diff --git a/gpt4all-backend/llmodel.cpp b/gpt4all-backend/llmodel.cpp
index 5dfa1111..b78370ae 100644
--- a/gpt4all-backend/llmodel.cpp
+++ b/gpt4all-backend/llmodel.cpp
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <fstream>
 #include <filesystem>
 #include <cassert>
+#include <cstdlib>
 
 static bool requires_avxonly() {
 #ifdef __x86_64__
@@ -73,7 +74,8 @@ const std::vector<LLModel::Implementation> &LLModel::implementationList() {
             }
         };
 
-        search_in_directory(".");
+        const char *custom_impl_lookup_path = getenv("GPT4ALL_IMPLEMENTATIONS_PATH");
+        search_in_directory(custom_impl_lookup_path?custom_impl_lookup_path:".");
 #if defined(__APPLE__)
         search_in_directory("../../../");
 #endif