diff --git a/packages/leann-backend-diskann/pyproject.toml b/packages/leann-backend-diskann/pyproject.toml
index 8622bec..b13ecef 100644
--- a/packages/leann-backend-diskann/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/leann-backend-diskann/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ build-backend = "scikit_build_core.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "leann-backend-diskann"
-version = "0.1.7"
-dependencies = ["leann-core==0.1.7", "numpy"]
+version = "0.1.8"
+dependencies = ["leann-core==0.1.8", "numpy"]
 
 [tool.scikit-build]
 # Key: simplified CMake path
diff --git a/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/pyproject.toml b/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/pyproject.toml
index 52fbacb..71b4cdc 100644
--- a/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/leann-backend-hnsw/pyproject.toml
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ build-backend = "scikit_build_core.build"
 
 [project]
 name = "leann-backend-hnsw"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 description = "Custom-built HNSW (Faiss) backend for the Leann toolkit."
 dependencies = [
-    "leann-core==0.1.7", 
+    "leann-core==0.1.8", 
     "numpy",
     "pyzmq>=23.0.0",
     "msgpack>=1.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/leann-core/pyproject.toml b/packages/leann-core/pyproject.toml
index 6dc85b4..cf9864e 100644
--- a/packages/leann-core/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/leann-core/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "leann-core"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 description = "Core API and plugin system for LEANN"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"
diff --git a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
index 6bd6ec8..0c152aa 100644
--- a/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
+++ b/packages/leann-core/src/leann/searcher_base.py
@@ -112,8 +112,9 @@ class BaseSearcher(LeannBackendSearcherInterface, ABC):
                 passages_source_file = (
                     self.index_dir / f"{self.index_path.name}.meta.json"
                 )
+                # Convert to absolute path to ensure server can find it
                 zmq_port = self._ensure_server_running(
-                    str(passages_source_file), zmq_port
+                    str(passages_source_file.resolve()), zmq_port
                 )
 
                 return self._compute_embedding_via_server([query], zmq_port)[
diff --git a/packages/leann/pyproject.toml b/packages/leann/pyproject.toml
index c50c996..821f176 100644
--- a/packages/leann/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/leann/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "leann"
-version = "0.1.7"
+version = "0.1.8"
 description = "LEANN - The smallest vector index in the world. RAG Everything with LEANN!"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.9"