diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 899265b..9db1277 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates
 
 COPY --from=builder /vecna /usr/local/bin/vecna
 
+ENV VECNA_CONFIG=/config/vecna.json
+
+VOLUME ["/config"]
+
 EXPOSE 8080
 
 ENTRYPOINT ["vecna"]
diff --git a/cmd/vecna/main.go b/cmd/vecna/main.go
index 77afe63..ee8bfd5 100644
--- a/cmd/vecna/main.go
+++ b/cmd/vecna/main.go
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 }
 
 func init() {
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&cfgFile, "config", "", "config file (default: ./vecna.yaml)")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&cfgFile, "config", os.Getenv("VECNA_CONFIG"), "config file path (env: VECNA_CONFIG; default search: /config, $HOME, ./)")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&logLevel, "log-level", "info", "log level: info | debug")
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(convertCmd)
 	rootCmd.AddCommand(serveCmd)
diff --git a/docker-compose.example.yml b/docker-compose.example.yml
index ab50dc7..362559e 100644
--- a/docker-compose.example.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.example.yml
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ services:
       - vecna_config:/config
     environment:
       VECNA_SERVER_PORT: 8080
+      # VECNA_CONFIG: /config/vecna.json   # default; override to use a different path
       # VECNA_SERVER_API_KEYS: sk-vecna-abc123,sk-vecna-def456
-    command: ["serve", "--config", "/config/vecna.json"]
     restart: unless-stopped
     depends_on:
       ollama:
@@ -64,18 +64,18 @@ volumes:
 #
 # Run the interactive onboard wizard (writes config into the vecna_config volume):
 #
-#   docker compose run --rm -it vecna onboard --config /config/vecna.json
+#   docker compose run --rm -it vecna onboard
 #
 # The wizard will discover the ollama service on the Docker network at
 # http://ollama:11434 (select it from the list or enter the URL manually).
 #
 # Test all configured endpoints after onboarding:
 #
-#   docker compose run --rm vecna test --config /config/vecna.json
+#   docker compose run --rm vecna test
 #
 # Remove broken endpoints automatically:
 #
-#   docker compose run --rm vecna test --config /config/vecna.json --remove-broken
+#   docker compose run --rm vecna test --remove-broken
 #
 # Open the config in a shell editor (requires the alpine image):
 #
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index f254397..9048dc3 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func ResolveFile(cfgFile string) string {
 		return cfgFile
 	}
 	home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
-	dirs := []string{".", home, home + "/.config/vecna"}
+	dirs := []string{"/config", ".", home, home + "/.config/vecna"}
 	for _, dir := range dirs {
 		for _, ext := range extensions {
 			path := dir + "/vecna." + ext
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ func Load(cfgFile string) (*Config, error) {
 		home, _ := os.UserHomeDir()
 		v.SetConfigName("vecna")
 		// No SetConfigType — viper detects format from file extension (json, yaml, toml, etc.)
+		v.AddConfigPath("/config")
 		v.AddConfigPath(".")
 		v.AddConfigPath(home)
 		v.AddConfigPath(home + "/.config/vecna")