diff --git a/cmd/checkout.go b/cmd/checkout.go
index d4f97a30c..0339389c3 100644
--- a/cmd/checkout.go
+++ b/cmd/checkout.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/qri-io/ioes"
-	"github.com/qri-io/qfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/dsref"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/lib"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -88,10 +87,6 @@ func (o *CheckoutOptions) Run() (err error) {
 		o.Dir = dsref.GenerateName(ref[pos+1:], "")
 	}
 
-	if err = qfs.AbsPath(&o.Dir); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
 	if err = inst.Filesys().Checkout(ctx, &lib.LinkParams{Dir: o.Dir, Refstr: ref}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/save.go b/cmd/save.go
index 968895074..d7a2dbe58 100644
--- a/cmd/save.go
+++ b/cmd/save.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/qri-io/ioes"
-	"github.com/qri-io/qfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/dsref"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/lib"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/repo"
@@ -131,18 +130,6 @@ func (o *SaveOptions) Complete(f Factory, args []string) (err error) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Make all paths absolute. Especially important if we are running
-	// `qri connect` in a different terminal, and that instance is in a different directory;
-	// that instance won't correctly find the body file we want to load if it's not absolute.
-	for i := range o.FilePaths {
-		if err = qfs.AbsPath(&o.FilePaths[i]); err != nil {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&o.BodyPath); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("body file: %s", err)
-	}
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/fsi/init.go b/fsi/init.go
index 0a7b58739..2be45a17f 100644
--- a/fsi/init.go
+++ b/fsi/init.go
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@ import (
 
 // InitParams encapsulates parameters for fsi.InitDataset
 type InitParams struct {
-	TargetDir  string `json:"targetDir"`
+	TargetDir  string `json:"targetDir" qri:"fspath"`
 	Name       string `json:"name"`
 	Format     string `json:"format"`
-	BodyPath   string `json:"bodyPath"`
+	BodyPath   string `json:"bodyPath" qri:"fspath"`
 	UseDscache bool   `json:"useDscache"`
 }
 
diff --git a/lib/datasets.go b/lib/datasets.go
index 6d128dfec..591e10445 100644
--- a/lib/datasets.go
+++ b/lib/datasets.go
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ type GetParams struct {
 	All    bool `json:"all"`
 
 	// outfile is a filename to save the dataset to
-	Outfile string `json:"outfile"`
+	Outfile string `json:"outfile" qri:"fspath"`
 	// whether to generate a filename from the dataset name instead
 	GenFilename bool   `json:"genfilename"`
 	Remote      string `json:"remote"`
@@ -249,11 +249,6 @@ type DataResponse struct {
 // then res.Bytes is loaded with the body. If the selector is "stats", then res.Bytes is loaded
 // with the generated stats.
 func (m DatasetMethods) Get(ctx context.Context, p *GetParams) (*GetResult, error) {
-	// TODO(dustmop): Have Dispatch perform this AbsPath call automatically
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.Outfile); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
 	got, _, err := m.d.Dispatch(ctx, dispatchMethodName(m, "get"), p)
 	if res, ok := got.(*GetResult); ok {
 		return res, err
@@ -305,9 +300,9 @@ type SaveParams struct {
 	// commit message, defaults to blank
 	Message string
 	// path to body data
-	BodyPath string
+	BodyPath string `qri:"fspath"`
 	// absolute path or URL to the list of dataset files or components to load
-	FilePaths []string
+	FilePaths []string `qri:"fspath"`
 	// secrets for transform execution
 	Secrets map[string]string
 	// optional writer to have transform script record standard output to
@@ -513,7 +508,7 @@ func (m DatasetMethods) Remove(ctx context.Context, p *RemoveParams) (*RemoveRes
 // PullParams encapsulates parameters to the add command
 type PullParams struct {
 	Ref      string
-	LinkDir  string
+	LinkDir  string `qri:"fspath"`
 	Remote   string // remote to attempt to pull from
 	LogsOnly bool   // only fetch logbook data
 }
@@ -530,9 +525,6 @@ func (p *PullParams) UnmarshalFromRequest(r *http.Request) error {
 // Pull downloads and stores an existing dataset to a peer's repository via
 // a network connection
 func (m DatasetMethods) Pull(ctx context.Context, p *PullParams) (*dataset.Dataset, error) {
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.LinkDir); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
 	got, _, err := m.d.Dispatch(ctx, dispatchMethodName(m, "pull"), p)
 	if res, ok := got.(*dataset.Dataset); ok {
 		return res, err
diff --git a/lib/diff.go b/lib/diff.go
index 6d2ec1798..b5884910e 100644
--- a/lib/diff.go
+++ b/lib/diff.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/qri-io/dataset/tabular"
 	"github.com/qri-io/deepdiff"
-	"github.com/qri-io/qfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/base/component"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/base/dsfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/dsref"
@@ -27,10 +26,10 @@ type DiffStat = deepdiff.Stats
 // LeftSide set with the UseLeftPrevVersion flag.
 type DiffParams struct {
 	// File paths or reference to datasets
-	LeftSide  string `schema:"leftPath" json:"leftPath"`
-	RightSide string `schema:"rightPath" json:"rightPath"`
+	LeftSide  string `schema:"leftPath" json:"leftPath" qri:"dsrefOrFspath"`
+	RightSide string `schema:"rightPath" json:"rightPath" qri:"dsrefOrFspath"`
 	// If not null, the working directory that the diff is using
-	WorkingDir string
+	WorkingDir string `qri:"fspath"`
 	// Whether to get the previous version of the left parameter
 	UseLeftPrevVersion bool
 
