diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index efb5478..92a95f7 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 .PHONY: backend frontend build run clean dev test test-backend test-frontend
 
-# Default paths for dev — override via env
-SERVERFILE_DIR ?= ../dev-deploy/serverfiles
-MODS_DIR       ?= ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/mods
-CFG_DIR        ?= ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/cfg
-PROFILES_DIR   ?= ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/profiles
-DATA_DIR       ?= ../dev-deploy/data
+# Default paths for dev — override via env (absolute to avoid CWD mismatches)
+SERVERFILE_DIR ?= $(abspath ../dev-deploy/serverfiles)
+MODS_DIR       ?= $(abspath ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/mods)
+CFG_DIR        ?= $(abspath ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/cfg)
+PROFILES_DIR   ?= $(abspath ../dev-deploy/serverfiles/profiles)
+DATA_DIR       ?= $(abspath ../dev-deploy/data)
 
 # Server/steamcmd overrides — set to use stubs in dev
 SERVER_BINARY  ?= arma3server_x64