diff --git a/python/lsst/pipe/tasks/calibrate.py b/python/lsst/pipe/tasks/calibrate.py
index 622d9a4f6..58201066e 100644
--- a/python/lsst/pipe/tasks/calibrate.py
+++ b/python/lsst/pipe/tasks/calibrate.py
@@ -171,10 +171,10 @@ class CalibrateConfig(pipeBase.PipelineTaskConfig, pipelineConnections=Calibrate
     )
     doWriteMatchesDenormalized = pexConfig.Field(
         dtype=bool,
-        default=False,
+        default=True,
         doc=("Write reference matches in denormalized format? "
              "This format uses more disk space, but is more convenient to "
-             "read. Ignored if doWriteMatches=False or doWrite=False."),
+             "read for debugging. Ignored if doWriteMatches=False or doWrite=False."),
     )
     doAstrometry = pexConfig.Field(
         dtype=bool,