diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index cacbd13b..86569ed7 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -123,7 +123,8 @@ RUN rm -rf /app/src /app/scripts /app/experiments /app/analyses \
     && mkdir -p /home/dev/workspace
 
 COPY --chmod=755 run_experiments run_experiments.sh run_all_models.sh run_analysis run_analysis.sh /usr/local/bin/
-RUN printf '\n# ACTL scientist workflow: land in the synced Sampleworks checkout.\nif [[ $- == *i* ]] && [ -z "${SAMPLEWORKS_NO_AUTO_CD:-}" ] && [ -d /home/dev/workspace ]; then\n    cd /home/dev/workspace\nfi\n' >> /root/.bashrc
+RUN printf '\n# ACTL scientist workflow: land in the synced Sampleworks checkout.\nif [[ $- == *i* ]] && [ -z "${SAMPLEWORKS_NO_AUTO_CD:-}" ] && [ -d /home/dev/workspace ]; then\n    cd /home/dev/workspace\nfi\n' \
+    | tee -a /root/.bashrc /home/dev/.bashrc >/dev/null
 
 # ============================================================================
 # Public runtime: regular Sampleworks image for the public registry
@@ -134,7 +135,16 @@ ENV BOLTZ1_CHECKPOINT=/checkpoints/boltz1_conf.ckpt \
     BOLTZ2_CHECKPOINT=/checkpoints/boltz2_conf.ckpt \
     CCD_PATH=/checkpoints/ccd.pkl \
     RF3_CHECKPOINT=/checkpoints/rf3_foundry_01_24_latest.ckpt \
-    PROTENIX_CHECKPOINT=/checkpoints/protenix_base_default_v0.5.0.pt
+    PROTENIX_CHECKPOINT=/checkpoints/protenix_base_default_v0.5.0.pt \
+    HOME=/home/dev \
+    XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/dev/.config \
+    XDG_CACHE_HOME=/home/dev/.cache \
+    XDG_DATA_HOME=/home/dev/.local/share \
+    SHELL=/bin/bash
+
+RUN mkdir -p /home/dev/.config /home/dev/.cache /home/dev/.local/share /home/dev/workspace
+
+WORKDIR /home/dev
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["entrypoint.sh"]
 CMD ["--help"]
diff --git a/Dockerfile.astera b/Dockerfile.astera
index c8e06c9b..84835e95 100644
--- a/Dockerfile.astera
+++ b/Dockerfile.astera
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ COPY --from=ext-cli /ext /usr/local/bin/ext
 
 RUN chmod 0755 /usr/local/bin/ext
 
+WORKDIR /home/dev
+
 # ACTL workspace pods intentionally keep the inherited root runtime user: the
 # prebuilt /app/.pixi environments and shared PVC workflows are currently
 # root-oriented, and switching USER here would break existing scientist runs.