diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 5b4ee5b57..517b22f5b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -57,6 +57,10 @@ ifndef CXXFLAGS
     CXXFLAGS=-pedantic -Wall -Wextra -Wabi -Wcast-qual -Wconversion -Wfloat-equal -Winline -Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-format-attribute -Wno-long-long -Woverloaded-virtual -Wpacked -Wredundant-decls -Wshadow -Wsign-promo $(CPPCHK_GLIBCXX_DEBUG) -g
 endif
 
+ifdef CFGDIR
+    CXXFLAGS += -DCFGDIR=\"$(CFGDIR)\"
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(HAVE_RULES),yes)
     CXXFLAGS += -DHAVE_RULES -DTIXML_USE_STL $(shell pcre-config --cflags)
     ifdef LIBS
diff --git a/lib/library.cpp b/lib/library.cpp
index d8d32c5ca..550f6568f 100644
--- a/lib/library.cpp
+++ b/lib/library.cpp
@@ -58,8 +58,13 @@ bool Library::load(const char exename[], const char path[])
 
         if (error == tinyxml2::XML_ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND) {
             // Try to locate the library configuration in the installation folder..
-            const std::string installfolder = Path::fromNativeSeparators(Path::getPathFromFilename(exename));
-            const std::string filename = installfolder + "cfg/" + fullfilename;
+#ifdef CFGDIR
+            const std::string cfgfolder(CFGDIR);
+#else
+            const std::string cfgfolder(Path::fromNativeSeparators(Path::getPathFromFilename(exename)) + "cfg");
+#endif
+            const char *sep = (!cfgfolder.empty() && cfgfolder[cfgfolder.size()-1U]=='/' ? "" : "/");
+            const std::string filename(cfgfolder + sep + fullfilename);
             error = doc.LoadFile(filename.c_str());
         }
     }
diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 5d2dfffba..69838a53a 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -60,18 +60,23 @@ http://software-download.name/pcre-library-windows/
 
 ### gnu make
 
-To build Cppcheck with rules (PCRE dependency):
-
-```shell
-make HAVE_RULES=yes
-```
-
-To build Cppcheck without rules (no dependencies):
+Simple build (no dependencies):
 
 ```shell
 make
 ```
 
+The recommended release build is:
+
+```shell
+make SRCDIR=build CFGDIR=cfg HAVE_RULES=yes
+```
+
+Flags:
+SRCDIR=build   : Python is used to optimise cppcheck
+CFGDIR=cfg     : Specify folder where .cfg files are found
+HAVE_RULES=yes : Enable rules (pcre is required if this is used)
+
 ### g++ (for experts)
 
 If you just want to build Cppcheck without dependencies then you can use this command:
diff --git a/readme.txt b/readme.txt
index 0df9c3eca..f1ccc1b3b 100644
--- a/readme.txt
+++ b/readme.txt
@@ -54,15 +54,16 @@ Compiling
 
     gnu make
     ========
-        To build Cppcheck with rules (pcre dependency):
-            make HAVE_RULES=yes
-
-        To build Cppcheck without rules (no dependencies):
+        Simple build (no dependencies):
             make
 
-        If you have python it is recommended that you add "SRCDIR=build". When
-        that is used, the Makefile uses python to compile Cppcheck (but python
-        is not used at runtime). The advantage is that it makes Cppcheck faster.
+        The recommended release build is:
+            make SRCDIR=build CFGDIR=cfg HAVE_RULES=yes
+
+        Flags:
+        SRCDIR=build   : Python is used to optimise cppcheck
+        CFGDIR=cfg     : Specify folder where .cfg files are found
+        HAVE_RULES=yes : Enable rules (pcre is required if this is used)
 
     g++ (for experts)
     =================
diff --git a/tools/dmake.cpp b/tools/dmake.cpp
index c0d2ca40f..a16a4de2a 100644
--- a/tools/dmake.cpp
+++ b/tools/dmake.cpp
@@ -313,6 +313,11 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
                                 "-g");
     }
 
+    // explicit cfg dir..
+    fout << "ifdef CFGDIR\n"
+         << "    CXXFLAGS += -DCFGDIR=\\\"$(CFGDIR)\\\"\n"
+         << "endif\n\n";
+
     fout << "ifeq ($(HAVE_RULES),yes)\n"
          << "    CXXFLAGS += -DHAVE_RULES -DTIXML_USE_STL $(shell pcre-config --cflags)\n"
          << "    ifdef LIBS\n"