diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 4d21fbf..804978a 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -14,9 +14,20 @@ HF_TOKEN=
 # Where your recordings live, laid out as <date>/<batch>.mp4. Mounted read-write
 # into the container; written only by user-initiated upload / date-folder
 # creation (REQ-178), nothing else.
-# must be absolute for the copy-path buttons (REQ-179)
-VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST=/absolute/path/to/reTraining/data/archive
-WSL_DISTRO_NAME=Ubuntu
+# Relative is recommended — resolved against the directory you start from
+# (./start.sh cds to the repo root), so this file needs no editing when you
+# move or clone the project to another machine. Absolute paths also work.
+VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST=./data/archive
+
+# Copy-path buttons (REQ-179): the Linux button always works from the path
+# above; the Windows button (\\wsl.localhost\<distro>\...) needs the WSL distro
+# name. Under WSL the shell already exports WSL_DISTRO_NAME and compose picks
+# it up automatically — delete this line there (redundant, kept only as a
+# fallback if your compose run somehow loses the variable).
+# On a native Linux machine DELETE or leave this commented out: there is no
+# WSL, and naming a distro would fabricate a bogus Windows path — the button
+# then simply stays hidden, which is correct.
+# WSL_DISTRO_NAME=Ubuntu
 
 # ---- ports ------------------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/backend/config.py b/backend/config.py
index 79bab79..ccb7057 100644
--- a/backend/config.py
+++ b/backend/config.py
@@ -26,16 +26,20 @@ VIDEO_ROOT = os.path.abspath(os.environ.get("VIDEO_ARCHIVE", os.path.join(DATA_D
 def archive_host_paths() -> dict:
     """Where the archive sits on the host — for the copy-path buttons (REQ-179).
 
-    ponytail: relative VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST (./data/archive) cannot be resolved
-    inside the container; set it absolute in .env or the buttons stay hidden."""
+    VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST may stay relative (portable across machines): compose
+    injects the host cwd as ARCHIVE_HOST_PWD (compose always has PWD — a
+    Windows-side run yields a drive-letter path, handled below), bare-metal
+    resolves against the process cwd (start.sh cds to the repo root)."""
     import re
     host = os.environ.get("VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST", "")
-    if os.path.isabs(host):
-        linux = host.rstrip("/")
-    elif VIDEO_ROOT != "/videos":   # bare-metal: VIDEO_ROOT is already the host path
-        linux = VIDEO_ROOT
-    else:
+    if host and not os.path.isabs(host):
+        base = os.environ.get("ARCHIVE_HOST_PWD") or os.getcwd()
+        host = os.path.abspath(os.path.join(base, host))
+    if not host and VIDEO_ROOT != "/videos":
+        host = VIDEO_ROOT   # bare-metal with no VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST at all
+    if not host:
         return {"linux": None, "windows": None}
+    linux = host.rstrip("/")
     if re.match(r"^[A-Za-z]:[\\/]", linux):
         return {"linux": None, "windows": linux.replace("/", "\\")}
     distro = os.environ.get("WSL_DISTRO_NAME", "")
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index b48b480..d93819f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ services:
       VIDEO_ARCHIVE: /videos
       CORS_ORIGINS: ${CORS_ORIGINS:-http://localhost:5173,http://localhost:9000,http://localhost:9010}
       VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST: ${VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST:-./data/archive}
+      # Host working directory — resolves relative VIDEO_ARCHIVE_HOST for the
+      # copy-path buttons (REQ-179). Must be set by running compose from the
+      # repo root; ./start.sh does that cd for you.
+      ARCHIVE_HOST_PWD: ${PWD}
+      # Auto under WSL (shell exports it); empty on native Linux, which hides
+      # the Windows copy-path button — expected.
       WSL_DISTRO_NAME: ${WSL_DISTRO_NAME:-}
     volumes:
       - ./data:/data