diff --git a/src/lib/gui/CMakeLists.txt b/src/lib/gui/CMakeLists.txt
index 3b7f30779..a489026b8 100644
--- a/src/lib/gui/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/lib/gui/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ add_library(${target} STATIC
   Logger.h
   messages.cpp
   messages.h
-  paths.h
   string_utils.h
   style_utils.h
   styles.h
diff --git a/src/lib/gui/core/CoreProcess.cpp b/src/lib/gui/core/CoreProcess.cpp
index 335869516..8c339650e 100644
--- a/src/lib/gui/core/CoreProcess.cpp
+++ b/src/lib/gui/core/CoreProcess.cpp
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 
 #include "common/Settings.h"
 #include "gui/ipc/DaemonIpcClient.h"
-#include "gui/paths.h"
 #include "tls/TlsUtility.h"
 
 #if defined(Q_OS_MAC)
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ bool CoreProcess::Deps::fileExists(const QString &path) const
 
 QString CoreProcess::Deps::getProfileRoot() const
 {
-  return deskflow::gui::paths::configDir().absolutePath();
+  return Settings::settingsPath();
 }
 
 //
@@ -596,10 +595,8 @@ QString CoreProcess::persistServerConfig() const
     return Settings::value(Settings::Server::ExternalConfigFile).toString();
   }
 
-  const auto configDir = paths::configDir(true);
-  const auto configDirPath = configDir.absolutePath();
-
-  QFile configFile(configDirPath + "/" + kServerConfigFilename);
+  const auto configFilePath = QStringLiteral("%1/%2").arg(Settings::settingsPath(), kServerConfigFilename);
+  QFile configFile(configFilePath);
   if (!configFile.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly | QIODevice::Truncate)) {
     qFatal("failed to open core config file for write: %s", qPrintable(configFile.fileName()));
   }
diff --git a/src/lib/gui/diagnostic.cpp b/src/lib/gui/diagnostic.cpp
index 577f22aa9..a6f4771a0 100644
--- a/src/lib/gui/diagnostic.cpp
+++ b/src/lib/gui/diagnostic.cpp
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 #include "diagnostic.h"
 
+#include "common/Settings.h"
 #include "config/ConfigScopes.h"
-#include "paths.h"
 
 #include <QCoreApplication>
 #include <QDir>
diff --git a/src/lib/gui/dotenv.cpp b/src/lib/gui/dotenv.cpp
index 66411f91b..ea63a7764 100644
--- a/src/lib/gui/dotenv.cpp
+++ b/src/lib/gui/dotenv.cpp
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 #include "dotenv.h"
 
-#include "paths.h"
+#include "common/Settings.h"
 
 #include <QCoreApplication>
 #include <QDebug>
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ void dotenv(const QString &filename)
     // if nothing in current dir, then try the config dir.
     // this makes it a bit easier for engineers in the field to have an easily
     // predictable location for the .env file.
-    const auto orgDir = paths::configDir();
+    const auto orgDir = QDir(Settings::settingsPath());
 
     filePath = orgDir.filePath(filename);
     if (!open(file, filePath)) {
diff --git a/src/lib/gui/paths.h b/src/lib/gui/paths.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 9fbaa2814..000000000
--- a/src/lib/gui/paths.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Deskflow -- mouse and keyboard sharing utility
- * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: (C) 2024 Symless Ltd.
- * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only WITH LicenseRef-OpenSSL-Exception
- */
-
-#pragma once
-
-#include "common/Settings.h"
-
-#include <QDir>
-
-namespace deskflow::gui::paths {
-
-/**
- * @brief Gets the org config dir (parent of app config dir).
- */
-inline QDir configDir(const bool persist = false)
-{
-  const QDir configDir(Settings::settingsPath());
-
-  // HACK: since we have the org name set to the app name, the config dir is
-  // confusing. make this simple by using the org dir instead.
-  // use `filePath("..")` instead of `cdUp` to avoid the existence check.
-  const QDir orgDir = configDir.filePath("..");
-
-  if (persist) {
-    const auto orgDirPath = orgDir.absolutePath();
-    if (!QDir().mkpath(orgDirPath)) {
-      qFatal("failed to persist config dir: %s", qPrintable(orgDirPath));
-    }
-  }
-
-  return orgDir.absolutePath();
-}
-
-} // namespace deskflow::gui::paths