diff --git a/.changeset/thick-months-wave.md b/.changeset/thick-months-wave.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f7bc4cf11b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/thick-months-wave.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@workflow/next": patch
+---
+
+Allow specifying workflow directories
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx b/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
index d42adc333a..345cc5e0c7 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/api-reference/workflow-next/with-workflow.mdx
@@ -54,3 +54,42 @@ export default async function config(
   return nextConfig;
 }
 ``` 
+
+## Configuration
+
+The second argument to `withWorkflow` accepts the following options:
+
+### `workflows.dirs`
+
+Directories containing files with `use workflow` directives.
+
+By default, `withWorkflow` uses Next.js entrypoint directories (`pages`, `app`, `src/pages`, `src/app`) as starting points and traces their imports to discover workflow files. If your workflows live in dedicated directories, use this option to point directly at them — avoiding the need to crawl the entire app's import tree.
+
+- **Type:** `string[]`
+
+```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
+import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
+import type { NextConfig } from "next";
+
+const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
+
+export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
+  workflows: {
+    dirs: ['workflows', 'src/workflows'], // [!code highlight]
+  },
+});
+```
+
+### `workflows.local.port`
+
+Port for the local workflow server during development.
+
+- **Type:** `number`
+- **Default:** Uses the `PORT` environment variable
+
+### `workflows.local.dataDir`
+
+Directory for storing local workflow data during development.
+
+- **Type:** `string`
+- **Default:** `'.next/workflow-data'`
diff --git a/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx b/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
index 828a7f6e27..1acbd94a3d 100644
--- a/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
+++ b/docs/content/docs/getting-started/next.mdx
@@ -264,6 +264,45 @@ Check the [Deploying](/docs/deploying) section to learn how your workflows can b
 
 ## Troubleshooting
 
+### Out of Memory (OOM) during build
+
+When using `withWorkflow()` in a large Next.js application, the "Discovering workflow directives" phase may consume excessive memory, causing builds to fail with OOM errors on standard build machines (e.g., 16 GB RAM).
+
+**Solution:** Use the `workflows.dirs` option to point directly at the directories containing your workflow files. By default, `withWorkflow` uses entrypoint directories (`pages`, `app`, `src/pages`, `src/app`) as starting points and traces their imports to discover workflows, which in large applications can involve crawling thousands of files.
+
+If your workflows live in a dedicated directory, configure `dirs` to only scan that directory:
+
+```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
+import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
+import type { NextConfig } from "next";
+
+const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
+
+export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
+  workflows: {
+    // Only scan the workflows directory instead of the entire app
+    dirs: ['workflows'], // [!code highlight]
+  },
+});
+```
+
+If your workflows are spread across multiple directories:
+
+```typescript title="next.config.ts" lineNumbers
+import { withWorkflow } from "workflow/next";
+import type { NextConfig } from "next";
+
+const nextConfig: NextConfig = {};
+
+export default withWorkflow(nextConfig, {
+  workflows: {
+    dirs: ['workflows', 'src/background-jobs'], // [!code highlight]
+  },
+});
+```
+
+This significantly reduces memory usage and build times by avoiding scanning unrelated application code.
