diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 091626b8..cd2c5c33 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ to enable word selection, and triple click to enable line selection.
 
 # Configuration
 
+Configuration directory:
+
+Micro uses the `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro` as the configuration directory. As per the XDG spec,
+if `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is not set, `~/.config/micro` is used as the config directory.
+
 At this point, there isn't much you can configure.
 Micro has a few options which you can set:
 
@@ -122,7 +127,7 @@ To set an option run Ctrl-e to execute a command, and type `set option value`, s
 
 The syntax option can simply be on or off, so for example to turn syntax highlighting off, run `set syntax off`.
 
-The colorscheme can be selected from all the files in the `~/.micro/colorschemes/` directory. Micro comes by default with three colorschemes:
+The colorscheme can be selected from all the files in the `ConfigDir/colorschemes/` directory. Micro comes by default with three colorschemes:
 
 * default: this is the default colorscheme.
 * solarized: this is the solarized colorscheme (used in the screenshot). You should have the solarized color palette in your terminal to use it.
@@ -130,7 +135,7 @@ The colorscheme can be selected from all the files in the `~/.micro/colorschemes
 
 These are embedded in the Go binary, but to see their source code, look [here](./runtime/colorschemes)
 
-Any option you set in the editor will be saved to the file `~/.micro/settings.json` so, in effect, your configuration file will be created
+Any option you set in the editor will be saved to the file `ConfigDir/settings.json` so, in effect, your configuration file will be created
 for you. If you'd like to take your configuration with you to another machine, simply copy the `settings.json` to the other machine.
 
 # Contributing
diff --git a/cmd/micro/colorscheme.go b/cmd/micro/colorscheme.go
index 6d431bb1..67e8477e 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/colorscheme.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/colorscheme.go
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package main
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/gdamore/tcell"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"regexp"
 	"strconv"
@@ -23,14 +22,9 @@ func InitColorscheme() {
 	LoadDefaultColorscheme()
 }
 
-// LoadDefaultColorscheme loads the default colorscheme from ~/.micro/colorschemes
+// LoadDefaultColorscheme loads the default colorscheme from $(configDir)/colorschemes
 func LoadDefaultColorscheme() {
-	dir, err := homedir.Dir()
-	if err != nil {
-		TermMessage("Error finding your home directory\nCan't load runtime files")
-		return
-	}
-	LoadColorscheme(settings.Colorscheme, dir+"/.micro/colorschemes")
+	LoadColorscheme(settings.Colorscheme, configDir+"/colorschemes")
 }
 
 // LoadColorscheme loads the given colorscheme from a directory
diff --git a/cmd/micro/help.go b/cmd/micro/help.go
index 5d2d3ed0..a0095abe 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/help.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/help.go
@@ -48,8 +48,15 @@ does not have any spaces in it, you may omit the quotes.
 
 Micro options:
 
-colorscheme: loads the colorscheme stored in ~/.micro/colorschemes/'option'.micro
+Configuration directory:
+
+Micro uses the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro as the configuration directory. As per the XDG spec,
+if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, ~/.config/micro is used as the config directory.
+
+colorscheme: loads the colorscheme stored in $(configDir)/colorschemes/'option'.micro
 	default value: 'default'
+	Note that the default colorschemes (default, solarized, and solarized-tc) are not located in configDir,
+	because they are embedded in the micro binary
 
 tabsize: sets the tab size to 'option'
 	default value: '4'
diff --git a/cmd/micro/highlighter.go b/cmd/micro/highlighter.go
index 7d4df09d..61ff58b9 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/highlighter.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/highlighter.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"github.com/gdamore/tcell"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
@@ -109,14 +108,9 @@ var preInstalledSynFiles = []string{
 	"zsh",
 }
 
-// LoadSyntaxFiles loads the syntax files from the default directory ~/.micro
+// LoadSyntaxFiles loads the syntax files from the default directory (configDir)
 func LoadSyntaxFiles() {
-	home, err := homedir.Dir()
-	if err != nil {
-		TermMessage("Error finding your home directory\nCan't load syntax files")
-		return
-	}
-	LoadSyntaxFilesFromDir(home + "/.micro/syntax")
+	LoadSyntaxFilesFromDir(configDir + "/syntax")
 
 	for _, filetype := range preInstalledSynFiles {
 		data, err := Asset("runtime/syntax/" + filetype + ".micro")
diff --git a/cmd/micro/micro.go b/cmd/micro/micro.go
index 8733aa40..692e45ff 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/micro.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/micro.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gdamore/tcell"
 	"github.com/go-errors/errors"
 	"github.com/mattn/go-isatty"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 )
@@ -25,6 +26,11 @@ var (
 
