diff --git a/hosts/common/home/aerc.nix b/hosts/common/home/aerc.nix
index 995a83b9..2e913aa2 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/aerc.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/aerc.nix
@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@
     sopsFile = ../../../secrets/universal/aerc_accounts.conf;
     format = "binary";
   };
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/aerc/accounts.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo config.sops.secrets.aerc_accounts.path;
+  sane.user.fs.".config/aerc/accounts.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo config.sops.secrets.aerc_accounts.path;
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/firefox.nix b/hosts/common/home/firefox.nix
index 9b63b292..a26e02be 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/firefox.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/firefox.nix
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ in
     # the specific attribute path is found via scraping ublock code here:
     # - <https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/blob/master/src/js/storage.js>
     # - <https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/blob/master/assets/assets.json>
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/${cfg.browser.dotDir}/managed-storage/uBlock0@raymondhill.net.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+    sane.user.fs."${cfg.browser.dotDir}/managed-storage/uBlock0@raymondhill.net.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
       {
        "name": "uBlock0@raymondhill.net",
        "description": "ignored",
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ in
        }
       }
     '';
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/${cfg.browser.dotDir}/${cfg.browser.libName}.overrides.cfg" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+    sane.user.fs."${cfg.browser.dotDir}/${cfg.browser.libName}.overrides.cfg" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
       // if we can't query the revocation status of a SSL cert because the issuer is offline,
       // treat it as unrevoked.
       // see: <https://librewolf.net/docs/faq/#im-getting-sec_error_ocsp_server_error-what-can-i-do>
@@ -181,10 +181,10 @@ in
     sane.persist.home.byPath."${cfg.browser.dotDir}/default" = lib.mkIf (cfg.persistData != null) {
       store = cfg.persistData;
     };
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/${cfg.browser.dotDir}/default" = sane-lib.fs.wantedDir;
+    sane.user.fs."${cfg.browser.dotDir}/default" = sane-lib.fs.wantedDir;
     # instruct Firefox to put the profile in a predictable directory (so we can do things like persist just it).
     # XXX: the directory *must* exist, even if empty; Firefox will not create the directory itself.
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/${cfg.browser.dotDir}/profiles.ini" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+    sane.user.fs."${cfg.browser.dotDir}/profiles.ini" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
       [Profile0]
       Name=default
       IsRelative=1
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/gfeeds.nix b/hosts/common/home/gfeeds.nix
index 0d6e744d..c38294b3 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/gfeeds.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/gfeeds.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ let
   all-feeds = config.sane.feeds;
   wanted-feeds = feeds.filterByFormat ["text" "image"] all-feeds;
 in {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/org.gabmus.gfeeds.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
+  sane.user.fs.".config/org.gabmus.gfeeds.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
     builtins.toJSON {
       # feed format is a map from URL to a dict,
       #   with dict["tags"] a list of string tags.
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/git.nix b/hosts/common/home/git.nix
index 30e530c8..1ac6ae52 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/git.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/git.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ let
   mkCfg = lib.generators.toINI { };
 in
 {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/git/config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (mkCfg {
+  sane.user.fs.".config/git/config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (mkCfg {
     user.name = "Colin";
     user.email = "colin@uninsane.org";
     alias.co = "checkout";
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/gpodder.nix b/hosts/common/home/gpodder.nix
index 4eac262b..41bdecfb 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/gpodder.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/gpodder.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ let
   all-feeds = config.sane.feeds;
   wanted-feeds = feeds.filterByFormat ["podcast"] all-feeds;
 in {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/gpodderFeeds.opml" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
+  sane.user.fs.".config/gpodderFeeds.opml" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
     feeds.feedsToOpml wanted-feeds
   );
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/keyring.nix b/hosts/common/home/keyring.nix
index e655a4ad..34cb9390 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/keyring.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/keyring.nix
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@
 {
   sane.persist.home.private = [ ".local/share/keyrings" ];
 
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/private/.local/share/keyrings/default" = {
+  sane.user.fs."private/.local/share/keyrings/default" = {
     generated.script.script = builtins.readFile ../../../scripts/init-keyring;
+    # TODO: is this `wantedBy` needed? can we inherit it?
     wantedBy = [ config.sane.fs."/home/colin/private".unit ];
   };
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/kitty.nix b/hosts/common/home/kitty.nix
index 524b19c1..3df8ca82 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/kitty.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/kitty.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 { pkgs, sane-lib, ... }:
 
