diff --git a/crates/nu-engine/src/eval.rs b/crates/nu-engine/src/eval.rs
index 000f879f8..d5353615e 100644
--- a/crates/nu-engine/src/eval.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-engine/src/eval.rs
@@ -530,6 +530,18 @@ pub fn eval_variable(
             }
         }
 
+        // since the env var PWD doesn't exist on all platforms
+        // lets just get the current directory
+        if let Ok(current_dir) = std::env::current_dir() {
+            if let Some(cwd) = current_dir.to_str() {
+                output_cols.push("cwd".into());
+                output_vals.push(Value::String {
+                    val: cwd.into(),
+                    span,
+                })
+            }
+        }
+
         if let Some(home_path) = nu_path::home_dir() {
             if let Some(home_path_str) = home_path.to_str() {
                 output_cols.push("home-path".into());
@@ -540,11 +552,6 @@ pub fn eval_variable(
             }
         }
 
-        if let Ok(cwd) = std::env::var("PWD") {
-            output_cols.push("pwd".into());
-            output_vals.push(Value::String { val: cwd, span })
-        }
-
         Ok(Value::Record {
             cols: output_cols,
             vals: output_vals,