diff --git a/setup/start.sh b/setup/start.sh
index c1d5933be..23aef055b 100755
--- a/setup/start.sh
+++ b/setup/start.sh
@@ -176,9 +176,11 @@ readonly mysql_root_password="password"
 mysqladmin -u root -ppassword password password # reset default root password
 mysql -u root -p${mysql_root_password} -e 'CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS box'
 
+# set HOME explicity, because it's not set when the installer calls it. this is done because
+# paths.js uses this env var and some of the migrate code requires box code
 echo "==> Migrating data"
 cd "${BOX_SRC_DIR}"
-if ! BOX_ENV=cloudron DATABASE_URL=mysql://root:${mysql_root_password}@127.0.0.1/box "${BOX_SRC_DIR}/node_modules/.bin/db-migrate" up; then
+if ! HOME=${HOME_DIR} BOX_ENV=cloudron DATABASE_URL=mysql://root:${mysql_root_password}@127.0.0.1/box "${BOX_SRC_DIR}/node_modules/.bin/db-migrate" up; then
     echo "DB migration failed"
     exit 1
 fi