diff --git a/riot/install.sh b/riot/install.sh
index 9e7e5bb2da..8a8761b705 100644
--- a/riot/install.sh
+++ b/riot/install.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 RIOT_BRANCH=master
 
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 if [[ -d $BASE_DIR/riot-web ]]; then
 	echo "riot is already installed"
 	exit
diff --git a/riot/start.sh b/riot/start.sh
index 141d3176e7..ec3e5b32bc 100644
--- a/riot/start.sh
+++ b/riot/start.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 PORT=8080
 echo "running riot on http://localhost:$PORT..."
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 cd $BASE_DIR/
 pushd riot-web/webapp/ > /dev/null
 python -m SimpleHTTPServer $PORT > /dev/null 2>&1 &
diff --git a/riot/stop.sh b/riot/stop.sh
index 148116cfe6..40695c749c 100644
--- a/riot/stop.sh
+++ b/riot/stop.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 cd $BASE_DIR
 PIDFILE=riot.pid
 kill $(cat $PIDFILE)
diff --git a/synapse/install.sh b/synapse/install.sh
index 7170ce6d30..661c98ecd5 100644
--- a/synapse/install.sh
+++ b/synapse/install.sh
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ SERVER_DIR=installations/$INSTALLATION_NAME
 CONFIG_TEMPLATE=consent
 PORT=8008
 # set current directory to script directory
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 
 if [[ -d $BASE_DIR/$SERVER_DIR ]]; then
 	echo "synapse is already installed"
diff --git a/synapse/start.sh b/synapse/start.sh
index e809fb906c..f7af6ac0f7 100644
--- a/synapse/start.sh
+++ b/synapse/start.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 cd $BASE_DIR
 cd installations/consent
 source env/bin/activate
diff --git a/synapse/stop.sh b/synapse/stop.sh
index 1c5ab2fed7..ff9b004533 100644
--- a/synapse/stop.sh
+++ b/synapse/stop.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-BASE_DIR=$(realpath $(dirname $0))
+BASE_DIR=$(readlink -f $(dirname $0))
 cd $BASE_DIR
 cd installations/consent
 source env/bin/activate