diff --git a/lua/kulala/globals/init.lua b/lua/kulala/globals/init.lua
index 45c5280..6ce3746 100644
--- a/lua/kulala/globals/init.lua
+++ b/lua/kulala/globals/init.lua
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ local FS = require("kulala.utils.fs")
 
 local M = {}
 
-M.VERSION = "3.1.0"
+M.VERSION = "3.1.1"
 M.UI_ID = "kulala://ui"
 M.SCRATCHPAD_ID = "kulala://scratchpad"
 M.HEADERS_FILE = FS.get_plugin_tmp_dir() .. "/headers.txt"
diff --git a/lua/kulala/ui/init.lua b/lua/kulala/ui/init.lua
index f85506b..95f170f 100644
--- a/lua/kulala/ui/init.lua
+++ b/lua/kulala/ui/init.lua
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ end
 
 local open_buffer = function()
   local prev_win = vim.api.nvim_get_current_win()
-  vim.cmd(CONFIG.get().split_direction .. " " .. GLOBALS.UI_ID)
+  local sd = CONFIG.get().split_direction == "vertical" and "vsplit" or "split"
+  vim.cmd(sd .. " " .. GLOBALS.UI_ID)
   if CONFIG.get().winbar then
     WINBAR.create_winbar(get_win(), get_buffer())
   end