diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdd7c19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+config.sh
diff --git a/config-default.sh b/config-default.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82c58f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config-default.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Where should the home directories used in containers be persisted
+HOMEDIR_STORAGE=$HOME/.local/share/dobu/homedir
+# Whether btrfs subvolumes should be used for homes instead of
+# normal subdirectories
+HOMEDIR_IS_BTRFS=false
diff --git a/dobu-run.sh b/dobu-run.sh
index 0329494..7905a51 100755
--- a/dobu-run.sh
+++ b/dobu-run.sh
@@ -9,9 +9,11 @@ assert_prerequisites
 image_name="$(path_to_image_name "apps/$1")"
 # image_name is of the form dobu/xxxx, while for containers we want dobu-xxx
 container_name="${image_name/\//-}"
+home_path="$HOMEDIR_STORAGE/$1"
 
 log "Image name: $image_name"
 log "Container name: $container_name"
+log "Home directory path: $home_path"
 
 assert_image_exists "$image_name"
 
@@ -28,6 +30,17 @@ fi
 # Make sure we have Sommelier running first
 ensure_sommelier
 
+# Prepare $HOME for the container
+if [ ! -d "$home_path" ]; then
+  if [ "$HOMEDIR_IS_BTRFS" == "true" ]; then
+    log "Creating $home_path as a btrfs subvolume"
+    btrfs subvol create "$home_path"
+  else
+    log "Creating $home_path"
+    mkdir -p "$home_path"
+  fi
+fi
+
 # The fun part: start the container!
 # Don't detach like we did with Sommelier, though
 podman run --rm --userns=keep-id:uid=1100,gid=1100 \
@@ -48,6 +61,8 @@ podman run --rm --userns=keep-id:uid=1100,gid=1100 \
     `# Pass through PulseAudio` \
     -v "$host_pulse":/xdg_runtime/pulse/native \
     -e PULSE_SERVER=unix:/xdg_runtime/pulse/native \
+    `# $HOME` \
+    -v "$home_path":/home/user \
     `# Miscellaneous` \
     -e XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland \
     -e TZ="$(date +%Z)" \
diff --git a/functions.sh b/functions.sh
index 90fd390..9ecbc8d 100644
--- a/functions.sh
+++ b/functions.sh
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ script_path="$(dirname "$(realpath "$0")")"
 
 DOBU_TMP=/tmp/dobu
 
+. "$script_path/config-default.sh"
+[ -f "$script_path/config.sh" ] && . "$script_path/config.sh"
+
 assert_prerequisites() {
   command -v podman >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "Podman is required"
   [ -S "$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/$WAYLAND_DISPLAY" ] || die "Dobu must be run under a compliant Wayland compositor"