diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 79101b2..6b33db1 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Features
 Note that ``reentry_register`` creates a *build-time*
 dependency on ``reentry``. The suggested way to resolve that is using the
 method described in `PEP518 <https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0518/>`_, for
-which `support has been added in pip 10 <https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/reference/pip/#pep-518-support>`_: 
+which `support has been added in pip 10 <https://pip.pypa.io/en/latest/reference/pip/#pep-518-support>`_:
 next to ``setup.py``, put a file ``pyproject.toml`` containing::
 
    [build-system]
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ An alternative way for specifying a build dependency is to put::
       ...
    )
 
-in your ``setup.py``. 
+in your ``setup.py``.
 This alternative works with all versions of ``pip``, but fails on systems,
 where python is linked to old ``SSL`` libraries (such as the system python for
 some versions of OS X).
@@ -80,6 +80,39 @@ The syntax is consistent with ``setuptools``'s ``pkg_resources``, so you may use
    entry_pt_manager.iter_entry_points(...)
    ...
 
+Reentry Configuration
+---------------------
+Reentry supports getting information from a configuration file. The file will
+be searched at the following paths:
+
+* <HOME>/.reentryrc
+* <HOME>/.config/reentry/config
+
+The configuration file has an ``ini`` format and supports the following keys::
+
+   [general]
+   datadir=/path/to/data/dir
+   data_filename=name
+
+The ``datadir`` is the folder in which ``reentry`` stores the data file
+that contains the information about the registered entry points.
+If the config file doesn't exist in one of the above paths, the ``datadir`` is
+set to ``<HOME>/.config/reentry/data``.
+``data_filename`` is the name of the data file, in case you want to pick the
+name by your own instead of letting ``reentry`` choose it.
+Warning: By default, ``reentry`` creates a separate data file for every python
+interpreter in order not to mix entry points between different python
+environments on your system. Setting a ``data_filename`` in the configuration
+file tells ``reentry`` to *always* use this data file and may result in
+unexpected behavior if you use ``reentry`` in multiple python environments.
+
+You can also set configuration options for ``reentry`` via environment
+variables:
+
+* ``datadir`` can be defined by ``REENTRY_DATADIR``.
+* ``data_filename`` can be defined by ``REENTRY_DATA_FILENAME``.
+
+Environment variables take precedence over the configuration file.
 
 What for?
 ---------
@@ -112,20 +145,20 @@ Standalone Manager Usage
 
 Sometimes it might be necessary to update the cached entry points, for example
 
-   * after uninstalling a plugin (there are no uninstall hooks by setuptools at the moment)
-   * after installing a plugin that does not use install hooks
-   * while developing a plugin / plugin host
+* after uninstalling a plugin (there are no uninstall hooks by setuptools at the moment)
+* after installing a plugin that does not use install hooks
+* while developing a plugin / plugin host
 
 for those cases reentry has a commandline interface::
 
    $ reentry --help
    Usage: reentry [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
-   
+
      manage your reentry python entry point cache
-   
+
    Options:
      --help  Show this message and exit.
-   
+
    Commands:
      clear  Clear entry point map.
      dev    Development related commands.
@@ -149,7 +182,7 @@ for those cases reentry has a commandline interface::
 
    $ reentry map --help
    Usage: reentry map [OPTIONS]
-   
+
    Options:
      --dist TEXT   limit map to a distribution
      --group TEXT  limit map to an entry point group
diff --git a/reentry/config.py b/reentry/config.py
index 8ef957a..1513702 100644
--- a/reentry/config.py
+++ b/reentry/config.py
@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@ def make_config_parser(*args, **kwargs):
 def get_config(config_file_name=str(find_config())):
     """Create config parser with defaults and read in the config file."""
     default_config_dir = _get_default_config_dir()
-    parser = make_config_parser({'datadir': str(default_config_dir.joinpath('data'))})
+    default_config_values = {'datadir': str(default_config_dir.joinpath('data')), 'data_filename': hashed_data_file_name()}
+    parser = make_config_parser(default_config_values)
     parser.add_section('general')
     parser.read([config_file_name])
 
@@ -60,25 +61,11 @@ def get_config(config_file_name=str(find_config())):
             raise ValueError('environment variable $REENTRY_DATADIR={} exists, but is not a directory'.format(env_datadir))
         parser.set('general', 'datadir', str(env_datadir_path))
 
