diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index b4448941c..756114ddf 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ $ uvx --from 'vcspull' --prerelease allow vcspull
 
 _Upcoming changes will be written here._
 
+### Development
+
+#### PrivatePath centralizes home-directory redaction (#485)
+
+- Introduced a dedicated `PrivatePath` helper for all CLI logging and structured
+  output, ensuring tilde-collapsed paths stay consistent without duplicating the
+  contraction logic across commands.
+
 ## vcspull v1.46.1 (2025-11-03)
 
 ### Bug Fixes
diff --git a/docs/api/internals/index.md b/docs/api/internals/index.md
index 49382c110..9bbad1982 100644
--- a/docs/api/internals/index.md
+++ b/docs/api/internals/index.md
@@ -10,4 +10,5 @@ If you need an internal API stabilized please [file an issue](https://github.com
 
 ```{toctree}
 config_reader
+private_path
 ```
diff --git a/docs/api/internals/private_path.md b/docs/api/internals/private_path.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d37bc7f92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/api/internals/private_path.md
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# PrivatePath – `vcspull._internal.private_path`
+
+:::{warning}
+`PrivatePath` is an internal helper. Its import path and behavior may change
+without notice. File an issue if you rely on it downstream so we can discuss a
+supported API.
+:::
+
+`PrivatePath` subclasses `pathlib.Path` and normalizes every textual rendering
+(`str()`/`repr()`) so the current user’s home directory is collapsed to `~`.
+The class behaves exactly like the standard path object for filesystem ops; it
+only alters how the path is displayed. This keeps CLI logs, JSON/NDJSON output,
+and tests from leaking usernames while preserving full absolute paths for
+internal logic.
+
+```python
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
+
+home_repo = PrivatePath("~/code/vcspull")
+print(home_repo)          # -> ~/code/vcspull
+print(repr(home_repo))    # -> "PrivatePath('~/code/vcspull')"
+```
+
+## Usage guidelines
+
+- Wrap any path destined for user-facing output (logs, console tables, JSON
+  payloads) in `PrivatePath` before calling `str()`.
+- The helper is safe to instantiate with `pathlib.Path` objects or strings; it
+  does not touch relative paths that lack a home prefix.
+- Prefer storing raw `pathlib.Path` objects (or strings) in configuration
+  models, then convert to `PrivatePath` at the presentation layer. This keeps
+  serialization and equality checks deterministic while still masking the home
+  directory when needed.
+
+## Why not `contract_user_home`?
+
+The previous `contract_user_home()` helper duplicated the tilde-collapsing logic
+in multiple modules and required callers to remember to run it themselves. By
+centralizing the behavior in a `pathlib.Path` subclass we get:
+
+- Built-in protection—`str()` and `repr()` automatically apply the privacy
+  filter.
+- Consistent behavior across every CLI command and test fixture.
+- Easier mocking in tests, because `PrivatePath` respects monkeypatched
+  `Path.home()` implementations.
+
+If you need alternative redaction behavior, consider composing your own helper
+around `PrivatePath` instead of reintroducing ad hoc string munging.
+
+```{eval-rst}
+.. automodule:: vcspull._internal.private_path
+   :members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+   :undoc-members:
+```
diff --git a/src/vcspull/_internal/private_path.py b/src/vcspull/_internal/private_path.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..367d3dfd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/vcspull/_internal/private_path.py
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import pathlib
+import typing as t
+
+if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
+    PrivatePathBase = pathlib.Path
+else:
+    PrivatePathBase = type(pathlib.Path())
+
+
+class PrivatePath(PrivatePathBase):
+    """Path subclass that hides the user's home directory in textual output.
+
+    The class behaves like :class:`pathlib.Path`, but normalizes string and
+    representation output to replace the current user's home directory with
+    ``~``. This is useful when logging or displaying paths that should not leak
+    potentially sensitive information.
+
+    Examples
+    --------
+    >>> from pathlib import Path
+    >>> home = Path.home()
+    >>> PrivatePath(home)
+    PrivatePath('~')
+    >>> PrivatePath(home / "projects" / "vcspull")
+    PrivatePath('~/projects/vcspull')
+    >>> str(PrivatePath("/tmp/example"))
+    '/tmp/example'
+    >>> f'build dir: {PrivatePath(home / "build")}'
+    'build dir: ~/build'
+    >>> '{}'.format(PrivatePath(home / 'notes.txt'))
+    '~/notes.txt'
+    """
+
+    def __new__(cls, *args: t.Any, **kwargs: t.Any) -> PrivatePath:
+        return super().__new__(cls, *args, **kwargs)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def _collapse_home(cls, value: str) -> str:
+        """Collapse the user's home directory to ``~`` in ``value``."""
+        if value.startswith("~"):
+            return value
+
+        home = str(pathlib.Path.home())
+        if value == home:
+            return "~"
+
+        separators = {os.sep}
+        if os.altsep:
+            separators.add(os.altsep)
+
+        for sep in separators:
+            home_with_sep = home + sep
+            if value.startswith(home_with_sep):
+                return "~" + value[len(home) :]
+
+        return value
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        original = pathlib.Path.__str__(self)
+        return self._collapse_home(original)
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        return f"{self.__class__.__name__}({str(self)!r})"
+
+
+__all__ = ["PrivatePath"]
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/add.py b/src/vcspull/cli/add.py
index 95f7ff0d4..4a938c2c6 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/add.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/add.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 from colorama import Fore, Style
 
