diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 5f2b6788f8..97cb8f6825 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -8,5 +8,5 @@ env/
 spack-build_stage/
 spack-test_stage/
 spack-misc_cache/
-user-config/
+user-config/linux/
 user-cache/
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/user-config/config.yaml b/user-config/config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..53ef97f15f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/user-config/config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+config:
+  build_stage: '$spack/../spack-build_stage'
+  test_stage: '$spack/../spack-test_stage'
+  misc_cache: '$spack/../spack-misc_cache'
diff --git a/user-config/repos.yaml b/user-config/repos.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..59de8fefc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/user-config/repos.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+repos:
+  - '$spack/../repos/c2sm'