diff --git a/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.js b/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..15149b88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.js
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+export const startPkcRpcServer = async ({ PKCRpcModule, port, pkcOptions, authKey, isDev = false, logger = console }) => {
+  const pkcWebSocketServer = await PKCRpcModule.PKCWsServer({ port, pkcOptions, authKey });
+  pkcWebSocketServer.on('error', (e) => logger.log('pkc rpc error', e));
+
+  logger.log(`pkc rpc: listening on ws://localhost:${port} (local connections only)`);
+  logger.log(`pkc rpc: listening on ws://localhost:${port}/${authKey} (secret auth key for remote connections)`);
+  pkcWebSocketServer.ws.on('connection', (socket) => {
+    logger.log('pkc rpc: new connection');
+    // debug raw JSON RPC messages in console
+    if (isDev) {
+      socket.on('message', (message) => logger.log(`pkc rpc: ${message.toString()}`));
+    }
+  });
+
+  return pkcWebSocketServer;
+};
diff --git a/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.test.js b/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..53d216db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/electron/start-pkc-rpc-core.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { startPkcRpcServer } from './start-pkc-rpc-core.js';
+
+describe('startPkcRpcServer', () => {
+  it('passes the Electron data path through pkcOptions', async () => {
+    const pkcOptions = {
+      dataPath: '/tmp/5chan-pkc',
+      kuboRpcClientsOptions: [{ url: 'http://localhost:50019/api/v0' }],
+    };
+    const server = {
+      on: vi.fn(),
+      ws: { on: vi.fn() },
+    };
+    const PKCRpcModule = {
+      PKCWsServer: vi.fn(async () => server),
+    };
+
+    await startPkcRpcServer({
+      PKCRpcModule,
+      port: 9138,
+      pkcOptions,
+      authKey: 'test-auth-key',
+      logger: { log: vi.fn() },
+    });
+
+    expect(PKCRpcModule.PKCWsServer).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      port: 9138,
+      pkcOptions,
+      authKey: 'test-auth-key',
+    });
+    expect(PKCRpcModule.PKCWsServer.mock.calls[0][0]).not.toHaveProperty('pkc');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/electron/start-pkc-rpc.js b/electron/start-pkc-rpc.js
index c80bd600..9a0c763a 100644
--- a/electron/start-pkc-rpc.js
+++ b/electron/start-pkc-rpc.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import path from 'path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import isDev from 'electron-is-dev';
 import { getPkcDataPath } from './pkc-paths.js';
+import { startPkcRpcServer } from './start-pkc-rpc-core.js';
 const dirname = path.join(path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url)));
 const projectRoot = path.join(dirname, '..');
 
@@ -39,18 +40,7 @@ const startPkcRpcAutoRestart = async () => {
     try {
       const started = await tcpPortUsed.check(port, '127.0.0.1');
       if (!started) {
-        const pkcWebSocketServer = await PKCRpc.PKCWsServer({ port, pkc: defaultPkcOptions, authKey: pkcRpcAuthKey });
-        pkcWebSocketServer.on('error', (e) => console.log('pkc rpc error', e));
-
-        console.log(`pkc rpc: listening on ws://localhost:${port} (local connections only)`);
-        console.log(`pkc rpc: listening on ws://localhost:${port}/${pkcRpcAuthKey} (secret auth key for remote connections)`);
-        pkcWebSocketServer.ws.on('connection', (socket, request) => {
-          console.log('pkc rpc: new connection');
-          // debug raw JSON RPC messages in console
-          if (isDev) {
-            socket.on('message', (message) => console.log(`pkc rpc: ${message.toString()}`));
-          }
-        });
+        await startPkcRpcServer({ PKCRpcModule: PKCRpc, port, pkcOptions: defaultPkcOptions, authKey: pkcRpcAuthKey, isDev });
       }
     } catch (e) {
       console.log('failed starting pkc rpc server', e);