diff --git a/jupyter_vscode_proxy/__init__.py b/jupyter_vscode_proxy/__init__.py
index b7810e5..b311f41 100644
--- a/jupyter_vscode_proxy/__init__.py
+++ b/jupyter_vscode_proxy/__init__.py
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ def _get_vscode_cmd(port):
         if not shutil.which(executable):
             raise FileNotFoundError('Can not find code-server in PATH')
 
-        working_dir = os.getenv("REPO_DIR", ".")
+        working_dir = os.getenv("CODE_WORKINGDIR", None)
+        if working_dir is None:
+            working_dir = os.getenv("REPO_DIR", ".")
 
         cmd = [
             executable,
diff --git a/start b/start
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..369e7b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/start
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+export CODE_WORKINGDIR=${REPO_DIR}/examples
+exec "$@"