diff --git a/backend.cpp b/backend.cpp
index 8330a6a..c174ae7 100644
--- a/backend.cpp
+++ b/backend.cpp
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "shaders.hpp"
 #include "sound.hpp"
 #include "textures.hpp"
+#include "config.hpp"
 
 namespace sfml {
   guecs::SpriteTexture Backend::texture_get(const string& name) {
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@ namespace sfml {
     theme.BG_COLOR = theme.MID;
     theme.BORDER_COLOR = theme.LIGHT_DARK;
     theme.BG_COLOR_DARK = theme.BLACK;
-    theme.FONT_FILE_NAME = "assets/text.ttf";
+    theme.FONT_FILE_NAME = Config::path_to("assets/text.ttf").string();
 
     return theme;
   }
diff --git a/shaders.cpp b/shaders.cpp
index 25ae16e..55405b1 100644
--- a/shaders.cpp
+++ b/shaders.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#include "guecs/sfml/shaders.hpp"
-#include "guecs/sfml/config.hpp"
+#include "shaders.hpp"
+#include "config.hpp"
 #include "dbc.hpp"
 #include <SFML/Graphics/Image.hpp>
 #include <fmt/core.h>
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@ 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/sound.cpp b/sound.cpp
index 783b724..5e7ee02 100644
--- a/sound.cpp
+++ b/sound.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#include "guecs/sfml/sound.hpp"
-#include "guecs/sfml/config.hpp"
+#include "sound.hpp"
+#include "config.hpp"
 #include "dbc.hpp"
 #include <fmt/core.h>
 
@@ -31,14 +31,14 @@ 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) {
-    dbc::check(fs::exists(sound_path), fmt::format("sound file {} does not exist", sound_path));
+  void load(const std::string& name, const std::filesystem::path& sound_path) {
+    dbc::check(fs::exists(sound_path), fmt::format("sound file {} does not exist", sound_path.string()));
 
     // create the buffer and keep in the buffer map
     auto buffer = make_shared<sf::SoundBuffer>(sound_path);
diff --git a/sound.hpp b/sound.hpp
index 3dc21cc..80241cf 100644
--- a/sound.hpp
+++ b/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/textures.cpp b/textures.cpp
index 27b46b5..bf6e4b3 100644
--- a/textures.cpp
+++ b/textures.cpp
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ 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);
@@ -52,8 +54,9 @@ namespace textures {
 
   sf::Image load_image(const std::string& filename) {
     sf::Image texture;
-    bool good = texture.loadFromFile(filename);
-    dbc::check(good, fmt::format("failed to load {}", filename));
+    auto file_path = Config::path_to(filename);
+    bool good = texture.loadFromFile(file_path);
+    dbc::check(good, fmt::format("failed to load {}", file_path.string()));
     return texture;
   }
 };