diff --git a/barnard-ui b/barnard-ui
index da653d9..c4def65 100755
--- a/barnard-ui
+++ b/barnard-ui
@@ -559,7 +559,7 @@ def connect():
 
     if not config_has_nonempty_value("username"):
         user = os.environ.get("USER", "")
-        host = os.environ.get("HOSTNAME", "")
+        host = os.uname().nodename
         if user and host:
             username = "%s-%s" % (user, host)
         else: