diff --git a/packages/shadcn/src/utils/add-components.ts b/packages/shadcn/src/utils/add-components.ts
index 4378b5895c..795b939280 100644
--- a/packages/shadcn/src/utils/add-components.ts
+++ b/packages/shadcn/src/utils/add-components.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ export async function addComponents(
     isNewProject?: boolean
     baseStyle?: boolean
     registryHeaders?: Record<string, Record<string, string>>
+    path?: string
   }
 ) {
   options = {
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ async function addProjectComponents(
     silent?: boolean
     isNewProject?: boolean
     baseStyle?: boolean
+    path?: string
   }
 ) {
   if (!options.baseStyle && !components.length) {
@@ -127,6 +129,7 @@ async function addProjectComponents(
   await updateFiles(tree.files, config, {
     overwrite: options.overwrite,
     silent: options.silent,
+    path: options.path,
   })
 
   if (tree.docs) {
@@ -144,6 +147,7 @@ async function addWorkspaceComponents(
     isNewProject?: boolean
     isRemote?: boolean
     baseStyle?: boolean
+    path?: string
   }
 ) {
   if (!options.baseStyle && !components.length) {
@@ -275,6 +279,7 @@ async function addWorkspaceComponents(
       rootSpinner,
       isRemote: options.isRemote,
       isWorkspace: true,
+      path: options.path,
     })
 
     filesCreated.push(
diff --git a/packages/shadcn/src/utils/updaters/update-files.ts b/packages/shadcn/src/utils/updaters/update-files.ts
index 18cf05d500..3225fbdf3a 100644
--- a/packages/shadcn/src/utils/updaters/update-files.ts
+++ b/packages/shadcn/src/utils/updaters/update-files.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { existsSync, promises as fs } from "fs"
+import { existsSync, promises as fs, statSync } from "fs"
 import { tmpdir } from "os"
 import path, { basename } from "path"
 import { getRegistryBaseColor } from "@/src/registry/api"
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ export async function updateFiles(
     rootSpinner?: ReturnType<typeof spinner>
     isRemote?: boolean
     isWorkspace?: boolean
+    path?: string
   }
 ) {
   if (!files?.length) {
@@ -72,7 +73,8 @@ export async function updateFiles(
   let envVarsAdded: string[] = []
   let envFile: string | null = null
 
-  for (const file of files) {
+  for (let index = 0; index < files.length; index++) {
+    const file = files[index]
     if (!file.content) {
       continue
     }
@@ -84,6 +86,8 @@ export async function updateFiles(
         files.map((f) => f.path),
         file.path
       ),
+      path: options.path,
+      fileIndex: index,
     })
 
     if (!filePath) {
@@ -108,6 +112,13 @@ export async function updateFiles(
 
     const existingFile = existsSync(filePath)
 
