private function normalizePipePath($path)
    {
        // Prepend slash if missing
        if (empty($path) || $path[0] !== '/') {
            $path = '/' . $path;
        }

        // Trim trailing slash if present
        if (strlen($path) > 1 && '/' === substr($path, -1)) {
            $path = rtrim($path, '/');
        }

        return $path;
    }