diff --git a/tag.sh b/tag.sh
index 83edd66..dd65296 100755
--- a/tag.sh
+++ b/tag.sh
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ SCRIPT_NAME=$(basename "$0")
 
 
 DB_FILE="${PWD}/tags.db"
-[ "${1:-}" = "--db" ] && DB_FILE="$2" && shift 2
+[ "${1:-}" = "--db" ] && DB_FILE=$(realpath "${2/#~/$HOME}") && shift 2
 
 
 DB_SCHEMA="${SCRIPT_DIR}/database.sql"