diff --git a/src/github_agent_bridge/queue.py b/src/github_agent_bridge/queue.py
index 5d0903c..73b0393 100644
--- a/src/github_agent_bridge/queue.py
+++ b/src/github_agent_bridge/queue.py
@@ -27,11 +27,11 @@ def load_schema() -> str:
 
 class JobQueue:
     def __init__(self, path: str | Path):
-        self.path = Path(path)
-        self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        self.path = Path(path).expanduser()
         self.init()
 
     def connect(self) -> sqlite3.Connection:
+        self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         con = sqlite3.connect(self.path, timeout=30, isolation_level=None)
         con.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
         con.execute("PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON")
diff --git a/tests/test_queue.py b/tests/test_queue.py
index 584d07c..74efe9d 100644
--- a/tests/test_queue.py
+++ b/tests/test_queue.py
@@ -15,6 +15,27 @@ def policy():
     return Policy(trusted_orgs={"gisce"})
 
 
+def test_queue_expands_user_in_db_path(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    home = tmp_path / "home"
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HOME", str(home))
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)
+
+    JobQueue("~/state/q.sqlite3")
+
+    assert (home / "state" / "q.sqlite3").exists()
+    assert not (tmp_path / "~").exists()
+
+
+def test_connect_recreates_missing_parent_directory(tmp_path):
+    q = object.__new__(JobQueue)
+    q.path = tmp_path / "missing" / "q.sqlite3"
+
+    with q.connect() as con:
+        con.execute("SELECT 1")
+
+    assert q.path.exists()
+
+
 def test_enqueue_and_coalesce_same_work_key(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setattr("github_agent_bridge.actors.github_actor_details_for_context", lambda ctx, *, gh_bin="gh": None)
     q = JobQueue(tmp_path / "q.sqlite3")