diff --git a/include/guecs/sfml/config.hpp b/include/guecs/sfml/config.hpp
index 52bf664..2ca8d52 100644
--- a/include/guecs/sfml/config.hpp
+++ b/include/guecs/sfml/config.hpp
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
 #include <fstream>
 #include <codecvt>
+#include <filesystem>
 
 struct Config {
+  static std::filesystem::path BASE_DIR;
   nlohmann::json $config;
   std::string $src_path;
 
@@ -16,4 +18,7 @@ struct Config {
   nlohmann::json &json() { return $config; };
   std::wstring wstring(const std::string main_key, const std::string sub_key);
   std::vector<std::string> keys();
+
+  static void set_base_dir(const char *optarg);
+  static std::filesystem::path path_to(const std::string& path);
 };
diff --git a/include/guecs/sfml/sound.hpp b/include/guecs/sfml/sound.hpp
index 3dc21cc..80241cf 100644
--- a/include/guecs/sfml/sound.hpp
+++ b/include/guecs/sfml/sound.hpp
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ namespace sound {
   };
 
   void init();
-  void load(const std::string& name, const std::string& path);
+  void load(const std::string& name, const std::filesystem::path& path);
   void play(const std::string& name, bool loop=false);
   void play_at(const std::string& name, float x, float y, float z);
   void stop(const std::string& name);
diff --git a/src/guecs/sfml/config.cpp b/src/guecs/sfml/config.cpp
index 3118126..8ecd101 100644
--- a/src/guecs/sfml/config.cpp
+++ b/src/guecs/sfml/config.cpp
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@
 using nlohmann::json;
 using fmt::format;
 
+std::filesystem::path Config::BASE_DIR{"."};
+
 Config::Config(const std::string src_path) : $src_path(src_path) {
-  std::ifstream infile($src_path);
+  std::ifstream infile(Config::path_to($src_path));
   $config = json::parse(infile);
 }
 
@@ -33,3 +35,12 @@ std::vector<std::string> Config::keys() {
 
   return the_fucking_keys;
 }
+
+
+void Config::set_base_dir(const char *optarg) {
+  Config::BASE_DIR.assign(optarg);
+}
+
+std::filesystem::path Config::path_to(const std::string& path) {
+  return Config::BASE_DIR / path;
+}
diff --git a/src/guecs/sfml/shaders.cpp b/src/guecs/sfml/shaders.cpp
index d6194ac..a235454 100644
--- a/src/guecs/sfml/shaders.cpp
+++ b/src/guecs/sfml/shaders.cpp
@@ -16,9 +16,10 @@ namespace shaders {
   }
 
   bool load_shader(std::string name, nlohmann::json& settings) {
-    std::string file_name = settings["file_name"];
+    auto file_name = settings["file_name"];
+    auto file_path = Config::path_to(file_name);
     auto ptr = std::make_shared<sf::Shader>();
-    bool good = ptr->loadFromFile(file_name, sf::Shader::Type::Fragment);
+    bool good = ptr->loadFromFile(file_path, sf::Shader::Type::Fragment);
 
     if(good) {
       configure_shader_defaults(ptr);
diff --git a/src/guecs/sfml/sound.cpp b/src/guecs/sfml/sound.cpp
index 9e1812a..3fcb2e3 100644
--- a/src/guecs/sfml/sound.cpp
+++ b/src/guecs/sfml/sound.cpp
@@ -30,13 +30,13 @@ namespace sound {
       Config assets("assets/config.json");
 
       for(auto& el : assets["sounds"].items()) {
-        load(el.key(), el.value());
+        load(el.key(), Config::path_to(el.value()));
       }
       initialized = true;
     }
   }
 
-  void load(const std::string& name, const std::string& sound_path) {
+  void load(const std::string& name, const std::filesystem::path& sound_path) {
     assert(fs::exists(sound_path) && "sound file does not exist");
 
     // create the buffer and keep in the buffer map
diff --git a/src/guecs/sfml/textures.cpp b/src/guecs/sfml/textures.cpp
index cd6b2f1..c4cecdc 100644
--- a/src/guecs/sfml/textures.cpp
+++ b/src/guecs/sfml/textures.cpp
@@ -14,7 +14,9 @@ namespace textures {
     Config assets("assets/config.json");
 
     for(auto& [name, settings] : assets["sprites"].items()) {
-      auto texture = make_shared<sf::Texture>(settings["path"]);
+      auto file_name = settings["path"];
+      auto file_path = Config::path_to(file_name);
+      auto texture = make_shared<sf::Texture>(file_path);
 
       texture->setSmooth(assets["graphics"]["smooth_textures"]);
       auto sprite = make_shared<sf::Sprite>(*texture);
@@ -51,7 +53,8 @@ namespace textures {
 
   sf::Image load_image(const std::string& filename) {
     sf::Image texture;
-    bool good = texture.loadFromFile(filename);
+    auto file_path = Config::path_to(filename);
+    bool good = texture.loadFromFile(file_path);
     assert(good && "failed to load image file");
     return texture;
   }