diff --git a/backend/config/config.js b/backend/config/config.js
index 5bd9deb..48aac29 100644
--- a/backend/config/config.js
+++ b/backend/config/config.js
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-require('dotenv-flow').config();
+// The backend's own env files, wherever the process starts: the root `bun test` runs the
+// backend's tests too, from the repository root.
+require('dotenv-flow').config({ path: require('path').join(__dirname, '..') });
 
 module.exports = {
   APP_NAME: process.env.SEMAPPS_APP_NAME,