diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index fd0f3f6..afe696e 100644
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Run the admin server — uses same DB as main canteen-asset-tracker
-# CANTEEN_DB_PATH defaults to ../canteen-asset-tracker/assets.db
+# Run the admin server — MUST use same DB as main canteen-asset-tracker
 set -euo pipefail
 
 PORT="${PORT:-8090}"
 HOST="${HOST:-0.0.0.0}"
+APP_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
+CANTEEN_DB_PATH="${CANTEEN_DB_PATH:-${APP_DIR}/../canteen-asset-tracker/assets.db}"
+
+export CANTEEN_DB_PATH
 
 exec python -m uvicorn admin_server:app \
   --host "$HOST" \