diff --git a/start-lab.bat b/start-lab.bat
index f1f5bc2..a2ff67d 100644
--- a/start-lab.bat
+++ b/start-lab.bat
@@ -7,38 +7,63 @@ REM Starts the Python FastAPI server + serves the web UI.
 REM Prerequisites:
 REM   - Python 3.10+ with: pip install fastapi uvicorn
 REM   - Java 17+
-REM   - commander-ai-lab built: mvn package "-DskipTests"
+REM   - Forge built: mvn package "-DskipTests"
 REM
-REM Edit the paths below to match your system.
+REM All paths are resolved RELATIVE to this script's location.
+REM No hardcoded drive letters — works on any machine.
 REM ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
-REM ── Your Forge paths (EDIT THESE) ──────────────────────────
-set FORGE_JAR=D:\ForgeCommander\forge-repo\forge-gui-desktop\target\forge-gui-desktop-2.0.12-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar
-set FORGE_DIR=D:\ForgeCommander\forge-repo
-REM Precon-decks folder — Forge reads .dck files directly from here.
-REM This is also used as the source for precon install endpoints.
-set FORGE_DECKS_DIR=D:\ForgeCommander\commander-ai-lab\precon-decks
-set PRECON_DECKS_DIR=D:\ForgeCommander\commander-ai-lab\precon-decks
-REM ── Lab JAR (auto-detected from target/) ─────────────────────
+
+REM ── Resolve root from script location (portable, any drive) ─
+set SCRIPT_DIR=%~dp0
+set FORGE_COMMANDER_ROOT=%SCRIPT_DIR%..
+
+REM ── Forge paths (auto-resolved, no hardcoded drive) ─────────
+set FORGE_JAR=%FORGE_COMMANDER_ROOT%\forge-repo\forge-gui-desktop\target\forge-gui-desktop-2.0.12-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar
+set FORGE_DIR=%FORGE_COMMANDER_ROOT%\forge-repo
+set FORGE_PROFILE=%FORGE_COMMANDER_ROOT%\forge-repo\forge-gui-desktop\target\res\forge.profile.properties
+
+REM ── Deck paths: all inside forge-repo for full portability ──
+set FORGE_USER_DATA=%FORGE_COMMANDER_ROOT%\forge-repo\userdata
+set FORGE_DECKS_DIR=%FORGE_USER_DATA%\decks
+set PRECON_DECKS_DIR=%SCRIPT_DIR%precon-decks
+
+REM ── Lab server port ──────────────────────────────────────────
 set LAB_PORT=8080
 
 REM ── API Keys (set via environment variables or .env file) ──
-REM If not already set in your environment, create a .env file
-REM in this directory (see .env.example) or set them manually:
-REM   set XIMILAR_API_KEY=your-ximilar-key-here
-REM   set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-anthropic-api-key-here
-REM
-REM Load from .env file if it exists and vars aren't already set
 if not defined XIMILAR_API_KEY (
-    if exist "%~dp0.env" (
-        for /f "usebackq tokens=1,* delims==" %%A in ("%~dp0.env") do (
+    if exist "%SCRIPT_DIR%.env" (
+        for /f "usebackq tokens=1,* delims==" %%A in ("%SCRIPT_DIR%.env") do (
             if "%%A"=="XIMILAR_API_KEY" set XIMILAR_API_KEY=%%B
             if "%%A"=="ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=%%B
-            if "%%A"=="PRECON_DECKS_DIR" set PRECON_DECKS_DIR=%%B
-            if "%%A"=="FORGE_DECKS_DIR" set FORGE_DECKS_DIR=%%B
         )
     )
 )
 
+REM ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+REM Write forge.profile.properties so Forge resolves decks from
+REM forge-repo\userdata instead of %APPDATA%\Forge.
+REM Backslashes are doubled as required by .properties format.
+REM This is rewritten every launch so it always matches the
+REM current machine's absolute path.
+REM ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+mkdir "%FORGE_USER_DATA%\decks\commander" 2>nul
+
+REM Build escaped paths for .properties file
+set _UD=%FORGE_USER_DATA%
+set _DD=%FORGE_DECKS_DIR%
+setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
+set _UD_ESC=!_UD:\=\\!
+set _DD_ESC=!_DD:\=\\!
+(echo userDir=!_UD_ESC!) > "%FORGE_PROFILE%"
+(echo decksDir=!_DD_ESC!) >> "%FORGE_PROFILE%"
+endlocal
+
+REM ── Copy precon .dck files into Forge's commander deck folder
+REM    (idempotent — safe to run every launch)
+xcopy /Y /Q "%PRECON_DECKS_DIR%\*.dck" "%FORGE_DECKS_DIR%\commander\" >nul 2>&1
+echo Synced precon decks to Forge commander folder.
+
 echo.
 echo ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
 echo ║       Commander AI Lab — Launcher               ║
@@ -49,11 +74,15 @@ echo Forge Dir:   %FORGE_DIR%
 echo Decks Dir:   %FORGE_DECKS_DIR%
 echo Precon Dir:  %PRECON_DECKS_DIR%
 echo Port:        %LAB_PORT%
-echo Ximilar:     Configured
-if defined ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (
-    echo Claude Opus: Configured
+if defined XIMILAR_API_KEY (
+    echo Ximilar:     Configured
 ) else (
-    echo Claude Opus: Not configured ^(set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var for AI features^)
+    echo Ximilar:     Not configured
+)
+if defined ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (
+    echo Claude:      Configured
+) else (
+    echo Claude:      Not configured ^(set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY for AI features^)
 )
 echo.
 
@@ -75,15 +104,14 @@ if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
 if not exist "%FORGE_JAR%" (
     echo ERROR: Forge JAR not found at: %FORGE_JAR%
     echo Run Forge build first:
-    echo   cd D:\ForgeCommander\forge-repo
+    echo   cd %FORGE_DIR%
     echo   mvn package -pl forge-gui-desktop "-DskipTests" "-Drevision=2.0.12-SNAPSHOT" -am
     pause
     exit /b 1
 )
 
-REM ── Check if lab_api.py exists ─────────────────────────────
-if not exist "%~dp0lab_api.py" (
-    echo ERROR: lab_api.py not found in %~dp0
+if not exist "%SCRIPT_DIR%lab_api.py" (
+    echo ERROR: lab_api.py not found in %SCRIPT_DIR%
     pause
     exit /b 1
 )
@@ -104,7 +132,7 @@ echo Press Ctrl+C to stop.
 echo.
 
 if defined ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (
-    python "%~dp0lab_api.py" ^
+    python "%SCRIPT_DIR%lab_api.py" ^
         --forge-jar "%FORGE_JAR%" ^
         --forge-dir "%FORGE_DIR%" ^
         --forge-decks-dir "%FORGE_DECKS_DIR%" ^
@@ -113,7 +141,7 @@ if defined ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (
         --ximilar-key "%XIMILAR_API_KEY%" ^
         --anthropic-key "%ANTHROPIC_API_KEY%"
 ) else (
-    python "%~dp0lab_api.py" ^
+    python "%SCRIPT_DIR%lab_api.py" ^
         --forge-jar "%FORGE_JAR%" ^
         --forge-dir "%FORGE_DIR%" ^
         --forge-decks-dir "%FORGE_DECKS_DIR%" ^