diff --git a/Taskfile.yaml b/Taskfile.yaml
index b8d69fa..81417e0 100644
--- a/Taskfile.yaml
+++ b/Taskfile.yaml
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ includes:
   deno: ./Taskfile.deno.yaml
 
 vars:
-  NBL_HOME_DIR: /var/run/noteable
+  NBL_HOME_DIR: /srv/noteable
+  NBL_WORK_DIR: /var/run/noteable
 
 tasks:
   copy-root-files:
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ tasks:
       vars: [LANGUAGE, IDENTIFIER, NBL_LANGUAGE_VERSION]
     vars:
       BUILD_TARGET: '{{default "base" .BUILD_TARGET}}'
-      NBL_HOME_DIR: '{{default "/var/run/noteable" .NBL_HOME_DIR}}'
+      NBL_HOME_DIR: '{{default "/srv/noteable" .NBL_HOME_DIR}}'
+      NBL_WORK_DIR: '{{default "/var/run/noteable" .NBL_WORK_DIR}}'
       TAG_SUFFIX: '{{default "" .TAG_SUFFIX}}'
       TAG: '{{default "dev" .TAG}}'
diff --git a/deno/base/1.37/Dockerfile b/deno/base/1.37/Dockerfile
index 5eea416..c3d686f 100644
--- a/deno/base/1.37/Dockerfile
+++ b/deno/base/1.37/Dockerfile
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@
 # Rust 1.72 is required
 FROM rust:1.72 as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 
 # User/group setup
 USER root
@@ -24,11 +26,12 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --no-log-init \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
-  chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}"
+  chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}"
 
-# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_HOME_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
+# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_WORK_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 WORKDIR /tmp
 
@@ -58,7 +61,7 @@ COPY run.sh /usr/local/bin
 
 ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["tini", "-g", "--"]
diff --git a/python/base-gpu/3.10/Dockerfile b/python/base-gpu/3.10/Dockerfile
index b85a38a..4a8362f 100644
--- a/python/base-gpu/3.10/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base-gpu/3.10/Dockerfile
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 # hadolint ignore=DL3006
 FROM base AS main
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.10
 
 USER root
@@ -81,4 +83,4 @@ ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$CONDA_DIR/lib/:$CUDNN_PATH/lib \
 # Overwrite the base run.sh to include `mamba` usage
 COPY run.sh /usr/local/bin
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
diff --git a/python/base-gpu/3.11/Dockerfile b/python/base-gpu/3.11/Dockerfile
index afc2087..a14a09e 100644
--- a/python/base-gpu/3.11/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base-gpu/3.11/Dockerfile
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 # hadolint ignore=DL3006
 FROM base AS main
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.11
 
 USER root
@@ -81,4 +83,4 @@ ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$CONDA_DIR/lib/:$CUDNN_PATH/lib \
 # Overwrite the base run.sh to include `mamba` usage
 COPY run.sh /usr/local/bin
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
diff --git a/python/base-gpu/3.9/Dockerfile b/python/base-gpu/3.9/Dockerfile
index c70b7ff..99cbe40 100644
--- a/python/base-gpu/3.9/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base-gpu/3.9/Dockerfile
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@
 # hadolint ignore=DL3006
 FROM base AS main
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.9
 
 USER root
@@ -81,4 +83,4 @@ ENV LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$CONDA_DIR/lib/:$CUDNN_PATH/lib \
 # Overwrite the base run.sh to include `mamba` usage
 COPY run.sh /usr/local/bin
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
diff --git a/python/base/3.10/Dockerfile b/python/base/3.10/Dockerfile
index 8ecff1b..afbbfcf 100644
--- a/python/base/3.10/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base/3.10/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.10
 FROM python:${NBL_PYTHON_VERSION}-slim-bullseye as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION
 
 # User/group setup
@@ -25,12 +27,13 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
   chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && \
   mkdir /opt/venv && chown noteable:noteable /opt/venv && \
   mkdir /etc/ipython && chown noteable:noteable /etc/ipython
 
 # TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_HOME_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 WORKDIR /tmp
 
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}" \
   XDG_CACHE_HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}/.cache/" \
   GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/vault/secrets/gcp-credentials"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/tini", "-g", "--"]
diff --git a/python/base/3.11/Dockerfile b/python/base/3.11/Dockerfile
index f6b221b..01e7a71 100644
--- a/python/base/3.11/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base/3.11/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.11
 FROM python:${NBL_PYTHON_VERSION}-slim-bullseye as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION
 
