diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint.yml b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
index c71fbeb..e1ffbba 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   lint:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a6e8266..a4e50bd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 - Fix: Correctly center floating terminal when no borders are used.
 - Set terminal window as `nolist`.
 - Add `fixed_height` & `fixed_width` options to control whether terminal size should be preserved on new splits.
+- Do not ignore wildcard patterns when expanding `dir`.
 
 ## 1.0.0 - 2025-11-21
 
diff --git a/lua/ergoterm/instance.lua b/lua/ergoterm/instance.lua
index 337b767..69ff933 100644
--- a/lua/ergoterm/instance.lua
+++ b/lua/ergoterm/instance.lua
@@ -503,7 +503,7 @@ function Terminal:_compute_dir()
   elseif self.dir == nil then
     dir = vim.loop.cwd()
   else
-    dir = vim.fn.expand(self.dir)
+    dir = vim.fn.expand(self.dir, true)
     if vim.fn.isdirectory(dir) == 0 then
       utils.notify(
         string.format("%s is not a directory", dir),
diff --git a/spec/ergoterm/commands_spec.lua b/spec/ergoterm/commands_spec.lua
index 43489c8..74c6482 100644
--- a/spec/ergoterm/commands_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/ergoterm/commands_spec.lua
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ describe("M.new", function()
     local original_expand = vim.fn.expand
     local original_isdirectory = vim.fn.isdirectory
     --- @diagnostic disable: duplicate-set-field
-    vim.fn.expand = function(path) return path end
+    --- @diagnostic disable-next-line: unused-vararg
+    vim.fn.expand = function(path, ...) return path end
     vim.fn.isdirectory = function(_) return 1 end
     --- @diagnostic enable: duplicate-set-field
 
diff --git a/spec/ergoterm/instance_spec.lua b/spec/ergoterm/instance_spec.lua
index 2dabbfe..0e230a6 100644
--- a/spec/ergoterm/instance_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/ergoterm/instance_spec.lua
@@ -284,6 +284,14 @@ describe(":new", function()
     assert.equal("/tmp", term:get_state("dir"))
   end)
 
+  it("initializes directory even when it matches wildignore pattern", function()
+    test_helpers.with_option("wildignore", "**/tmp", function()
+      local term = Terminal:new({ dir = "/tmp" })
+
+      assert.equal("/tmp", term:get_state("dir"))
+    end)
+  end)
+
   it("errors if dir is not a valid directory", function()
     local result = test_helpers.mocking_notify(function()
       Terminal:new({ dir = "/invalid" })
diff --git a/spec/ergoterm/utils_spec.lua b/spec/ergoterm/utils_spec.lua
index 3abc875..dff1538 100644
--- a/spec/ergoterm/utils_spec.lua
+++ b/spec/ergoterm/utils_spec.lua
@@ -127,7 +127,8 @@ describe(".get_dir", function()
     ---@diagnostic disable: duplicate-set-field
     utils.git_dir = function() return "/git/dir" end
     vim.loop.cwd = function() return "/current/dir" end
-    vim.fn.expand = function(arg) return "/expanded/" .. arg end
+    --- @diagnostic disable-next-line: unused-vararg
+    vim.fn.expand = function(arg, ...) return "/expanded/" .. arg end
     vim.fn.isdirectory = function(_) return 1 end
   end)