 	// The default style
 	defStyle tcell.Style
+
+	// Where the user's configuration is
+	// This should be $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/micro
+	// If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, it is ~/.config/micro
+	configDir string
 )
 
 // LoadInput loads the file input for the editor
@@ -63,6 +69,30 @@ func LoadInput() (string, []byte, error) {
 	return filename, input, err
 }
 
+// InitConfigDir finds the configuration directory for micro according to the
+// XDG spec.
+// If no directory is found, it creates one.
+func InitConfigDir() {
+	xdgHome := os.Getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME")
+	if xdgHome == "" {
+		home, err := homedir.Dir()
+		if err != nil {
+			TermMessage("Error finding your home directory\nCan't load syntax files")
+			return
+		}
+		configDir = home + "/.config/micro"
+	} else {
+		configDir = xdgHome + "/micro"
+	}
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(configDir); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		err = os.Mkdir(configDir, os.ModePerm)
+		if err != nil {
+			TermMessage("Error creating configuration directory: " + err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func main() {
 	filename, input, err := LoadInput()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -70,6 +100,8 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
+	InitConfigDir()
+
 	InitSettings()
 
 	// Load the syntax files, including the colorscheme
diff --git a/cmd/micro/settings.go b/cmd/micro/settings.go
index 9b6f9089..1b35ef6b 100644
--- a/cmd/micro/settings.go
+++ b/cmd/micro/settings.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
-	"github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
@@ -25,13 +24,7 @@ type Settings struct {
 
 // InitSettings initializes the options map and sets all options to their default values
 func InitSettings() {
-	home, err := homedir.Dir()
-	if err != nil {
-		TermMessage("Error finding your home directory\nCan't load settings file")
-		return
-	}
-
-	filename := home + "/.micro/settings.json"
+	filename := configDir + "/settings.json"
 	if _, e := os.Stat(filename); e == nil {
 		input, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -46,19 +39,13 @@ func InitSettings() {
 		if err != nil {
 			TermMessage("Error writing settings.json file: " + err.Error())
 		}
-
-		os.Mkdir(home+"/.micro", 755)
 	}
 }
 
 // WriteSettings writes the settings to the specified filename as JSON
 func WriteSettings(filename string) error {
 	var err error
-	home, err := homedir.Dir()
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if _, e := os.Stat(home + "/.micro"); e == nil {
+	if _, e := os.Stat(configDir); e == nil {
 		txt, _ := json.MarshalIndent(settings, "", "    ")
 		err = ioutil.WriteFile(filename, txt, 0644)
 	}
@@ -77,12 +64,7 @@ func DefaultSettings() Settings {
 
 // SetOption prompts the user to set an option and checks that the response is valid
 func SetOption(view *View, args []string) {
-	home, err := homedir.Dir()
-	if err != nil {
-		messenger.Error("Error finding your home directory\nCan't load settings file")
-	}
-
-	filename := home + "/.micro/settings.json"
+	filename := configDir + "/settings.json"
 	if len(args) == 2 {
 		option := strings.TrimSpace(args[0])
 		value := strings.TrimSpace(args[1])
diff --git a/runtime/README.md b/runtime/README.md
index 165b587c..a7a5bf38 100644
--- a/runtime/README.md
+++ b/runtime/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 # Runtime files for Micro
 
-This directory will be embedded in the Go binary for portability, but it may just as well be put in `~/.micro`. If you would like to make your own colorschemes
-and syntax files, you can put in in `~/.micro/colorschemes` and `~/.micro/syntax` respectively.
+This directory will be embedded in the Go binary for portability, but it may just as well be put in `ConfigDir`. If you would like to make your own colorschemes
+and syntax files, you can put in in `ConfigDir/colorschemes` and `ConfigDir/syntax` respectively.
diff --git a/runtime/syntax/README.md b/runtime/syntax/README.md
index b04cbd5f..c96106a5 100644
--- a/runtime/syntax/README.md
+++ b/runtime/syntax/README.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Micro syntax highlighting files
 
 These are the syntax highlighting files for micro. To install them, just
-put all the syntax files in `~/.micro/syntax`.
+put all the syntax files in `ConfigDir/syntax`.
 
 They are taken from Nano, specifically from [this repository](https://github.com/scopatz/nanorc).
 Micro syntax files are almost identical to Nano's, except for some key differences: