diff --git a/tools/appslib/utils.py b/tools/appslib/utils.py
index 4a114212..c2470c22 100644
--- a/tools/appslib/utils.py
+++ b/tools/appslib/utils.py
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ def git_repo_age(path: Path) -> Union[bool, int]:
 @cache
 def get_catalog(apps_repo: Path | None = None, working_only: bool = False) -> dict[str, dict[str, Any]]:
     """Load the app catalog and filter out the non-working ones"""
-    catalog = toml.load((REPO_APPS_ROOT / "apps.toml").open("r", encoding="utf-8"))
+    apps_repo = apps_repo or REPO_APPS_ROOT
+
+    catalog = toml.load((apps_repo / "apps.toml").open("r", encoding="utf-8"))
     if working_only:
         catalog = {
             app: infos