diff --git a/files/alembic.ini b/files/alembic.ini
index 94c540bb1f..4e08741d45 100644
--- a/files/alembic.ini
+++ b/files/alembic.ini
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ script_location = /usr/share/securedrop-client/alembic
 # are written from script.py.mako
 # output_encoding = utf-8
 
-sqlalchemy.url = sqlite:////home/user/.securedrop_client/data/svs.sqlite
+sqlalchemy.url = sqlite:////home/user/.securedrop_client/svs.sqlite
 
 
 # Logging configuration
diff --git a/files/securedrop-client b/files/securedrop-client
index f2ec96ecea..7f7e06c91d 100755
--- a/files/securedrop-client
+++ b/files/securedrop-client
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-mkdir -p ~/.securedrop_client/logs
-mkdir -p ~/.securedrop_client/data
-chmod 0700 ~/.securedrop_client/logs
-chmod 0700 ~/.securedrop_client/data
+mkdir -p ~/.securedrop_client
 chmod 0700 ~/.securedrop_client
 cd /opt/venvs/securedrop-client
+
 # Now let us try to run alembic first
-./bin/alembic -c /etc/securedrop-client/alembic.ini upgrade head
+./bin/alembic -c /usr/share/securedrop-client/alembic.ini upgrade head
 
 # Now execute the actual client
-./bin/sd-client
\ No newline at end of file
+./bin/sd-client
diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 405d73d552..ae8024423a 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -16,20 +16,14 @@ while [ -n "$1" ]; do
 done
 
 SDC_HOME=${SDC_HOME:-$(mktemp -d)}
-DB_HOME=$SDC_HOME/data
-LOGS_HOME=$SDC_HOME/logs
 
-export SDC_HOME DB_HOME LOGS_HOME
+export SDC_HOME
 
-mkdir -p $DB_HOME
-mkdir -p $LOGS_HOME
 chmod 0700 $SDC_HOME
-chmod 0700 $DB_HOME
-chmod 0700 $LOGS_HOME
 
 echo "Running app with home directory: $SDC_HOME"
 
 # create the database for local testing
-./createdb.py $DB_HOME
+./createdb.py $SDC_HOME
 
-exec python -m securedrop_client --sdc-home "$SDC_HOME" $@
+exec python -m securedrop_client --sdc-home "$SDC_HOME" --no-proxy $@
diff --git a/securedrop_client/app.py b/securedrop_client/app.py
index e49b311a88..56a0a4a227 100644
--- a/securedrop_client/app.py
+++ b/securedrop_client/app.py
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ def arg_parser() -> ArgumentParser:
         help=('SecureDrop Client home directory for storing files and state. '
               '(Default {})'.format(DEFAULT_SDC_HOME)))
     parser.add_argument(
-        '--proxy', action='store_true',
+        '--no-proxy', action='store_true',
         help='Use proxy AppVM name to connect to server.')
     return parser
 
@@ -138,12 +138,12 @@ def start_app(args, qt_args) -> None:
     app.setWindowIcon(load_icon(gui.icon))
     app.setStyleSheet(load_css('sdclient.css'))
 
-    engine = make_engine(os.path.join(args.sdc_home, "data"))
+    engine = make_engine(args.sdc_home)
     Session = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
     session = Session()
 
     client = Client("http://localhost:8081/", gui, session,
-                    args.sdc_home, args.proxy)
+                    args.sdc_home, not args.no_proxy)
     client.setup()
 
     configure_signal_handlers(app)
@@ -155,15 +155,15 @@ def start_app(args, qt_args) -> None:
 
 
 def run() -> None:
-    config_file = "/etc/securedrop-client/client.ini"
+    config_file = "/usr/share/securedrop-client/client.ini"
     args, qt_args = arg_parser().parse_known_args()
     if args.sdc_home == expand_to_absolute(DEFAULT_SDC_HOME) and \
             os.path.exists(config_file):  # pragma: no cover
         config = configparser.ConfigParser()
         config.read(config_file)
         args.sdc_home = config["client"]["homedir"]
-        sdc_home = config["client"]["use_securedrop_proxy"]
-        args.proxy = expand_to_absolute(sdc_home)
+        use_proxy = config["client"].getboolean("use_securedrop_proxy")
+        args.no_proxy = not use_proxy
     # reinsert the program's name
     qt_args.insert(0, 'securedrop-client')
     start_app(args, qt_args)
diff --git a/securedrop_client/logic.py b/securedrop_client/logic.py
index 4d1fe9f877..deb6a5108b 100644
--- a/securedrop_client/logic.py
+++ b/securedrop_client/logic.py
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ class Client(QObject):
     finish_api_call = pyqtSignal()  # Acknowledges reciept of an API call.
 
     def __init__(self, hostname, gui, session,
-                 home: str, proxy: bool = False) -> None:
+                 home: str, proxy: bool = True) -> None:
         """
         The hostname, gui and session objects are used to coordinate with the
         various other layers of the application: the location of the SecureDrop