diff --git a/internal/config/mire.toml b/internal/config/mire.toml
index e95a3e9..6276152 100644
--- a/internal/config/mire.toml
+++ b/internal/config/mire.toml
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@
   # read only paths from host, entry looks like "path on host:path on sanbox"
   # paths on host are absolute or relative to repo root
   mounts = []
-  # read only host paths to expose on PATH inside the sandbox as /mire/bin/<basename>
+  # read only host paths to expose on PATH inside the sandbox as /tmp/mire/bin/<basename>
   # paths on host can be absolute or relative to repo root
   paths = []
diff --git a/internal/mire/record_shell.sh b/internal/mire/record_shell.sh
index 376a284..c5f1d94 100644
--- a/internal/mire/record_shell.sh
+++ b/internal/mire/record_shell.sh
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ visible_home=${MIRE_HOME:?}
 bootstrap_rc="$host_home/.mire-shell-rc"
 visible_bootstrap_rc="$visible_home/.mire-shell-rc"
 setup_scripts_dir='/tmp/mire-setup-scripts'
-visible_bin_dir='/mire/bin'
+visible_bin_dir='/tmp/mire/bin'
 
 cat >"$bootstrap_rc" <<'EOF'
 cd "${HOME:?}"
@@ -35,11 +35,10 @@ if [ "${MIRE_COMPARE_MARKER:-0}" = "1" ]; then
 fi
 EOF
 
+# the first ro-bind allows for /usr/bin etc to be mounted and accessible
 set -- \
   --ro-bind / / \
   --tmpfs /home \
-  --tmpfs /mire \
-  --dir "$visible_bin_dir" \
   --bind "$host_home" "$visible_home" \
   --bind "$host_tmp" '/tmp' \
   --dev /dev \
@@ -58,6 +57,8 @@ set -- \
   --setenv TZ 'UTC' \
   --chdir "$visible_home"
 
+set -- "$@" --dir /tmp/mire --dir "$visible_bin_dir"
+
 if [ -n "${MIRE_SETUP_SCRIPTS:-}" ]; then
   i=1
   while IFS= read -r host_path || [ -n "$host_path" ]; do
diff --git a/internal/mire/record_test.go b/internal/mire/record_test.go
index 8b758b5..55c5c0f 100644
--- a/internal/mire/record_test.go
+++ b/internal/mire/record_test.go
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func TestBuildRecordShellScriptUsesExpectedCommands(t *testing.T) {
 		"visible_home=${MIRE_HOME:?}",
 		"bootstrap_rc=\"$host_home/.mire-shell-rc\"",
 		"setup_scripts_dir='/tmp/mire-setup-scripts'",
-		"visible_bin_dir='/mire/bin'",
+		"visible_bin_dir='/tmp/mire/bin'",
 		"visible_bootstrap_rc=\"$visible_home/.mire-shell-rc\"",
 		"for path in /tmp/mire-setup-scripts/*.sh; do",
 		"source \"$path\"",
@@ -145,8 +145,6 @@ func TestBuildRecordShellScriptUsesExpectedCommands(t *testing.T) {
 		`if [ "${MIRE_COMPARE_MARKER:-0}" = "1" ]; then`,
 		"printf '__MIRE_PROMPT_READY__\\n'",
 		"PROMPT_COMMAND=__mire_prompt_ready",
-		"--tmpfs /mire",
-		"--dir \"$visible_bin_dir\"",
 		"--bind \"$host_home\" \"$visible_home\"",
 		"--bind \"$host_tmp\" '/tmp'",
 		"--setenv HOME \"$visible_home\"",
@@ -155,6 +153,8 @@ func TestBuildRecordShellScriptUsesExpectedCommands(t *testing.T) {
 		"--setenv TERM 'xterm-256color'",
 		"--setenv TZ 'UTC'",
 		"--chdir \"$visible_home\"",
+		"--dir /tmp/mire",
+		"--dir \"$visible_bin_dir\"",
 		"exec bwrap \"$@\" bash --noprofile --rcfile \"$visible_bootstrap_rc\" -i",
 	} {
 		if !strings.Contains(body, want) {