diff --git a/src/settings.c b/src/settings.c
index 2081886d..651d9190 100644
--- a/src/settings.c
+++ b/src/settings.c
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ void
 hts_settings_init(const char *confpath)
 {
   if (confpath)
-    settingspath = strdup(confpath);
+    settingspath = realpath(confpath, NULL);
 }
 
 /**