diff --git a/aw-sync/README.md b/aw-sync/README.md
index 68b92362..76af7e44 100644
--- a/aw-sync/README.md
+++ b/aw-sync/README.md
@@ -12,15 +12,28 @@ Was originally prototyped as a PR to aw-server: https://github.com/ActivityWatch
 
 ## Usage
 
-This will start a daemon which both pulls and pushes events with the sync directory.
+This will start a daemon which pulls and pushes events with the sync directory (`~/ActivityWatchSync` by default) every 5 minutes:
 
 ```sh
-cargo run --bin aw-sync
+aw-sync
 ```
 
-For more options, see `cargo run --bin aw-sync -- --help`.
+For more options, see `aw-sync --help`.
 
----
+### Setting up sync
+
+Once you have aw-sync running, you need to set up syncing with the sync directory using your preferred syncing tool.
+
+The default sync directory is `~/ActivityWatchSync`, but you can change it using the `--sync-dir` option or by setting the `AW_SYNC_DIR` environment variable.
+
+### Running from source
+
+If you want to run it from source, in the root of the repository run:
+
+```sh
+cargo run --bin aw-sync
+```
+For more options, see `cargo run --bin aw-sync -- --help`.
 
 ## FAQ
 
diff --git a/aw-sync/src/dirs.rs b/aw-sync/src/dirs.rs
index 878df033..9c7ecf68 100644
--- a/aw-sync/src/dirs.rs
+++ b/aw-sync/src/dirs.rs
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ pub fn get_server_config_path(testing: bool) -> Result<PathBuf, ()> {
 }
 
 pub fn get_sync_dir() -> Result<PathBuf, Box<dyn Error>> {
-    // TODO: make this configurable
+    // if AW_SYNC_DIR is set, use that
+    if let Ok(dir) = std::env::var("AW_SYNC_DIR") {
+        return Ok(PathBuf::from(dir));
+    }
     let home_dir = home_dir().ok_or("Unable to read home_dir")?;
     Ok(home_dir.join("ActivityWatchSync"))
 }
diff --git a/aw-sync/src/main.rs b/aw-sync/src/main.rs
index d8a33e1e..46c2bb41 100644
--- a/aw-sync/src/main.rs
+++ b/aw-sync/src/main.rs
@@ -45,6 +45,11 @@ struct Opts {
     #[clap(long)]
     testing: bool,
 
+    /// Full path to sync directory.
+    /// If not specified, use AW_SYNC_DIR env var, or default to ~/ActivityWatchSync
+    #[clap(long)]
+    sync_dir: Option<PathBuf>,
+
     /// Enable debug logging.
     #[clap(long)]
     verbose: bool,
@@ -89,11 +94,6 @@ enum Commands {
         #[clap(long, default_value = "both")]
         mode: sync::SyncMode,
 
-        /// Full path to sync directory.
-        /// If not specified, exit.
-        #[clap(long)]
-        sync_dir: PathBuf,
-
         /// Full path to sync db file
         /// Useful for syncing buckets from a specific db file in the sync directory.
         /// Must be a valid absolute path to a file in the sync directory.
@@ -121,6 +121,16 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
 
     aw_server::logging::setup_logger("aw-sync", opts.testing, verbose)?;
 
+    // if sync_dir, set env var
+    if let Some(sync_dir) = opts.sync_dir {
+        if !sync_dir.is_absolute() {
+            Err("Sync dir must be absolute")?
+        }
+
+        info!("Using sync dir: {}", &sync_dir.display());
+        std::env::set_var("AW_SYNC_DIR", sync_dir);
+    }
+
     let port = opts
         .port
         .map(|a| Ok(a))
@@ -160,15 +170,9 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>> {
             start_date,
             buckets,
             mode,
-            sync_dir,
             sync_db,
         } => {
-            if !sync_dir.is_absolute() {
-                Err("Sync dir must be absolute")?
-            }
-
-            info!("Using sync dir: {}", &sync_dir.display());
-
+            let sync_dir = dirs::get_sync_dir()?;
             if let Some(db_path) = &sync_db {
                 info!("Using sync db: {}", &db_path.display());