diff --git a/docs/configuration.markdown b/docs/configuration.markdown
index 3dea1a442..a40247e26 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.markdown
+++ b/docs/configuration.markdown
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ title: Configuration
 `wezterm` will look for a TOML configuration file in the following locations,
 stopping at the first file that it finds:
 
+* If the environment variable `$WEZTERM_CONFIG_FILE` is set, it will be treated as the
+  path to a configuration file.
 * On Windows, `wezterm.toml` from the directory that contains `wezterm.exe`.
   This is handy for users that want to carry their wezterm install around on a thumb drive.
 * `$HOME/.config/wezterm/wezterm.toml`,
diff --git a/src/config/mod.rs b/src/config/mod.rs
index e7c21aee4..4182a3bbb 100644
--- a/src/config/mod.rs
+++ b/src/config/mod.rs
@@ -537,6 +537,9 @@ impl Config {
                 }
             }
         }
+        if let Some(path) = std::env::var_os("WEZTERM_CONFIG_FILE") {
+            paths.insert(0, path.into());
+        }
 
         for p in &paths {
             log::trace!("consider config: {}", p.display());