diff --git a/include/bottles.hpp b/include/bottles.hpp
index ea68db0..95a76a0 100644
--- a/include/bottles.hpp
+++ b/include/bottles.hpp
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ namespace cellar {
             bottle_steam
         };
 
+        enum bottle_manager {
+            manager_error,
+            manager_cellar,
+            manager_steam
+        };
+
+        extern std::string bottle_home;
+
         /**
          * Bottles are the internal name for WINE prefixes. In addition to standard WINE contents,
          * bottles contain a configuration file managed by cellar, which labels the bottle as well
@@ -31,6 +39,7 @@ namespace cellar {
             public:
                 // public members
                 bottle_type type;
+                bottle_manager manager;
                 json config;
                 string path;
                 string canonical_path;
diff --git a/include/internal/bottles.hpp.cog b/include/internal/bottles.hpp.cog
index 2e8851b..ccd7f53 100644
--- a/include/internal/bottles.hpp.cog
+++ b/include/internal/bottles.hpp.cog
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ namespace cellar {
                 cog.outl("extern void {0} (int, vector<string>);".format(item[1]))
       ]]]*/
     //[[[end]]]
+        
+        extern void setup_bottle_home();
     }
     namespace commands {
         extern map<string, cellar::commands::CommandFunction> bottles_commands();
diff --git a/src/bottles/active.cpp b/src/bottles/active.cpp
index 93b1f3e..d5e25f5 100644
--- a/src/bottles/active.cpp
+++ b/src/bottles/active.cpp
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ void cellar::bottles::print_active_bottle(int argc, vector<string> argv) {
     string bottlepath = active_bottle.canonical_path;
     stringstream outstr;
     bool cellar_managed = true;
+    bool external_managed = false;
     if (active_bottle.type == bottle_symlink) {
         outstr << "symlink to ";
         string homedir = getenv("HOME");
@@ -24,6 +25,8 @@ void cellar::bottles::print_active_bottle(int argc, vector<string> argv) {
         if (active_bottle.canonical_path.substr(0, bottlerack.length()) == bottlerack) {
             bottlepath.replace(0, bottlerack.length() + 1, ""); // should convert "/home/someone/.wine.example" to ".wine.example"
             active_bottle = bottlemap[bottlepath];
+            active_bottle.set_config("manager", "cellar");
+            active_bottle.save_config();
         } else {
             outstr << active_bottle.canonical_path;
             cellar_managed = false;
diff --git a/src/bottles/bottles.cpp b/src/bottles/bottles.cpp
index 960ac79..af59655 100644
--- a/src/bottles/bottles.cpp
+++ b/src/bottles/bottles.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include <cstdlib>
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <fstream>
 #include <map>
 #include <string>
@@ -33,6 +34,21 @@ Bottle::Bottle() {
     // strings handle themselves
     config = json({});
     type = bottle_anonymous;
+    manager = manager_error;
+}
+
+std::string cellar::bottles::bottle_home;
+
+/**
+ * @brief Sets up bottle home.
+ * Called once from early mainloop. 
+ * @todo Have this not be an effectively hardcoded path. Respect xdg paths.
+ */
+void cellar::bottles::setup_bottle_home() {
+    stringstream sstr_bottle_home;
+    sstr_bottle_home << std::getenv("HOME");
+    sstr_bottle_home << "/.local/share/cellar/bottles";
+    bottle_home = sstr_bottle_home.str();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -45,20 +61,39 @@ Bottle::Bottle(string patharg) {
     config = json({});
     path = patharg;
     
-    boost::filesystem::file_status path_status = boost::filesystem::symlink_status(path);
-    bool symlink = boost::filesystem::is_symlink(path_status);
+    //boost::filesystem::file_status path_status = boost::filesystem::symlink_status(path);
+    //bool symlink = boost::filesystem::is_symlink(path_status);
+    auto path_status = std::filesystem::path(path);
+    auto path_canon = std::filesystem::canonical(path_status);
+    canonical_path = path_canon.string();
 
-    if (symlink) {
-        boost::filesystem::path realpath = boost::filesystem::canonical(path);
-        canonical_path = realpath.string();
+    if (std::filesystem::is_symlink(path_canon)) {
         type = bottle_symlink;
     } else {
-        canonical_path = path;
 		try {
-            if (load_config()) {
-                type = bottle_labelled;
-            } else {
-                type = bottle_anonymous;
+            load_config();
+            auto cur_manager = get_config("manager");
+            if (cur_manager == "cellar") {
+                manager = manager_cellar;
+
+                if (get_config("name") != "") {
+                    type = bottle_labelled;
+                } else {
+                    type = bottle_anonymous;
+                }
+            } else if (path_canon.parent_path() == bottle_home) {
+                manager = manager_cellar;
+                set_config("manager", "cellar"); // migrate from older cellar (or correct for something weird happening)
+                save_config();
+
+                if (get_config("name") != "") {
+                    type = bottle_labelled;
+                } else {
+                    type = bottle_anonymous;
+                }
+            } else if (cur_manager == "steam") {
+                type = bottle_steam;
+                manager = manager_steam;
             }
     	}
 		catch (const exception &exc) {
diff --git a/src/core/cellar.cpp.cog b/src/core/cellar.cpp.cog
index 85a9c00..b6a4d45 100644
--- a/src/core/cellar.cpp.cog
+++ b/src/core/cellar.cpp.cog
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include "nlohmann/json.hpp"
 
 #include "bottles.hpp"
+#include "internal/bottles.hpp"
 #include "cellar.hpp"
 #include "commands.hpp"
 #include "output.hpp"
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         cout << "\n(try \"cellar help\" if you're confused)" << endl;
         return 0;
     }
+    cellar::bottles::setup_bottle_home();
     try {
         const string desc = "bottle management tool for WINE connoisseurs";
         const string versionstr = version::short_version();
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
         dryrun = dryrunarg.getValue();
         verbose = dryrun || verbosearg.getValue();
 
-        // BULLSHIT: trying to use str.format on this string causes bizarre compiler errors
+        // TODO: i'm sure stdlib has come a long way in formatting strings since this ancient hack was put in
         /*[[[cog
              import cog
 
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
             if (bottlechoice.substr(0,1) == "/" || bottlechoice.substr(0,1) == ".") { // absolute or relative path
                 bottles::active_bottle = bottles::Bottle(bottlechoice);
             } else if (bottlechoice.substr(0,1) == "~") { // "absolute" path in home directory, not expanded by the shell for some reason (i've seen some shit)
-                // this is a naive replacement and will fail if the user tries something like ~nick/.wine
+                // this is a naive replacement and will fail if the user tries something like ~nicole/.wine
                 // i'm figuring at that point if you're doing that, you'll also recognize if your shell
                 // isn't actually expanding your path...
                 bottlechoice.replace(0,1,getenv("HOME"));
diff --git a/src/steam/bottles.cpp b/src/steam/bottles.cpp
index b368a80..3f1782f 100644
--- a/src/steam/bottles.cpp
+++ b/src/steam/bottles.cpp
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ std::map<std::string, cellar::bottles::Bottle> cellar::steam::get_app_bottles()
                 auto curbottle = cellar::bottles::Bottle((pth_appid / "pfx").string());
                 curbottle.type = cellar::bottles::bottle_steam;
                 curbottle.set_config("name", str_gamename);
+                curbottle.set_config("manager", "steam");
                 curbottle.save_config();
                 result[std::string("steam:" + pth_appid.filename().string())] = curbottle;
             }