diff --git a/config.example.yaml b/config.example.yaml
index e0d61830..9814b050 100644
--- a/config.example.yaml
+++ b/config.example.yaml
@@ -90,6 +90,9 @@ apiKeys:
 # - macro names must not be a reserved name: PORT or MODEL_ID
 # - macro values can be numbers, bools, or strings
 # - macros can contain other macros, but they must be defined before they are used
+# - environment variables can be referenced with ${env.VAR_NAME} syntax
+#   - env macros are substituted first, before regular macros
+#   - if the env var is not set, config loading will fail with an error
 macros:
   # Example of a multi-line macro
   "latest-llama": >
@@ -102,6 +105,11 @@ macros:
   # but they must be previously declared.
   "default_args": "--ctx-size ${default_ctx}"
 
+  # Example of environment variable macros
+  # - ${env.VAR_NAME} pulls the value from the system environment
+  # - useful for paths, secrets, or machine-specific configuration
+  "models_dir": "${env.HOME}/models"
+
 # models: a dictionary of model configurations
 # - required
 # - each key is the model's ID, used in API requests
diff --git a/proxy/config/config.go b/proxy/config/config.go
index 078d27fd..c1af8654 100644
--- a/proxy/config/config.go
+++ b/proxy/config/config.go
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ type GroupConfig struct {
 var (
 	macroNameRegex    = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-zA-Z0-9_-]+$`)
 	macroPatternRegex = regexp.MustCompile(`\$\{([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)\}`)
+	envMacroRegex     = regexp.MustCompile(`\$\{env\.([a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*)\}`)
 )
 
 // set default values for GroupConfig
@@ -237,6 +238,17 @@ func LoadConfigFromReader(r io.Reader) (Config, error) {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Process environment variable macros in global macro values first
+	for i, macro := range config.Macros {
+		if strVal, ok := macro.Value.(string); ok {
+			newVal, err := substituteEnvMacros(strVal)
+			if err != nil {
+				return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("global macro '%s': %w", macro.Name, err)
+			}
+			config.Macros[i].Value = newVal
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Get and sort all model IDs first, makes testing more consistent
 	modelIds := make([]string, 0, len(config.Models))
 	for modelId := range config.Models {
@@ -252,6 +264,48 @@ func LoadConfigFromReader(r io.Reader) (Config, error) {
 		modelConfig.Cmd = StripComments(modelConfig.Cmd)
 		modelConfig.CmdStop = StripComments(modelConfig.CmdStop)
 
+		// Substitute environment variable macros in model fields
+		modelConfig.Cmd, err = substituteEnvMacros(modelConfig.Cmd)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s cmd: %w", modelId, err)
+		}
+		modelConfig.CmdStop, err = substituteEnvMacros(modelConfig.CmdStop)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s cmdStop: %w", modelId, err)
+		}
+		modelConfig.Proxy, err = substituteEnvMacros(modelConfig.Proxy)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s proxy: %w", modelId, err)
+		}
+		modelConfig.CheckEndpoint, err = substituteEnvMacros(modelConfig.CheckEndpoint)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s checkEndpoint: %w", modelId, err)
+		}
+		modelConfig.Filters.StripParams, err = substituteEnvMacros(modelConfig.Filters.StripParams)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s filters.stripParams: %w", modelId, err)
+		}
+
+		// Substitute env macros in model-level macro values
+		for i, macro := range modelConfig.Macros {
+			if strVal, ok := macro.Value.(string); ok {
+				newVal, err := substituteEnvMacros(strVal)
+				if err != nil {
+					return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s macro '%s': %w", modelId, macro.Name, err)
+				}
+				modelConfig.Macros[i].Value = newVal
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Substitute env macros in metadata
+		if len(modelConfig.Metadata) > 0 {
+			result, err := substituteEnvMacrosInValue(modelConfig.Metadata)
+			if err != nil {
+				return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("model %s metadata: %w", modelId, err)
+			}
+			modelConfig.Metadata = result.(map[string]any)
+		}
+
 		// validate model macros
 		for _, macro := range modelConfig.Macros {
 			if err = validateMacro(macro.Name, macro.Value); err != nil {
@@ -362,6 +416,13 @@ func LoadConfigFromReader(r io.Reader) (Config, error) {
 				// Any other macro is unknown
 				return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("unknown macro '${%s}' found in %s.%s", macroName, modelId, fieldName)
 			}
+
+			// Check for unsubstituted env macros
+			envMatches := envMacroRegex.FindAllStringSubmatch(fieldValue, -1)
+			for _, match := range envMatches {
+				varName := match[1]
+				return Config{}, fmt.Errorf("environment variable '%s' not set (found in %s.%s)", varName, modelId, fieldName)
+			}
 		}
 
