diff --git a/kittens/ssh/main.py b/kittens/ssh/main.py
index 2e39a51e2..79a5f5199 100644
--- a/kittens/ssh/main.py
+++ b/kittens/ssh/main.py
@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@ def make_tarfile(ssh_opts: SSHOptions, base_env: Dict[str, str]) -> bytes:
     env['KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR'] = ssh_opts.remote_dir
     if ssh_opts.login_shell:
         env['KITTY_LOGIN_SHELL'] = ssh_opts.login_shell
+    if ssh_opts.cwd:
+        env['KITTY_LOGIN_CWD'] = ssh_opts.cwd
     env_script = serialize_env(env, base_env)
     buf = io.BytesIO()
     with tarfile.open(mode='w:bz2', fileobj=buf, encoding='utf-8') as tf:
diff --git a/kittens/ssh/options/definition.py b/kittens/ssh/options/definition.py
index 69b50650a..34bcabe0e 100644
--- a/kittens/ssh/options/definition.py
+++ b/kittens/ssh/options/definition.py
@@ -71,6 +71,14 @@ are processed alphabetically. The special value :code:`_kitty_copy_env_var_`
 will cause the value of the variable to be copied from the local machine.
 ''')
 
+
+opt('cwd', '', long_text='''
+The working directory on the remote host to change to. Env vars in this
+value are expanded. The default is empty so no changing is done, which
+usually means the home directory is used.
+''')
+
+
 opt('interpreter', 'sh', long_text='''
 The interpreter to use on the remote host. Must be either a POSIX complaint shell
 or a python executable. If the default sh is not available for broken, using
diff --git a/kittens/ssh/options/parse.py b/kittens/ssh/options/parse.py
index 507698dde..61a1b8183 100644
--- a/kittens/ssh/options/parse.py
+++ b/kittens/ssh/options/parse.py
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ class Parser:
         for k, v in copy(val, ans["copy"]):
             ans["copy"][k] = v
 
+    def cwd(self, val: str, ans: typing.Dict[str, typing.Any]) -> None:
+        ans['cwd'] = str(val)
+
     def env(self, val: str, ans: typing.Dict[str, typing.Any]) -> None:
         for k, v in env(val, ans["env"]):
             ans["env"][k] = v
diff --git a/kittens/ssh/options/types.py b/kittens/ssh/options/types.py
index a8c8320ff..0b86c640b 100644
--- a/kittens/ssh/options/types.py
+++ b/kittens/ssh/options/types.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import kittens.ssh.copy
 
 option_names = (  # {{{
  'copy',
+ 'cwd',
  'env',
  'hostname',
  'interpreter',
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ option_names = (  # {{{
 
 
 class Options:
+    cwd: str = ''
     hostname: str = '*'
     interpreter: str = 'sh'
     login_shell: str = ''
diff --git a/kitty_tests/ssh.py b/kitty_tests/ssh.py
index aaf158a8d..4130546d5 100644
--- a/kitty_tests/ssh.py
+++ b/kitty_tests/ssh.py
@@ -142,9 +142,10 @@ copy --exclude */w.* d1
         tset = '$A-$(echo no)-`echo no2` "something"'
         for sh in self.all_possible_sh:
             with self.subTest(sh=sh), tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tdir:
+                os.mkdir(os.path.join(tdir, 'cwd'))
                 pty = self.check_bootstrap(
-                    sh, tdir, test_script='env; exit 0', SHELL_INTEGRATION_VALUE='',
-                    ssh_opts={'env': {
+                    sh, tdir, test_script='env; pwd; exit 0', SHELL_INTEGRATION_VALUE='',
+                    ssh_opts={'cwd': '$HOME/cwd', 'env': {
                         'A': 'AAA',
                         'TSET': tset,
                         'COLORTERM': DELETE_ENV_VAR,
@@ -152,6 +153,7 @@ copy --exclude */w.* d1
                 )
                 pty.wait_till(lambda: 'TSET={}'.format(tset.replace('$A', 'AAA')) in pty.screen_contents())
                 self.assertNotIn('COLORTERM', pty.screen_contents())
+                pty.wait_till(lambda: '/cwd' in pty.screen_contents())
 
     def test_ssh_leading_data(self):
         script = 'echo "ld:$leading_data"; exit 0'
diff --git a/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.py b/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.py
index d4f9f9b2a..f84b6ca84 100644
--- a/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.py
+++ b/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.py
@@ -230,6 +230,9 @@ def main():
             get_data()
         finally:
             cleanup()
+    cwd = os.environ.pop('KITTY_LOGIN_CWD', '')
+    if cwd:
+        os.chdir(cwd)
     ksi = frozenset(filter(None, os.environ.get('KITTY_SHELL_INTEGRATION', '').split()))
     exec_cmd = b'EXEC_CMD'
     if exec_cmd:
diff --git a/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.sh b/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.sh
index af54e20e5..16f0be0ed 100644
--- a/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.sh
+++ b/shell-integration/ssh/bootstrap.sh
@@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ hostname="$HOSTNAME"
 # ensure $USER is set
 [ -z "$USER" ] && USER="$(command whoami 2> /dev/null)"
 
-# ask for the SSH data
 leading_data=""
+login_cwd=""
 
 init_tty && trap "cleanup_on_bootstrap_exit" EXIT
 [ "$tty_ok" = "y" ] && dcs_to_kitty "ssh" "id="REQUEST_ID":hostname="$hostname":pwfile="PASSWORD_FILENAME":user="$USER":pw="DATA_PASSWORD""
@@ -129,13 +129,15 @@ untar_and_read_env() {
     read_n_bytes_from_tty "$1" | command base64 -d | command tar xpjf - -C "$tdir"
     data_file="$tdir/data.sh"
     [ -f "$data_file" ] && . "$data_file"
+    [ -z "$KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR" ] && die "Failed to read SSH data from tty"
     data_dir="$HOME/$KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR"
+    unset KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR
+    login_cwd="$KITTY_LOGIN_CWD"
+    unset KITTY_LOGIN_CWD
     compile_terminfo "$tdir/home"
     mv_files_and_dirs "$tdir/home" "$HOME"
     [ -e "$tdir/root" ] && mv_files_and_dirs "$tdir/root" ""
     command rm -rf "$tdir"
-    [ -z "KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR" ] && die "Failed to read SSH data from tty"
-    unset KITTY_SSH_KITTEN_DATA_DIR
 }
 
 read_record() {
@@ -160,6 +162,7 @@ get_data() {
 }
 
 if [ "$tty_ok" = "y" ]; then
+    # ask for the SSH data
     get_data
     cleanup_on_bootstrap_exit
     if [ -n "$leading_data" ]; then
@@ -252,6 +255,7 @@ else
     using_getent || using_id || using_python || using_passwd || die "Could not detect login shell"
 fi
 shell_name=$(command basename $login_shell)
+[ -n "$login_cwd" ] && cd "$login_cwd"
 
 # If a command was passed to SSH execute it here
 EXEC_CMD