diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
index b050109..f1c02c8 100755
--- a/shell.nix
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ mkvirt() {
   samba-create-ipv4-records "$IP" "$name" "$DOMAIN"
   [ $? -eq 0 ] || return 9
   1>&2 echo "removing any stale ssh keys"
-  ssh-keygen -f "/home/james/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$name"
-  ssh-keygen -f "/home/james/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$name.$DOMAIN"
-  ssh-keygen -f "/home/james/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$IP"
+  ssh-keygen -f "$HOME/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$name"
+  ssh-keygen -f "$HOME/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$name.$DOMAIN"
+  ssh-keygen -f "$HOME/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "$IP"
   1>&2 echo "scanning for new ssh keys"
   # head -1 allows us to grab the ed25519 key before the rsa key.
   # at worst, it will yield a single key of some sort which is also fine.