+    // Check if the path exists and is a directory - we can't write to directories.
+    if (existingFile && statSync(filePath).isDirectory()) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `Cannot write to ${filePath}: path exists and is a directory. Please provide a file path instead.`
+      )
+    }
+
     // Run our transformers.
     // Skip transformers for .env files to preserve exact content
     const content = isEnvFile(filePath)
@@ -307,8 +318,32 @@ export function resolveFilePath(
     isSrcDir?: boolean
     commonRoot?: string
     framework?: ProjectInfo["framework"]["name"]
+    path?: string
+    fileIndex?: number
   }
 ) {
+  // Handle custom path if provided.
+  if (options.path) {
+    const resolvedPath = path.isAbsolute(options.path)
+      ? options.path
+      : path.join(config.resolvedPaths.cwd, options.path)
+
+    const isFilePath = /\.[^/\\]+$/.test(resolvedPath)
+
+    if (isFilePath) {
+      // We'll only use the custom path for the first file.
+      // This is for registry items with multiple files.
+      if (options.fileIndex === 0) {
+        return resolvedPath
+      }
+    } else {
+      // If the custom path is a directory,
+      // We'll place all files in the directory.
+      const fileName = path.basename(file.path)
+      return path.join(resolvedPath, fileName)
+    }
+  }
+
   if (file.target) {
     if (file.target.startsWith("~/")) {
       return path.join(config.resolvedPaths.cwd, file.target.replace("~/", ""))
diff --git a/packages/shadcn/test/utils/updaters/update-files.test.ts b/packages/shadcn/test/utils/updaters/update-files.test.ts
index 2975c68f42..25a93dd517 100644
--- a/packages/shadcn/test/utils/updaters/update-files.test.ts
+++ b/packages/shadcn/test/utils/updaters/update-files.test.ts
@@ -456,6 +456,258 @@ describe("resolveFilePath", () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe("resolveFilePath with custom path", () => {
+  test("should use custom file path for exact file target", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/ui/button.tsx",
+          type: "registry:ui",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom/my-button.tsx",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/my-button.tsx")
+  })
+
+  test("should use custom directory path and strip type prefix", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/ui/button.tsx",
+          type: "registry:ui",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/button.tsx")
+  })
+
+  test("should strip nested paths when using custom directory", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/components/nested/path/card.tsx",
+          type: "registry:component",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/card.tsx")
+  })
+
+  test("should handle lib files with custom directory", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/lib/utils.ts",
+          type: "registry:lib",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/utils.ts")
+  })
+
+  test("should handle hooks with custom directory", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/hooks/use-toast.ts",
+          type: "registry:hook",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/use-toast.ts")
+  })
+
+  test("should use custom file path with different extension", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/ui/card.tsx",
+          type: "registry:ui",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/my-components/custom-card.jsx",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/my-components/custom-card.jsx")
+  })
+
+  test("should not use custom path when not provided", () => {
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/ui/button.tsx",
+          type: "registry:ui",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/components/ui/button.tsx")
+  })
+
+  test("should support any file extension for file paths", () => {
+    // Test with .json
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/config.json",
+          type: "registry:file",
+          target: "~/config.json",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom/my-config.json",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/my-config.json")
+
+    // Test with .css
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/styles.css",
+          type: "registry:file",
+          target: "~/styles.css",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/custom/theme.css",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/custom/theme.css")
+
+    // Test with .md
+    expect(
+      resolveFilePath(
+        {
+          path: "hello-world/README.md",
+          type: "registry:file",
+          target: "~/README.md",
+        },
+        {
+          resolvedPaths: {
+            cwd: "/foo/bar",
+            components: "/foo/bar/components",
+            ui: "/foo/bar/components/ui",
+            lib: "/foo/bar/lib",
+            hooks: "/foo/bar/hooks",
+          },
+        },
+        {
+          isSrcDir: false,
+          path: "/foo/bar/docs/guide.md",
+          fileIndex: 0,
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe("/foo/bar/docs/guide.md")
+  })
+})
+
 describe("resolveFilePath with framework", () => {
   test("should not resolve for unknown or unsupported framework", () => {
     expect(
@@ -1160,6 +1412,120 @@ DATABASE_URL=postgres://localhost:5432/mydb`,
       await fsActual.rm(tempDir, { recursive: true }).catch(() => {})
     }
   })
+
+  test("should place first file at custom file path", async () => {
+    const config = await getConfig(
+      path.resolve(__dirname, "../../fixtures/vite-with-tailwind")
+    )
+    expect(
+      await updateFiles(
+        [
+          {
+            path: "registry/default/ui/button.tsx",
+            type: "registry:ui",
+            content: `export function Button() {
+  return <button>Custom Button</button>
+}`,
+          },
+        ],
+        config,
+        {
+          overwrite: true,
+          silent: true,
+          path: "custom/my-button.tsx",
+        }
+      )
+    ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      {
+        "filesCreated": [
+          "custom/my-button.tsx",
+        ],
+        "filesSkipped": [],
+        "filesUpdated": [],
+      }
+    `)
+  })
+
+  test("should place all files in custom directory", async () => {
+    const config = await getConfig(
+      path.resolve(__dirname, "../../fixtures/vite-with-tailwind")
+    )
+    expect(
+      await updateFiles(
+        [
+          {
+            path: "registry/default/ui/button.tsx",
+            type: "registry:ui",
+            content: `export function Button() {
+  return <button>Button</button>
+}`,
+          },
+          {
+            path: "registry/default/ui/card.tsx",
+            type: "registry:ui",
+            content: `export function Card() {
+  return <div>Card</div>
+}`,
+          },
+        ],
+        config,
+        {
+          overwrite: true,
+          silent: true,
+          path: "custom/components",
+        }
+      )
+    ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      {
+        "filesCreated": [
+          "custom/components/button.tsx",
+          "custom/components/card.tsx",
+        ],
+        "filesSkipped": [],
+        "filesUpdated": [],
+      }
+    `)
+  })
+
+  test("should only apply file path to first file", async () => {
+    const config = await getConfig(
+      path.resolve(__dirname, "../../fixtures/vite-with-tailwind")
+    )
+    expect(
+      await updateFiles(
+        [
+          {
+            path: "registry/default/ui/button.tsx",
+            type: "registry:ui",
+            content: `export function Button() {
+  return <button>Button</button>
+}`,
+          },
+          {
+            path: "registry/default/lib/utils.ts",
+            type: "registry:lib",
+            content: `export function cn() {}`,
+          },
+        ],
+        config,
+        {
+          overwrite: true,
+          silent: true,
+          path: "custom/my-button.tsx",
+        }
+      )
+    ).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      {
+        "filesCreated": [
+          "custom/my-button.tsx",
+        ],
+        "filesSkipped": [],
+        "filesUpdated": [
+          "src/lib/utils.ts",
+        ],
+      }
+    `)
+  })
 })
 
 describe("resolveModuleByProbablePath", () => {
diff --git a/packages/tests/src/tests/add.test.ts b/packages/tests/src/tests/add.test.ts
index 6819f4fe30..43ec6cbaa8 100644
--- a/packages/tests/src/tests/add.test.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/src/tests/add.test.ts
@@ -297,6 +297,57 @@ describe("shadcn add", () => {
     ).toBe("Foo Bar")
   })
 
+  it("should add component to custom file path", async () => {
+    const fixturePath = await createFixtureTestDirectory("next-app")
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, ["init", "--base-color=neutral"])
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, [
+      "add",
+      "button",
+      "--path=custom/my-button.tsx",
+    ])
+
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "custom/my-button.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "components/ui/button.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it("should add component to custom directory", async () => {
+    const fixturePath = await createFixtureTestDirectory("next-app")
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, ["init", "--base-color=neutral"])
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, ["add", "button", "--path=custom/components"])
+
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(
+        path.join(fixturePath, "custom/components/button.tsx")
+      )
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "components/ui/button.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it("should add multiple files to custom directory", async () => {
+    const fixturePath = await createFixtureTestDirectory("next-app")
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, ["init", "--base-color=neutral"])
+    await npxShadcn(fixturePath, ["add", "button", "card", "--path=custom/ui"])
+
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "custom/ui/button.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "custom/ui/card.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(true)
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "components/ui/button.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(false)
+    expect(
+      await fs.pathExists(path.join(fixturePath, "components/ui/card.tsx"))
+    ).toBe(false)
+  })
+
   it("should add at-property", async () => {
     const fixturePath = await createFixtureTestDirectory("next-app-init")
     await npxShadcn(fixturePath, [