diff --git a/lib/config.sh b/lib/config.sh
index 44f96b4..9854f88 100644
--- a/lib/config.sh
+++ b/lib/config.sh
@@ -56,8 +56,10 @@ load_config() {
     RSYNC_EXTRA_OPTS="${RSYNC_EXTRA_OPTS:-}"
     DISK_USAGE_THRESHOLD="${DISK_USAGE_THRESHOLD:-$DEFAULT_DISK_USAGE_THRESHOLD}"
 
-    # WORK_DIR can be overridden in config; re-export if changed
-    export WORK_DIR
+    # WORK_DIR from detect_mode takes precedence — ignore config value
+    # to prevent root-mode paths leaking into user-mode sessions.
+    # Re-run detect_mode to restore the correct value if config overrode it.
+    detect_mode
 
     # --debug flag overrides config
     [[ "${GNIZA4LINUX_DEBUG:-false}" == "true" ]] && LOG_LEVEL="debug"
diff --git a/tui/models.py b/tui/models.py
index 6680196..2bc86e2 100644
--- a/tui/models.py
+++ b/tui/models.py
@@ -206,7 +206,6 @@ class AppSettings:
     ssh_retries: str = "3"
     rsync_extra_opts: str = ""
     disk_usage_threshold: str = "95"
-    work_dir: str = "/usr/local/gniza/workdir"
     web_port: str = "2323"
     web_host: str = "0.0.0.0"
     web_api_key: str = ""
@@ -231,7 +230,6 @@ class AppSettings:
             ssh_retries=data.get("SSH_RETRIES", "3"),
             rsync_extra_opts=data.get("RSYNC_EXTRA_OPTS", ""),
             disk_usage_threshold=data.get("DISK_USAGE_THRESHOLD", "95"),
-            work_dir=data.get("WORK_DIR", "/usr/local/gniza/workdir"),
             web_port=data.get("WEB_PORT", "2323"),
             web_host=data.get("WEB_HOST", "0.0.0.0"),
             web_api_key=data.get("WEB_API_KEY", ""),
@@ -256,7 +254,6 @@ class AppSettings:
             "SSH_RETRIES": self.ssh_retries,
             "RSYNC_EXTRA_OPTS": self.rsync_extra_opts,
             "DISK_USAGE_THRESHOLD": self.disk_usage_threshold,
-            "WORK_DIR": self.work_dir,
             "WEB_PORT": self.web_port,
             "WEB_HOST": self.web_host,
             "WEB_API_KEY": self.web_api_key,
diff --git a/tui/screens/settings.py b/tui/screens/settings.py
index c20a609..eade053 100644
--- a/tui/screens/settings.py
+++ b/tui/screens/settings.py
@@ -61,8 +61,6 @@ class SettingsScreen(Screen):
             yield Input(value=settings.ssh_retries, id="set-sshretries")
             yield Static("Extra rsync options:")
             yield Input(value=settings.rsync_extra_opts, id="set-rsyncopts")
-            yield Static("Work Directory:")
-            yield Input(value=settings.work_dir, placeholder="/usr/local/gniza/workdir", id="set-workdir")
             yield Static("Web Dashboard", classes="section-label")
             yield Static("Port:")
             yield Input(value=settings.web_port, id="set-web-port")
@@ -103,7 +101,6 @@ class SettingsScreen(Screen):
             ssh_retries=self.query_one("#set-sshretries", Input).value.strip() or "3",
             rsync_extra_opts=self.query_one("#set-rsyncopts", Input).value.strip(),
             disk_usage_threshold=self.query_one("#set-diskthreshold", Input).value.strip() or "95",
-            work_dir=self.query_one("#set-workdir", Input).value.strip() or "/usr/local/gniza/workdir",
             web_port=self.query_one("#set-web-port", Input).value.strip() or "2323",
             web_host=self.query_one("#set-web-host", Input).value.strip() or "0.0.0.0",
             web_api_key=self.query_one("#set-web-key", Input).value,