diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index e7455608cf..2ccd1ba9c6 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -663,7 +663,7 @@ def _launch_tui(resume_session_id: Optional[str] = None):
     tui_dir = PROJECT_ROOT / "ui-tui"
 
     env = os.environ.copy()
-    env["HERMES_ROOT"] = os.environ.get("HERMES_ROOT", os.getcwd())
+    env["HERMES_ROOT"] = os.environ.get("HERMES_ROOT", str(PROJECT_ROOT))
     if resume_session_id:
         env["HERMES_TUI_RESUME"] = resume_session_id