diff --git a/main.py b/main.py
index 69e3821..0346385 100644
--- a/main.py
+++ b/main.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ from functools import wraps
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Resolve Hermes base path dynamically via get_hermes_home() when available,
-# with fallback to the hardcoded default for backward compatibility.
+# with fallback to the user's home directory for portability.
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 def _resolve_hermes_home() -> str:
     """Resolve the Hermes home directory.
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def _resolve_hermes_home() -> str:
     Tries:
       1. HERMES_HOME env var (explicit override)
       2. get_hermes_home() from hermes_constants module
-      3. Fallback to the default path
+      3. Fallback to $HOME/.hermes
     """
     env_override = os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME")
     if env_override:
@@ -40,19 +40,22 @@ def _resolve_hermes_home() -> str:
     try:
         # Add the hermes-agent directory to the Python path so we can import
         # from the bundled agent without installing it.
-        default_path = "/d/hermesai/.hermes/hermes-agent"
+        home = os.environ.get('HOME', '/root')
+        default_path = os.path.join(home, '.hermes', 'hermes-agent')
         if default_path not in sys.path:
             sys.path.insert(0, default_path)
         from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
         return get_hermes_home()
     except Exception:
-        return "/d/hermesai/.hermes"
+        home = os.environ.get('HOME', '/root')
+        return os.path.join(home, '.hermes')
 
 HERMES_HOME = _resolve_hermes_home()
 BASE_HERMES_PATH = os.path.join(HERMES_HOME, "hermes-agent")
 
-# Clean user data directory structure: /d/hermesai/users/{user_id}/.hermes
-USERS_BASE = "/d/hermesai/users"
+# User data directory structure: $HOME/users/{user_id}/.hermes
+home = os.environ.get('HOME', '/root')
+USERS_BASE = os.path.join(home, "users")
 
 # Load configuration
 CONFIG_FILE = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "config.yaml")