 from vcspull._internal.config_reader import DuplicateAwareConfigReader
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import (
     canonicalize_workspace_path,
     expand_dir,
@@ -21,7 +22,6 @@
     save_config_yaml_with_items,
     workspace_root_label,
 )
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home
 
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
     import argparse
@@ -220,11 +220,11 @@ def handle_add_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     repo_path = expand_dir(pathlib.Path(repo_input), cwd=cwd)
 
     if not repo_path.exists():
-        log.error("Repository path %s does not exist.", repo_path)
+        log.error("Repository path %s does not exist.", PrivatePath(repo_path))
         return
 
     if not repo_path.is_dir():
-        log.error("Repository path %s is not a directory.", repo_path)
+        log.error("Repository path %s is not a directory.", PrivatePath(repo_path))
         return
 
     override_name = getattr(args, "override_name", None)
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def handle_add_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
         display_url, config_url = _normalize_detected_url(detected_remote)
 
     if not config_url:
-        display_url = contract_user_home(repo_path)
+        display_url = str(PrivatePath(repo_path))
         config_url = str(repo_path)
         log.warning(
             "Unable to determine git remote for %s; using local path in config.",
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ def handle_add_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
 
     summary_url = display_url or config_url
 
-    display_path = contract_user_home(repo_path)
+    display_path = str(PrivatePath(repo_path))
 
     log.info("%sFound new repository to import:%s", Fore.GREEN, Style.RESET_ALL)
     log.info(
@@ -319,7 +319,11 @@ def handle_add_command(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
             response = ""
         proceed = response.strip().lower() in {"y", "yes"}
         if not proceed:
-            log.info("Aborted import of '%s' from %s", repo_name, repo_path)
+            log.info(
+                "Aborted import of '%s' from %s",
+                repo_name,
+                PrivatePath(repo_path),
+            )
             return
 
     add_repo(
@@ -370,7 +374,7 @@ def add_repo(
             config_file_path = pathlib.Path.cwd() / ".vcspull.yaml"
             log.info(
                 "No config specified and no default found, will create at %s",
-                contract_user_home(config_file_path),
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
             )
         elif len(home_configs) > 1:
             log.error(
@@ -384,7 +388,7 @@ def add_repo(
     raw_config: dict[str, t.Any]
     duplicate_root_occurrences: dict[str, list[t.Any]]
     top_level_items: list[tuple[str, t.Any]]
-    display_config_path = contract_user_home(config_file_path)
+    display_config_path = str(PrivatePath(config_file_path))
 