@@ -107,17 +106,6 @@ const (
 
 // Diff computes the diff of two sources
 func (m DatasetMethods) Diff(ctx context.Context, p *DiffParams) (*DiffResponse, error) {
-	// absolutize any local paths before a possible trip over RPC to another local process
-	if !dsref.IsRefString(p.LeftSide) {
-		if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.LeftSide); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-	}
-	if !dsref.IsRefString(p.RightSide) {
-		if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.RightSide); err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-	}
 	got, _, err := m.d.Dispatch(ctx, dispatchMethodName(m, "diff"), p)
 	if res, ok := got.(*DiffResponse); ok {
 		return res, err
diff --git a/lib/dispatch.go b/lib/dispatch.go
index a766ead24..829717500 100644
--- a/lib/dispatch.go
+++ b/lib/dispatch.go
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/qri-io/qfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/auth/token"
+	"github.com/qri-io/qri/dsref"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/profile"
 )
 
@@ -135,6 +137,9 @@ func (inst *Instance) Dispatch(ctx context.Context, method string, param interfa
 			return nil, nil, err
 		}
 
+		// Handle filepaths in the params by calling qfs.Abs on each of them
+		param = normalizeInputParams(param)
+
 		// Construct the parameter list for the function call, then call it
 		args := make([]reflect.Value, 3)
 		args[0] = reflect.ValueOf(c.Impl)
@@ -417,3 +422,50 @@ func dispatchReturnError(got interface{}, err error) error {
 	}
 	return err
 }
+
+// normalizeInputParams will look at each field of the params, and modify filepaths so that
+// they are absolute paths, making them safe to send across RPC to another process
+func normalizeInputParams(param interface{}) interface{} {
+	typ := reflect.TypeOf(param)
+	val := reflect.ValueOf(param)
+	if typ.Kind() == reflect.Ptr {
+		typ = typ.Elem()
+		val = val.Elem()
+	}
+	if typ.Kind() == reflect.Struct {
+		num := typ.NumField()
+		for i := 0; i < num; i++ {
+			tfield := typ.Field(i)
+			vfield := val.Field(i)
+			qriTag := tfield.Tag.Get("qri")
+			if qriTag == "fspath" || qriTag == "dsrefOrFspath" {
+				normalizeFileField(vfield, qriTag)
+			} else if qriTag != "" {
+				log.Errorf("unknown qri struct tag %q", qriTag)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return param
+}
+
+func normalizeFileField(vfield reflect.Value, qriTag string) {
+	interf := vfield.Interface()
+	if str, ok := interf.(string); ok {
+		if qriTag == "dsrefOrFspath" && dsref.IsRefString(str) {
+			return
+		}
+		if err := qfs.AbsPath(&str); err == nil {
+			vfield.SetString(str)
+		}
+	}
+	if strList, ok := interf.([]string); ok {
+		build := make([]string, 0, len(strList))
+		for _, str := range strList {
+			if qriTag != "dsrefOrFspath" || !dsref.IsRefString(str) {
+				_ = qfs.AbsPath(&str)
+			}
+			build = append(build, str)
+		}
+		vfield.Set(reflect.ValueOf(build))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/lib/fsi.go b/lib/fsi.go
index 2d84bd580..eb379d6c0 100644
--- a/lib/fsi.go
+++ b/lib/fsi.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 
 	"github.com/qri-io/dataset"
-	"github.com/qri-io/qfs"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/base"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/base/component"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/base/dsfs"
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ func (m FSIMethods) Attributes() map[string]AttributeSet {
 
 // LinkParams encapsulate parameters for linked datasets
 type LinkParams struct {
-	Dir    string
+	Dir    string `qri:"fspath"`
 	Refstr string
 }
 
@@ -65,7 +64,7 @@ type FSIWriteParams struct {
 
 // RestoreParams provides parameters to the restore method.
 type RestoreParams struct {
-	Dir       string
+	Dir       string `qri:"fspath"`
 	Refstr    string
 	Path      string
 	Component string
@@ -100,10 +99,6 @@ func (m FSIMethods) Unlink(ctx context.Context, p *LinkParams) (string, error) {
 // Status checks for any modifications or errors in a linked directory against its previous
 // version in the repo. Must only be called if FSI is enabled for this dataset.
 func (m FSIMethods) Status(ctx context.Context, p *LinkParams) ([]StatusItem, error) {
-	// TODO(dustmop): Have Dispatch perform this AbsPath call automatically
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.Dir); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
 	got, _, err := m.d.Dispatch(ctx, dispatchMethodName(m, "status"), p)
 	if res, ok := got.([]StatusItem); ok {
 		return res, err
@@ -144,13 +139,6 @@ func (m FSIMethods) Restore(ctx context.Context, p *RestoreParams) error {
 
 // Init initializes a new working directory for a linked dataset
 func (m FSIMethods) Init(ctx context.Context, p *InitDatasetParams) (string, error) {
-	// TODO(dustmop): Have Dispatch perform these AbsPath calls automatically
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.TargetDir); err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	if err := qfs.AbsPath(&p.BodyPath); err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
 	got, _, err := m.d.Dispatch(ctx, dispatchMethodName(m, "init"), p)
 	if res, ok := got.(string); ok {
 		return res, err