 		// Check for unknown macros in metadata
@@ -574,6 +635,12 @@ func validateMetadataForUnknownMacros(value any, modelId string) error {
 			macroName := match[1]
 			return fmt.Errorf("model %s metadata: unknown macro '${%s}'", modelId, macroName)
 		}
+		// Check for unsubstituted env macros
+		envMatches := envMacroRegex.FindAllStringSubmatch(v, -1)
+		for _, match := range envMatches {
+			varName := match[1]
+			return fmt.Errorf("model %s metadata: environment variable '%s' not set", modelId, varName)
+		}
 		return nil
 
 	case map[string]any:
@@ -645,3 +712,54 @@ func substituteMacroInValue(value any, macroName string, macroValue any) (any, e
 		return value, nil
 	}
 }
+
+// substituteEnvMacros replaces ${env.VAR_NAME} with environment variable values
+// Returns error if any env var is not set
+func substituteEnvMacros(s string) (string, error) {
+	result := s
+	matches := envMacroRegex.FindAllStringSubmatch(s, -1)
+	for _, match := range matches {
+		fullMatch := match[0] // ${env.VAR_NAME}
+		varName := match[1]   // VAR_NAME
+
+		value, exists := os.LookupEnv(varName)
+		if !exists {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("environment variable '%s' is not set", varName)
+		}
+		result = strings.ReplaceAll(result, fullMatch, value)
+	}
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// substituteEnvMacrosInValue recursively substitutes env macros in nested structures
+func substituteEnvMacrosInValue(value any) (any, error) {
+	switch v := value.(type) {
+	case string:
+		return substituteEnvMacros(v)
+
+	case map[string]any:
+		newMap := make(map[string]any)
+		for key, val := range v {
+			newVal, err := substituteEnvMacrosInValue(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			newMap[key] = newVal
+		}
+		return newMap, nil
+
+	case []any:
+		newSlice := make([]any, len(v))
+		for i, val := range v {
+			newVal, err := substituteEnvMacrosInValue(val)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			newSlice[i] = newVal
+		}
+		return newSlice, nil
+
+	default:
+		return value, nil
+	}
+}
diff --git a/proxy/config/config_test.go b/proxy/config/config_test.go
index ab358e66..855cef50 100644
--- a/proxy/config/config_test.go
+++ b/proxy/config/config_test.go
@@ -809,3 +809,213 @@ func TestConfig_APIKeys_Invalid(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestConfig_EnvMacros(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("basic env substitution in cmd", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_MODEL_PATH", "/opt/models")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "${env.TEST_MODEL_PATH}/llama-server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "/opt/models/llama-server", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env substitution in multiple fields", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_HOST", "myserver")
+		t.Setenv("TEST_PORT", "9999")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server --host ${env.TEST_HOST}"
+    proxy: "http://${env.TEST_HOST}:${env.TEST_PORT}"
+    checkEndpoint: "http://${env.TEST_HOST}/health"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "server --host myserver", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+		assert.Equal(t, "http://myserver:9999", config.Models["test"].Proxy)
+		assert.Equal(t, "http://myserver/health", config.Models["test"].CheckEndpoint)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env in global macro value", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_BASE_PATH", "/usr/local")
+
+		content := `
+macros:
+  SERVER_PATH: "${env.TEST_BASE_PATH}/bin/server"
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "${SERVER_PATH} --port 8080"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "/usr/local/bin/server --port 8080", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env in model-level macro value", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_MODEL_DIR", "/models/llama")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    macros:
+      MODEL_FILE: "${env.TEST_MODEL_DIR}/model.gguf"
+    cmd: "server --model ${MODEL_FILE}"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "server --model /models/llama/model.gguf", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env in metadata", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_API_KEY", "secret123")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+    metadata:
+      api_key: "${env.TEST_API_KEY}"
+      nested:
+        key: "${env.TEST_API_KEY}"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "secret123", config.Models["test"].Metadata["api_key"])
+		nested := config.Models["test"].Metadata["nested"].(map[string]any)
+		assert.Equal(t, "secret123", nested["key"])
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env in filters.stripParams", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_STRIP_PARAMS", "temperature,top_p")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+    filters:
+      stripParams: "${env.TEST_STRIP_PARAMS}"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "temperature,top_p", config.Models["test"].Filters.StripParams)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env in cmdStop", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_KILL_SIGNAL", "SIGTERM")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server --port ${PORT}"
+    cmdStop: "kill -${env.TEST_KILL_SIGNAL} ${PID}"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:${PORT}"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Contains(t, config.Models["test"].CmdStop, "-SIGTERM")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("missing env var returns error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "${env.UNDEFINED_VAR_12345}/server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		_, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		if assert.Error(t, err) {
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "UNDEFINED_VAR_12345")
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "not set")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("missing env var in global macro", func(t *testing.T) {
+		content := `
+macros:
+  PATH: "${env.UNDEFINED_GLOBAL_VAR}"
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		_, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		if assert.Error(t, err) {
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "UNDEFINED_GLOBAL_VAR")
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "not set")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("missing env var in model macro", func(t *testing.T) {
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    macros:
+      MY_PATH: "${env.UNDEFINED_MODEL_VAR}"
+    cmd: "server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		_, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		if assert.Error(t, err) {
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "UNDEFINED_MODEL_VAR")
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "not set")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("missing env var in metadata", func(t *testing.T) {
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+    metadata:
+      key: "${env.UNDEFINED_META_VAR}"
+`
+		_, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		if assert.Error(t, err) {
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "UNDEFINED_META_VAR")
+			assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "not set")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("env combined with regular macros", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_ROOT", "/data")
+
+		content := `
+macros:
+  MODEL_BASE: "${env.TEST_ROOT}/models"
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server --model ${MODEL_BASE}/${MODEL_ID}.gguf"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "server --model /data/models/test.gguf", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("multiple env vars in same string", func(t *testing.T) {
+		t.Setenv("TEST_USER", "admin")
+		t.Setenv("TEST_PASS", "secret")
+
+		content := `
+models:
+  test:
+    cmd: "server --auth ${env.TEST_USER}:${env.TEST_PASS}"
+    proxy: "http://localhost:8080"
+`
+		config, err := LoadConfigFromReader(strings.NewReader(content))
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Equal(t, "server --auth admin:secret", config.Models["test"].Cmd)
+	})
+}