     if config_file_path.exists() and config_file_path.is_file():
         try:
@@ -400,7 +404,10 @@ def add_repo(
             )
             return
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("Error loading YAML from %s. Aborting.", config_file_path)
+            log.exception(
+                "Error loading YAML from %s. Aborting.",
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+            )
             if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 traceback.print_exc()
             return
@@ -579,7 +586,10 @@ def _prepare_no_merge_items(
                         Style.RESET_ALL,
                     )
                 except Exception:
-                    log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+                    log.exception(
+                        "Error saving config to %s",
+                        PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+                    )
                     if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                         traceback.print_exc()
             elif (duplicate_merge_changes > 0 or config_was_relabelled) and dry_run:
@@ -635,7 +645,10 @@ def _prepare_no_merge_items(
                 Style.RESET_ALL,
             )
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+            log.exception(
+                "Error saving config to %s",
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+            )
             if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 traceback.print_exc()
         return
@@ -719,7 +732,10 @@ def _prepare_no_merge_items(
                         Style.RESET_ALL,
                     )
                 except Exception:
-                    log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+                    log.exception(
+                        "Error saving config to %s",
+                        PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+                    )
                     if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                         traceback.print_exc()
         return
@@ -778,6 +794,9 @@ def _prepare_no_merge_items(
             Style.RESET_ALL,
         )
     except Exception:
-        log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+        log.exception(
+            "Error saving config to %s",
+            PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+        )
         if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
             traceback.print_exc()
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/discover.py b/src/vcspull/cli/discover.py
index bbaf16ea8..f9de85556 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/discover.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/discover.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 from colorama import Fore, Style
 
 from vcspull._internal.config_reader import DuplicateAwareConfigReader
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import (
     canonicalize_workspace_path,
     expand_dir,
@@ -212,7 +213,10 @@ def discover_repos(
             )
             return
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("Error loading YAML from %s. Aborting.", config_file_path)
+            log.exception(
+                "Error loading YAML from %s. Aborting.",
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+            )
             if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 traceback.print_exc()
             return
@@ -458,7 +462,10 @@ def discover_repos(
                     Style.RESET_ALL,
                 )
             except Exception:
-                log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+                log.exception(
+                    "Error saving config to %s",
+                    PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+                )
                 if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                     traceback.print_exc()
             return
@@ -551,7 +558,10 @@ def discover_repos(
                 Style.RESET_ALL,
             )
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("Error saving config to %s", config_file_path)
+            log.exception(
+                "Error saving config to %s",
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+            )
             if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 traceback.print_exc()
             return
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/fmt.py b/src/vcspull/cli/fmt.py
index d0dcd8ebb..4967ee788 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/fmt.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/fmt.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from colorama import Fore, Style
 
 from vcspull._internal.config_reader import DuplicateAwareConfigReader
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import (
     find_config_files,
     find_home_config_files,
@@ -176,10 +177,16 @@ def format_single_config(
             DuplicateAwareConfigReader.load_with_duplicates(config_file_path)
         )
     except TypeError:
-        log.exception("Config file %s is not a mapping", config_file_path)
+        log.exception(
+            "Config file %s is not a mapping",
+            PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+        )
         return False
     except Exception:
-        log.exception("Error loading config from %s", config_file_path)
+        log.exception(
+            "Error loading config from %s",
+            PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+        )
         if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
             traceback.print_exc()
         return False
@@ -359,7 +366,10 @@ def format_single_config(
                 Style.RESET_ALL,
             )
         except Exception:
-            log.exception("Error saving formatted config to %s", config_file_path)
+            log.exception(
+                "Error saving formatted config to %s",
+                PrivatePath(config_file_path),
+            )
             if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
                 traceback.print_exc()
             return False
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/list.py b/src/vcspull/cli/list.py
index 5fae15a12..16fdc55bf 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/list.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/list.py
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 import logging
 import typing as t
 
