diff --git a/src/utils/getWsBaseUrl.ts b/src/utils/getWsBaseUrl.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..331b78a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/getWsBaseUrl.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+/**
+ * Origin for Pond WebSocket URLs.
+ *
+ * VITE_APP_API_URL usually ends with /v1 (same base axios uses for REST). WS paths are
+ * written as /v1/live/..., so we strip a trailing /v1 from the env URL to avoid /v1/v1/.
+ */
+export function getWsBaseUrl(): string {
+  const apiUrl = import.meta.env.VITE_APP_API_URL;
+  if (apiUrl) {
+    let ws = apiUrl.replace(/^http/, "ws");
+    ws = ws.replace(/\/v1\/?$/, "");
+    return ws.replace(/\/$/, "") || ws;
+  }
+  const protocol = window.location.protocol === "https:" ? "wss:" : "ws:";
+  return `${protocol}//${window.location.host}`;
+}