diff --git a/src/bin/psql/command.c b/src/bin/psql/command.c
index 053332e7af..f590474855 100644
--- a/src/bin/psql/command.c
+++ b/src/bin/psql/command.c
@@ -558,19 +558,25 @@ exec_command_cd(PsqlScanState scan_state, bool active_branch, const char *cmd)
 		else
 		{
 #ifndef WIN32
-			struct passwd *pw;
-			uid_t		user_id = geteuid();
-
-			errno = 0;			/* clear errno before call */
-			pw = getpwuid(user_id);
-			if (!pw)
+			/* This should match get_home_path() */
+			dir = getenv("HOME");
+			if (dir == NULL || dir[0] == '\0')
 			{
-				pg_log_error("could not get home directory for user ID %ld: %s",
-							 (long) user_id,
-							 errno ? strerror(errno) : _("user does not exist"));
-				exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+				uid_t		user_id = geteuid();
+				struct passwd *pw;
+
+				errno = 0;		/* clear errno before call */
+				pw = getpwuid(user_id);
+				if (pw)
+					dir = pw->pw_dir;
+				else
+				{
+					pg_log_error("could not get home directory for user ID %ld: %s",
+								 (long) user_id,
+								 errno ? strerror(errno) : _("user does not exist"));
+					success = false;
+				}
 			}
-			dir = pw->pw_dir;
 #else							/* WIN32 */
 
 			/*
@@ -581,7 +587,8 @@ exec_command_cd(PsqlScanState scan_state, bool active_branch, const char *cmd)
 #endif							/* WIN32 */
 		}
 
-		if (chdir(dir) == -1)
+		if (success &&
+			chdir(dir) < 0)
 		{
 			pg_log_error("\\%s: could not change directory to \"%s\": %m",
 						 cmd, dir);
diff --git a/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c b/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
index 72914116ee..a12e0180fd 100644
--- a/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
+++ b/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
@@ -7267,14 +7267,21 @@ bool
 pqGetHomeDirectory(char *buf, int bufsize)
 {
 #ifndef WIN32
-	char		pwdbuf[BUFSIZ];
-	struct passwd pwdstr;
-	struct passwd *pwd = NULL;
+	const char *home;
 
-	(void) pqGetpwuid(geteuid(), &pwdstr, pwdbuf, sizeof(pwdbuf), &pwd);
-	if (pwd == NULL)
-		return false;
-	strlcpy(buf, pwd->pw_dir, bufsize);
+	home = getenv("HOME");
+	if (home == NULL || home[0] == '\0')
+	{
+		char		pwdbuf[BUFSIZ];
+		struct passwd pwdstr;
+		struct passwd *pwd = NULL;
+
+		(void) pqGetpwuid(geteuid(), &pwdstr, pwdbuf, sizeof(pwdbuf), &pwd);
+		if (pwd == NULL)
+			return false;
+		home = pwd->pw_dir;
+	}
+	strlcpy(buf, home, bufsize);
 	return true;
 #else
 	char		tmppath[MAX_PATH];
diff --git a/src/port/path.c b/src/port/path.c
index ee4227ec98..5ac26f4bcf 100644
--- a/src/port/path.c
+++ b/src/port/path.c
@@ -807,14 +807,25 @@ bool
 get_home_path(char *ret_path)
 {
 #ifndef WIN32
-	char		pwdbuf[BUFSIZ];
-	struct passwd pwdstr;
-	struct passwd *pwd = NULL;
+	/*
+	 * We first consult $HOME.  If that's unset, try to get the info from
+	 * <pwd.h>.
+	 */
+	const char *home;
 
-	(void) pqGetpwuid(geteuid(), &pwdstr, pwdbuf, sizeof(pwdbuf), &pwd);
-	if (pwd == NULL)
-		return false;
-	strlcpy(ret_path, pwd->pw_dir, MAXPGPATH);
+	home = getenv("HOME");
+	if (home == NULL || home[0] == '\0')
+	{
+		char		pwdbuf[BUFSIZ];
+		struct passwd pwdstr;
+		struct passwd *pwd = NULL;
+
+		(void) pqGetpwuid(geteuid(), &pwdstr, pwdbuf, sizeof(pwdbuf), &pwd);
+		if (pwd == NULL)
+			return false;
+		home = pwd->pw_dir;
+	}
+	strlcpy(ret_path, home, MAXPGPATH);
 	return true;
 #else
 	char	   *tmppath;