diff --git a/lib/container.js b/lib/container.js
index 66c7c1610..badc08ad9 100644
--- a/lib/container.js
+++ b/lib/container.js
@@ -469,7 +469,7 @@ function loadGherkinSteps(paths) {
       loadSupportObject(path, `Step Definition from ${path}`)
     }
   } else {
-    const folderPath = paths.startsWith('.') ? path.join(global.codecept_dir, paths) : ''
+    const folderPath = paths.startsWith('.') ? normalizeAndJoin(global.codecept_dir, paths) : ''
     if (folderPath !== '') {
       globSync(folderPath).forEach(file => {
         loadSupportObject(file, `Step Definition from ${file}`)
@@ -562,3 +562,16 @@ function getHelperModuleName(helperName, config) {
   // built-in helpers
   return `./helper/${helperName}`
 }
+function normalizeAndJoin(basePath, subPath) {
+  // Normalize and convert slashes to forward slashes in one step
+  const normalizedBase = path.posix.normalize(basePath.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+  const normalizedSub = path.posix.normalize(subPath.replace(/\\/g, '/'))
+
+  // If subPath is absolute (starts with "/"), return it as the final path
+  if (normalizedSub.startsWith('/')) {
+    return normalizedSub
+  }
+
+  // Join the paths using POSIX-style
+  return path.posix.join(normalizedBase, normalizedSub)
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/helper/Appium.js b/lib/helper/Appium.js
index 2519d68eb..eb26ca56f 100644
--- a/lib/helper/Appium.js
+++ b/lib/helper/Appium.js
@@ -383,8 +383,10 @@ class Appium extends Webdriver {
 
   _buildAppiumEndpoint() {
     const { protocol, port, hostname, path } = this.browser.options
+    // Ensure path does NOT end with a slash to prevent double slashes
+    const normalizedPath = path.replace(/\/$/, '');
     // Build path to Appium REST API endpoint
-    return `${protocol}://${hostname}:${port}${path}/session/${this.browser.sessionId}`
+    return `${protocol}://${hostname}:${port}${normalizedPath}/session/${this.browser.sessionId}`
   }
 
   /**