diff --git a/lib/src/unit/ViewEngine.ts b/lib/src/unit/ViewEngine.ts
index 3aaddf2..d8a5b40 100644
--- a/lib/src/unit/ViewEngine.ts
+++ b/lib/src/unit/ViewEngine.ts
@@ -163,11 +163,13 @@ console.log('template path resolved 1', resolved_path)
      */
     public get_render_context() {
         if ( !this.template_dir ) throw new MissingTemplateDirectoryError()
+        let template_dir = this.template_dir
+        if ( template_dir.startsWith('file://') ) template_dir = template_dir.slice(7)
 
         return {
             viewExt: this.get_file_extension(),
             viewEngine: this.get_engine(),
-            viewRoot: this.template_dir,
+            viewRoot: template_dir,
             useCache: false, // TODO better value here
             cache: undefined,
         }