diff --git a/docs/backup.rst b/docs/backup.rst
index 3c161427c4..6ad4d624df 100644
--- a/docs/backup.rst
+++ b/docs/backup.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+.. _backup:
+
 Backup
 ======
 
@@ -17,15 +19,22 @@ Back Up Manually
 ----------------
 
 To back up all the data, **exit the application** first and **copy
-the configuration directory**.
+the configuration directory** and **the data directory**.
 
-Path to configuration is usually:
+Path to the configuration is usually:
 
 -  Windows: ``%APPDATA%\copyq``
 -  Portable version for Windows: ``config`` sub-folder in unzipped
    application directory
 -  Linux: ``~/.config/copyq``
 
+Path to the data is usually:
+
+-  Windows: ``%APPDATA%\copyq\items``
+-  Portable version for Windows: ``items`` sub-folder in unzipped
+   application directory
+-  Linux: ``~/.local/share/copyq/copyq/items``
+
 To copy the configuration path to clipboard from CopyQ:
 
 1. Open Action dialog (``F5`` shortcut).
@@ -39,6 +48,8 @@ To copy the configuration path to clipboard from CopyQ:
 
 3. Click OK dialog button.
 
+To copy the data path, change ``'config'`` to ``'data'``.
+
 To restore the backup, exit the application and replace the
 configuration directory.
 
diff --git a/docs/faq.rst b/docs/faq.rst
index 5fc659ab3c..a39ce635a1 100644
--- a/docs/faq.rst
+++ b/docs/faq.rst
@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ then choose what to import back.
 
    Importing tabs and commands won't override existing tabs, and will create new ones.
 
+See also: :ref:`backup`
+
 .. _faq-disable-notifications:
 
 How to enable or disable displaying notification when clipboard changes?
diff --git a/docs/sessions.rst b/docs/sessions.rst
index 8c3d421f80..e9d806738f 100644
--- a/docs/sessions.rst
+++ b/docs/sessions.rst
@@ -71,6 +71,40 @@ outside the application.
     $ COPYQ_SETTINGS_PATH=$HOME/copyq-settings copyq tab
     &clipboard
 
+Item Data Path
+--------------
+
+Item data path can be overridden with ``COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH``
+environment variable.
+
+::
+
+    $ copyq info data
+    /home/user/.local/share/copyq/copyq
+
+    $ COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH=$HOME/copyq-data copyq info data
+    /home/user/copyq-data/copyq/copyq.conf
+
+The directory contains data for items that exceeds 4096 bytes. The default
+threshold can be overridden with ``item_data_threshold`` option.
+
+::
+
+    $ copyq config item_data_threshold
+    4096
+
+To disable using the data directory and store everything into tab data files,
+set the threshold to a negative value. The tab data file will be updated only
+after the items in the tab change.
+
+::
+
+    $ copyq config item_data_threshold -1
+    -1
+
+Note: Using data directory ensure that the application is fast even if there
+are a lot of large items in tabs.
+
 Icon Color
 ----------
 
diff --git a/src/app/app.cpp b/src/app/app.cpp
index 84bef750c9..836169e0d7 100644
--- a/src/app/app.cpp
+++ b/src/app/app.cpp
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QLibraryInfo>
 #include <QLocale>
+#include <QStandardPaths>
 #include <QTranslator>
 #include <QVariant>
 
@@ -149,6 +150,24 @@ App::App(QCoreApplication *application,
     QCoreApplication::setOrganizationName(session);
     QCoreApplication::setApplicationName(session);
 
+    if ( qEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty("COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH") ) {
+        if ( !m_app->property("CopyQ_item_data_path").isValid() ) {
+            m_app->setProperty(
+                "CopyQ_item_data_path",
+                QStandardPaths::writableLocation(QStandardPaths::AppDataLocation)
+                + QLatin1String("/items"));
+        }
+    } else {
+        m_app->setProperty(
+            "CopyQ_item_data_path",
+#if QT_VERSION >= QT_VERSION_CHECK(5,10,0)
+            qEnvironmentVariable("COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH")
+#else
+            QString::fromLocal8bit(qgetenv("COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH"))
+#endif
+        );
+    }
+
 #ifdef HAS_TESTS
     initTests();
 #endif
diff --git a/src/gui/notificationnative/notificationnative.cpp b/src/gui/notificationnative/notificationnative.cpp
index a2647ed31e..1234b9df04 100644
--- a/src/gui/notificationnative/notificationnative.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/notificationnative/notificationnative.cpp
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 #include <QPainter>
 #include <QPointer>
 #include <QPushButton>
-#include <QStandardPaths>
 #include <QTextEdit>
 
 #include <knotifications_version.h>
diff --git a/src/item/itemstore.cpp b/src/item/itemstore.cpp
index 740c0fa921..4d62a66542 100644
--- a/src/item/itemstore.cpp
+++ b/src/item/itemstore.cpp
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 #include <QFile>
 #include <QSaveFile>
 #include <QSet>
-#include <QStandardPaths>
 
 namespace {
 
@@ -178,8 +177,8 @@ bool moveItems(const QString &oldId, const QString &newId)
 
 void cleanDataFiles(const QStringList &tabNames)
 {
-    QDir dir( QStandardPaths::writableLocation(QStandardPaths::AppDataLocation) );
-    if ( !dir.cd(QStringLiteral("items")) )
+    QDir dir(itemDataPath());
+    if ( !dir.exists() )
         return;
 
