diff --git a/config/config-template.php b/config/config-template.php
index cba1293f85a158274f2ce0c4eaf17f7bd6bed3e8..11478973d96e0ac9a263f6d638ff435e39b0a83f 100644
--- a/config/config-template.php
+++ b/config/config-template.php
@@ -7,11 +7,21 @@
 
 $config = array (
 
+	/*
+	 * This option configures the base directory for this simpleSAMLphp
+	 * installation. Under most circumstances this option is optional,
+	 * and can be left unset.
+	 *
+	 * Example:
+	 *  'basedir' => '/var/simplesamlphp/',
+	 */
+	'basedir' => NULL,
+
+
 	/*
 	 * Setup the following parameters to match the directory of your installation.
 	 * See the user manual for more details.
 	 */
-	'basedir' 				=> '/var/simplesamlphp/',
 	'baseurlpath'			=> 'simplesaml/',
 	'templatedir'			=> 'templates/default/',
 	'metadatadir'			=> 'metadata/',