-    return parser
-
-
-def make_data_file_name():
-    """Find the path to the reentry executable and mangle it into a file name.
-
-    Note: In order to avoid long filenames (e.g. on conda forge), the relevant info is hashed.
-    """
-    sep = os.path.sep
-    python_bin_dir = str(Path(sys.executable).resolve().parent)
-    py_version = 'UNKNOWN'
-    if six.PY2:
-        py_version = 'PY2'
-    elif six.PY3:
-        py_version = 'PY3'
-    file_name = python_bin_dir.lstrip(sep).replace(sep, '.').replace('.', '_') + '_' + py_version
+    env_data_filename = os.getenv('REENTRY_DATA_FILENAME')
+    if env_data_filename:
+        parser.set('general', 'data_filename', env_data_filename)
 
-    file_name_hash = hashlib.sha256(file_name.encode('utf-8'))
-    return file_name_hash.hexdigest()
+    return parser
 
 
 def hashed_data_file_name():
@@ -96,12 +83,7 @@ def get_datafile():
     """Create the path to the data file used to store entry points."""
     config = get_config()
 
-    pkg_path_filename = make_data_file_name()
-    datafile = Path(config.get('general', 'datadir')).joinpath(pkg_path_filename)
-    if datafile.exists():  # pylint: disable=no-member
-        return str(datafile)  # if the unhashed exists, continue to use that one
-
-    pkg_path_filename = hashed_data_file_name()
+    pkg_path_filename = config.get('general', 'data_filename')
     datafile = Path(config.get('general', 'datadir')).joinpath(pkg_path_filename)
     if not datafile.exists():  # pylint: disable=no-member
         datafile.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

diff --git a/reentry/tests/test_config.py b/reentry/tests/test_config.py
index a18d4e6..7c600cf 100644
--- a/reentry/tests/test_config.py
+++ b/reentry/tests/test_config.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     from pathlib import Path
 
+import os
 import pytest  # pylint: disable=unused-import
 import six
 from six.moves import configparser
@@ -27,16 +28,36 @@ def test_make_config_parser():
         assert isinstance(parser, configparser.ConfigParser)
 
 
-def test_get_config():
-    """Make sure the configparser gets created correctly."""
-    parser = config.get_config()
-
+def _check_config_valid(parser, expected_filename=None):
+    """
+    Perform validations for a given config.
+    If expected_filename is given, check its value too.
+    """
     if six.PY2:
         assert isinstance(parser, configparser.SafeConfigParser)
     else:
         assert isinstance(parser, configparser.ConfigParser)
 
     assert parser.get('general', 'datadir')
+    assert parser.get('general', 'data_filename')
+    if expected_filename:
+        assert parser.get('general', 'data_filename') == expected_filename
+
+
+def test_get_config():
+    """Make sure the configparser gets created correctly."""
+    parser = config.get_config()
+    _check_config_valid(parser)
+
+
+def test_get_config_with_env_var():
+    """Make sure the configparser gets created correctly when REENTRY_DATA_FILENAME is set."""
+    data_filename = 'entrypoints'
+    os.environ['REENTRY_DATA_FILENAME'] = data_filename
+    parser = config.get_config()
+    os.environ.pop('REENTRY_DATA_FILENAME')
+
+    _check_config_valid(parser, data_filename)
 
 
 def test_get_datafile():

What is the rational behind pkg_path_filename in get_datafile()?
Hi :)
First of all, thanks for a great package!

I would like to know if the name of the filename created in get_datafile function (config.py) has some important meaning and weather of not it can be changed.

This name can be a little problematic when compiling code for embedded systems, since you compile with one python interpreter on your host, but use another one on your target. Therefore, the name of the file created during compilation won't match the name that will be checked when trying to traverse the registered entry points on the board.

For example, if you compile with Buildroot, the python executable you use will probably reside at something like /home/user/buildroot/output/host/bin/python. This will lead to a configuration file with the name home.user.buildroot.output.host.bin.python. But on the board itself your python interpreter would probably be just "/usr/bin/python" and hence reentry will look for usr.bin.python, which of course won't be found.

I think this package can be very useful, especially on embedded systems, in which you will more likely to have limited resources.
I already tried to rename the file created with Buildroot after the compilation and use it on a board, and everything seems to look fine.

Thanks!
reentry/tests/test_config.py::test_get_config reentry/tests/test_config.py::test_get_config_with_env_var
reentry/tests/test_config.py::test_find_config reentry/tests/test_config.py::test_make_config_parser reentry/tests/test_config.py::test_get_datafile