diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index d997f69..c3f0ee7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -4,3 +4,7 @@
 
 block-test.hcl
 /*-source/
+
+.env
+
+.claude/
diff --git a/Justfile b/Justfile
index 6e00bf9..9b6763f 100644
--- a/Justfile
+++ b/Justfile
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ build-all:
 run: build
     @echo "→ Starting cachew at http://localhost:8080"
     @mkdir -p state
-    @{{ RELEASE }}/cachewd --config cachew.hcl
+    @{{ RELEASE }}/cachewd --config cachew-local.hcl
 
 # Clean up build artifacts
 clean:
diff --git a/cachew-local.hcl b/cachew-local.hcl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..57595f3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cachew-local.hcl
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# strategy git {}
+# strategy docker {}
+# strategy hermit {}
+
+# Artifactory caching proxy strategy
+# artifactory "example.jfrog.io" {
+#   target = "https://example.jfrog.io"
+# }
+
+
+git {
+  mirror-root = "./state/git-mirrors"
+  clone-depth = 1000
+  bundle-interval = "24h"
+}
+
+host "https://w3.org" {}
+
+github-releases {
+  token = "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
+  private-orgs = ["alecthomas"]
+}
+
+disk {
+  root = "./state/cache"
+  limit-mb = 250000
+  max-ttl = "8h"
+}
+
+gomod {
+  proxy = "https://proxy.golang.org"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/cachew.hcl b/cachew.hcl
index 57595f3..369bc13 100644
--- a/cachew.hcl
+++ b/cachew.hcl
@@ -1,32 +1,35 @@
-# strategy git {}
-# strategy docker {}
-# strategy hermit {}
+# Cachew unified configuration with tiered caching strategy
+# Uses disk (L1) + S3 (L2) cache backends
+#
+# Required environment variable:
+# - CACHEW_S3_BUCKET: S3 bucket name (REQUIRED)
 
-# Artifactory caching proxy strategy
-# artifactory "example.jfrog.io" {
-#   target = "https://example.jfrog.io"
-# }
+# First tier: Disk cache (fast local access)
+# 500GB limit hardcoded - uses defaults for everything else
+disk {
+  root     = "./state/cache"
+  limit-mb = 512000  # 500GB
+}
 
+# Second tier: S3 cache (durable storage)
+# Uses defaults for all optional fields (region=us-west-2, endpoint=s3.amazonaws.com, etc.)
+s3 {
+  bucket = "${CACHEW_S3_BUCKET}"
+}
 
+# Git strategy configuration
 git {
-  mirror-root = "./state/git-mirrors"
-  clone-depth = 1000
+  mirror-root     = "./state/git-mirrors"
+  clone-depth     = 1000
   bundle-interval = "24h"
 }
 
-host "https://w3.org" {}
-
+# GitHub releases caching
 github-releases {
   token = "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
-  private-orgs = ["alecthomas"]
-}
-
-disk {
-  root = "./state/cache"
-  limit-mb = 250000
-  max-ttl = "8h"
 }
 
+# Go module proxy
 gomod {
   proxy = "https://proxy.golang.org"
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}