diff --git a/tools/browser_tool.py b/tools/browser_tool.py
index 8339fdd9c..546ed3cd1 100644
--- a/tools/browser_tool.py
+++ b/tools/browser_tool.py
@@ -905,7 +905,7 @@ def _run_browser_command(
 
         # Ensure PATH includes Hermes-managed Node first, Homebrew versioned
         # node dirs (for macOS ``brew install node@24``), then standard system dirs.
-        hermes_home = Path(os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME", Path.home() / ".hermes"))
+        hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
         hermes_node_bin = str(hermes_home / "node" / "bin")
 
         existing_path = browser_env.get("PATH", "")
@@ -1542,7 +1542,7 @@ def _maybe_start_recording(task_id: str):
     if task_id in _recording_sessions:
         return
     try:
-        hermes_home = Path(os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME", Path.home() / ".hermes"))
+        hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
         config_path = hermes_home / "config.yaml"
         record_enabled = False
         if config_path.exists():
@@ -1831,7 +1831,7 @@ def _cleanup_old_recordings(max_age_hours=72):
     """Remove browser recordings older than max_age_hours to prevent disk bloat."""
     import time
     try:
-        hermes_home = Path(os.environ.get("HERMES_HOME", Path.home() / ".hermes"))
+        hermes_home = get_hermes_home()
         recordings_dir = hermes_home / "browser_recordings"
         if not recordings_dir.exists():
             return