diff --git a/server/install_server.sh b/server/install_server.sh
index 4f91e6a5..9eafd5f2 100755
--- a/server/install_server.sh
+++ b/server/install_server.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ MEDIAMTX_CONFIG="$MEDIAMTX_CONF_DIR/mediamtx.yml"
 MEDIAMTX_SNAPSHOT_SCRIPT="$MEDIAMTX_CONF_DIR/rover-snapshot.sh"
 MEDIAMTX_SERVICE="/etc/systemd/system/mediamtx.service"
 MULTIROVER_SERVICE="/etc/systemd/system/multirover.service"
+SNAPSHOT_DIR="/var/lib/rover-snapshots"
 
 if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
   echo "This installer must be run with sudo/root." >&2
@@ -83,6 +84,8 @@ install -m 0755 "$MEDIAMTX_SNAPSHOT_TEMPLATE" "$MEDIAMTX_SNAPSHOT_SCRIPT"
 chown -R "$TARGET_USER":"$TARGET_USER" "$MEDIAMTX_CONF_DIR"
 
 echo "[4/6] Writing systemd units..."
+mkdir -p "$SNAPSHOT_DIR"
+chown "$TARGET_USER":"$TARGET_USER" "$SNAPSHOT_DIR"
 cat > "$MEDIAMTX_SERVICE" <<EOF
 [Unit]
 Description=mediaMTX WebRTC Server
@@ -93,6 +96,7 @@ Wants=network-online.target
 User=$TARGET_USER
 Group=$TARGET_USER
 WorkingDirectory=$MEDIAMTX_CONF_DIR
+Environment=ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR=$SNAPSHOT_DIR
 ExecStart=$MEDIAMTX_BIN $MEDIAMTX_CONFIG
 Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=2
@@ -113,6 +117,7 @@ Group=$TARGET_USER
 WorkingDirectory=$SERVER_DIR
 Environment=NODE_ENV=production
 Environment=SERVER_CONFIG=$CONFIG_PATH
+Environment=ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR=$SNAPSHOT_DIR
 ExecStart=$NODE_BIN $SERVER_DIR/index.js
 Restart=on-failure
 RestartSec=2
diff --git a/server/mediamtx/rover-snapshot.sh b/server/mediamtx/rover-snapshot.sh
index f923b8ca..9b2b6d5d 100644
--- a/server/mediamtx/rover-snapshot.sh
+++ b/server/mediamtx/rover-snapshot.sh
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ if [[ "${STREAM_ID}" == *-audio ]]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
-OUTPUT_DIR="${ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR:-/run/rover-snapshots}"
+OUTPUT_DIR="${ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR:-/var/lib/rover-snapshots}"
 FPS="${ROVER_SNAPSHOT_FPS:-1}"
 WIDTH="${ROVER_SNAPSHOT_WIDTH:-640}"
 QUALITY="${ROVER_SNAPSHOT_QUALITY:-8}"
diff --git a/server/src/services/roverSnapshotService.js b/server/src/services/roverSnapshotService.js
index e6d991ac..e3d099bf 100644
--- a/server/src/services/roverSnapshotService.js
+++ b/server/src/services/roverSnapshotService.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const path = require('path');
 const logger = require('../globals/logger').child('roverSnapshot');
 const roverManager = require('./roverManager');
 
-const SNAPSHOT_DIR = process.env.ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR || '/run/rover-snapshots';
+const SNAPSHOT_DIR = process.env.ROVER_SNAPSHOT_DIR || '/var/lib/rover-snapshots';
 const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 500;
 
 const roverState = new Map(); // id -> { frame, ts, error, failures, fetching, mtimeMs }