diff --git a/src/kubeconfig.rs b/src/kubeconfig.rs
index a2628c67..7947ebf0 100644
--- a/src/kubeconfig.rs
+++ b/src/kubeconfig.rs
@@ -258,6 +258,8 @@ where
         users: vec![],
     };
 
+    let mut load_errors: Vec<String> = vec![];
+
     for path in kubeconfigs.into_iter() {
         let path = path.as_ref();
 
@@ -282,11 +284,19 @@ where
                     .extend(kubeconfig.users.drain(..).map(|x| Sourced::new(&path, x)));
             }
             Err(err) => {
-                eprintln!("Error loading kubeconfig {}: {}", path.display(), err);
+                load_errors.push(format!("Error loading kubeconfig {}: {}", path.display(), err));
             }
         }
     }
 
+    // Only print load errors when no contexts were found, to avoid
+    // noisy warnings about broken files when valid configs exist.
+    if installed.contexts.is_empty() {
+        for err in &load_errors {
+            eprintln!("{}", err);
+        }
+    }
+
     Ok(installed)
 }
 
diff --git a/src/settings.rs b/src/settings.rs
index ee7efed6..d1efa8cd 100644
--- a/src/settings.rs
+++ b/src/settings.rs
@@ -57,8 +57,47 @@ pub struct Settings {
     pub fzf: Fzf,
 }
 
+/// Check if a path has a kubie settings filename.
+fn is_kubie_settings_name(path: &Path) -> bool {
+    matches!(path.file_name().and_then(|f| f.to_str()), Some("kubie.yaml") | Some("kubie.yml"))
+}
+
+/// Parse KUBECONFIG into individual entries (colon-separated on unix).
+fn parse_kubeconfig_env() -> Vec<PathBuf> {
+    match std::env::var("KUBECONFIG") {
+        Ok(val) if !val.is_empty() => val.split(':').map(PathBuf::from).collect(),
+        _ => vec![],
+    }
+}
+
+/// Find a kubie settings file (kubie.yaml or kubie.yml) in a directory.
+fn find_settings_in_dir(dir: &Path) -> Option<String> {
+    ["kubie.yaml", "kubie.yml"].iter().find_map(|name| {
+        let c = dir.join(name);
+        if c.is_file() { c.to_str().map(String::from) } else { None }
+    })
+}
+
 impl Settings {
     pub fn path() -> String {
+        for entry in parse_kubeconfig_env() {
+            if is_kubie_settings_name(&entry) && entry.is_file() {
+                if let Some(s) = entry.to_str() {
+                    return s.to_string();
+                }
+            }
+            if let Some(s) = find_settings_in_dir(&entry) {
+                return s;
+            }
+        }
+
+        let xdg_config = std::env::var("XDG_CONFIG_HOME")
+            .unwrap_or_else(|_| format!("{}/.config", home_dir()));
+        let xdg_dir = Path::new(&xdg_config).join("kubie");
+        if let Some(s) = find_settings_in_dir(&xdg_dir) {
+            return s;
+        }
+
         format!("{}/.kube/kubie.yaml", home_dir())
     }
 
@@ -74,23 +113,37 @@ impl Settings {
             Settings::default()
         };
 
-        // Very important to exclude kubie's own config file ~/.kube/kubie.yaml from the results.
+        // Very important to exclude kubie's own config file from the results.
         settings.configs.exclude.push(settings_path_str);
         Ok(settings)
     }
 
     pub fn get_kube_configs_paths(&self) -> Result<HashSet<PathBuf>> {
         let mut paths = HashSet::new();
+
+        for entry in parse_kubeconfig_env() {
+            if entry.is_file() && !is_kubie_settings_name(&entry) {
+                paths.insert(entry);
+            } else if entry.is_dir() {
+                for pattern in &["*.yml", "*.yaml"] {
+                    for matched in glob(&format!("{}/{pattern}", entry.display()))? {
+                        let path = matched?;
+                        if !is_kubie_settings_name(&path) {
+                            paths.insert(path);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
         for inc in &self.configs.include {
-            let expanded = expanduser(inc);
-            for entry in glob(&expanded)? {
+            for entry in glob(&expanduser(inc))? {
                 paths.insert(entry?);
             }
         }
 
