diff --git a/cmd-run-shell.c b/cmd-run-shell.c
index 7e0c62e56..4834cd9f7 100644
--- a/cmd-run-shell.c
+++ b/cmd-run-shell.c
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* $OpenBSD: cmd-run-shell.c,v 1.94 2026/08/25 06:04:33 nicm Exp $ */
+/* $OpenBSD: cmd-run-shell.c,v 1.95 2026/09/20 07:59:55 nicm Exp $ */
 
 /*
  * Copyright (c) 2009 Tiago Cunha <me@tiagocunha.org>
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ cmd_run_shell_exec(struct cmd *self, struct cmdq_item *item)
 	if (cdata->client != NULL)
 		cdata->client->references++;
 	if (args_has(args, 'c'))
-		cdata->cwd = xstrdup(args_get(args, 'c'));
+		cdata->cwd = format_single_from_target(item, args_get(args, 'c'));
 	else
 		cdata->cwd = xstrdup(server_client_get_cwd(c, s));