diff --git a/actions/homebrew-alias/modernize.sh b/actions/homebrew-alias/modernize.sh
index 1ffcc3b..4cb5121 100644
--- a/actions/homebrew-alias/modernize.sh
+++ b/actions/homebrew-alias/modernize.sh
@@ -27,9 +27,10 @@ render() {
     /^[[:space:]]*system_command[[:space:]]+/ {
       sub(/system_command[[:space:]]+/, "run ")
     }
-    /"#\{staged_path\}\// {
-      sub(/"#\{staged_path\}\//, "\"")
-      sub(/\][[:space:]]*$/, "], base: :staged_path")
+    # base: resolves only the command path, never args, so a staged path in
+    # args has to stay absolute through the install-step template token.
+    /#\{staged_path\}/ {
+      gsub(/#\{staged_path\}/, "{{staged_path}}")
     }
     { print }
   ' "$file"
diff --git a/actions/homebrew-alias/test_modernize.sh b/actions/homebrew-alias/test_modernize.sh
index 8767f17..57f0ce4 100644
--- a/actions/homebrew-alias/test_modernize.sh
+++ b/actions/homebrew-alias/test_modernize.sh
@@ -31,8 +31,10 @@ for stanza in preflight_steps postflight_steps uninstall_preflight_steps uninsta
 done
 echo "$out" | grep -q '^  # postflight do must not change inside a comment$' \
   && ok "comment preserved" || bad "comment preserved"
-echo "$out" | grep -q 'run "/usr/bin/xattr", args: \["-dr", "com.apple.quarantine", "example"\], base: :staged_path' \
+echo "$out" | grep -qF 'run "/usr/bin/xattr", args: ["-dr", "com.apple.quarantine", "{{staged_path}}/example"]' \
   && ok "command converted to install-step DSL" || bad "command converted to install-step DSL"
+echo "$out" | grep -q 'base: :staged_path' \
+  && bad "staged path must not move to base:" || ok "staged path kept in args"
 echo "$out" | grep -q 'system_command' \
   && bad "legacy command should be absent" || ok "legacy command absent"