diff --git a/FeedCLI.hs b/FeedCLI.hs
--- a/FeedCLI.hs
+++ b/FeedCLI.hs
@@ -67,17 +67,18 @@
 writeRSS :: Maybe FilePath -- If they haven't provided an argument, stdout.
          -> RSS
          -> Bool -- ^create a temporary file?
+         -> FilePath -- ^directory for temporary files
          -> IO ()
-writeRSS (Just outFile) rss createTemp = do
+writeRSS (Just outFile) rss createTemp tmpDir = do
   (fileToWrite, h) <- if createTemp
-                       then openTempFile "/tmp" ("rssGenTemp.xml") -- fix: portable?
+                       then openTempFile tmpDir ("rssGenTemp.xml") -- fix: portable?
                        else do h' <- openFile outFile WriteMode
                                return (outFile, h')
   hPutStr h (showTopElement $ xmlRSS rss)
   hClose h
   when createTemp (renameFile fileToWrite outFile)
 
-writeRSS Nothing rss _ = putStrLn $  showTopElement $ xmlRSS rss
+writeRSS Nothing rss _ _ = putStrLn $  showTopElement $ xmlRSS rss
 
 -- Throw some sane exceptions open file fail, etc.  Creates basic empty feed if it doesn't exist
 readRSS :: FilePath -> IO RSS
@@ -127,6 +128,7 @@
   let inFile = fromMaybe (error "infile required") (optInput opts)
   let createTemp = Just inFile == mOutFile
   let mLimit = optLimit opts
+  let tmpDir = optTmpDir opts
 
   feedDescription <- getDescription (optDescription opts) (optPreDesc opts)
 
@@ -144,7 +146,7 @@
            KeepLimit -> limitItems feedWithItem
                           (fromIntegral $ length $ rssItems $ rssChannel readFeed)
            NumLimit lim -> limitItems feedWithItem lim
-  writeRSS mOutFile newFeed createTemp
+  writeRSS mOutFile newFeed createTemp tmpDir
 
 
 getDescription :: DescType
@@ -166,11 +168,12 @@
   desc <- getDescription (optDescription opts) (optPreDesc opts)
   let mLink = optLink opts
   let link = fromMaybe (error "--link required") mLink
+  let tmpDir = optTmpDir opts
 
   let newRSS = nullRSS title link
   let newChannel = (rssChannel newRSS){rssDescription = desc}
 
-  writeRSS mOutFile newRSS{rssChannel=newChannel} False
+  writeRSS mOutFile newRSS{rssChannel=newChannel} False tmpDir
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/Options.hs b/Options.hs
--- a/Options.hs
+++ b/Options.hs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
  , optPreDesc     :: Bool
  , optOutput      :: Maybe FilePath
  , optInput       :: Maybe FilePath
+ , optTmpDir      :: FilePath
  , optDescription :: DescType
  , optLimit       :: LimitType
  , optTitle       :: String
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@
  , optShowVersion = False
  , optPreDesc     = False
  , optOutput      = Nothing
+ , optTmpDir      = "/tmp"
  , optInput       = Nothing
  , optLimit       = NoLimit
  , optTitle       = ""
@@ -66,6 +68,10 @@
  , Option ['o']     ["output"]
      (ReqArg ((\ f opts -> opts { optOutput = Just f })) "FILE")
      "output to this file, or -u"
+
+ , Option []     ["tmp"]
+     (ReqArg ((\ f opts -> opts { optTmpDir = f })) "FILE")
+     "directory for temporary files; defaults to /tmp"
 
  , Option ['u']     ["update-file"]
     (ReqArg ((\ f opts -> opts { optInput = Just f
diff --git a/feed-cli.cabal b/feed-cli.cabal
--- a/feed-cli.cabal
+++ b/feed-cli.cabal
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 Name: feed-cli
-Version: 2008.5.3
+Version: 2009.7.5
 Author: Isaac Potoczny-Jones <ijones@syntaxpolice.org>
 Maintainer: Isaac Potoczny-Jones <ijones@syntaxpolice.org>
-Copyright: (c) Isaac Potoczny-Jones, 2008
+Copyright: (c) Isaac Potoczny-Jones, 2008-2009
 Category: Web, Text
 HomePage: http://www.syntaxpolice.org/darcs_repos/feed-cli
 License: BSD3
 License-File: LICENSE
-build-depends: feed, xml, base, time, old-locale, old-time, directory
+build-depends: feed, xml,  base < 4, time, old-locale, old-time, directory
 data-files: README, examples/getURL.sh,  examples/piper2.sh,  examples/piper.sh
 build-type: Simple
 Synopsis: A simple command line interface for creating and updating feeds like RSS
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
  feeds from shell scripts, build scripts, cron jobs, CGIs, or other programs
  instead of using an RSS or Atom library.
  .
- eg: feed-cli new-item -t"entry of the day" -d"This is a description..." -u/tmp/feed.xml  -lhttp://www.syntaxpolice.org
+ eg: ./feed-cli new-item -t"entry of the day" -d"This is a description..." -u/tmp/feed.xml  -lhttp://www.syntaxpolice.org
 
 Executable: feed-cli
 main-is: FeedCLI.hs