diff --git a/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/no-plugins.nix b/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/no-plugins.nix
index 76dea544..67a7f30f 100644
--- a/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/no-plugins.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/no-plugins.nix
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ with lib;
     programs.kakoune = { enable = true; };
 
     nmt.script = ''
-      assertFileNotRegex home-path/share/kak/plugins.kak . # file is empty
+      assertPathNotExists home-path/share/kak/autoload/plugins
     '';
   };
 }
diff --git a/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/use-plugins.nix b/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/use-plugins.nix
index 7b23627d..521bd9a0 100644
--- a/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/use-plugins.nix
+++ b/tests/modules/programs/kakoune/use-plugins.nix
@@ -9,10 +9,8 @@ with lib;
       plugins = [ pkgs.kakounePlugins.kak-powerline ];
     };
 
-    nmt.script = let plugins_kak = "home-path/share/kak/plugins.kak";
-    in ''
-      assertFileRegex ${plugins_kak} \
-        '^source "/nix/store/.*-kak-powerline/share/kak/autoload/plugins/powerline/.*.kak"$'
+    nmt.script = ''
+      assertDirectoryNotEmpty home-path/share/kak/autoload/plugins
     '';
   };
 }