diff --git a/src/experimental/studio/main.cc b/src/experimental/studio/main.cc
index 5565e85e..41503669 100644
--- a/src/experimental/studio/main.cc
+++ b/src/experimental/studio/main.cc
@@ -46,9 +46,11 @@ static std::vector<std::byte> LoadAsset(std::string_view path) {
 
 int main(int argc, char** argv, char** envp) {
 
+  const char* home = getenv("HOME");
+  const std::string ini_path = std::string(home ? home : ".") + "/.mujoco.ini";
+
   const int width = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_window_width);
   const int height = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_window_height);
-  const std::string ini_path = std::string(getenv("HOME")) + "/.mujoco.ini";
   mujoco::studio::App app(width, height, ini_path, LoadAsset);
 
   // If the model file is not specified, try to load it from the first argument