diff --git a/core/archipelago/src/session.rs b/core/archipelago/src/session.rs
index 1c694dd3..53dcd952 100644
--- a/core/archipelago/src/session.rs
+++ b/core/archipelago/src/session.rs
@@ -70,6 +70,17 @@ impl SessionStore {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Construct an empty SessionStore that persists to a caller-supplied
+    /// path. Used by tests so they don't pick up sessions from the dev
+    /// machine's real /var/lib/archipelago/sessions.json.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub fn new_for_tests(persist_path: PathBuf) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            sessions: Arc::new(RwLock::new(HashMap::new())),
+            persist_path,
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Load persisted sessions from disk (only Full sessions).
     async fn load_from_disk(path: &Path) -> HashMap<[u8; 32], Session> {
         let mut map = HashMap::new();
@@ -462,7 +473,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_session_create_and_validate() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token = store.create().await;
 
         assert!(store.validate(&token).await);
@@ -470,13 +481,13 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_session_invalid_token() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         assert!(!store.validate("nonexistent_token").await);
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_session_remove() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token = store.create().await;
 
         assert!(store.validate(&token).await);
@@ -486,7 +497,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_pending_session_upgrade() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let secret = vec![1, 2, 3, 4];
         let token = store.create_pending(secret.clone()).await;
 
@@ -510,7 +521,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_pending_session_max_attempts() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let secret = vec![1, 2, 3];
         let token = store.create_pending(secret).await;
 
@@ -538,7 +549,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_session_activity_updates_on_validate() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token = store.create().await;
 
         // First validation should succeed and touch last_activity
@@ -550,7 +561,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_invalidate_all_except() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token1 = store.create().await;
         let token2 = store.create().await;
         let token3 = store.create().await;
@@ -565,7 +576,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_session_rotate() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let old_token = store.create().await;
 
         assert!(store.validate(&old_token).await);
@@ -580,7 +591,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_max_concurrent_sessions() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let mut tokens = Vec::new();
 
         // Create MAX_CONCURRENT_SESSIONS sessions
@@ -608,7 +619,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_active_session_count() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         assert_eq!(store.active_session_count().await, 0);
 
         let token1 = store.create().await;
@@ -623,7 +634,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_cleanup_expired_removes_stale() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token = store.create().await;
 
         assert!(store.validate(&token).await);
@@ -636,7 +647,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_rotate_preserves_session_count() {
-        let store = SessionStore::new().await;
+        let store = SessionStore::new_for_tests(std::env::temp_dir().join(format!("archipelago-sessions-test-{}.json", rand::random::<u64>())));
         let token = store.create().await;
         assert_eq!(store.active_session_count().await, 1);