diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e76e89a..36d7938 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -202,6 +202,23 @@ Select Categories to Clean - 18.5GB (8 selected)
 
 > **Use with caution:** This will permanently delete selected artifacts. Review carefully before confirming. Recent projects (< 7 days) are marked and unselected by default.
 
+#### Configuration
+
+You can configure which directories `mole` scans for projects by creating a config file:
+
+1. Create `~/.config/mole/purge_paths`
+2. Add one directory path per line (supports `~`)
+
+Example `~/.config/mole/purge_paths`:
+
+```
+~/Documents/MyProjects
+~/Work/ClientA
+~/Work/ClientB
+```
+
+If this file exists, `mole` will *only* scan the paths listed in it. If not, it uses the default paths (`~/Projects`, `~/GitHub`, `~/dev`, etc.).
+
 ## Quick Launchers
 
 Launch Mole commands instantly from Raycast or Alfred:
diff --git a/bin/purge.sh b/bin/purge.sh
index 46ecac1..b4bb884 100755
--- a/bin/purge.sh
+++ b/bin/purge.sh
@@ -111,6 +111,26 @@ perform_purge() {
     printf '\n'
 }
 
+# Show help message
+show_help() {
+    echo -e "${PURPLE_BOLD}Mole Purge${NC} - Clean old project build artifacts"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Usage:${NC} mo purge [options]"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Options:${NC}"
+    echo "  --help          Show this help message"
+    echo "  --debug         Enable debug logging"
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Configuration:${NC}"
+    echo "  To customize search paths, create: ${NC}$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths${NC}"
+    echo "  Add one directory path per line (supports ~)."
+    echo ""
+    echo -e "${YELLOW}Default Paths:${NC}"
+    for path in "${DEFAULT_PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[@]}"; do
+        echo "  - $path"
+    done
+}
+
 # Main entry point
 main() {
     # Set up signal handling
@@ -119,12 +139,16 @@ main() {
     # Parse arguments
     for arg in "$@"; do
         case "$arg" in
+            "--help")
+                show_help
+                exit 0
+                ;;
             "--debug")
                 export MO_DEBUG=1
                 ;;
             *)
                 echo "Unknown option: $arg"
-                echo "Use 'mo --help' for usage information"
+                echo "Use 'mo purge --help' for usage information"
                 exit 1
                 ;;
         esac
diff --git a/lib/clean/project.sh b/lib/clean/project.sh
index 115e76d..8def3b9 100644
--- a/lib/clean/project.sh
+++ b/lib/clean/project.sh
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ readonly MIN_AGE_DAYS=7
 readonly PURGE_MIN_DEPTH_DEFAULT=2
 readonly PURGE_MAX_DEPTH_DEFAULT=8
 # Search paths (only project directories)
-readonly PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=(
+# Search paths (default)
+readonly DEFAULT_PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=(
     "$HOME/www"
     "$HOME/dev"
     "$HOME/Projects"
@@ -37,6 +38,40 @@ readonly PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=(
     "$HOME/Repos"
     "$HOME/Development"
 )
+
+# Config file for custom purge paths
+readonly PURGE_CONFIG_FILE="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+
+# Global array to hold actual search paths
+PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=()
+
+# Load purge paths from config or defaults
+load_purge_config() {
+    PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=()
+    if [[ -f "$PURGE_CONFIG_FILE" ]]; then
+        while IFS= read -r line; do
+            # Remove leading/trailing whitespace
+            line="${line#"${line%%[![:space:]]*}"}"
+            line="${line%"${line##*[![:space:]]}"}"
+            
+            # Skip empty lines and comments
+            [[ -z "$line" || "$line" =~ ^# ]] && continue
+            
+            # Expand tilde to HOME
+            line="${line/#\~/$HOME}"
+            
+            PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS+=("$line")
+        done < "$PURGE_CONFIG_FILE"
+    fi
+    
+    # Fallback to defaults if no paths loaded
+    if [[ ${#PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS=("${DEFAULT_PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[@]}")
+    fi
+}
+
+# Initialize paths
+load_purge_config
 # Args: $1 - path to check
 # Check if path is safe to clean (must be inside a project directory)
 is_safe_project_artifact() {
diff --git a/tests/purge_config.bats b/tests/purge_config.bats
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dfafb4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/purge_config.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+setup_file() {
+    PROJECT_ROOT="$(cd "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/.." && pwd)"
+    export PROJECT_ROOT
+    
+    ORIGINAL_HOME="${HOME:-}"
+    export ORIGINAL_HOME
+
+    HOME="$(mktemp -d "${BATS_TEST_DIRNAME}/tmp-purge-config.XXXXXX")"
+    export HOME
+    
+    mkdir -p "$HOME"
+}
+
+teardown_file() {
+    rm -rf "$HOME"
+    if [[ -n "${ORIGINAL_HOME:-}" ]]; then
+        export HOME="$ORIGINAL_HOME"
+    fi
+}
+
+setup() {
+    rm -rf "$HOME/.config"
+    mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/mole"
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config loads default paths when config file is missing" {
+    # Source the file in a subshell to avoid polluting test environment variables
+    # We need to export HOME so it's picked up by the script
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    # Check for a few expected default paths
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/Projects"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/GitHub"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/dev"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config loads custom paths from config file" {
+    local config_file="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+    
+    cat > "$config_file" << EOF
+$HOME/custom/projects
+$HOME/work
+EOF
+
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/custom/projects"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/work"* ]]
+    # Should NOT have default paths
+    [[ "$output" != *"$HOME/GitHub"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config expands tilde in paths" {
+    local config_file="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+    
+    cat > "$config_file" << EOF
+~/tilde/expanded
+~/another/one
+EOF
+
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/tilde/expanded"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/another/one"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" != *"~"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config ignores comments and empty lines" {
+    local config_file="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+    
+    cat > "$config_file" << EOF
+# This is a comment
+$HOME/valid/path
+
+   # Indented comment
+   
+$HOME/another/path
+EOF
+
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${#PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[@]}\"; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    local lines
+    read -r -a lines <<< "$output"
+    # First line of output is count
+    local count="${lines[0]}"
+    
+    [ "$count" -eq 2 ]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/valid/path"* ]]
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/another/path"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config falls back to defaults if config file is empty" {
+    local config_file="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+    touch "$config_file"
+
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    # Should have default paths
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/Projects"* ]]
+}
+
+@test "load_purge_config falls back to defaults if config file has only comments" {
+    local config_file="$HOME/.config/mole/purge_paths"
+    echo "# Just a comment" > "$config_file"
+
+    run env HOME="$HOME" bash -c "source '$PROJECT_ROOT/lib/clean/project.sh'; echo \"\${PURGE_SEARCH_PATHS[*]}\""
+    
+    [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+    
+    # Should have default paths
+    [[ "$output" == *"$HOME/Projects"* ]]
+}