diff --git a/tools/stage_file b/tools/stage_file
index 1b2c666107..20a0897b19 100755
--- a/tools/stage_file
+++ b/tools/stage_file
@@ -66,7 +66,6 @@ function stage_file($path) {
     if (!file_exists($path)) error_exit("no such file: $path\n");
     $file = basename($path);
     $dl_path = dir_hier_path($file, $download_dir, $fanout);
-    $dl_md5_path = "$dl_path.md5";
 
     if ($verbose) {
         echo "staging $file to $dl_path\n";