 {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/kitty/kitty.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/kitty/kitty.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     # docs: https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/conf/
     # disable terminal bell (when e.g. you backspace too many times)
     enable_audio_bell no
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/libreoffice.nix b/hosts/common/home/libreoffice.nix
index 9663666c..60fb5ff5 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/libreoffice.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/libreoffice.nix
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 {
   # libreoffice: disable first-run stuff
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/libreoffice/4/user/registrymodifications.xcu" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/libreoffice/4/user/registrymodifications.xcu" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
     <oor:items xmlns:oor="http://openoffice.org/2001/registry" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
       <item oor:path="/org.openoffice.Office.Common/Misc"><prop oor:name="FirstRun" oor:op="fuse"><value>false</value></prop></item>
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/mpv.nix b/hosts/common/home/mpv.nix
index 51d5a97a..27194c02 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/mpv.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/mpv.nix
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 {
   # format is <key>=%<length>%<value>
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/mpv/mpv.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/mpv/mpv.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     save-position-on-quit=%3%yes
     keep-open=%3%yes
   '';
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/newsflash.nix b/hosts/common/home/newsflash.nix
index f29843eb..8dff84de 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/newsflash.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/newsflash.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ let
   all-feeds = config.sane.feeds;
   wanted-feeds = feeds.filterByFormat ["text" "image"] all-feeds;
 in {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/newsflashFeeds.opml" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
+  sane.user.fs.".config/newsflashFeeds.opml" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText (
     feeds.feedsToOpml wanted-feeds
   );
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/splatmoji.nix b/hosts/common/home/splatmoji.nix
index e9b8207f..7836427d 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/splatmoji.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/splatmoji.nix
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 
 {
   sane.persist.home.plaintext = [ ".local/state/splatmoji" ];
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/splatmoji/splatmoji.config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
-    history_file=/home/colin/.local/state/splatmoji/history
+  sane.user.fs.".config/splatmoji/splatmoji.config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+    history_file=~/.local/state/splatmoji/history
     history_length=5
     # TODO: wayland equiv
     paste_command=xdotool key ctrl+v
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/ssh.nix b/hosts/common/home/ssh.nix
index 426fde58..986e324b 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/ssh.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/ssh.nix
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ in
 {
   # ssh key is stored in private storage
   sane.persist.home.private = [ ".ssh/id_ed25519" ];
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText user-pubkey;
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.ssh/known_hosts" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText known-hosts-text;
+  sane.user.fs.".ssh/id_ed25519.pub" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText user-pubkey;
+  sane.user.fs.".ssh/known_hosts" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText known-hosts-text;
 
   users.users.colin.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys =
   let
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/sublime-music.nix b/hosts/common/home/sublime-music.nix
index 5cb5d3be..1a1301c8 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/sublime-music.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/sublime-music.nix
@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@
     sopsFile = ../../../secrets/universal/sublime_music_config.json.bin;
     format = "binary";
   };
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/sublime-music/config.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo config.sops.secrets.sublime_music_config.path;
+  sane.user.fs.".config/sublime-music/config.json" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo config.sops.secrets.sublime_music_config.path;
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/vlc.nix b/hosts/common/home/vlc.nix
index ea120a8a..7f19403e 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/vlc.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/vlc.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ let
   );
 in
 {
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/vlc/vlcrc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/vlc/vlcrc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     [podcast]
     podcast-urls=${podcast-urls}
     [core]
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/xdg-dirs.nix b/hosts/common/home/xdg-dirs.nix
index 51983320..7a74bc1c 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/xdg-dirs.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/xdg-dirs.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 {
   # XDG defines things like ~/Desktop, ~/Downloads, etc.
   # these clutter the home, so i mostly don't use them.
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/user-dirs.dirs" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/user-dirs.dirs" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     XDG_DESKTOP_DIR="$HOME/.xdg/Desktop"
     XDG_DOCUMENTS_DIR="$HOME/dev"
     XDG_DOWNLOAD_DIR="$HOME/tmp"
@@ -16,5 +16,5 @@
 
   # prevent `xdg-user-dirs-update` from overriding/updating our config
   # see <https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/bionic/man5/user-dirs.conf.5.html>
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/user-dirs.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText "enabled=False";
+  sane.user.fs.".config/user-dirs.conf" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText "enabled=False";
 }
diff --git a/hosts/common/home/zsh/default.nix b/hosts/common/home/zsh/default.nix
index 953886c1..0a8acbef 100644
--- a/hosts/common/home/zsh/default.nix
+++ b/hosts/common/home/zsh/default.nix
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ in
   ];
 
   # zsh/prezto complains if zshrc doesn't exist; but it does allow an "empty" file.
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/zsh/.zshrc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText "# ";
+  sane.user.fs.".config/zsh/.zshrc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText "# ";
 
   # enable zsh completions
   environment.pathsToLink = [ "/share/zsh" ];
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ in
   # prezto = oh-my-zsh fork; controls prompt, auto-completion, etc.
   # see: https://github.com/sorin-ionescu/prezto
   # i believe this file is auto-sourced by the prezto init.zsh script.
-  sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/zsh/.zpreztorc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+  sane.user.fs.".config/zsh/.zpreztorc" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
     zstyle ':prezto:*:*' color 'yes'
 
     # modules (they ship with prezto):
diff --git a/hosts/modules/gui/sway.nix b/hosts/modules/gui/sway.nix
index 4421d069..edf78944 100644
--- a/hosts/modules/gui/sway.nix
+++ b/hosts/modules/gui/sway.nix
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ in
       enable = true;
       wrapperFeatures.gtk = true;
     };
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/sway/config" =
+    sane.user.fs.".config/sway/config" =
       let
         fuzzel = "${pkgs.fuzzel}/bin/fuzzel";
         sed = "${pkgs.gnused}/bin/sed";
@@ -346,10 +346,10 @@ in
         }
       '';
 
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/waybar/config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo waybar-config-text;
+    sane.user.fs.".config/waybar/config" = sane-lib.fs.wantedSymlinkTo waybar-config-text;
 
     # style docs: https://github.com/Alexays/Waybar/wiki/Styling
-    sane.fs."/home/colin/.config/waybar/style.css" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
+    sane.user.fs.".config/waybar/style.css" = sane-lib.fs.wantedText ''
       * {
         font-family: monospace;
       }