diff --git a/bin/gitlab-backup-cli b/bin/gitlab-backup-cli
index 4037684be07d6561b63c433d1e41885f91b88c99..6ddfd5d49d02514223cfd491336ba7a4c06fc7ac 100755
--- a/bin/gitlab-backup-cli
+++ b/bin/gitlab-backup-cli
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ $:.unshift File.expand_path("../../lib", __FILE__)
 
 # We require APP_PATH when the rails environment is required only,
 # this allows for faster CLI execution when rails is not needed
-APP_PATH = File.expand_path('../config/application', __dir__)
+GITLAB_PATH = File.expand_path('../', __dir__)
 
 require_relative '../config/boot'
 
diff --git a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/bin/console b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/bin/console
index 3aa2eb40f2184863d7ddab524512f4c30e7ed80c..0cd1d6c57f511bdc5ac22fa8b0371054b9fcdb76 100755
--- a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/bin/console
+++ b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/bin/console
@@ -7,5 +7,7 @@ require "gitlab/backup/cli"
 # You can add fixtures and/or initialization code here to make experimenting
 # with your gem easier. You can also use a different console, if you like.
 
+GITLAB_PATH = File.expand_path(File.join(__dir__, '../../../'))
+
 require "irb"
 IRB.start(__FILE__)
diff --git a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli.rb b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli.rb
index 4679c5da7aae9f4cc8edf614692813b4ffb8f61b..de526fd33af08c05004a4cf3a49f8308a038d1d1 100644
--- a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli.rb
+++ b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli.rb
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ module Cli
       Error = Class.new(StandardError)
 
       def self.rails_environment!
-        require APP_PATH
+        require File.join(GITLAB_PATH, 'config/application')
 
         Rails.application.require_environment!
         Rails.application.autoloaders
diff --git a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli/source_context.rb b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli/source_context.rb
index 4299f2eb2dd3cc3dcd6b078b5638fd8587b784d1..67ad70818999207861abb11baecf3a077be41674 100644
--- a/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli/source_context.rb
+++ b/gems/gitlab-backup-cli/lib/gitlab/backup/cli/source_context.rb
@@ -76,6 +76,14 @@ def env
           @env ||= ActiveSupport::EnvironmentInquirer.new(
             ENV["RAILS_ENV"].presence || ENV["RACK_ENV"].presence || "development")
         end
+
+        private
+
+        def gitlab_basedir
+          return GITLAB_PATH if GITLAB_PATH
+
+          raise ::Gitlab::Backup::Cli::Error, 'GITLAB_PATH is missing'
+        end
       end
     end
   end