diff --git a/.goreleaser.yaml b/.goreleaser.yaml
index 15b6d31..a46ffc2 100644
--- a/.goreleaser.yaml
+++ b/.goreleaser.yaml
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ archives:
     format_overrides:
       - goos: windows
         format: zip
+    files:
+      - config.yml
+      - README.md
+      - LICENSE
 
 checksum:
   name_template: 'checksums.txt'
@@ -73,6 +77,7 @@ brews:
 
     install: |
       bin.install "amqcli"
+      (etc/"amqcli").install "config.yml"
 
     test: |
       system "#{bin}/amqcli", "--version"
diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index 7e1b1e2..a207730 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ var (
 func main() {
 	env := flag.String("env", "dev", "Environment profile to use (e.g. dev, prod)")
 	showVersion := flag.Bool("version", false, "Print application version")
+	configPath := flag.String("config", "config.yml", "Path to configuration file")
 	flag.Parse()
 
 	if *showVersion {
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	// 1. Load config
-	cfg, err := config.LoadConfig("config.yml")
+	cfg, err := config.LoadConfig(*configPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Fatalf("Failed to load config: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 9e5345c..f1ab679 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -31,9 +31,31 @@ type ActiveMQConfig struct {
 }
 
 func LoadConfig(path string) (*Config, error) {
-	data, err := os.ReadFile(path) // #nosec G304 -- path is a fixed config file path from CLI args, not user-controlled input
+	var data []byte
+	var err error
+
+	// 1. Try reading the specified path (or "config.yml" from current directory)
+	// #nosec G304 -- config path is fixed or loaded from user's CLI argument
+	data, err = os.ReadFile(path)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read config file: %w", err)
+		// 2. Fallback to home directory config (~/.amqcli.yml)
+		homeDir, homeErr := os.UserHomeDir()
+		if homeErr == nil {
+			homeConfigPath := homeDir + "/.amqcli.yml"
+			// #nosec G304 -- config path is safe
+			data, err = os.ReadFile(homeConfigPath)
+			if err != nil {
+				// 3. Create default template if it doesn't exist anywhere
+				fmt.Printf("Config file not found. Creating default template at: %s\n", homeConfigPath)
+				createDefaultConfig(homeConfigPath)
+				// #nosec G304 -- config path is safe
+				data, err = os.ReadFile(homeConfigPath)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to read config file (try creating ~/.amqcli.yml): %w", err)
 	}
 
 	// Expand environment variables (e.g. ${VAR} or ${VAR:-default})
@@ -101,3 +123,28 @@ func expandEnvFunc(k string) string {
 	}
 	return val
 }
+
+func createDefaultConfig(path string) {
+	defaultTemplate := `refresh_interval: 3s
+encoding: "utf-8"
+
+environments:
+  dev:
+    protocol: stomp
+    host: 127.0.0.1
+    stomp_port: 61613
+    amqp_port: 5672
+    web_port: 8161
+    username: admin
+    password: admin
+  prod:
+    protocol: amqp
+    host: 192.168.0.100
+    stomp_port: 61613
+    amqp_port: 5672
+    web_port: 8161
+    username: myuser
+    password: mypassword
+`
+	_ = os.WriteFile(path, []byte(defaultTemplate), 0600)
+}