diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index dc61a674e..5842871b3 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -13,10 +13,11 @@ charts/
 
 # Prevent copying scripts that are unused in docker
 scripts/
-!scripts/test.sh
 !scripts/activate-venv.sh
+!scripts/get-root.sh
 !scripts/install-build-tools.sh
 !scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
+!scripts/test.sh
 !scripts/test-transaction.sh
 !scripts/wait-for-it.sh
 
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 55d5c288d..753dd0783 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ RUN mkdir -p /opt/tx-processor/scripts
 
 COPY requirements.txt /opt/tx-processor/requirements.txt
 COPY scripts/activate-venv.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/activate-venv.sh
+COPY scripts/get-root.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/get-root.sh
 COPY scripts/install-build-tools.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
 COPY scripts/setup-dependencies.sh /opt/tx-processor/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
 
diff --git a/scripts/benchmarks.sh b/scripts/benchmarks.sh
index 030f4f901..31ae20c55 100755
--- a/scripts/benchmarks.sh
+++ b/scripts/benchmarks.sh
@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ done
 # environment variable, assume it's named 'build' and is located in the
 # top-level directory of the repo.  By defining the top-level directory relative
 # to the location of this script, the user can run this script from any folder.
-SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
-REPO_TOP_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR}/.."
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+REPO_TOP_DIR="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 if [[ -z "${BUILD_DIR+x}" ]]
 then
     BUILD_DIR="${REPO_TOP_DIR}/build"
diff --git a/scripts/build-docker.sh b/scripts/build-docker.sh
index 68ec4b0d0..10cc230e5 100755
--- a/scripts/build-docker.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-docker.sh
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 set -e
 
-SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BASE=${DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG:-opencbdc-tx-base}
 DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BUILDER=${DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG:-opencbdc-tx-builder}
 DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_ATOMIZER=${DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG:-opencbdc-tx-atomizer}
@@ -12,7 +13,7 @@ DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_TWOPHASE=${DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG:-opencbdc-tx-twophase}
 git submodule init && git submodule update
 
 # Build docker image
-docker build --target base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BASE -f $SCRIPT_DIR/../Dockerfile $SCRIPT_DIR/..
-docker build --target builder --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BUILDER -f $SCRIPT_DIR/../Dockerfile $SCRIPT_DIR/..
-docker build --target twophase --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_TWOPHASE -f $SCRIPT_DIR/../Dockerfile $SCRIPT_DIR/..
-docker build --target atomizer --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_ATOMIZER -f $SCRIPT_DIR/../Dockerfile $SCRIPT_DIR/..
+docker build --target base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BASE -f "$ROOT"/Dockerfile "$ROOT"
+docker build --target builder --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_BUILDER -f "$ROOT"/Dockerfile "$ROOT"
+docker build --target twophase --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_TWOPHASE -f "$ROOT"/Dockerfile "$ROOT"
+docker build --target atomizer --build-arg BASE_IMAGE=base -t $DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG_ATOMIZER -f "$ROOT"/Dockerfile "$ROOT"
diff --git a/scripts/build.sh b/scripts/build.sh
index 90d07991d..63cede0a5 100755
--- a/scripts/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/build.sh
@@ -33,8 +33,10 @@ fi
 
 echo "Building..."
 
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 # see PREFIX in ./scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
-PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
+PREFIX=""$ROOT"/prefix"
 
 if [ -z ${BUILD_DIR+x} ]; then
     export BUILD_DIR=build
diff --git a/scripts/get-root.sh b/scripts/get-root.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d1b658505
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/get-root.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+# calling scripts can use this script to capture the project ROOT dir
+# SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+# ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
+
+# returns the fullpath to the ROOT dir without a slash at the end
+ROOT=
+# if we are in a git repository
+if git rev-parse --show-toplevel >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    ROOT="$( git rev-parse --show-toplevel )"
+else
+    # $BASH_SOURCE[0] is the full path of the script being executed
+    SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+    # scripts dir will always be one level below ROOT level: "$ROOT"/scripts
+    ROOT="$( cd -- "$SCRIPT_DIR"/.. && pwd )"
+fi
+
+# check for directory existence
+if [[ ! -d "$ROOT" ]]; then
+    echo "Error: ROOT '${ROOT}' not found."
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# use other scripts in the script dir to capture the ROOT fullpath
+printf "%s\n" "$ROOT"
+
diff --git a/scripts/install-build-tools.sh b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
index 523789d99..94052b0e0 100755
--- a/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-build-tools.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ for PY_VERS in "${PYTHON_VERSIONS[@]}"; do
     fi
 done
 
-ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 ENV_NAME=".py_venv"
 
 # make a virtual environement to install python packages
diff --git a/scripts/native-system-benchmark.sh b/scripts/native-system-benchmark.sh
index 1b7923fa2..391ce7f53 100755
--- a/scripts/native-system-benchmark.sh
+++ b/scripts/native-system-benchmark.sh
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ DBG="${DBG:-$GDB}"
 DURATION=30
 CWD=$(pwd)
 COMMIT=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
-TL=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
-RT="${TL:-$CWD}"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+RT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 BLD="$RT"/build
 SEEDDIR="$BLD"/preseeds
 TESTDIR="$BLD"/test-$(date +"%s")
diff --git a/scripts/pylint.sh b/scripts/pylint.sh
index 9c22df164..c0a42e249 100755
--- a/scripts/pylint.sh
+++ b/scripts/pylint.sh
@@ -1,50 +1,51 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 PREFIX="${ROOT}"/prefix
 MIN_CODE_QUALITY=8.0
 
