diff --git a/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh b/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
index a71212ec2..40d0c8ea5 100755
--- a/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
+++ b/apps/startup-scripts/src/service-manager.sh
@@ -13,10 +13,57 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="$CURRENT_PATH"
 
 ROOT_DIR="$(cd "$CURRENT_PATH/../../.." && pwd)"
 
+# Colors for output
+readonly YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
+readonly GREEN='\033[0;32m'
+readonly RED='\033[0;31m'
+readonly BLUE='\033[0;34m'
+readonly NC='\033[0m' # No Color
+
+canonicalize_path() {
+    local input="$1"
+
+    if [ -z "$input" ]; then
+        echo ""
+        return
+    fi
+
+    if command -v realpath >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        local resolved
+        resolved="$(realpath -m "$input" 2>/dev/null)" && { echo "$resolved"; return; }
+    fi
+
+    if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        local py_resolved
+        py_resolved="$(python3 -c 'import os,sys; print(os.path.abspath(os.path.normpath(sys.argv[1])))' "$input" 2>/dev/null)" && {
+            echo "$py_resolved"
+            return
+        }
+    fi
+
+    if [ -d "$input" ]; then
+        (cd "$input" 2>/dev/null && pwd) && return
+    fi
+
+    local dir base
+    dir=$(dirname "$input")
+    base=$(basename "$input")
+    if [ -d "$dir" ]; then
+        (cd "$dir" 2>/dev/null && printf '%s/%s\n' "$(pwd)" "$base") && return
+    fi
+
+    echo "$input"
+}
+
 # Configuration directory (can be overridden with AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR)
-CONFIG_DIR="${AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/azerothcore/services}"
+CONFIG_DIR_RAW="${AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/azerothcore/services}"
+
+# Create config directory if it doesn't exist
+mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR_RAW"
+
+CONFIG_DIR="$(canonicalize_path "$CONFIG_DIR_RAW")"
+export AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR="$CONFIG_DIR"
 REGISTRY_FILE="$CONFIG_DIR/service_registry.json"
-export AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR="${AC_SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR:-$CONFIG_DIR}"
 
 # Default values for variables that might be loaded from config files
 # This prevents "unbound variable" errors when sourcing configuration files
@@ -30,14 +77,8 @@ RESTART_POLICY="${RESTART_POLICY:-}"
 GDB_ENABLED="${GDB_ENABLED:-}"
 SERVER_CONFIG="${SERVER_CONFIG:-}"
 
-# Colors for output
-readonly YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
-readonly GREEN='\033[0;32m'
-readonly RED='\033[0;31m'
-readonly BLUE='\033[0;34m'
-readonly NC='\033[0m' # No Color
-
 # Create config directory if it doesn't exist
+# (already ensured above), but keep for robustness
 mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR"
 
 # Initialize registry if it doesn't exist
@@ -1534,10 +1575,10 @@ function create_service() {
     
     # Determine server binary based on service type
     local server_bin="${service_type}server"
-    local server_binary_path=$(realpath "$bin_path/$server_bin")
+    local server_binary_path="$(canonicalize_path "$bin_path/$server_bin")"
     local real_config_path=""
     if [ -n "$server_config" ]; then
-        real_config_path=$(realpath "$server_config")
+        real_config_path="$(canonicalize_path "$server_config")"
     fi
 
     # Check if binary exists