diff --git a/validation/gen_network_runner.py b/validation/gen_network_runner.py
index 99650cf..6b980c5 100644
--- a/validation/gen_network_runner.py
+++ b/validation/gen_network_runner.py
@@ -244,6 +244,7 @@ def gen_network_runner(network_onnx, network_so, onnx_include_dir, entry="run_ma
     ins, outs = onnx_io(network_onnx)
     out_c = out or "runner.c"
     so_abs = os.path.abspath(network_so)
+    onnx_include_dir = str(onnx_include_dir)
 
     csrc = gen_c(ins, outs, entry, pathlib.Path(so_abs).name)
     pathlib.Path(out_c).write_text(csrc)
diff --git a/validation/validate.py b/validation/validate.py
index 5cb1a53..68dd4ea 100644
--- a/validation/validate.py
+++ b/validation/validate.py
@@ -7,10 +7,6 @@ from colorama import Style, Fore
 from validate_one import validate_network
 
 
-def discover_onnx_files(operations_dir):
-    return sorted(operations_dir.rglob("*.onnx"))
-
-
 def main():
     ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Validate all ONNX operations under the operations/ directory.")
     ap.add_argument("--raptor-path", required=True, help="Path to the Raptor compiler binary.")
@@ -24,8 +20,8 @@ def main():
     a = ap.parse_args()
 
     script_dir = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()
-    operations_dir = Path(a.operations_dir) if a.operations_dir else script_dir / "operations"
-    simulator_dir = Path(a.simulator_dir) if a.simulator_dir else (
+    operations_dir = Path(a.operations_dir).resolve() if a.operations_dir else script_dir / "operations"
+    simulator_dir = Path(a.simulator_dir).resolve() if a.simulator_dir else (
             script_dir / ".." / "backend-simulators" / "pim" / "pim-simulator"
     )
 
@@ -33,7 +29,7 @@ def main():
         print(Fore.RED + f"Operations directory not found: {operations_dir}" + Style.RESET_ALL)
         sys.exit(1)
 
-    onnx_files = discover_onnx_files(operations_dir)
+    onnx_files = sorted(operations_dir.rglob("*.onnx"))
     if not onnx_files:
         print(Fore.YELLOW + f"No .onnx files found under {operations_dir}" + Style.RESET_ALL)
         sys.exit(1)
@@ -46,15 +42,11 @@ def main():
         header = f"{'=' * 60}\n  Validating: {rel}\n{'=' * 60}"
         print(Style.BRIGHT + Fore.CYAN + header + Style.RESET_ALL)
 
-        try:
-            passed = validate_network(
-                onnx_path, a.raptor_path, a.onnx_include_dir, simulator_dir,
-                crossbar_size=a.crossbar_size, crossbar_count=a.crossbar_count,
-                threshold=a.threshold,
-            )
-        except Exception as e:
-            print(Fore.RED + f"  ERROR: {e}" + Style.RESET_ALL)
-            passed = False
+        passed = validate_network(
+            onnx_path, a.raptor_path, a.onnx_include_dir, simulator_dir,
+            crossbar_size=a.crossbar_size, crossbar_count=a.crossbar_count,
+            threshold=a.threshold,
+        )
 
         results[str(rel)] = passed
 
diff --git a/validation/validate_one.py b/validation/validate_one.py
index 9c89940..d31fdb6 100644
--- a/validation/validate_one.py
+++ b/validation/validate_one.py
@@ -78,7 +78,11 @@ def validate_outputs(sim_arrays, runner_out_dir, outputs_descriptor, threshold=1
 
 def validate_network(network_onnx_path, raptor_path, onnx_include_dir,
                      simulator_dir, crossbar_size=64, crossbar_count=8, threshold=1e-3):
-    network_onnx_path = Path(network_onnx_path).absolute()
+    network_onnx_path = Path(network_onnx_path).resolve()
+    raptor_path = Path(raptor_path).resolve()
+    onnx_include_dir = Path(onnx_include_dir).resolve()
+    simulator_dir = Path(simulator_dir).resolve()
+
     workspace_dir = network_onnx_path.parent
     raptor_dir = workspace_dir / "raptor"
     runner_dir = workspace_dir / "runner"
@@ -95,7 +99,7 @@ def validate_network(network_onnx_path, raptor_path, onnx_include_dir,
 
     print(Style.BRIGHT + "\nGenerating random inputs:" + Style.RESET_ALL)
     inputs_descriptor, outputs_descriptor = onnx_io(network_onnx_path)
-    inputs_list, inputs_dict = gen_random_inputs(inputs_descriptor)
+    inputs_list, _inputs_dict = gen_random_inputs(inputs_descriptor)
     flags, _files = save_inputs_to_files(network_onnx_path, inputs_list, out_dir=workspace_dir / "inputs")
 
     print(Style.BRIGHT + "\nRunning inference with the runner:" + Style.RESET_ALL)