diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index bebcd2d..43a52e0 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -116,6 +116,17 @@ class Config:
         if not self.URL_PREFIX.endswith('/'):
             self.URL_PREFIX += '/'
 
+        # Strip trailing slashes from the download directories. get_custom_dirs()
+        # builds the folder dropdown by removing the base path as a prefix from
+        # each subdirectory, and the base directory's own path does not carry the
+        # trailing slash — so 'DOWNLOAD_DIR=/downloads/' failed to match itself
+        # and leaked 'downloads' into the dropdown as a bogus folder option.
+        # Runs after the '%%' indirection above so AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR is resolved.
+        for attr in ('DOWNLOAD_DIR', 'AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR', 'TEMP_DIR', 'STATE_DIR'):
+            val = getattr(self, attr)
+            if isinstance(val, str) and len(val) > 1 and val.endswith('/'):
+                setattr(self, attr, val.rstrip('/') or '/')
+
         # A blank PUBLIC_HOST_AUDIO_URL (e.g. set empty in a compose file) bypasses the
         # default via os.environ.get, which would leave audio links root-relative and 404.
         # Fall back to the 'audio_download/' route that serves AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR. When
diff --git a/app/tests/test_config.py b/app/tests/test_config.py
index a877ef6..e34d2b2 100644
--- a/app/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/app/tests/test_config.py
@@ -77,6 +77,34 @@ class ConfigTests(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(c.PUBLIC_HOST_URL, "https://ytdl.example.com/")
         self.assertEqual(c.PUBLIC_HOST_AUDIO_URL, "https://audio.example.com/")
 
+    def test_download_dirs_lose_trailing_slash(self):
+        # get_custom_dirs strips the base path as a prefix from each subdirectory,
+        # and the base directory's own path has no trailing slash -- so a trailing
+        # slash here leaked the absolute path into the folder dropdown.
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(
+            DOWNLOAD_DIR="/downloads/",
+            AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR="/audio/",
+            TEMP_DIR="/tmp/",
+            STATE_DIR="/state/",
+        ), clear=False):
+            c = Config()
+        self.assertEqual(c.DOWNLOAD_DIR, "/downloads")
+        self.assertEqual(c.AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR, "/audio")
+        self.assertEqual(c.TEMP_DIR, "/tmp")
+        self.assertEqual(c.STATE_DIR, "/state")
+
+    def test_root_download_dir_survives_normalisation(self):
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(DOWNLOAD_DIR="/", AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR="///"), clear=False):
+            c = Config()
+        self.assertEqual(c.DOWNLOAD_DIR, "/")
+        self.assertEqual(c.AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR, "/")
+
+    def test_download_dirs_without_trailing_slash_unchanged(self):
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, _base_env(DOWNLOAD_DIR="/downloads", AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR="."), clear=False):
+            c = Config()
+        self.assertEqual(c.DOWNLOAD_DIR, "/downloads")
+        self.assertEqual(c.AUDIO_DOWNLOAD_DIR, ".")
+
     def test_ytdl_options_json_loaded(self):
         opts = {"quiet": True, "no_warnings": True}
         with patch.dict(