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import filter_repos, find_config_files, load_configs
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home
 
 from ._colors import Colors, get_color_mode
 from ._output import OutputFormatter, get_output_mode
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ def _output_flat(
             {
                 "name": repo_name,
                 "url": str(repo_url),
-                "path": contract_user_home(repo_path),
+                "path": str(PrivatePath(repo_path)),
                 "workspace_root": str(repo.get("workspace_root", "")),
             },
         )
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ def _output_flat(
         # Human output (contract home directory for privacy/brevity)
         formatter.emit_text(
             f"{colors.muted('•')} {colors.info(repo_name)} "
-            f"{colors.muted('→')} {contract_user_home(repo_path)}",
+            f"{colors.muted('→')} {PrivatePath(repo_path)}",
         )
 
 
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ def _output_tree(
                 {
                     "name": repo_name,
                     "url": str(repo_url),
-                    "path": contract_user_home(repo_path),
+                    "path": str(PrivatePath(repo_path)),
                     "workspace_root": workspace,
                 },
             )
@@ -226,5 +226,5 @@ def _output_tree(
             # Human output: indented repo (contract home directory for privacy/brevity)
             formatter.emit_text(
                 f"  {colors.muted('•')} {colors.info(repo_name)} "
-                f"{colors.muted('→')} {contract_user_home(repo_path)}",
+                f"{colors.muted('→')} {PrivatePath(repo_path)}",
             )
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/status.py b/src/vcspull/cli/status.py
index b8173b4cf..cfd701563 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/status.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/status.py
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from time import perf_counter
 
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import filter_repos, find_config_files, load_configs
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home
 
 from ._colors import Colors, get_color_mode
 from ._output import OutputFormatter, get_output_mode
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ def check_repo_status(repo: ConfigDict, detailed: bool = False) -> dict[str, t.A
 
     status: dict[str, t.Any] = {
         "name": repo_name,
-        "path": contract_user_home(repo_path),
+        "path": str(PrivatePath(repo_path)),
         "workspace_root": workspace_root,
         "exists": False,
         "is_git": False,
@@ -546,7 +546,7 @@ def _format_status_line(
 
     if detailed:
         formatter.emit_text(
-            f"  {colors.muted('Path:')} {contract_user_home(status['path'])}",
+            f"  {colors.muted('Path:')} {PrivatePath(status['path'])}",
         )
         branch = status.get("branch")
         if branch:
diff --git a/src/vcspull/cli/sync.py b/src/vcspull/cli/sync.py
index b4f1be089..1b512ebfe 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/cli/sync.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/cli/sync.py
@@ -23,8 +23,8 @@
 from libvcs.url import registry as url_tools
 
 from vcspull import exc
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.config import filter_repos, find_config_files, load_configs
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home
 
 from ._colors import Colors, get_color_mode
 from ._output import (
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ def _build_plan_entry(
 
     return PlanEntry(
         name=str(repo.get("name", "unknown")),
-        path=contract_user_home(repo_path),
+        path=str(PrivatePath(repo_path)),
         workspace_root=workspace_root,
         action=action,
         detail=detail,
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ def _render_plan(
                     display_path = entry.path
             else:
                 # Contract home directory for privacy/brevity in human output
-                display_path = contract_user_home(display_path)
+                display_path = str(PrivatePath(display_path))
 
             detail_text = _format_detail_text(
                 entry,
@@ -724,7 +724,7 @@ def silent_progress(output: str, timestamp: datetime) -> None:
         event: dict[str, t.Any] = {
             "reason": "sync",
             "name": repo_name,
-            "path": contract_user_home(repo_path),
+            "path": str(PrivatePath(repo_path)),
             "workspace_root": str(workspace_label),
         }
 
diff --git a/src/vcspull/util.py b/src/vcspull/util.py
index 642a9a4c4..744960423 100644
--- a/src/vcspull/util.py
+++ b/src/vcspull/util.py
@@ -42,40 +42,6 @@ def get_config_dir() -> pathlib.Path:
     return path
 
