diff --git a/openbot b/openbot
index 2601df5..b8e8f66 100755
--- a/openbot
+++ b/openbot
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 # Start OpenBot using the repository's production-style launcher.
 set -Eeuo pipefail
 
+# Set OPENBOT_REPOSITORY when this launcher is installed outside the repository.
+OPENBOT_REPOSITORY="${OPENBOT_REPOSITORY:-$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd -P)}"
+
 usage() {
   cat >&2 <<'EOF'
 Usage: openbot [--root DIRECTORY] [--db-root DIRECTORY]
@@ -72,11 +75,11 @@ if [[ ! -e "$db_root" ]]; then
   fi
 fi
 db_root="$(canonical_directory "$db_root")"
+repository_root="$(canonical_directory "$(expand_path "$OPENBOT_REPOSITORY")")"
 
 # `make run` remains the canonical production-style startup path; these environment variables
 # provide the caller-specific paths without reimplementing backend initialization here.
 export WORKSPACE_ROOT="$workspace_root"
 export DATABASE_URL="sqlite+aiosqlite:///$db_root/openbot.db"
 
-script_dir="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd -P)"
-exec make -C "$script_dir" run
+exec make -C "$repository_root" run
diff --git a/scripts/test_openbot.py b/scripts/test_openbot.py
index 2bdf891..9cecdd9 100755
--- a/scripts/test_openbot.py
+++ b/scripts/test_openbot.py
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 
 class OpenBotLauncherTests(unittest.TestCase):
-    def run_launcher(self, *args, cwd=None, home=None):
+    def run_launcher(self, *args, cwd=None, home=None, repository=None):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
             fake_make = Path(tmp) / "make"
             fake_make.write_text(
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ def run_launcher(self, *args, cwd=None, home=None):
             env["PATH"] = f"{tmp}{os.pathsep}{env['PATH']}"
             if home is not None:
                 env["HOME"] = str(home)
+            if repository is not None:
+                env["OPENBOT_REPOSITORY"] = str(repository)
             return subprocess.run(
                 [str(SCRIPT), *args], cwd=cwd, env=env, text=True, capture_output=True, check=False
             )
@@ -62,6 +64,24 @@ def test_both_overrides_are_forwarded(self):
             self.assertIn(f"workspace={root.resolve()}", result.stdout)
             self.assertIn(f"database=sqlite+aiosqlite:///{db.resolve() / 'openbot.db'}", result.stdout)
 
+    def test_repository_location_is_used_from_another_working_directory(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp, tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as home:
+            caller = Path(tmp) / "caller"
+            repository = Path(tmp) / "repository with spaces"
+            caller.mkdir()
+            repository.mkdir()
+            result = self.run_launcher(cwd=caller, home=home, repository=repository)
+            self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 0, result.stderr)
+            self.assertIn(f"args=-C|{repository.resolve()}|run|", result.stdout)
+            self.assertIn(f"workspace={caller.resolve()}", result.stdout)
+
+    def test_repository_location_must_be_a_directory(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            repository = Path(tmp) / "missing-repository"
+            result = self.run_launcher(cwd=tmp, repository=repository)
+            self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 2)
+            self.assertIn("does not exist", result.stderr)
+
     def test_invalid_usage_is_clear(self):
         result = self.run_launcher("--root")
         self.assertEqual(result.returncode, 2)