diff --git a/markitect/assets/manager.py b/markitect/assets/manager.py
index f9ad2fa8..9b2e6090 100644
--- a/markitect/assets/manager.py
+++ b/markitect/assets/manager.py
@@ -64,8 +64,10 @@ class AssetManager:
                 assets_config.get('storage_path', DEFAULT_ASSETS_DIR)
             ).resolve()
 
+            # Default registry path should be relative to storage_path, not cwd
+            default_registry_path = self.storage_path.parent / DEFAULT_REGISTRY_FILENAME
             self.registry_path = Path(
-                assets_config.get('registry_path', DEFAULT_REGISTRY_FILENAME)
+                assets_config.get('registry_path', default_registry_path)
             ).resolve()
 
             self.database_path = Path(