diff --git a/cli/cmds/root.go b/cli/cmds/root.go
index 47f8416d..dc0a26fc 100644
--- a/cli/cmds/root.go
+++ b/cli/cmds/root.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package cmds
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"os"
 
 	"github.com/rancher/k3k/pkg/apis/k3k.io/v1alpha1"
 	"github.com/rancher/k3k/pkg/buildinfo"
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ var (
 			EnvVars:     []string{"KUBECONFIG"},
 			Usage:       "kubeconfig path",
 			Destination: &Kubeconfig,
-			Value:       os.Getenv("HOME") + "/.kube/config",
+			Value:       "$HOME/.kube/config",
 		},
 		&cli.StringFlag{
 			Name:        "namespace",