diff --git a/rpm/mistralrs.spec b/rpm/mistralrs.spec
index eb96b8e..26bda09 100644
--- a/rpm/mistralrs.spec
+++ b/rpm/mistralrs.spec
@@ -58,6 +58,10 @@ sed -i "s|@BINARY@|%{_bindir}/mistralrs-server|g" \
 sed -i "s|@FLAVOUR@|%{mistralrs_flavour}|g" \
     %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}/mistralrs@.service
 
+%pre
+getent group mistralrs >/dev/null || groupadd -r mistralrs
+getent passwd mistralrs >/dev/null || useradd -r -g mistralrs -d /var/lib/mistralrs -s /sbin/nologin mistralrs
+
 %post
 %systemd_post mistralrs@.service