diff --git a/src/config/attachment.config.ts b/src/config/attachment.config.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..739b1c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config/attachment.config.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { join } from "path";
+
+export function resolveAttachmentsRoot() {
+    const explicit = process.env.ATTACHMENTS_ROOT?.trim();
+    if (explicit) return explicit; //direct filepath if possible
+    
+    const id = (process.env.ATTACHMENTS_SERVER_ID ?? 'server').trim();
+    return process.platform === 'win32' ? `\\\\${id}\\attachments` : `/mnt/attachments`; //check if server is using windows or linux
+}
+export const ATT_TMP_DIR = () => join(resolveAttachmentsRoot(), '_tmp'); 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/config/attachment.fs.ts b/src/config/attachment.fs.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f8ebd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config/attachment.fs.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+import { promises as fs } from "node:fs";
+import { ATT_TMP_DIR } from "./attachment.config";
+
+export async function ensureAttachmentsTmpDir() {
+    const tmp = ATT_TMP_DIR();                  //<ROOT>/_tmp
+    await fs.mkdir(tmp, { recursive: true });   // create if missing
+
+    
+    return tmp;
+} 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/config/attachment.provider.ts b/src/config/attachment.provider.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d145157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config/attachment.provider.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { Provider } from "@nestjs/common";
+import { resolveAttachmentsRoot } from "./attachment.config";
+export const ATTACHMENTS_ROOT = Symbol('ATTACHMENTS_ROOT');
+
+export const attachmentsRootProvider: Provider = {
+    provide: ATTACHMENTS_ROOT,
+    useFactory: () => resolveAttachmentsRoot(),
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/config/config.module.ts b/src/config/config.module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c0ebd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/config/config.module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+import { attachmentsRootProvider } from "./attachment.provider";
+import { Module } from "@nestjs/common";
+
+@Module({
+    providers: [attachmentsRootProvider],
+    exports: [attachmentsRootProvider],
+})
+export class AppConfigModule {}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 10deed9..504ffe1 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ import * as nodeCrypto from 'crypto';
 if(!(globalThis as any).crypto) {
   (globalThis as any).crypto = nodeCrypto;
 }
+import { ensureAttachmentsTmpDir } from './config/attachment.fs'; 
+
+import { resolveAttachmentsRoot } from './config/attachment.config';// log to be removed post dev
+import { ATT_TMP_DIR } from './config/attachment.config'; // log to be removed post dev
+
 import { ModuleRef, NestFactory, Reflector } from '@nestjs/core';
 import { AppModule } from './app.module';
 import { ValidationPipe } from '@nestjs/common';
@@ -76,9 +81,14 @@ async function bootstrap() {
     const documentFactory = () => SwaggerModule.createDocument(app, config);
     const document = documentFactory()
     SwaggerModule.setup('api/docs', app, document);
-
     writeFileSync('./docs/swagger/swagger-spec.json', JSON.stringify(document, null, 2));
-      
+    
+    // logs to be removed post dev
+    console.log('[ENV.ATTACHMENTS_ROOT]', process.env.ATTACHMENTS_ROOT);
+    console.log('[resolveAttachmentsRoot()]', resolveAttachmentsRoot());
+    console.log('[ATT_TMP_DIR()]', ATT_TMP_DIR());
+
+  await ensureAttachmentsTmpDir();
   await app.listen(process.env.PORT ?? 3000);
 }
 bootstrap();