diff --git a/internal/hub/hub.go b/internal/hub/hub.go
index 7560696..246b585 100644
--- a/internal/hub/hub.go
+++ b/internal/hub/hub.go
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ func (h *Hub) HandleWebSocket(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	room := r.URL.Query().Get("room")
+	room := r.URL.Path
 
 	h.register <- client{conn: conn, room: room}
 
diff --git a/internal/hub/hub_integration_test.go b/internal/hub/hub_integration_test.go
index 2860517..b0bc8f0 100644
--- a/internal/hub/hub_integration_test.go
+++ b/internal/hub/hub_integration_test.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func dialWS(t *testing.T, server *httptest.Server) *websocket.Conn {
 // helper: dial a WebSocket connection to a specific room
 func dialWSWithRoom(t *testing.T, server *httptest.Server, room string) *websocket.Conn {
 	t.Helper()
-	wsURL := "ws" + strings.TrimPrefix(server.URL, "http") + "?room=" + room
+	wsURL := "ws" + strings.TrimPrefix(server.URL, "http") + "/" + room
 	conn, _, err := websocket.DefaultDialer.Dial(wsURL, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed to dial WebSocket (room=%q): %v", room, err)
@@ -483,13 +483,13 @@ func TestIntegration_BroadcastToEmptyRoom(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// Send directly to broadcast channel targeting a non-existent room.
 	// This should be handled gracefully (no panic, no delivery).
-	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "non-existent", data: []byte("ghost message")}
+	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "/non-existent", data: []byte("ghost message")}
 
 	// Give the hub time to process
 	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
 
 	// Now send a real message to room-a to confirm hub is still functional
-	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "room-a", data: []byte("real message")}
+	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "/room-a", data: []byte("real message")}
 
 	connA.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(time.Second))
 	_, msg, err := connA.ReadMessage()
diff --git a/internal/hub/hub_test.go b/internal/hub/hub_test.go
index e455e93..a0cd729 100644
--- a/internal/hub/hub_test.go
+++ b/internal/hub/hub_test.go
@@ -17,14 +17,14 @@ func newTestLogger() *logging.Logger {
 }
 
 // dialTestHub starts an httptest server for the given hub and dials a
-// WebSocket connection to it with the given room query parameter.
+// WebSocket connection to it with the given room path.
 // Returns the client-side connection and a cleanup function.
 func dialTestHub(t *testing.T, h *Hub, room string) *websocket.Conn {
 	t.Helper()
 	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(h.HandleWebSocket))
 	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
 
-	wsURL := "ws" + strings.TrimPrefix(srv.URL, "http") + "?room=" + room
+	wsURL := "ws" + strings.TrimPrefix(srv.URL, "http") + "/" + room
 	conn, _, err := websocket.DefaultDialer.Dial(wsURL, nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("failed to dial WebSocket: %v", err)
@@ -259,8 +259,8 @@ func TestBroadcastRoomIsolation(t *testing.T) {
 	// Allow registers to be processed
 	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
 
-	// Send message to room-a via broadcast channel
-	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "room-a", data: []byte("for-a-only")}
+	// Send message to room-a via broadcast channel (room includes leading slash from URL path)
+	h.broadcast <- broadcastMsg{room: "/room-a", data: []byte("for-a-only")}
 
 	// Room-a client should receive the message
 	connA.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(time.Second))