diff --git a/bot_bottle/backend/firecracker/bottle.py b/bot_bottle/backend/firecracker/bottle.py
index c8bc62b..eef9132 100644
--- a/bot_bottle/backend/firecracker/bottle.py
+++ b/bot_bottle/backend/firecracker/bottle.py
@@ -93,12 +93,27 @@ class FirecrackerBottle(Bottle):
                 argv=full_argv,
             )
         )
+        # ALWAYS cd into the workdir before exec'ing the agent. The
+        # control SSH logs in as root, so the inherited cwd is /root —
+        # which the agent (running as node) can't even read now that
+        # /root is root-owned. Run the agent from the node workdir
+        # (default /home/node) so its cwd is node-accessible; otherwise
+        # Node's process.cwd(), the shell-snapshot machinery, and
+        # `/doctor` all fail on the unreadable /root.
+        # Run the agent from the node workdir (default /home/node), NOT
+        # the /root cwd inherited from the root SSH login — /root is now
+        # root-owned and unreadable by node, which breaks Node's
+        # process.cwd(), the shell-snapshot machinery, and `/doctor`.
+        # Use `env --chdir` rather than a `sh -c 'cd … && exec "$@"'`
+        # wrapper: ssh space-joins everything after the host into one
+        # string for the guest shell, so a quoted script + $@ would be
+        # re-split and mangled (exec'ing the $0 placeholder). All-simple
+        # words survive that join.
+        workdir = self.agent_workdir or _HOME_FOR["node"]
         remote = ["runuser", "-u", "node", "--",
-                  "env", *_env_assignments_for("node", self._guest_env)]
-        if self.agent_workdir and self.agent_workdir != _HOME_FOR["node"]:
-            remote += ["sh", "-lc", f"cd {self.agent_workdir} && exec \"$@\"",
-                       "bot-bottle-agent"]
-        remote += [self.agent_command, *full_argv]
+                  "env", f"--chdir={workdir}",
+                  *_env_assignments_for("node", self._guest_env),
+                  self.agent_command, *full_argv]
         return remote
 
     def agent_argv(self, argv: list[str], *, tty: bool = True) -> list[str]:
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_firecracker_backend.py b/tests/unit/test_firecracker_backend.py
index 3adb065..4e3d5a9 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_firecracker_backend.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_firecracker_backend.py
@@ -235,11 +235,17 @@ class TestBottleAgentArgv(unittest.TestCase):
             argv[idx:],
         )
 
-    def test_workdir_wraps_command(self):
+    def test_workdir_sets_chdir(self):
+        # The agent runs from its workdir via `env --chdir` (ssh-safe;
+        # not a `sh -c 'cd …'` wrapper, which the ssh arg-join mangles).
         argv = _bottle(agent_workdir="/home/node/workspace").agent_argv([], tty=False)
-        self.assertIn("sh", argv)
-        joined = " ".join(argv)
-        self.assertIn("cd /home/node/workspace", joined)
+        self.assertIn("--chdir=/home/node/workspace", argv)
+
+    def test_default_workdir_still_chdirs_off_root(self):
+        # Even with the default workdir the agent must leave /root (the
+        # root-SSH cwd it can't read); it cd's to /home/node.
+        argv = _bottle().agent_argv([], tty=False)
+        self.assertIn("--chdir=/home/node", argv)
 
     def test_guest_env_injected(self):
         argv = _bottle(guest_env={"HTTPS_PROXY": "http://100.64.0.0:9099"}).agent_argv(