diff --git a/src/utils/index.ts b/src/utils/index.ts
index 85cc989..7cf3b28 100644
--- a/src/utils/index.ts
+++ b/src/utils/index.ts
@@ -10,3 +10,4 @@ export type { LineMatchMode } from "./match-line";
 export { compileLineMatcher } from "./match-line";
 export { isProcessGroupAlive, killProcessGroup } from "./process-group";
 export { walkCommands, wordToString } from "./shell-utils";
+export { shortenPath } from "./shorten-path";
diff --git a/src/utils/shorten-path.test.ts b/src/utils/shorten-path.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d49aaba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/shorten-path.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { shortenPath } from "./shorten-path";
+
+describe("shortenPath", () => {
+  it("shortens the home directory and its descendants", () => {
+    expect(shortenPath("/home/dev", "/home/dev")).toBe("~");
+    expect(shortenPath("/home/dev/project", "/home/dev")).toBe("~/project");
+  });
+
+  it("does not shorten sibling paths sharing the home prefix", () => {
+    expect(shortenPath("/home/developer/project", "/home/dev")).toBe(
+      "/home/developer/project",
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/utils/shorten-path.ts b/src/utils/shorten-path.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3d577cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/shorten-path.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import { sep } from "node:path";
+
+/** Replace a home-directory prefix with `~` for display. */
+export function shortenPath(path: string, home = homedir()): string {
+  if (path === home) return "~";
+  if (path.startsWith(`${home}${sep}`)) {
+    return `~${path.slice(home.length)}`;
+  }
+  return path;
+}