diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 309c85e..7f93e33 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -32,15 +32,17 @@ Configure file paths:
 ```yaml
 paths:
   import: "."
-  graph: ${run_dir}/graph
+  graph:   ${run_dir}/graph
   samples: ${run_dir}/samples
+  buffer:  ${run_dir}/buffer   # optional; redirect to a separate volume (e.g. scratch)
 ```
 
 | Key | Type | Default | Description |
 |-----|------|---------|-------------|
 | `import` | str | `"."` | Path to import custom modules |
-| `graph` | str | `${run_dir}/graph` | Trained models directory |
+| `graph` | str | `${run_dir}/graph` | Trained model checkpoints directory |
 | `samples` | str | `${run_dir}/samples` | Output samples directory |
+| `buffer` | str | `${run_dir}/buffer` | Buffer snapshots directory (`snapshots/` is appended); useful for routing large temporary simulation data to a separate scratch volume while keeping `run_dir` on persistent storage |
 
 ### `buffer`
 
@@ -65,7 +67,7 @@ buffer:
 | `simulate_count` | int | `64` | Number of new samples generated per simulation round. For simulators taking >1s per sample, keep this small (4–16) to avoid long delays between buffer updates; for fast simulators, increase to reduce Ray overhead. |
 | `simulate_interval` | float | `1` | Seconds between simulation rounds |
 | `simulate_when_full` | bool | `true` | If `true`, simulation continues after `max_samples` is reached and old samples are replaced; if `false`, simulation stops once the buffer is full |
-| `store_fraction` | float | `0.0` | Fraction of simulated samples written to `buffer/snapshots/` for inspection (0 = none, 1 = all) |
+| `store_fraction` | float | `0.0` | Fraction of simulated samples written to `{paths.buffer}/snapshots/` for inspection (0 = none, 1 = all) |
 
 ### `graph`
 
diff --git a/falcon/cli.py b/falcon/cli.py
index b161301..b479999 100644
--- a/falcon/cli.py
+++ b/falcon/cli.py
@@ -668,9 +668,10 @@ def stop_check():
         from omegaconf import OmegaConf as _OmegaConf
         from falcon.core.raystore import BufferConfig as _BufferConfig
         buffer_cfg = _OmegaConf.merge(_OmegaConf.structured(_BufferConfig), cfg.buffer)
+        buffer_base = cfg.paths.get("buffer", str(Path(cfg.run_dir) / "buffer"))
         dataset_manager = falcon.get_ray_dataset_manager(
             buffer_cfg,
-            snapshots_path=str(Path(cfg.run_dir) / "buffer" / "snapshots"),
+            snapshots_path=str(Path(buffer_base) / "snapshots"),
             log_config=logging_cfg,
         )
 
@@ -899,7 +900,7 @@ def parse_args():
             elif arg.startswith("--refresh="):
                 refresh = float(arg.split("=", 1)[1])
             i += 1
-        return mode, None, None, None, None, False, 16, address, refresh
+        return mode, None, None, None, None, False, 16, True, None, address, refresh
 
     sample_type = None
     if mode == "sample":