diff --git a/src/config.c b/src/config.c
index ee7644d..88724c7 100644
--- a/src/config.c
+++ b/src/config.c
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ char *default_config_path(void) {
 
     char *config_dir = getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
     if (config_dir == NULL) {
-        char *home = getenv("$HOME");
+        char *home = getenv("HOME");
         if (asprintf(&config_dir, "%s/.config", home) < 0) {
             fprintf(stderr, "error: failed formatting config dir (this shouldn't happen)");
             exit(EXIT_FAILURE);