         for exc in &self.configs.exclude {
-            let expanded = expanduser(exc);
-            for entry in glob(&expanded)? {
+            for entry in glob(&expanduser(exc))? {
                 paths.remove(&entry?);
             }
         }
@@ -224,10 +277,110 @@ fn def_bool_false() -> bool {
     false
 }
 
-#[test]
-fn test_expanduser() {
-    assert_eq!(
-        expanduser("~/hello/world/*.foo"),
-        format!("{}/hello/world/*.foo", home_dir())
-    );
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::fs;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_expanduser() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            expanduser("~/hello/world/*.foo"),
+            format!("{}/hello/world/*.foo", home_dir())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_kubeconfig_env_file() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let file_path = dir.path().join("test-cluster.yaml");
+        fs::write(&file_path, "apiVersion: v1").unwrap();
+
+        std::env::set_var("KUBECONFIG", file_path.to_str().unwrap());
+
+        let settings = Settings {
+            configs: Configs {
+                include: vec![],
+                exclude: vec![],
+            },
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let paths = settings.get_kube_configs_paths().unwrap();
+        assert!(paths.contains(&file_path));
+
+        std::env::remove_var("KUBECONFIG");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_kubeconfig_env_directory() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        fs::write(dir.path().join("a.yaml"), "apiVersion: v1").unwrap();
+        fs::write(dir.path().join("b.yml"), "apiVersion: v1").unwrap();
+        fs::write(dir.path().join("c.txt"), "not a kubeconfig").unwrap();
+        fs::write(dir.path().join("kubie.yaml"), "configs: {}").unwrap();
+
+        std::env::set_var("KUBECONFIG", dir.path().to_str().unwrap());
+
+        let settings = Settings {
+            configs: Configs {
+                include: vec![],
+                exclude: vec![],
+            },
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let paths = settings.get_kube_configs_paths().unwrap();
+        assert!(paths.contains(&dir.path().join("a.yaml")));
+        assert!(paths.contains(&dir.path().join("b.yml")));
+        assert!(!paths.contains(&dir.path().join("c.txt")));
+        assert!(!paths.contains(&dir.path().join("kubie.yaml")));
+
+        std::env::remove_var("KUBECONFIG");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_kubeconfig_env_picks_up_kubie_settings() {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        fs::write(dir.path().join("kubie.yaml"), "configs: {}").unwrap();
+
+        std::env::set_var("KUBECONFIG", dir.path().to_str().unwrap());
+
+        let path = Settings::path();
+        assert_eq!(path, dir.path().join("kubie.yaml").to_str().unwrap());
+
+        std::env::remove_var("KUBECONFIG");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_kubeconfig_env_unset() {
+        std::env::remove_var("KUBECONFIG");
+
+        let settings = Settings {
+            configs: Configs {
+                include: vec![],
+                exclude: vec![],
+            },
+            ..Settings::default()
+        };
+
+        let paths = settings.get_kube_configs_paths().unwrap();
+        assert!(paths.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_xdg_config_home() {
+        std::env::remove_var("KUBECONFIG");
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let kubie_dir = dir.path().join("kubie");
+        fs::create_dir_all(&kubie_dir).unwrap();
+        fs::write(kubie_dir.join("kubie.yaml"), "configs: {}").unwrap();
+
+        std::env::set_var("XDG_CONFIG_HOME", dir.path().to_str().unwrap());
+
+        let path = Settings::path();
+        assert_eq!(path, kubie_dir.join("kubie.yaml").to_str().unwrap());
+
+        std::env::remove_var("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
+    }
 }