_output=True))
+        db_root=environ.get(
+            "DATABASE_DIR", subprocess_run("prjxray-config", capture_output=True).stdout.decode("utf-8").strip()
+        )
         if db_root is None
         else db_root,
         part=part,