diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 14d3775a0..7559c8def 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ If I tell you to remember something, you do the same, update
 - Multi-page tables must emit `<!-- Table spans pages X-Y -->` comments, continuation markers for each affected page, and populate `table.pageStart`, `table.pageEnd`, and `table.pageRange` metadata so downstream systems can align tables with their source pages.
 - PDF converters must honour `SegmentOptions.Pdf.TreatPagesAsImages`, rendering each page to PNG, running OCR/vision enrichment, and composing page segments with image placeholders plus recognized text whenever the option is enabled.
 - Persist conversion workspaces through `ManagedCode.Storage` by allocating a unique, sanitized folder per document, copy the source file, store every extracted artifact via `IStorage`, and emit the final Markdown into the same folder.
+- Root path configurability: `MarkItDownPathResolver` must support a configurable root via `MarkItDownOptions.RootPath` (non-DI) or `MarkItDownServiceBuilder.UseRootPath()` (DI); the resolver uses a lock-guarded double-check (not `Lazy<string>`) so `Configure()` and first access are atomic, and conflicting paths throw `InvalidOperationException` instead of being silently ignored.
 
 # Repository Guidelines
 
diff --git a/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownClient.cs b/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownClient.cs
index 3076c0e9b..8b0277e08 100644
--- a/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownClient.cs
+++ b/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownClient.cs
@@ -66,6 +66,13 @@ public MarkItDownClient(ILogger? logger = null, HttpClient? httpClient = null)
     public MarkItDownClient(MarkItDownOptions? options, ILogger? logger = null, HttpClient? httpClient = null)
     {
         _options = options ?? new MarkItDownOptions();
+
+        // Configure path resolver before anything materialises the root.
+        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(_options.RootPath))
+        {
+            MarkItDownPathResolver.Configure(_options.RootPath);
+        }
+
         _logger = logger ?? _options.LoggerFactory?.CreateLogger<MarkItDownClient>();
         _httpClient = httpClient;
         _converters = [];
diff --git a/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownOptions.cs b/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownOptions.cs
index bcb54f611..7fcbf2799 100644
--- a/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownOptions.cs
+++ b/src/MarkItDown/Core/MarkItDownOptions.cs
@@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ namespace MarkItDown;
 /// </summary>
 public sealed record MarkItDownOptions
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Optional root directory for all MarkItDown workspaces and buffers.
+    /// Defaults to <c>.markitdown</c> under <see cref="Environment.CurrentDirectory"/>.
+    /// Set to a writable path in read-only environments (e.g. Azure Functions temp).
+    /// </summary>
+    public string? RootPath { get; set; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether built-in converters should be registered. Defaults to <see langword="true"/>.
     /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/MarkItDown/DependencyInjection/MarkItDownServiceBuilder.cs b/src/MarkItDown/DependencyInjection/MarkItDownServiceBuilder.cs
index 397501f96..86d9f9fd8 100644
--- a/src/MarkItDown/DependencyInjection/MarkItDownServiceBuilder.cs
+++ b/src/MarkItDown/DependencyInjection/MarkItDownServiceBuilder.cs
@@ -47,6 +47,17 @@ public MarkItDownServiceBuilder AddConverter<TConverter>(Func<IServiceProvider,
         return this;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Sets the root directory for MarkItDown disk workspaces and buffers.
+    /// Call this in <c>Program.cs</c> for read-only environments like Azure Functions.
+    /// </summary>
+    public MarkItDownServiceBuilder UseRootPath(string rootPath)
+    {
+        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(rootPath);
+        Services.Configure<MarkItDownOptions>(o => o.RootPath = rootPath);
+        return this;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Registers a conversion middleware component that will be included in the pipeline.
     /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/MarkItDown/Utilities/MarkItDownPathResolver.cs b/src/MarkItDown/Utilities/MarkItDownPathResolver.cs
index 26d8ecd55..20230cc36 100644
--- a/src/MarkItDown/Utilities/MarkItDownPathResolver.cs
+++ b/src/MarkItDown/Utilities/MarkItDownPathResolver.cs
@@ -8,19 +8,74 @@ namespace MarkItDown;
 /// </summary>
 internal static class MarkItDownPathResolver
 {
-    private static readonly Lazy<string> root = new(CreateRootPath, isThreadSafe: true);
+    private static readonly object _gate = new();
+    private static string? _configuredRootPath;
+    private static string? _resolvedRootPath;
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets the absolute root directory used for MarkItDown workspaces.
+    /// Thread-safe; the value is resolved on first access and cached.
     /// </summary>
-    public static string RootPath => root.Value;
+    public static string RootPath
+    {
+        get
+        {
+            if (_resolvedRootPath is not null)
+            {
+                return _resolvedRootPath;
+            }
+
+            lock (_gate)
+            {
+                _resolvedRootPath ??= CreateRootPath();
+                return _resolvedRootPath;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Override the default root directory.
+    /// Must be called before any code accesses <see cref="RootPath"/> (typically
+    /// by setting <c>MarkItDownOptions.RootPath</c> before constructing a client).
+    /// Throws if the root has already resolved to a different path.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal static void Configure(string rootPath)
+    {
+        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(rootPath);
+
+        var normalized = Path.GetFullPath(rootPath);
+
+        lock (_gate)
+        {
+            // Already resolved -- only allow if it matches.
+            if (_resolvedRootPath is not null)
+            {
+                if (!PathEquals(_resolvedRootPath, normalized))
+                {
+                    throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                        $"Root already resolved to '{_resolvedRootPath}'; cannot change to '{normalized}'.");
+                }
+
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // Not yet resolved -- only allow if no prior Configure set a different path.
+            if (_configuredRootPath is not null && !PathEquals(_configuredRootPath, normalized))
+            {
+                throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                    $"Root already configured as '{_configuredRootPath}'; cannot change to '{normalized}'.");
+            }
+
+            _configuredRootPath = normalized;
+        }
+    }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Ensure the root directory exists (also invoked by lazy initialization).
     /// </summary>
     public static void EnsureRootExists()
     {
-        _ = root.Value;
+        _ = RootPath;
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -56,8 +111,17 @@ public static string Ensure(params string[] segments)
 
     private static string CreateRootPath()
     {
-        var candidate = Path.Combine(Environment.CurrentDirectory, ".markitdown");
+        var candidate = _configuredRootPath
+            ?? Path.GetFullPath(Path.Combine(Environment.CurrentDirectory, ".markitdown"));
         Directory.CreateDirectory(candidate);
         return candidate;
     }
+
+    private static bool PathEquals(string a, string b) =>
+        string.Equals(
+            Path.GetFullPath(a),
+            Path.GetFullPath(b),
+            OperatingSystem.IsWindows()
+                ? StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase
+                : StringComparison.Ordinal);
 }