 
-def contract_user_home(path: str | pathlib.Path) -> str:
-    """Contract user home directory to ~ for display purposes.
-
-    Parameters
-    ----------
-    path : str | pathlib.Path
-        Path to contract
-
-    Returns
-    -------
-    str
-        Path with $HOME contracted to ~
-
-    Examples
-    --------
-    >>> contract_user_home("/home/user/code/repo")
-    '~/code/repo'
-    >>> contract_user_home("/opt/project")
-    '/opt/project'
-    """
-    path_str = str(path)
-    home_str = str(pathlib.Path.home())
-
-    # Replace home directory with ~ if path starts with it
-    if path_str.startswith(home_str):
-        # Handle both /home/user and /home/user/ cases
-        relative = path_str[len(home_str) :]
-        if relative.startswith(os.sep):
-            relative = relative[1:]
-        return f"~/{relative}" if relative else "~"
-
-    return path_str
-
-
 T = t.TypeVar("T", bound=dict[str, t.Any])
 
 
diff --git a/tests/_internal/__init__.py b/tests/_internal/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/tests/_internal/test_private_path.py b/tests/_internal/test_private_path.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6b9e1c3ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/_internal/test_private_path.py
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
+
+
+def test_str_collapses_home_directory() -> None:
+    home = Path.home()
+    assert str(PrivatePath(home)) == "~"
+
+    project_path = PrivatePath(home / "projects" / "vcspull")
+    assert str(project_path) == f"~{os.sep}projects{os.sep}vcspull"
+
+
+def test_repr_uses_tilde_for_home_directory() -> None:
+    home = Path.home()
+    project_path = PrivatePath(home / "projects")
+    assert repr(project_path) == f"PrivatePath('~{os.sep}projects')"
+
+
+def test_absolute_paths_outside_home_are_unmodified() -> None:
+    path = PrivatePath("/tmp/vcspull-example")
+    assert str(path) == "/tmp/vcspull-example"
+    assert repr(path) == "PrivatePath('/tmp/vcspull-example')"
+
+
+def test_existing_tilde_prefix_is_preserved() -> None:
+    path = PrivatePath("~/.config/vcspull")
+    assert str(path) == "~/.config/vcspull"
+
+
+def test_trailing_slash_collapses_to_directory_label() -> None:
+    home = Path.home()
+    path = PrivatePath(home / "projects/")
+    assert str(path) == f"~{os.sep}projects"
+
+
+def test_relative_path_unmodified() -> None:
+    path = PrivatePath("relative/path")
+    assert str(path) == "relative/path"
diff --git a/tests/cli/test_add.py b/tests/cli/test_add.py
index 2fa5d386f..c09c92718 100644
--- a/tests/cli/test_add.py
+++ b/tests/cli/test_add.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import argparse
 import logging
 import os
+import pathlib
 import re
 import subprocess
 import textwrap
@@ -13,8 +14,8 @@
 import pytest
 
 from vcspull._internal.config_reader import DuplicateAwareConfigReader
+from vcspull._internal.private_path import PrivatePath
 from vcspull.cli.add import add_repo, create_add_subparser, handle_add_command
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home
 
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
     import pathlib
@@ -692,6 +693,8 @@ def test_handle_add_command_path_mode(
     else:
         repo_arg = str(repo_path)
 
+    repo_name = override_name or repo_path.name
+
     args = argparse.Namespace(
         repo_path=repo_arg,
         url=explicit_url,
@@ -706,16 +709,20 @@ def test_handle_add_command_path_mode(
     handle_add_command(args)
 
     log_output = caplog.text
-    contracted_path = contract_user_home(repo_path)
+    contracted_path = str(PrivatePath(repo_path))
 
     assert "Found new repository to import" in log_output
     assert contracted_path in log_output
 
     normalized_log = log_output.replace(str(config_file), "<config>")
     normalized_log = normalized_log.replace(str(repo_path), "<repo_path>")
+    normalized_log = normalized_log.replace(
+        f"Aborted import of '{repo_name}' from {PrivatePath(repo_path)!s}",
+        f"Aborted import of '{repo_name}' from <repo_path>",
+    )
     normalized_log = re.sub(r"add\.py:\d+", "add.py:<line>", normalized_log)
     if preserve_config_path_in_log:
-        assert contract_user_home(config_file) in log_output
+        assert str(PrivatePath(config_file)) in log_output
         snapshot.assert_match(
             {
                 "test_id": test_id,
@@ -734,8 +741,6 @@ def test_handle_add_command_path_mode(
     if expected_warning is not None:
         assert expected_warning in log_output
 
