diff --git a/codex-rs/utils/cargo-bin/src/lib.rs b/codex-rs/utils/cargo-bin/src/lib.rs
index 6517a77c94fa..2cb25a6b17dd 100644
--- a/codex-rs/utils/cargo-bin/src/lib.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/utils/cargo-bin/src/lib.rs
@@ -91,10 +91,15 @@ fn resolve_bin_from_env(key: &str, value: OsString) -> Result<PathBuf, CargoBinE
         let runfiles = runfiles::Runfiles::create().map_err(|err| CargoBinError::CurrentExe {
             source: std::io::Error::other(err),
         })?;
-        if let Some(resolved) = runfiles::rlocation!(runfiles, &raw)
-            && resolved.exists()
-        {
-            return Ok(resolved);
+        if let Some(mut resolved) = runfiles::rlocation!(runfiles, &raw) {
+            if !resolved.is_absolute() {
+                resolved = std::env::current_dir()
+                    .map_err(|source| CargoBinError::CurrentDir { source })?
+                    .join(resolved);
+            }
+            if resolved.exists() {
+                return Ok(resolved);
+            }
         }
     } else if raw.is_absolute() && raw.exists() {
         return Ok(raw);