     QStringList files;
diff --git a/src/item/serialize.cpp b/src/item/serialize.cpp
index 88c2bc9b28..eb78762cfa 100644
--- a/src/item/serialize.cpp
+++ b/src/item/serialize.cpp
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include "common/mimetypes.h"
 
 #include <QAbstractItemModel>
+#include <QCoreApplication>
 #include <QByteArray>
 #include <QCryptographicHash>
 #include <QDataStream>
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@
 #include <QList>
 #include <QPair>
 #include <QSaveFile>
-#include <QStandardPaths>
 #include <QStringList>
 
 #include <unordered_map>
@@ -185,12 +185,12 @@ bool deserializeDataV2(QDataStream *out, QVariantMap *data)
 
 QString dataFilePath(const QByteArray &bytes, bool create = false)
 {
-    QDir dir( QStandardPaths::writableLocation(QStandardPaths::AppDataLocation) );
+    QDir dir(itemDataPath());
     QCryptographicHash hash(QCryptographicHash::Sha256);
     hash.addData(QByteArrayLiteral("copyq_salt"));
     hash.addData(bytes);
     const QString sha = QString::fromUtf8( hash.result().toHex() );
-    const QString subpath = QStringLiteral("items/%1/%2/%3").arg(
+    const QString subpath = QStringLiteral("%1/%2/%3").arg(
             sha.mid(0, 16),
             sha.mid(16, 16),
             sha.mid(32, 16)
@@ -432,3 +432,8 @@ bool itemDataFiles(QIODevice *file, QStringList *files)
 
     return out.status() == QDataStream::Ok;
 }
+
+QString itemDataPath()
+{
+    return qApp->property("CopyQ_item_data_path").toString();
+}
diff --git a/src/item/serialize.h b/src/item/serialize.h
index 15e1977270..04fb5c1791 100644
--- a/src/item/serialize.h
+++ b/src/item/serialize.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ bool deserializeData(QAbstractItemModel *model, QDataStream *stream, int maxItem
 bool serializeData(const QAbstractItemModel &model, QIODevice *file, int itemDataThreshold = -1);
 bool deserializeData(QAbstractItemModel *model, QIODevice *file, int maxItems);
 
+QString itemDataPath();
 bool itemDataFiles(QIODevice *file, QStringList *files);
 
 #endif // SERIALIZE_H
diff --git a/src/platform/win/winplatform.cpp b/src/platform/win/winplatform.cpp
index 5ff98e575e..c935170a01 100644
--- a/src/platform/win/winplatform.cpp
+++ b/src/platform/win/winplatform.cpp
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ Application *createApplication(int &argc, char **argv)
     if ( !portableFolder.isEmpty() ) {
         QSettings::setPath(QSettings::IniFormat, QSettings::UserScope, portableFolder);
         qputenv("COPYQ_LOG_FILE", portableFolder.toUtf8() + "/copyq.log");
+        app->setProperty("CopyQ_item_data_path", portableFolder + QLatin1String("/items"));
     }
 
     return app;
diff --git a/src/scriptable/scriptable.cpp b/src/scriptable/scriptable.cpp
index 1ad338f395..e0c78369d7 100644
--- a/src/scriptable/scriptable.cpp
+++ b/src/scriptable/scriptable.cpp
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@
 #include <QSysInfo>
 #include <QUrl>
 #include <QVector>
-#include <QStandardPaths>
 #include <QThread>
 #include <QTimer>
 
@@ -1741,7 +1740,7 @@ QJSValue Scriptable::info()
     info.insert("config", QSettings().fileName());
     info.insert("exe", QCoreApplication::applicationFilePath());
     info.insert("log", logFileName());
-    info.insert("data", QStandardPaths::writableLocation(QStandardPaths::AppDataLocation));
+    info.insert("data", itemDataPath());
 
     info.insert("plugins",
 #ifdef COPYQ_PLUGIN_PREFIX
diff --git a/src/tests/tests.cpp b/src/tests/tests.cpp
index c0a1833bc3..644840f30d 100644
--- a/src/tests/tests.cpp
+++ b/src/tests/tests.cpp
@@ -3419,6 +3419,20 @@ void Tests::configPathEnvVariable()
     QCOMPARE( out.left(expectedOut.size()), expectedOut );
 }
 
+void Tests::itemDataPathEnvVariable()
+{
+    const auto path = QDir::home().absoluteFilePath("copyq-data");
+    const auto environment = QStringList("COPYQ_ITEM_DATA_PATH=" + path);
+
+    QByteArray out;
+    QByteArray err;
+    run(Args() << "info" << "data", &out, &err, QByteArray(), environment);
+    QVERIFY2( testStderr(err), err );
+
+    const auto expectedOut = path.toUtf8();
+    QCOMPARE( out.left(expectedOut.size()), expectedOut );
+}
+
 void Tests::configTabs()
 {
     const QString sep = QStringLiteral("\n");
diff --git a/src/tests/tests.h b/src/tests/tests.h
index 215de2ee58..41b98a2a9b 100644
--- a/src/tests/tests.h
+++ b/src/tests/tests.h
@@ -216,6 +216,7 @@ private slots:
     void configAutostart();
 
     void configPathEnvVariable();
+    void itemDataPathEnvVariable();
 
     void configTabs();