diff --git a/tests/fate-run.sh b/tests/fate-run.sh
index 3d322664f7..6177a0ab94 100755
--- a/tests/fate-run.sh
+++ b/tests/fate-run.sh
@@ -4,14 +4,18 @@ base=$(dirname $0)
 . "${base}/md5.sh"
 
 test="${1#fate-}"
-SAMPLES_PATH=$2
+samples=$2
 target_exec=$3
-BUILD_PATH=$4
+target_path=$4
 command=$5
 cmp=${6:-diff}
 ref=${7:-"${base}/ref/fate/${test}"}
 fuzz=$8
 
+# compatibility with Mike's test specs
+SAMPLES_PATH=$samples
+BUILD_PATH=$target_path
+
 outdir="tests/data/fate"
 outfile="${outdir}/${test}"