Expand variables in the cwd

readthedocs/doc_builder/environments.py

@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class BuildCommand(BuildCommandResultMixin):
         self.shell = shell
         if cwd is None:
             cwd = os.getcwd()
-        self.cwd = cwd
+        self.cwd = os.path.expandvars(cwd)
         self.environment = os.environ.copy()
         if environment is not None:
             assert 'PATH' not in environment, "PATH can't be set"

readthedocs/doc_builder/python_environments.py

@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ class Virtualenv(PythonEnvironment):
             # Don't use virtualenv bin that doesn't exist yet
             bin_path=None,
             # Don't use the project's root, some config files can interfere
-            cwd=os.path.expanduser("~"),
+            cwd='$HOME',
         )
 
     def install_core_requirements(self):