diff --git a/.claude/CLAUDE.md b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
index 67befd0..4b067b7 100644
--- a/.claude/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/.claude/CLAUDE.md
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ Paliad — the patent paladin. All-in-one patent practice platform for HLC (form
 | `SMTP_HOST` / `SMTP_PORT` / `SMTP_USERNAME` / `SMTP_PASSWORD` / `SMTP_FROM` / `SMTP_FROM_NAME` / `SMTP_USE_TLS` | for email | SMTP credentials for Paliad's transactional mail (reminders, invitations). Port 465 uses implicit TLS. `MailService` silently no-ops when any required var is missing — the server still boots for knowledge-platform-only deployments. |
 | `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` | not used in PoC | Reserved for the eventual production-v1 Paliadin (the Anthropic Messages API path, see `docs/design-paliadin-2026-05-07.md` §2). The Phase 0 PoC (t-paliad-146) does NOT use this — it shells out to a local `claude` CLI via tmux instead, which uses m's existing Claude Code subscription. Set this env var only after the PoC validates and we cut over to the API-backed path. The earlier "Phase H Frist-Extraktion" reservation is dead — that feature is deferred separately (memory `b6a11b55…`). |
 | `PALIADIN_SESSION_PREFIX` | optional (default `paliad-paliadin`) | Prefix for the per-user tmux session names the Paliadin service uses (t-paliad-155). Each Paliad user gets their own session named `<prefix>-<userid8>` (first 8 hex chars of the user's UUID); conversation history accumulates per visit, `ResetSession` kills the session entirely. The persona + response protocol now live in `~/.claude/skills/paliadin/SKILL.md` (installed via `scripts/install-paliadin-skill`) — no in-process system prompt is sent. |
+| `PALIADIN_REMOTE_CWD` | shim env (default `/home/m/dev/paliad`) | Working directory `paliadin-shim` uses when spawning the long-lived `claude` pane on mRiver. Must be the paliad repo root so claude picks up `.mcp.json` (project-scoped Supabase MCP); without it, the SKILL.md SQL recipes have no DB tool. Set on mRiver only — paliad's Go side never reads this. |
 | `PALIADIN_RESPONSE_DIR` | optional (default `/tmp/paliadin`) | Directory where Claude writes its per-turn response files. The Go service polls this directory for `{turn_id}.txt` files. |
 
 > *Note on Paliadin gating (t-paliad-146):* there is **no** `PALIADIN_ENABLED` env var. Access is gated in code via `services.PaliadinOwnerEmail` (currently `matthias.siebels@hoganlovells.com`). Every other authenticated user gets a 404 on `/paliadin` and `/admin/paliadin`. This means the routes register on every paliad deploy (including paliad.de prod), but only m can reach them — and even then, prod only works if the host has `tmux` + a `claude` CLI in PATH (which the Dokploy container does not). PoC remains a laptop-only feature; the gate is in the code, not the deploy.
diff --git a/scripts/paliadin-shim b/scripts/paliadin-shim
index 118b9af..6032069 100755
--- a/scripts/paliadin-shim
+++ b/scripts/paliadin-shim
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ umask 077
 
 readonly RESPONSE_DIR="${PALIADIN_RESPONSE_DIR:-/tmp/paliadin}"
 readonly TIMEOUT_S="${PALIADIN_TIMEOUT_S:-60}"
+# Working directory for the claude pane. Must be the paliad repo root so
+# claude picks up .mcp.json (project-scoped Supabase MCP) — without it,
+# the SKILL.md SQL recipes fail with no DB tool. Override via env var if
+# the repo lives elsewhere on this host.
+readonly CLAUDE_CWD="${PALIADIN_REMOTE_CWD:-/home/m/dev/paliad}"
 readonly PANE_READY_S=60      # max wait for claude pane to settle
 readonly TURN_ID_RE='^[0-9a-fA-F]{8}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{4}-[0-9a-fA-F]{12}$'
 # Session names are constructed by the Go side as `paliad-paliadin-<userid8>`;
@@ -95,7 +100,11 @@ ensure_pane() {
       log_err "claude CLI not found in PATH"
       exit 3
     fi
-    idx=$(tmux new-window -t "$session" -n claude-paliadin -P -F '#{window_index}' claude)
+    if [[ ! -d "$CLAUDE_CWD" ]]; then
+      log_err "claude cwd $CLAUDE_CWD does not exist — set PALIADIN_REMOTE_CWD"
+      exit 3
+    fi
+    idx=$(tmux new-window -c "$CLAUDE_CWD" -t "$session" -n claude-paliadin -P -F '#{window_index}' claude)
     target="$session:$idx"
 
     # Wait for claude to settle. Matches Go waitForPaneReady (paliadin.go).