diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b4ae518..3a06625 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ mapped to extended configuration dictionaries.
 | `relink` | Removes the old target if it's a symlink (default: false) |
 | `force` | Force removes the old target, file or folder, and forces a new link (default: false) |
 | `relative` | Use a relative path to the source when creating the symlink (default: false, absolute links) |
-| `canonicalize-path` | Resolve any symbolic links encountered in the source to symlink to the canonical path (default: true, real paths) |
+| `canonicalize` | Resolve any symbolic links encountered in the source to symlink to the canonical path (default: true, real paths) |
 | `glob` | Treat a `*` character as a wildcard, and perform link operations on all of those matches (default: false) |
 | `if` | Execute this in your `$SHELL` and only link if it is successful. |
 | `ignore-missing` | Do not fail if the source is missing and create the link anyway (default: false) |
diff --git a/dotbot/plugins/link.py b/dotbot/plugins/link.py
index ee257f7..0d195fe 100644
--- a/dotbot/plugins/link.py
+++ b/dotbot/plugins/link.py
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ class Link(dotbot.Plugin):
         for destination, source in links.items():
             destination = os.path.expandvars(destination)
             relative = defaults.get('relative', False)
-            canonical_path = defaults.get('canonicalize-path', True)
+            # support old "canonicalize-path" key for compatibility
+            canonical_path = defaults.get('canonicalize', defaults.get('canonicalize-path', True))
             force = defaults.get('force', False)
             relink = defaults.get('relink', False)
             create = defaults.get('create', False)
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ class Link(dotbot.Plugin):
                 # extended config
                 test = source.get('if', test)
                 relative = source.get('relative', relative)
-                canonical_path = source.get('canonicalize-path', canonical_path)
+                canonical_path = source.get('canonicalize', source.get('canonicalize-path', canonical_path))
                 force = source.get('force', force)
                 relink = source.get('relink', relink)
                 create = source.get('create', create)
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ class Link(dotbot.Plugin):
                 return basename
         else:
             return source
-    
+
     def _create_glob_results(self, path, exclude_paths):
         self._log.debug("Globbing with path: " + str(path))
         base_include = glob.glob(path)
diff --git a/test/tests/link-no-canonicalize.bash b/test/tests/link-no-canonicalize.bash
index 7f516c6..a65e397 100644
--- a/test/tests/link-no-canonicalize.bash
+++ b/test/tests/link-no-canonicalize.bash
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ test_description='linking path canonicalization can be disabled'
 
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 echo "apple" > ${DOTFILES}/f &&
+echo "grape" > ${DOTFILES}/g &&
 ln -s dotfiles dotfiles-symlink
 '
 
@@ -21,3 +22,19 @@ ${DOTBOT_EXEC} -c ./dotfiles-symlink/${INSTALL_CONF}
 test_expect_success 'test' '
 [ "$(readlink ~/.f | cut -d/ -f5-)" = "dotfiles-symlink/f" ]
 '
+
+test_expect_success 'run 2' '
+cat > "${DOTFILES}/${INSTALL_CONF}" <<EOF
+- defaults:
+    link:
+      canonicalize: false
+- link:
+    ~/.g:
+      path: g
+EOF
+${DOTBOT_EXEC} -c ./dotfiles-symlink/${INSTALL_CONF}
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'test' '
+[ "$(readlink ~/.g | cut -d/ -f5-)" = "dotfiles-symlink/g" ]
+'