diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 714ac0d8e7..cb2513abc2 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -138,3 +138,4 @@ temp.py
 # Pyannotate generated stubs
 type_info.json
 .pdm-build/
+src/pdm/models/VERSION
diff --git a/docs/docs/usage/template.md b/docs/docs/usage/template.md
index 64652128ed..232567c54a 100644
--- a/docs/docs/usage/template.md
+++ b/docs/docs/usage/template.md
@@ -45,5 +45,5 @@ To use them:
 ```bash
 pdm init --cookiecutter gh:cjolowicz/cookiecutter-hypermodern-python
 # or
-pdm init --copier gh:pawamoy/copier-pdm
+pdm init --copier gh:pawamoy/copier-pdm --UNSAFE
 ```
diff --git a/news/2177.bugfix.md b/news/2177.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..472b6214bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/2177.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix the compatibility issue with copier 8.0+.
diff --git a/pdm.lock b/pdm.lock
index 13b53203ce..e3e169dfc6 100644
--- a/pdm.lock
+++ b/pdm.lock
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ groups = ["default", "all", "doc", "pytest", "test", "tox", "workflow"]
 cross_platform = true
 static_urls = false
 lock_version = "4.3"
-content_hash = "sha256:ac589b0b9f40317e0a1c3109d28ec8b02acfa1ce164e4ef69d090fdcb70987a3"
+content_hash = "sha256:ad6e1f6a51451097dfee550fb24daf4a09f43adc3bb8facc5e6512021d604526"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "arpeggio"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 204027d74e..9284c29692 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ pytest = [
     "pytest",
     "pytest-mock",
 ]
-copier = ["copier"]
+copier = ["copier>=8.0.0"]
 cookiecutter = ["cookiecutter"]
 keyring = ["keyring"]
 template = [
diff --git a/src/pdm/cli/commands/init.py b/src/pdm/cli/commands/init.py
index 18db20b004..abd7b74216 100644
--- a/src/pdm/cli/commands/init.py
+++ b/src/pdm/cli/commands/init.py
@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ def _init_copier(self, project: Project, options: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
 
         if not options.template:
             raise PdmUsageError("template argument is required when --copier is passed")
-        _, retval = CopierApp.run([options.template, str(project.root), *options.generator_args], exit=False)
+        _, retval = CopierApp.run(
+            ["copier", "copy", options.template, str(project.root), *options.generator_args], exit=False
+        )
         if retval != 0:
             raise RuntimeError("Copier exited with non-zero status code")