 get_code_score() {
-  if [ -n "$1" ]; then
-    # set minimum quality to user input (int/float) if provided and (5.0 <= input <= 10.0)
-    if [[ $1 =~ ^([0-9]+)*([\.][0-9])?$ ]]; then
-      if (( $(echo "$1 >= 5.0" | bc -l) )) && (( $(echo "$1 <= 10.0" | bc -l) )); then
-        MIN_CODE_QUALITY=$1
-      else
-        # In the future, we want code quality to be at minimum 8.0/10.0
-        echo "Code quality score must be between 5.0 and 10.0, inclusive."
-        echo "Recommended code quality score is >= 8.0."
-        exit 1
-      fi
-    else
-      echo "Code quality score must be an integer or floating point number."
-      exit 1
+    if [ -n "$1" ]; then
+        # set minimum quality to user input (int/float) if provided and (5.0 <= input <= 10.0)
+        if [[ $1 =~ ^([0-9]+)*([\.][0-9])?$ ]]; then
+            if (( $(echo "$1 >= 5.0" | bc -l) )) && (( $(echo "$1 <= 10.0" | bc -l) )); then
+                MIN_CODE_QUALITY=$1
+            else
+                # In the future, we want code quality to be at minimum 8.0/10.0
+                echo "Code quality score must be between 5.0 and 10.0, inclusive."
+                echo "Recommended code quality score is >= 8.0."
+                exit 1
+            fi
+        else
+            echo "Code quality score must be an integer or floating point number."
+            exit 1
+        fi
     fi
-  fi
-  echo "Linting Python code with minimum quality of $MIN_CODE_QUALITY/10.0..."
+    echo "Linting Python code with minimum quality of $MIN_CODE_QUALITY/10.0..."
 }
 
 check_pylint() {
-  if ! command -v pylint &>/dev/null; then
-    echo "pylint is not installed."
-    echo "Run 'sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh' to install pylint."
-    exit 1
-  fi
+    if ! command -v pylint &>/dev/null; then
+        echo "pylint is not installed."
+        echo "Run 'sudo ./scripts/install-build-tools.sh' to install pylint."
+        exit 1
+    fi
 }
 
 get_code_score $1
 if source "${ROOT}/scripts/activate-venv.sh"; then
-  echo "Virtual environment activated."
+    echo "Virtual environment activated."
 else
-  echo "Failed to activate virtual environment."
-  exit 1
+    echo "Failed to activate virtual environment."
+    exit 1
 fi
 
 check_pylint
 if ! pylint scripts src tests tools --rcfile=.pylintrc \
-      --fail-under=$MIN_CODE_QUALITY $(git ls-files '*.py'); then
+    --fail-under=$MIN_CODE_QUALITY $(git ls-files '*.py'); then
     echo "Linting failed, please fix the issues and rerun."
-  exit 1
+    exit 1
 else
-  echo "Linting passed."
+    echo "Linting passed."
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
index ea4b4c771..3ddab1c12 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-dependencies.sh
@@ -10,7 +10,9 @@ set -e
 
 # install in a custom prefix rather than /usr/local. by default, this
 # chooses "prefix" directory alongside "scripts" directory.
-PREFIX="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")"/.. && pwd)/prefix"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
+PREFIX="$ROOT"/prefix
 echo "Will install local dependencies in the following prefix: $PREFIX"
 mkdir -p "$PREFIX"/{lib,include}
 
diff --git a/scripts/test-e2e-minikube.sh b/scripts/test-e2e-minikube.sh
index d25900163..62366517e 100755
--- a/scripts/test-e2e-minikube.sh
+++ b/scripts/test-e2e-minikube.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -e
 
-SCRIPT_DIR=$( cd -- "$( dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )
+SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd -- "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
+ROOT="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 MINIKUBE_PROFILE=${MINIKUBE_PROFILE:-opencbdc}
 BUILD_DOCKER=${TESTRUN_BUILD_DOCKER:-1}
 
@@ -36,13 +37,13 @@ if [[ $BUILD_DOCKER -eq 1 ]]; then
 fi
 
 # Change to the test directory and fetch dependencies
-cd $SCRIPT_DIR/../charts/tests
+cd "$ROOT"/charts/tests
 echo "🔄 Downloading Go dependencies for testing..."
 go mod download -x
 
 # Set testrun_id and path to store logs from testrun and containers
 TESTRUN_ID=${TESTRUN_ID:-$(uuidgen)}
-TESTRUN_PATH=$SCRIPT_DIR/../testruns/$TESTRUN_ID
+TESTRUN_PATH="$ROOT"/testruns/$TESTRUN_ID
 TESTRUN_LOG_PATH="$TESTRUN_PATH/testrun.log"
 mkdir -p $TESTRUN_PATH
 
diff --git a/scripts/test.sh b/scripts/test.sh
index 615a8acb5..568e143f8 100755
--- a/scripts/test.sh
+++ b/scripts/test.sh
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ done
 # top-level directory of the repo.  By defining the top-level directory relative
 # to the location of this script, the user can run this script from any folder.
 SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" >/dev/null 2>&1 && pwd )"
-REPO_TOP_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR}/.."
+REPO_TOP_DIR="$( "$SCRIPT_DIR"/get-root.sh )"
 if [[ -z "${BUILD_DIR+x}" ]]
 then
     BUILD_DIR="${REPO_TOP_DIR}/build"