diff --git a/compose/cli-command.md b/compose/cli-command.md
index fe42561ff3..6894b1a970 100644
--- a/compose/cli-command.md
+++ b/compose/cli-command.md
@@ -78,8 +78,9 @@ from the [project release page](https://github.com/docker/compose/releases){:tar
 1. Run the following command to download the current stable release of Docker Compose:
 
     ```console
-    $ mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins/
-    $ curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v{{site.compose_v2_version}}/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
+    $ DOCKER_CONFIG=${DOCKER_CONFIG:-$HOME/.docker}
+    $ mkdir -p $DOCKER_CONFIG/cli-plugins
+    $ curl -SL https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v{{site.compose_v2_version}}/docker-compose-linux-x86_64 -o $DOCKER_CONFIG/cli-plugins/docker-compose
     ```
 
     This command installs Compose V2 for the active user under `$HOME` directory. To install Docker Compose for all users on your system, replace `~/.docker/cli-plugins` with `/usr/local/lib/docker/cli-plugins`.
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ from the [project release page](https://github.com/docker/compose/releases){:tar
 2. Apply executable permissions to the binary:
 
     ```console
-    $ chmod +x ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
+    $ chmod +x $DOCKER_CONFIG/cli-plugins/docker-compose
     ```
 
 3. Test your installation