diff --git a/src/install.js b/src/install.js
index 40065adbc6..aa862f5338 100644
--- a/src/install.js
+++ b/src/install.js
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ function enableDefaultPlugins(next) {
 		'nodebb-plugin-emoji-extended',
 		'nodebb-plugin-emoji-one',
 	];
-	var customDefaults = nconf.get('defaultPlugins');
+	var customDefaults = nconf.get('defaultplugins') || nconf.get('defaultPlugins');
 
 	winston.info('[install/defaultPlugins] customDefaults', customDefaults);