diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index 0c610c2f26..d9c3ea5f42 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -48787,7 +48787,7 @@
     },
     "packages/data-schemas": {
       "name": "@librechat/data-schemas",
-      "version": "0.0.12",
+      "version": "0.0.13",
       "license": "MIT",
       "devDependencies": {
         "@rollup/plugin-alias": "^5.1.0",
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/package.json b/packages/data-schemas/package.json
index 6f299e3f09..651f82e22c 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/package.json
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@librechat/data-schemas",
-  "version": "0.0.12",
+  "version": "0.0.13",
   "description": "Mongoose schemas and models for LibreChat",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.cjs",
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/config/meiliLogger.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/meiliLogger.ts
index 0d4d39475b..572e877071 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/config/meiliLogger.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/meiliLogger.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-import path from 'path';
 import winston from 'winston';
 import 'winston-daily-rotate-file';
+import { getLogDirectory } from './utils';
 
-const logDir = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', '..', 'api', 'logs');
+const logDir = getLogDirectory();
 
 const { NODE_ENV, DEBUG_LOGGING = 'false' } = process.env;
 
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/config/utils.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..323334207b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import path from 'path';
+
+/**
+ * Determine the log directory in a cross-compatible way.
+ * Priority:
+ * 1. LIBRECHAT_LOG_DIR environment variable
+ * 2. If running within LibreChat monorepo (when cwd ends with /api), use api/logs
+ * 3. If api/logs exists relative to cwd, use that (for running from project root)
+ * 4. Otherwise, use logs directory relative to process.cwd()
+ *
+ * This avoids using __dirname which is not available in ESM modules
+ */
+export const getLogDirectory = (): string => {
+  if (process.env.LIBRECHAT_LOG_DIR) {
+    return process.env.LIBRECHAT_LOG_DIR;
+  }
+
+  const cwd = process.cwd();
+
+  // Check if we're running from within the api directory
+  if (cwd.endsWith('/api') || cwd.endsWith('\\api')) {
+    return path.join(cwd, 'logs');
+  }
+
+  // Check if api/logs exists relative to current directory (running from project root)
+  // We'll just use the path and let the file system create it if needed
+  const apiLogsPath = path.join(cwd, 'api', 'logs');
+
+  // For LibreChat project structure, use api/logs
+  // For external consumers, they should set LIBRECHAT_LOG_DIR
+  if (cwd.includes('LibreChat')) {
+    return apiLogsPath;
+  }
+
+  // Default to logs directory relative to current working directory
+  return path.join(cwd, 'logs');
+};
diff --git a/packages/data-schemas/src/config/winston.ts b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/winston.ts
index 7e52872962..0141094bdc 100644
--- a/packages/data-schemas/src/config/winston.ts
+++ b/packages/data-schemas/src/config/winston.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import path from 'path';
 import winston from 'winston';
 import 'winston-daily-rotate-file';
 import { redactFormat, redactMessage, debugTraverse, jsonTruncateFormat } from './parsers';
+import { getLogDirectory } from './utils';
 
-const logDir = path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', '..', 'api', 'logs');
+const logDir = getLogDirectory();
 
 const { NODE_ENV, DEBUG_LOGGING, CONSOLE_JSON, DEBUG_CONSOLE } = process.env;