+
 ### Next.js 16.1+ compatibility
 
 If you see this error when upgrading to Next.js 16.1 or later:
diff --git a/packages/builders/src/types.ts b/packages/builders/src/types.ts
index 070e881c66..e0baed33e3 100644
--- a/packages/builders/src/types.ts
+++ b/packages/builders/src/types.ts
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ export interface VercelBuildOutputConfig extends BaseWorkflowConfig {
  */
 export interface NextConfig extends BaseWorkflowConfig {
   buildTarget: 'next';
+  dirsAreEntrypoints: boolean;
   // Next.js builder computes paths dynamically, so these are not used
   stepsBundlePath: string;
   workflowsBundlePath: string;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/lib/config/workflow-config.ts b/packages/cli/src/lib/config/workflow-config.ts
index e8e8636515..63cde6f70f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/lib/config/workflow-config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/lib/config/workflow-config.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ export const getWorkflowConfig = (
 ) => {
   const config: WorkflowConfig = {
     dirs: ['./workflows'],
+    dirsAreEntrypoints: false,
     workingDir: resolveObservabilityCwd(),
     buildTarget: buildTarget as BuildTarget,
     stepsBundlePath: './.well-known/workflow/v1/step.js',
diff --git a/packages/next/src/builder-deferred.ts b/packages/next/src/builder-deferred.ts
index 39c1358638..c61529214e 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/builder-deferred.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/builder-deferred.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import type { NextConfig } from '@workflow/builders';
 import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';
 import { constants, existsSync, realpathSync } from 'node:fs';
 import {
@@ -65,6 +66,8 @@ export async function getNextBuilderDeferred() {
   )) as typeof import('@workflow/builders');
 
   class NextDeferredBuilder extends BaseBuilderClass {
+    protected declare config: NextConfig;
+
     private socketIO?: SocketIO;
     private readonly discoveredWorkflowFiles = new Set<string>();
     private readonly discoveredStepFiles = new Set<string>();
@@ -953,6 +956,9 @@ export async function getNextBuilderDeferred() {
 
     protected async getInputFiles(): Promise<string[]> {
       const inputFiles = await super.getInputFiles();
+      if (!this.config.dirsAreEntrypoints) {
+        return inputFiles;
+      }
       return inputFiles.filter((item) => {
         // Match App Router entrypoints: route.ts, page.ts, layout.ts in app/ or src/app/ directories
         // Matches: /app/page.ts, /app/dashboard/page.ts, /src/app/route.ts, etc.
diff --git a/packages/next/src/builder-eager.ts b/packages/next/src/builder-eager.ts
index c46eb03e62..7b7b1081f6 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/builder-eager.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/builder-eager.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import type { NextConfig } from '@workflow/builders';
 import { constants } from 'node:fs';
 import { access, copyFile, mkdir, stat, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
 import { extname, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
@@ -23,6 +24,8 @@ export async function getNextBuilderEager() {
   )) as typeof import('@workflow/builders');
 
   class NextBuilder extends BaseBuilderClass {
+    protected declare config: NextConfig;
+
     async build() {
       const outputDir = await this.findAppDirectory();
       const workflowGeneratedDir = join(outputDir, '.well-known/workflow/v1');
@@ -390,6 +393,9 @@ export async function getNextBuilderEager() {
 
     protected async getInputFiles(): Promise<string[]> {
       const inputFiles = await super.getInputFiles();
+      if (!this.config.dirsAreEntrypoints) {
+        return inputFiles;
+      }
       return inputFiles.filter((item) => {
         // Match App Router entrypoints: route.ts, page.ts, layout.ts in app/ or src/app/ directories
         // Matches: /app/page.ts, /app/dashboard/page.ts, /src/app/route.ts, etc.
diff --git a/packages/next/src/index.ts b/packages/next/src/index.ts
index 13c5b9f26a..0c5ec4eaf4 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/index.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ export function withWorkflow(
   }: {
     workflows?: {
       lazyDiscovery?: boolean;
+      dirs?: string[];
       local?: {
         port?: number;
         dataDir?: string;
@@ -87,7 +88,8 @@ export function withWorkflow(
           return new NextBuilder({
             watch: shouldWatch,
             // discover workflows from pages/app entries
-            dirs: ['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app'],
+            dirs: workflows?.dirs || ['pages', 'app', 'src/pages', 'src/app'],
+            dirsAreEntrypoints: !workflows?.dirs,
             workingDir: process.cwd(),
             distDir: nextConfig.distDir || '.next',
             buildTarget: 'next',
diff --git a/packages/nitro/src/builders.ts b/packages/nitro/src/builders.ts
index fa67ec5cac..76d23c8e70 100644
--- a/packages/nitro/src/builders.ts
+++ b/packages/nitro/src/builders.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ export class LocalBuilder extends BaseBuilder {
         watch: nitro.options.dev,
         dirs: ['.'], // Different apps that use nitro have different directories
       }),
-      buildTarget: 'next', // Placeholder, not actually used
+      buildTarget: 'standalone', // Placeholder, not actually used
     });
     this.#outDir = outDir;
   }