 # User/group setup
@@ -25,12 +27,13 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
   chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && \
   mkdir /opt/venv && chown noteable:noteable /opt/venv && \
   mkdir /etc/ipython && chown noteable:noteable /etc/ipython
 
-# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_HOME_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
+# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_WORK_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 WORKDIR /tmp
 
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}" \
   XDG_CACHE_HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}/.cache/" \
   GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/vault/secrets/gcp-credentials"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/tini", "-g", "--"]
diff --git a/python/base/3.9/Dockerfile b/python/base/3.9/Dockerfile
index 9e559ec..7dd28bf 100644
--- a/python/base/3.9/Dockerfile
+++ b/python/base/3.9/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION=3.9
 FROM python:${NBL_PYTHON_VERSION}-slim-bullseye as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 ARG NBL_PYTHON_VERSION
 
 # User/group setup
@@ -25,12 +27,13 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
   chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && \
   mkdir /opt/venv && chown noteable:noteable /opt/venv && \
   mkdir /etc/ipython && chown noteable:noteable /etc/ipython
 
-# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new ""${NBL_HOME_DIR}"" dir
+# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_WORK_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 WORKDIR /tmp
 
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}" \
   XDG_CACHE_HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}/.cache/" \
   GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/vault/secrets/gcp-credentials"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/tini", "-g", "--"]
diff --git a/r/base/4.3.0/Dockerfile b/r/base/4.3.0/Dockerfile
index 37cb10a..50cc7e5 100644
--- a/r/base/4.3.0/Dockerfile
+++ b/r/base/4.3.0/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 ARG NBL_R_VERSION=4.3.0
 FROM r-base:${NBL_R_VERSION} as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 
 # User/group setup
 USER root
@@ -24,11 +26,12 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
   chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && \
   chown --recursive noteable:noteable /usr/local/lib/R/site-library
 
-# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_HOME_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
+# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_WORK_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 # Install tini to manage passing signals to the child kernel process
 ENV TINI_VERSION v0.19.0
@@ -53,7 +56,7 @@ ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}" \
   XDG_CACHE_HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}/.cache/" \
   GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/vault/secrets/gcp-credentials"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["/tini", "-g", "--"]
diff --git a/r/noteable/4.3.0/Dockerfile b/r/noteable/4.3.0/Dockerfile
index ec9d2aa..1f358b2 100644
--- a/r/noteable/4.3.0/Dockerfile
+++ b/r/noteable/4.3.0/Dockerfile
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # hadolint ignore=DL3006
 FROM base as main
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 
 USER root
 
@@ -20,4 +20,4 @@ COPY requirements.R /tmp/requirements.R
 RUN R -e "source('/tmp/requirements.R')"
 
 # similarly, copy any R commands that need to run on startup
-COPY .Rprofile ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/.Rprofile
+COPY .Rprofile ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/.Rprofile
diff --git a/rust/base/1.70/Dockerfile b/rust/base/1.70/Dockerfile
index bb2df23..1c98e90 100644
--- a/rust/base/1.70/Dockerfile
+++ b/rust/base/1.70/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 ARG NBL_RUST_VERSION="1.70"
 FROM rust:${NBL_RUST_VERSION}-slim-bullseye as base
 
-ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/var/run/noteable
+# Application code lives in NBL_HOME_DIR, project data lives in NBL_WORK_DIR
+ARG NBL_HOME_DIR=/srv/noteable
+ARG NBL_WORK_DIR=/var/run/noteable
 
 # User/group setup
 USER root
@@ -23,11 +25,12 @@ RUN groupadd --gid 4004 noteable && \
   --no-log-init \
   --gid noteable noteable \
   --home-dir "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
-  chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}"
+  chown --recursive noteable:noteable "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" && \
+  mkdir -p "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" && chown noteable:noteable "${NBL_WORK_DIR}"
 
-# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_HOME_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
+# TEMPORARY: symlink the previous /etc/noteable to the new NBL_WORK_DIR (/var/run/noteable) dir
 # until all other services are migrated and the old /etc/noteable can be removed
-RUN ln -s "${NBL_HOME_DIR}" /etc/noteable
+RUN ln -s "${NBL_WORK_DIR}" /etc/noteable
 
 WORKDIR /tmp
 
@@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ COPY run.sh /usr/local/bin
 
 ENV HOME="${NBL_HOME_DIR}"
 
-WORKDIR ${NBL_HOME_DIR}/project
+WORKDIR ${NBL_WORK_DIR}/project
 EXPOSE 50001-50005
 
 RUN cargo init