-    repo_name = override_name or repo_path.name
-
     if expected_written:
         import yaml
 
@@ -805,6 +810,42 @@ def test_add_repo_dry_run_contracts_config_path(
     assert "~/.vcspull.yaml" in caplog.text
 
 
+def test_handle_add_command_abort_uses_private_path(
+    tmp_path: pathlib.Path,
+    monkeypatch: MonkeyPatch,
+    caplog: t.Any,
+) -> None:
+    """Aborted add command logs repo path with home collapsed."""
+    caplog.set_level(logging.INFO)
+
+    home = tmp_path / "home"
+    home.mkdir()
+    monkeypatch.chdir(home)
+    # Ensure PrivatePath resolves tilde within the temp home directory.
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pathlib.Path, "home", lambda: home)
+
+    repo_path = home / "study/python/pytest-docker"
+    repo_path.mkdir(parents=True)
+
+    args = argparse.Namespace(
+        repo_path=str(repo_path),
+        override_name=None,
+        url=None,
+        config=str(home / ".vcspull.yaml"),
+        workspace_root_path=None,
+        dry_run=False,
+        assume_yes=False,
+        merge_duplicates=True,
+    )
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr("builtins.input", lambda _: "n")
+
+    handle_add_command(args)
+
+    expected_path = str(PrivatePath(repo_path))
+    assert f"Aborted import of 'pytest-docker' from {expected_path}" in caplog.text
+
+
 def test_add_parser_rejects_extra_positional() -> None:
     """Passing both name and URL should raise a parse error in the new parser."""
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog="vcspull")
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index b764ace13..094917ef3 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 import pathlib
 import typing as t
 
-from vcspull.util import contract_user_home, get_config_dir
+from vcspull.util import get_config_dir
 
 if t.TYPE_CHECKING:
     import pytest
@@ -37,42 +37,3 @@ def test_vcspull_configdir_no_xdg(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
     """Test retrieving config directory without XDG_CONFIG_HOME set."""
     monkeypatch.delenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME")
     assert get_config_dir()
-
-
-def test_contract_user_home_contracts_home_path() -> None:
-    """Test contracting home directory to ~."""
-    home = str(pathlib.Path.home())
-
-    # Test full path
-    assert contract_user_home(f"{home}/code/repo") == "~/code/repo"
-
-    # Test home directory itself
-    assert contract_user_home(home) == "~"
-
-    # Test with pathlib.Path
-    assert contract_user_home(pathlib.Path(home) / "code" / "repo") == "~/code/repo"
-
-
-def test_contract_user_home_preserves_non_home_paths() -> None:
-    """Test that non-home paths are not contracted."""
-    # Test absolute paths outside home
-    assert contract_user_home("/opt/project") == "/opt/project"
-    assert contract_user_home("/usr/local/bin") == "/usr/local/bin"
-
-    # Test relative paths
-    assert contract_user_home("./relative/path") == "./relative/path"
-    assert contract_user_home("relative/path") == "relative/path"
-
-
-def test_contract_user_home_handles_edge_cases() -> None:
-    """Test edge cases in path contraction."""
-    home = str(pathlib.Path.home())
-
-    # Test trailing slashes
-    assert contract_user_home(f"{home}/code/") == "~/code/"
-
-    # Test empty path
-    assert contract_user_home("") == ""
-
-    # Test path with ~ already in it (should pass through)
-    assert contract_user_home("~/code/repo") == "~/code/repo"