diff --git a/lib/wp/base-dirs.c b/lib/wp/base-dirs.c
index 2492e2c9..5121e5f0 100644
--- a/lib/wp/base-dirs.c
+++ b/lib/wp/base-dirs.c
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@ lookup_dirs (guint flags, gboolean is_absolute)
 {
   g_autoptr(GPtrArray) dirs = g_ptr_array_new_with_free_func (g_free);
   const gchar *dir;
+  const gchar *subdir =
+      (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_SUBDIR_WIREPLUMBER) ? "wireplumber" : ".";
 
   /* Compile the list of lookup directories in priority order */
   if (is_absolute) {
@@ -84,17 +86,16 @@ lookup_dirs (guint flags, gboolean is_absolute)
   else {
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_CONFIG_HOME) {
       dir = g_get_user_config_dir ();
-      g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_build_filename (dir, "wireplumber", NULL));
+      g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_canonicalize_filename (subdir, dir));
     }
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_DATA_HOME) {
       dir = g_get_user_data_dir ();
-      g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_build_filename (dir, "wireplumber", NULL));
+      g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_canonicalize_filename (subdir, dir));
     }
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_CONFIG_DIRS) {
       const gchar * const *xdg_dirs = g_get_system_config_dirs ();
       for (guint i = 0; xdg_dirs[i]; i++) {
-        g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_build_filename (xdg_dirs[i], "wireplumber",
-            NULL));
+        g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_canonicalize_filename (subdir, xdg_dirs[i]));
       }
     }
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_SYSCONFDIR) {
@@ -104,8 +105,7 @@ lookup_dirs (guint flags, gboolean is_absolute)
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_DATA_DIRS) {
       const gchar * const *xdg_dirs = g_get_system_data_dirs ();
       for (guint i = 0; xdg_dirs[i]; i++) {
-        g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_build_filename (xdg_dirs[i], "wireplumber",
-            NULL));
+        g_ptr_array_add (dirs, g_canonicalize_filename (subdir, xdg_dirs[i]));
       }
     }
     if (flags & WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_DATADIR) {
diff --git a/lib/wp/base-dirs.h b/lib/wp/base-dirs.h
index a242c282..3e445815 100644
--- a/lib/wp/base-dirs.h
+++ b/lib/wp/base-dirs.h
@@ -48,24 +48,32 @@ typedef enum { /*< flags >*/
   /*! the file is a loadable module; prepend "lib" and append ".so" if needed */
   WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_MODULE = (1 << 24),
 
+  /*! append "/wireplumber" to the location, except in the case of locations
+      that are specified via WirePlumber-specific environment variables;
+      in LIBDIR, append "/wireplumber-$API_version" instead */
+  WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_SUBDIR_WIREPLUMBER = (1 << 25),
+
   WP_BASE_DIRS_CONFIGURATION =
       WP_BASE_DIRS_ENV_CONFIG |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_CONFIG_HOME |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_CONFIG_DIRS |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_SYSCONFDIR |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_DATA_DIRS |
-      WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_DATADIR,
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_DATADIR |
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_SUBDIR_WIREPLUMBER,
 
   WP_BASE_DIRS_DATA =
       WP_BASE_DIRS_ENV_DATA |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_DATA_HOME |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_XDG_DATA_DIRS |
-      WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_DATADIR,
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_DATADIR |
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_SUBDIR_WIREPLUMBER,
 
   WP_BASE_DIRS_MODULE =
       WP_BASE_DIRS_ENV_MODULE |
       WP_BASE_DIRS_BUILD_LIBDIR |
-      WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_MODULE,
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_MODULE |
+      WP_BASE_DIRS_FLAG_SUBDIR_WIREPLUMBER,
 } WpBaseDirsFlags;
 
 WP_API